to want in laws to correctly pronounce my very ordinary name?

[DrSeuss]

I have a very ordinary, English-of-Greek-origin name. Spelled in the traditional way, couldn't e simpler, really.
For over twenty years, ILs have mispronounced it. For twenty years, I and my husband have periodically corrected them. Not a huge thing, granted but it grates every time they say it wrongly.

AIBU to slightly mispronounce their names just a little, e.g. Sarah becomes Sorah, Jim becomes Jom? Childish, I know, but it is pretty much the only thing I have asked of them in twenty years! Other family members ask for and receive special food despite having no real grounds for this or meals served at a particular time despite having no children. I'd just like them to say my name without me mentally wincing!

And even rhymes with evun...my point is proved.

I am going to have to listen to the Archers now to see which character pronounces Helen which way.

YANBU. My name is constantly mispronounced even after teaching people to say it. I now simply go by "Gee", and have gone to extent that my workplace namebadge has Gee on it as I get so tired if people getting it wrong. But that's another matter

I have a Welsh name, not dissimilar to Helen and not very complicated, and my south of England MIL can't pronounce it properly either. It doesn't bother me too much as I'm used to it (it's been happening all my life, all over the world), but really winds my DH up. His sister's name is shortened to something not dissimilar to mine, so he can't see why she can't get mine right. I've known her for close to 15 years now.

Have a similar problem when some people don't pronounce the t in Katie. It really grates. I can say to children " it's katie with a "t" in the middle but with adults it's not so easy

I live in the north east and "mammy" and "mam" are the norm in fact you are looked at strangely if you use "mummy" or "mum", if you told people that "mammy" could have derogatory connotations they would look at you blankly! As for the mispronounciation of your name, I think what you are doing is great, keep on at it and hopefully they might get the hint 😊

My grandmother's name was Ellen. My grandfather called her Helen until the day he died. No-one could figure why she put up with it for 40 years. Sometimes things have simply gone on too long to teach old dogs new tricks.

Nellie, I'm guessing you are Elin, Elen or Heledd. Heledds must have trouble if they move out of Wales as everyone probably thinks they are saying Helen. Although nothing like as tricky as Mallt.

My mum is a Helen and she pronounces it Hel-un. I've never heard anyone call her anything other than that. I would have thought that you would have to spell it Helene to get Hel-en, a more French sounding way. That said, your name, they should say it how you like it!

I have two friends called Alicia. One is 'Aleesha' and the other is 'Alisia'. Their name, their choice.

I have had a friend for over 20 years who has always mispronounced my name. I gave up gently correcting her after the first couple of years!
She has a thick Yorkshire accent and pronounces the end of my name as a hard 'onn' sound, when it should rhyme with 'moan'.
Rather than do that last word, I've just let her pronounce it how she likes

This is just an accent thing.

I live in SE England. I am from N Ireland. Mammy is seen as a very effectionate address of mummy where I come from x

I know someone called Chandler.

I guess he was named after Chandler in Friends but there is no way anyone in England is going to call him Chaaaaandlerrr because we would feel like tits. Yet that's how that character's name is supposed to be said. He's been Charndler all his life.

Yup no one pronounces my name correctly either!! It's law-rie rather than the usual "lorrie". Starting to think maybe they are all right and its me that's wrong lol!

No need to be sorry pike. I wasn't clear.

Cheryl and Sheryl is not different at all, it's exactly the same! Apart from Sheryl Crow I don't know any Cheryl's who pronounce or spell it Sheryl. The original name was I a guessing French in origins like Cherie and is pronounced with a soft Shhh sound but spelt with a Ch.

I suspect anyone choosing to spell it with a Sh is doing so purely to circumvent the issue of people mispronouncing it it with a hard Ch sound.

Much like if the OP started to spell her name Hellun

Sorry for random apostrophe in Cheryls that was naughty autocorrect, not me.

For about 14 years one of our neighbours has called dh 'Des', his name is nothing like that, apart from the first letter. Every year we send a Christmas card with correct name, and get back one with Des. We have tried dropping it casually into conversation, and little hints like when calling to their house dh will call out hello, 'not Des' here! Neighbours wife uses correct name, so no idea why he is adamant that DH must be Des!!

We are a multi accent family, so we chose our children's names accordingly. I knew I couldn't have one of my favorites- Constance- because in dp's family's accent, Connie would be Conn-eh and I didn't like it. It didn't cross my mind to insist they went to elocution classes or something to learn how to say it to my satisfaction!

I live up north and would actually say Hel-un :/

Can't believe I've read 19 pages about this. Really wanted to see if there was any resolution...

I really don't think it's an accent thing. I know a few random people who say Helin but they're not the norm. My mum does it. She also says 'Keenya' instead of Kenya. That's not an accent thing either. It's annoying. It's like people who say 'Char-lot'. It's surely that schwa thing at the end not an 'o'.

Oh, and choklit - really? ?

Where I'm from it would be pronounced Hel-lun

So you're saying that you say 'Hel-n' and they are saying 'Hellin'. It's not like they're calling you 'Helena' or 'Helene' is it? They just haven't quite got the ending right.

DD2 is Jasmine and gets called 'Yasmine' and 'Yas-mine (mine as in belongs to me)' lots. DD3 is 'Isla' and gets called 'Is-la' by people that haven't heard it before. DD1 gets her shortened name spelled with a 'y' instead of an 'ie' all.the.time. despite people knowing that her full name doesn't contain a 'y' at any point and does contain 'ie'....they've got to live with it.

IIRC pronouncing Kenya "Keenya" is considered somewhat offensive as it harks back to British Colonial times. It was changed to "Kenya" by its first president Jomi Kenyatta to reflect its independence.

Chocklit makes me wNt to hit someone.