Anyone else been made fun of because of their name/surname?

[Iamsocold888]

It’s a long, European surname. Once a man actually laughed down the phone at it when I had to give my name and address.

Working at a school, a lady asked me, “Really?! So do the kids call you miss _?!”
Well yeah, that is my name so..

Or in other jobs/school I’ve had people read out lists of full names but only read my first name.

Always remember a girl behind me in the lunch queue at school sniggering when my surname came up on the card machine.

Even in some jobs people have said, “Yeah, I’m just gonna call you by your first name.”

It used to get me down when I was younger but I realise it’s their problem. I have no issue with people asking how to pronounce it or commenting on how it’s different.

Anyone else had this? Just find people so rude sometimes.

Recently I had a weird memory pop up when discussing filing going missing (usually official) and my DM saying to the clerk "Have you looked under ?" which more times than not turned out to be where it had been filed.

You learn a lot about dealing with officialdom that way. Mainly not to trust it. (As if having a DF that grew up under the fascists hadn't already got the message across).

I think that everyone gets ridiculed for their name sometimes. Hasn't happened to me for a long time; but as a child I sometimes had people playing on my surname - let's say it was 'Smith' (it was a less common, but similarly neutral name), kids who wanted to tease me sometimes called me the equivalent of 'Smithybum' or something akin to 'Silly Smith'. I did have a very unusual middle name, and some kids found it out and made fun of it. I had friends who had their middle names ridiculed for being old-fashioned. Actually thinking back, there seemed in general more of a risk of being ridiculed for one's middle name than one's first name or surname.

However, though occasional ridicule for one's name is more common than not (if it's common there's probably some stock joke about it; if uncommon, this may lead to ridicule in itself), if one is being frequently ridiculed for one's name, and if this persists into adulthood, it is quite likely to indicate some form of xenophobia.

Mixed with DHs professional title its a 70s Band. Which lead to a radio segment about once!
Is it Dr Feelgood by any chance?

I have a very unusual first name and was teased a lot about it at school. I have always disliked my name and, as a result, gave DD a name that people had heard of and could spell.

My mum corrected a man on the pronunciation of her surname once. He laughed and said to me "ooo. She's a bit Hyacinth Bucket isn't she" (implying she was making the name sound posher than it was). I told him her name was what she said it was, not what he said. And if he looked at how it was spelt he'd realise that.

A boy I was at secondary school with tried to bully me for my name. It was such a shit attempt that I laughed.

@noblegreenk

I have a very regular first name but my maiden name used to get made fun of from time to time, even as an adult. It wasn't weird or anything, but a well known actor has the same surname, so there would be jokes relating to that. Didn't bother me though. My married name is Smith, so I don't get jokes anymore.

I know someone whose married name is Smith and they hate it because of the comments they get-normally about people pretending that they "know" they're under an assumed name.

There's a footballer at the team follow called Sitole.

Pronounced Sitolay but the away fans (pretend they) don't know that

Mum's been married several times and changed my name each time.

One was the city we lived in, which got made fun. The next was the surname of a prominent MP, who was not popular. Thy was also a target for people taking the piss.

When I got married at 20 I jumped at tbe chance to change my name. My brother did the same and took his wife's name. Ironically, I am getting divorced and going back to my original name.

No personal experience of this but I worked with a French lady called Fanny and the crude jokes from colleagues were awful.

I also managed a team with someone called Swastika (based in India).

People don't make fun of it as such but they do mispronounce it. A lot. Which is annoying as it's not even that complicated.

I used to have a surname that in English was acceptable, however it also included a French swear word. . It would be like having the surname Bastardton for example (that isn't my name btw). I started using my mother's maiden name when I was 18 and changed it officially by deed poll when I was 20. I still use that name now

When it came to naming the kids, we spent a long time thinking of names that wouldn't be horrendous, spell out something rude or rhyme with their surname.

@SelfHelpPlease

I think all names get mocked! I have a very English name (think Elizabeth but not) and surname and I always get mocked. I don't think anyone can win on this one.

No all names don’t get mocked. 🙄

It is frustrating OP. Just keep correcting in a matter of fact way that doesn’t feed their surprise and pull them up if it drifts into offensiveness.

Yep, my maiden name was european but I'm completely English. I've been spoken to in very slow and well pronounced English because they think I'm not english, it's been spelt completely wrong and pronounced worse, it's not even that difficult! Thankfully my married name is traditionally english, easy to spell and doesn't upset anyone with a tiny mind.

Yes. Mine is a name that originates in Manchester. It is easy to pronounce if you sound it out phonetically.
Almost no-one bothers to say it properly first time.
It's sign of how multicultural we are that people with non-UK backgrounds mock it the most and just laugh if asked to say it - things have come full circle from English folk struggling with Srilankan names.
I was asked if was Polish once - it isn't, and it doesn't have anything to suggest it might be.

Blueeyedgirl21
What is a ‘long European surname’ I’m confused it could literally be anything ?

Names ending in -avljovic, for example. As soon as you know the j is pronounced like a y and c as ch, it isn't hard to say correctly.

My maiden name is fairly unusual and actually unique to my family in the area of the country where I live.

My dad, his youngest brother and I have all had difficulties due to being linked to their twatty older brother.

However when I moved to the city... let's just say Dominos thought I was taking the piss every time I tried to order 🙄

Never with my surname (thinking maiden name here in particular) as it's one of the most common surnames in the UK, if not THE most common. I can think of one occasion when my forename was made fun of a little. I share my name with a very unfortunate natural (weather) disaster that happened many years ago, and I do recall people finding that funny in school at one point.

I grew up with constant comments from the boys in my class about my surname and mispronunciation, it was annoying. Am married now but my young son has learnt my maiden name and now makes fun of it..its not even particularly funny boys!

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Mixed with DHs professional title its a 70s Band. Which lead to a radio segment about once!

It's got to be either Captain Beefheart or Lieutenant Pigeon

My friend is Chloe & she hates that she was Chloe no 3 in class/school

Not really the same thing, but it always seems to lose impact in pub quizzes, where you get two or more teams with the same/very similar 'hilarious' and 'unique' name. I realise that Chloe's parents weren't trying to be witty when they chose her name, but it still detracts from your own individuality when several others are known by the same name - kind of defeats the point of having names in the first place.

I'm guessing it's Dr Hook

My family name was a cause of much teasing at school, and I happily took DH's surname when we married. I probably would have kept my name if it hadn't been so horrible. DC have said they are relieved we didn't double barrel the names, I couldn't have done that to them.

do you mind if people try hard to pronounce your name but mangle it or ask you how to pronounce it?

For me, I like when people ask how my name is pronounced or when they mangle it, take the correction quickly and move on.

Generally, I prefer it not be the topic of conversation unless everyone is discussing their name, it's draining being odd person out again when people go on and on about how it isn't what they expected or making guesses as to its origins.

What I hate is when people pronounce it correctly until I spell it or they see it in writing and then they anglicize it. I get it's one letter off a far more common name, but it's just really rude to call someone by a different name than they give you to use.

No all names don’t get mocked.

I don't think all names get mocked, but I think there are some jerks who really get a kick out of trying with nearly any name even with the randomest things.

Years ago, I was my DS1's best friend's Make A Wish event and one of the venue staff thought it was hilarious to tell another lad - 5 or 6 years old named Owen "How much you owin'?" and went on trying to mock it and laughed while the boy and the rest of us adults were looking at each other in confusion.

I had a very short German last name (changed it when I got married) starting with a "W". My parents are German and we always pronounced it as starting with the English "V" sound. Some kids used to make fun of me for not knowing how to say it. Even a few teachers. Once when I was older someone horrible referred to me as pretentious for not pronouncing it with the "W" sound.

When I was at university many years ago, we had our names written on our doors in the uni accomodation (hand written on a card which was slipped into a metal frame). My name was constantly being changed to something awful - my name began with Fu - so you can imagine, it only required changing the middle two letters for people to come up with every kind of 'joke' name.

I never knew who did it, but I used to find it very depressing to trudge home after a long day and find that yet again my name had been made into an obscenity. Its a form of bullying. I always make sure I get people's name right and if it is a name I am unfamiliar with I say it in front of them and ask if I have got it right. There's no excuse for not bothering, this country has been multi cultural for a long time, surely to God there is no reason for anyone to feign bamboozlement when they see a name with a culturally different origin than their own.

First name - ditzy lead in a very famous book
First name plus surname - stage name of very famous American rock star (male)

My name has always been subject to jovial comment.

Yes my family name is also one with some sexual connotations like a pp. When I was in sixth form, the school had some boys from the younger years envelope up some letters- they did a rude drawing on the letter to my mum. Didn’t go down well with my mum at all!
It’s actually not my birth grandfathers name as he had passed and my Nan had remarried, so I changed it by deed poll as a teenager in time for my exam certificates etc. my birth grandfathers name is a much more normal name but it does also get comments as it’s linked to a very famous advert! Now married with an Irish surname that’s slightly different to a more common surname, next to nobody ever gets it right first time.