To correct anyone who mispronounces my name?

[Verbeann]

Hi all,
I’m starting a new job soon; it’s a working from home/ remote working role. I’m based in N. Ireland and the rest of my new colleagues will be based in England so there will be lots of video calls etc with them. The way my first name is pronounced is generally different here than the rest of the UK. Would IBU to correct my new colleagues if they don’t get the way I say it right? (I find people from outside my region generally don’t). Not to be a dick about it either, the UK pronunciation is definitely the more well-known one, but it’s just not my name IYSWIM! I always try to be polite about it but still wonder if it comes across a bit precious/fussy, obviously want to make a good impression with new colleagues. Thoughts?

correct them first time it stops the awkwardness etc and eventually they will start correcting for you naturally with new employees etc, my name is a common uk name from 90's to mid 2010's and everyone pronounces it wrong it's so annoying so i personaly coach them how to say it straight away they seem to think it sounds like cola

Yes, absolutely. I’m a lecturer to students from all over the world. If there are any names I’m not sure of I always ask if I’m pronouncing it correctly and get them to say it so I can learn it properly. People will want to pronounce your name correctly so when you introduce yourself you might want to comment on the different spelling but tell them how to pronounce it. They will be pleased you did.

My name is a variant of a very common name that ends in E whereas mine ends in A.

I’ve spent 37 years correcting people, all my friends corrected teachers throughout school when they were calling the register, when I got tired of doing so myself. I’m at university and even though my name is written down when lecturers are calling for attendance, they’ll still call me the wrong name and refer to me by that name in feedback when my name is in huge letters on the cover page of assignments. I’ve just kind of given up at this point unfortunately.

Autocorrect also corrects it to the E ending name, I’ve literally got no chance to be fair 😂

YANBU but say it slowly, repeat it often and offer to write it down if they can’t get it right. Be friendly about it and don’t make them feel silly. Let them repeat it back to you if they need to without rolling your eyes. Be prepared to keep correcting them and shutdown any nicknames or shortened versions you dislike. (From someone with a name nobody can pronounce 😂)

Ughhh my name is Nicole, and i get Nicola 99% off the time. I always correct because it isnt my name.

Correct them every time!

You would absolutely not be unreasonable and I think your colleagues would appreciate your helping them out with the correct pronunciation.

To hear your name constantly mispronounced can be really annoying (speaking from experience; almost everyone both misspells and mispronounces my not-very-unusual name!)

I thought it might be Deirdre too.
In Ireland we mostly use Deerdrah, whereas Coronation Street's Deirdre was Deerdree.

I think its Deirdre too in England its an old lady name but pronounced the Irish way its a lovely name.

@LadyEloise

I thought it might be Deirdre too. In Ireland we mostly use Deerdrah, whereas Coronation Street's Deirdre was Deerdree.

Unless it was pronounced by Audrey (Sue Nicholls) who called her Deirdra and said Audrey as Audra. Irritating woman.

Correct them, if they continue to mispronounce it, mispronounce theirs and see how they like it. I find it insulting when people continue to mispronounce my name after multiple corrections. I've started calling my neighbour 'David' 'Darveed' just because he continutes to ignore my corrections

For Irish names (like mine) then first name yes, last name I let go. First names for sure though, or else we'll end up with another Caitlin situation. ;)

But surname -- it just ends up being a big hassle to get people to pronounce it right and I can't be arsed with the conflict. Oh the look of fear that comes over delivery drivers faces when they have to read it. I feel for them actually!

Not unreasonable at all. People should make an effort to learn your name and say it properly.

Definitely correct them as the start rather than them getting used to calling you the wrong name. Then having to correct them. Or having someone else correct them and then them wondering why you hadn't corrected them..

For sure, I have a friend called Naimh (pronounced Neve), and she always tells people when they mangle it. Our team have also got used to correcting external people who get it wrong too :)

@Gilead

I have a name that ends in ‘A’, I correct everyone who chooses to end it in ‘E’.

Same here, Gilead. I stupidly went on to name 2 DD’s the same way!

Do you find some people get huffy when you correct them? I do, it’s so rude.

Many Americans say 'Patty's day' when referring to 'Paddy's day'

That's not pronounciation, they are actually saying PaTTY not Paddy

Correct them. Dd2 has a name that ends in a its a very unusual name but a fairly common (top 100) name like it ends in e (I wont say varient as they are oddly not related as names just look alike) I have corrected over the years including once going to a teacher and saying her name ends in an A sound NOT e please pronounce it correctly..

Dd3 has an Irish name. Oddly we have fewer issues there as people don't know how to say it so ask.

definitely correct them

Correct them

@hepatocyte

For sure, I have a friend called Naimh (pronounced Neve), and she always tells people when they mangle it. Our team have also got used to correcting external people who get it wrong too :)

That would be 'Niamh', unless she's mis-spelling it herself.

absolutely correct them.

But sometimes it is accent. Someone on here was talking about Dara Obrien (I know I have got his surname wrong there) and was sayign how everyone outside of NI says his name wrong.
I then watched Mock the Week, and listen and replayed how he said his name, and I think that there is no way I can say it the same as him, so any way I say it is only an approximation due to accent. I am pretty good at languages and really do try and get it right.

It is like an American saying Anna, the first sound is so different to the way I say it, if I were to try and say it the American way, I would sound as if I wa smocking the accent.

Someone who worked for me used to miss pronounce my name , my name is unusual but very easy to say and remember , he had worked for me for a couple of years when my friend started to challenge him , she said it was bloody rude and he was doing it on purpose and it wasn't that he hadn't heard other people use it correctly
Corrected him for a while then decided to stop answering when he didn't use my correct name
Irony was the miss pronounced version was much harder to actually say

Yes, correct them.

A person I worked with was called Suzanne and everyone said Susan. It drove her potty.
One of my close friends is a Suzanne so I was one of the few who could get it right and I always made a point of saying it so other could hear it. They did get it eventually. It was usually ok until a new member of staff started....

You should correct them. But you have to do it right from the start otherwise you'll never be able to as it's more embarrassing to have them realise they've been saying it wrong for months!