My name is not Natalie

[MangosteenSoda]

I'm fairly new in my street and don't know anyone well. I got a text from a lovely neighbour calling me Natalie.

I responded to the text and told her my actual name. No fuss, not awkward at all. I now feel completely un-British. I obviously should have gone by Natalie in her presence for ever more.

I actually prefer the name Natalie to my own name

So this is more of a WWYD - did I do the right thing, or should I have embraced the national stereotype?

What insanely British things have you done?

I started watching soaps so that I could be part of the conversation at the hairdressers. I loathe them, but it's easier than feeling like the odd one out.

no, you'd have embarrassed her more if she found out after five years that your name is something else that what she'd been calling you.

One of my neighbours sent a Christmas card and got my DD's name wrong. I never corrected her. It was super awkward in the street WhatsApp chat when she used the wrong name and everyone else asked who that was.

Oh this happened to me, for years a school mum called me, for example Sue. I let it go because if I made a faux pas she’d tell people it was woman called called Sue and not me she was so bright and cheery saying Morning Sue I didn’t have the heart.

I called my elderly next door neighbour Mary for years, I could have sworn it was her name. I even sent Christmas cards to ‘Mary’. I went back to visit when we moved away. She’d been moved into a home, and her very confused son answered the door to me asking for ‘Mary’. Her name was Kathleen!

I have no idea where I got Mary from but I was very pregnant when we moved in so I’m blaming baby brain

Forgot to say, you did the right thing correcting her :)

A work colleague calls me Sharon. My name isn't Sharon although it begins with the same letter. I'm Facebook friends with her in my own name so she either thinks I'm twins or... Once she even said she doesn't know why she calls me Sharon, she knows it isn't my name. Then she called me it again. It's a bit of a Rodney/Dave situation!

Outted That's a great point. I would actually love to have an alias!

Aww Cough I think that's really quite sweet that your former neighbour never corrected you.

I quite like the idea of being more Mary/Kathleen. I lived abroad for ages and think I'm too blunt to be British atm.

We have lived here since 2005 and have had the same neighbour 3 doors down throughout that time. Now relatively elderly (late 70s) she has only this past Christmas realised that my name is not in fact, Janet. She's always called me Jan/Janet and I didn't have the heart to tell her. She used to call my DH Alan too (not his name) until he helped her with her electrics ( he's and electrician) one day and he corrected her when she ask him if he "wanted a cuppa Alan?"

I just assume she's bad with names and Jan is no worse than my team name so...

You are new in your street and people who don't know your name have your phone number?

My neighbour called me Brigid for ages. I left it! Until she bumped into DH and me and of course, DH was like "And Vanguard this and Vanguard that," which of course left her saying, "I thought your name was Brigid! Why have I been calling you Brigid?" to which I replied, "Oh... don't worry... it's probably because... my middle name is Brigid and I told you that once and you've gotten that in your head as my actual name."
My middle name is Elizabeth.

Years ago, our DS1 was changing schools and the priest had to write a letter to the new RC school proving that we were a practicing family known to him. Anyway, for the first 3 years we'd been at the parish, the priest called me Ingrid. I DID actually correct him, but he stuck with Ingrid. Finally, it all came to a head where I really did have to drive home the point that my name is Vanguard. So he stopped calling me Ingrid and I became Karen for a year.
When he wrote the reference letter to DS1's new school, I had to sit down with him and explain that my name was not Karen. He reverted back to Ingrid. I then I had to explain I wasn't Ingrid either. He wrote my actual name on the letter and that was the last I saw of him, trance-like, confused, as if he were saying goodbye and good luck to a woman who was never really there.

I chair a network at work and send out emails regularly. Every time I open, I always introduce myself.

There is one woman who insists on calling me Kate (not my name but does start with a K). She’s been part of the network for 18 months. I respond to every email with my actual name - my email address has my name in it.

It’s so far past the point of no return I’m considering just changing my name now.

an ex boyfriend from years ago used to call me by the wrong name ,i have a 70,s style hyphenated name so say " Sarah-Jane " he called me " Sarah " everybody. Has always called me "Sarah-Jane" so it was awkward but I didn't feel I could correct him we were not together very long only around six months ,imagine if I had married him and he was still calling me the wrong name!😂

When I was about 19, my boss dropped one of those water-filled weights on my foot by accident. It was AGONY and he was so apologetic but I just smiled and said I was fine...no bother!

My foot was the size of a melon by the evening. Two broken toes.

Vanguard I love both of those stories!

Buster Maybe that's really weird I had quite extensive building work done before I moved in and gave them my number the first time I saw them in case they needed to contact me about anything to do with that.

Our neighbours call my husband the wrong name, eg Don instead of Dan. We have corrected them so many times but he is Don to them still!

My yoga teacher kept calling me Kristina instead of my real name. I just let it go until some-one I knew joined the class, who called by my real name. The yoga teacher heard this and asked why I hadn't told her my name. I just sort of stuttered, said it was fine and that Kristina was actually my yoga name (!)

One of my neighbours has just thanked me (on the street Whatsapp) for the bananas and dried fruit, no feckin idea......... I'll probably reply 'you're welcome' shortly

You're a disgrace to the Brits OP. You should have gone by the name forever more, signed Christmas cards off as Natalie, have your DP/DC/parents/friends refer to you as Natalie whenever she was in earshot. So unpatriotic.

Joking aside, you did the right thing. It just gets really awkward the longer it goes on. I remember Paramedics having to come out to my dad and they were calling him Alan for some reason Hadn't asked his name, just decided it was Alan.

He actually passed out (breathing difficulties) and I think they shrieked 'Alan' 20 times in the space of 15 seconds whilst I silently crept up my own arse Everyone's faces when my dad came around and went 'Who the hell's Alan' 😆

My uncle used to call me Emma.
He must have been told a thousand times that it wasn’t my name. 🤷🏻‍♀️

FFS Natalie!!!

YABVU

Your neighbour now secretly hates you and will have told all their friends what a bitch you are

My mum called me far worse names than Emma though 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Chottie Yoga name

Penny Fabulous ending to your story. Hope your dad is still well!

I'm head of year 13 and a parent addresses all his emails to me as Elizabeth, which is not my name. My name is in my signature but ...
I have decided it is not worth trying to explain as his son will be leaving soon.