To correct my boss (and colleagues) on my name?

[capresesalad]

So I've recently started in a new team at work and my boss and a few of my colleagues keep pronouncing my name wrong.

It's fairly common in the country I'm from but very very unusual outside of it and it's one that people tend to either know or they don't. It is difficult to spell and I'm not particularly precious about it being spelt wrong (although on teams or email I do feel it's polite to take 30 seconds to double check the name).

But it's not difficult to pronounce. I know that's easy for me to say but its said the same sounds as other quite common names. Think Anna being like Hannah.

I told my parents about it and my dad told me to correct him sooner rather than later before it sticks but my mum says to leave it.

Other people pronounce my name correctly and I've introduced myself to him or said my own name a few times. I don't want to be rude or difficult but it does bother me.

Good guess but no! It's the other way round with my name - it's a common name ( a few names actually, they all rhyme) but without the starting letter. Think Hallie - Ally, Hannah - Anna, Hollie to Ollie etc. But in this scenario Ollie has a bunch of letters you wouldn't expect it to have

OMFG tell everyone now how it is. My name gets mispronounced all the time and I used to let it slide and now I just tell people. It's not rude to correct people, it really isn't- they want to say it right

Just tell them politely.
They won’t know unless they’re told.
You do get the odd knob who insists their way is correct but most of the time it’s just lack of knowledge that causes people to do it.

Everyone thought my maiden surname was slightly different, the first and last names together are a famous tennis names player, so for years I got asked if I played tennis, then blank looks when I explained my last name although similar to tennis players was not actually that.

my mum kept calling my son in law by a slightly different first name, she muddles the last letter, I pointed it out to her and she was like does it really matter and when I said yes and what had happened to me with my maiden name she was really surprised how annoying I’d found it. When Gary kept calling me the wrong name I called him Gareth, he picked me up on it and I said it was sooo annoying so perhaps he’d remember my correct surname, seemed petty at the time but did the trick.

stick to your guns OP, I like the audio link in the email, would have been perfect thirty years ago.

This is a really good idea. I’d be horrified to learn I was mispronouncing a colleague’s name (and would also be really pleased to be corrected). I’ve also corrected colleagues in the past when they’ve been mispronouncing a(nother) colleague’s name. If you’re not comfortable correcting others, is there someone else who could do it for you?

I'd put it in email sign off. I see this a lot and I think it's great i.e:

Alicia
(Pronounced Al-e-cia)

And add it in the teams chat box next big meeting

Put in your screen name:

(Pronounced: heirbelfneis) and just put a phonetic spelling people can get. I see this a lot and use it myself

I’m sure they’d want to know if they were accidentally mispronouncing it. I used to keep calling a colleague Michelle until she corrected me and told me it was actually Rochelle (a name I’d never heard of before). I was glad (but embarrassed) she corrected me as I’d have felt worse if it had gone on longer.

I love it when people put their name pronunciation in their email signature or social media info.

Totally agree with a PP that if you don't correct it now many of your currently correct colleagues will start saying it wrong. I worked with a very German "Sabine", I started off calling her "sa bean uh" but after hearing most others say "sa bean" I did too. One day luckily we were on a work trip and I had the chance to just ask her flat out - I'd been right the first time but she'd basically given up correcting people.

I have to say though there are some people who just seem to be colour blind or something to names. One lovely friend consistently pronounces another friend's name wrong - they've known each other 20 years and she has been told many many times. I can't fathom it as she's not stupid or mean, I think it's just habitual.

Say something or it will always bug you. I always correct people who call me the wrong slightly different name to my own, it's my pet hate, or I call people the wrong name back see if they realise

Could you mention it to your boss as if it’s not him doing it. Like say h you’ve noticed a lot of people saying X when it is Y, and could he drop it into the call a couple of times to help people know what it is.

I don't envy you it's awkward having to correct people but I think you should do it in a general sense maybe? I dunno, personally I'd not be upset being corrected if much prefer that to getting someone's name wrong

I think definitely correct people

I have a few people I deal with and I have had to learn the pronunciation properly.

I have even wrote it on post or notes round my screen. I work from home because I wouldn't like to get it wrong.

Hmmmm.... I have a Scottish name (Scottish mum but I've lived in England my whole life) that rhymes with a common(ish) English name and is very similar to a more common Scottish name! (Does make sense 🤔).

Anyway! I've had all sorts of connotations of my name over the years, and have never been too precious about it. I think there is more diversity with names now so no-one would mind if you did stress the pronunciation.

Maybe introduce yourself to new people within the hearing if the colleagues who are mispronouncing your name? They'll realise sooner or later what how to pronounce your name correctly x

I'm going to guess people are calling you Hayley. (Don't feel you have to confirm or deny.)

Definitely correct them.

It’s probably something like Aine. The poor women had so many different pronouncements of her name she almost gave up correcting people at one point.

Meadhbh?

I'd definitely tell him, if he realises months down the line he'll be mortified!

I have had a lifetime of a mispronounced name. I took up ignoring people who didn't pronounce it correctly, and then saying "oh sorry, I thought you were talking to someone called Sara - I'm Sarah". That kind of thing.

Oh tell them before it sticks!!! My neighbour when I was a child misheard my name when we moved in, and my mother didn’t correct them as she was quite timid. My Dad pulled them up on it the first time he met them but by then they had firmly been calling me Veronica for about 6 weeks and it stuck for 30 years! We gave up trying to correct them. Dad still finds it hysterically funny.

Oh this is good. He gets to save face with this, by you pretending it’s other people. And you can do it discreetly without anyone else around, to save him embarrassment.

Are the ones mispronouncing it from the North East (Engand) OP? My family from there have an odd habit of sticking an H on the beginning of names that start with a vowel. My Mum did it with an old neighbour of mine called Adrian. I had to keep reminding her about it. He never said anything. She was late 50s at the time, but she/they always do it. I mean how common is Hadrian?!

She sometimes does it with my SIL too

This! I don't know how to do it but one of my team has and its great. I would be mortified to find out I was pronouncing a colleagues name wrong. I really struggle with the name of someone I occasionally work with and practice in advance as I think its important and I don't think I'm weird in thinking that. Please don't just accept it being wrong!

Honora/onora/Nora?

Or is it one of the five trillion ways of spelling Orla 🤣 I'd just seize the opportunity at the next zoom when you're asked for input and say thanks Jack actually while I'm here I'll just say I'm actually Honora with the silent H - not Honnur or Nora, ta! No biggie! Or stick it in your email sign off.

If you're using Microsoft Teams for your remote connection as a large group, why don't you type into the Chat section of Teams "just wanted to highlight as I'm new on this group call, my name is Hannah not Anna, thanks"

I’m guessing Eilidh or Orfhlaith. As others have said I would add it to the Teams Chat section.