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?

It gets awkward when its gone on for some time without the other person knowing your name.
Someone I knew through the school run - I'd been speaking to her daily and our DDs had been to nursery together also - had to call my name and referred to me as Mollysmum as if I didn't have a name of my own at all! Ironically she went on to ask if I could be a referee on a job application she was making.

Younger dd still gets letters in the name of older dd who has left the school.

Looselips That's a proper rule, I'm sure of it. I can't imagine asking THREE times. I'd probably melt right into the floor if I attempted it

dingit. That is so funny.

I often think my neighbour across the road is called Pete and think I've even called him it once or twice. I know his name is Ed but when it comes the name coming out of my mouth it comes out as Pete.

Probably already been said but your story just totally reminded me of Chandler in Friends who is forever known as Toby to one of his workmates as he was too awkward to tell him his real name.
"Why didn't you just tell him?"
"I was going to. But then he had donuts. I wanted a donut."

@looselipssinkships the trouble with that, and I've done it myself, is when you reply (after three repeats and still not understanding) with something non committal like 'oh yes, lovely', and get a really blank look in return, you know you have got it really wrong. Especially if it turns out they were telling you their dog has just died or similar.

XH's great aunt decided that my name (not at all out there, but not all that common) didn't actually exist, so she called by another vaguely similar sounding name. However, DM also had the same name and aunt had no problems calling her the correct name. So I just changed her name on cards etc to one that sounded slightly similar just to annoy her. And before anyone says anything, I did correct her, each and every time.

I answered to Carol for about fifteen years, until the neighbour moved. I currently answer to Sue to another neighbour (nothing like my name) and have done for about thirteen years. I also apologise if someone bumps into me.

We called our neighbour Gary ever since we moved in. Found out recently his name is Scott!

Similar here! I have a neighbour with a name that can be slightly different one way or another... say like Rosie or Rose... and every time I use one I get the feeling I've gotten that wrong... am forever trying to listen to what other people call her!

One of the School Mums calls my husband Jamie. His name sounds absolutely nothing like Jamie. I decided I would correct her next time we had a chat, but when we did she asked if we were heading back to a New Zealand to visit Jamie’s family this summer. He is from South London!

My colleague is the type who overuses people's names to show that she's invested in you. She calls me Emma. I am not, nor have I ever been, an Emma.

My children appear to be very unbritish. My daughter's name is frequently misheard, and from the age of 6 she learnt to fix them with a hard stare and bellow "DENISE?!" or whatever she'd been called at the poor soul who got it wrong. My son, who is a bit older, has long hair and every time he is called a girl he looks them in the eye and demands to know why they think he's female. He's caused a lot of stuttering backpedalling in the last year...

Years ago I mistakenly called a woman I occasionally worked with the wrong name - say ‘Emily’. She corrected me, but ever after, even though I knew her actual name, it was always on the tip of my tongue to call her ‘Emily’. To me she was an ‘Emily’ regardless of what she insisted.

I was introduced to a lady at my craft club and I was told her name was Helen. She seemed to know me, knew my name and my hobbies etc and said she had spoken with me before but I couldn't place her as Helen. I felt really at a loss until someone else came up who knew ”Helen” and when she was introduced to ”Helen” said, ”no, this is Irene, she lives opposite me”

Helen/Irene then blushed and said she hadn't wanted to correct the host, I immediately remembered Irene and our conversation!

Letme, your dad sounds lovely!

This happened to me.. from as far back as I can remember (I was about 3,4 yrs old) the neighbourhood folk called me Carrie or Cassie... not my name but not too far from it - but nobody in my family shortened/altered my name - so where did it start?🤷‍♀️ My son always asked me why people didn’t call me my proper name, but I had to tell him I hadn’t a clue!!
It remained like this til the day I left the area aged 39!!
There was no other female children in the area at the time so it couldn’t have started to avoid confusion with another girl of same name!
Odd - but obviously not unusual.
On another point, one batty old lady insisted my son was a girl called Sarah... even when he was toddling in his ‘boy’ clothing🙄 I gave up correcting her in the end!

I come from a culture where a lot of people are not called by their birth names. My father was always called by his middle name. My mother's 'name' was that of a fruit! My grandmother was a small woman, so she was called 'Birdy'. During my travels to my country of origin I have come across, 'Lion', 'Big Belly', 'Indian' or whatever name fits the recipient's physical description!

People always mis name me. And bizarrely it is always with the same name. I’ve never worked out why. I correct them every single time.

Then there are the email people who think my last name is my first name. Or despite my name being in the email address and on the fucking email, they still spell it incorrectly.

My mum did this once.
The poor girl had THE SAME NAME AS ME!
But because she had a heavy North Wales accent, my deranged mum decided she had a different name that only my mum used

You are completely unreasonable. How could you do that without thinking of the repercussions for your fellow countrymen? I am utterly shocked by your behaviour.

I called my old neighbour's husband"Fred" for three years before we moved away. Days before we left they told me it isn't actually his name it was "John"!!

My music teacher in Yr 9 write my first and middle name the wrong way round in the register so every lesson we'd have the following exchange:

Teacher: Susan?
Me: It's Jane, but yes, I'm here.
Teacher: I thought your name was Susan.
Me: No, that's my middle name. My first name is Jane.
Teacher: Oh right. Sorry Jane.

Every. Single. Tuesday.

The worst thing was I was in all the school plays and concerts, and he managed to call me Jane during rehearsals and suchlike.

NB, my name isn't really Jane Susan.

I find it hilarious even though I send them a Christmas card with my name on each year. And he's probably still wondering who the strange woman is who keeps sending them Christmas cards.

CurryGoat I desperately want that to be the name people call you in your country of origin

It was super awkward in the street WhatsApp chat when she used the wrong name and everyone else asked who that was.

Must have been awkward but I can’t really get past the bit about having a street WhatsApp group. 😬🤣

The last time I was in Greggs I asked for a latte and the man proceeded to put a chicken pasty into a bag for me and he put it on counter and said 'anything else?' and I said 'and latte as well please'
Was kicking myself all day after that and I managed to eat the pasty!