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.

I would tell your boss that some people are saying your name wrong and ask for advice on how to address is. Eg say ' they call my clawdia but it's pronounced clowdia. How can I make them remember it's CLOWdia?
Also perhaps add it into you email signature

Claudia (pronunciation- CLOUD-ee-uh)

I’m thinking Eilidh / ceilidh too. Shudder to think how they are pronouncing it if it is.

I think the best thing to do is just tell people as and when they say it, not nastily but just matter-of-factly and with a friendly smile.

This actually happened to me earlier today - a person who isn't exactly a colleague but works in the same building has been calling me a different short form of my name from the one I actually use (which is on my name badge if he cared to look) - something along the lines of Jessie instead of Jess:

Him - Thanks, Jessie.

Me (very cheerfully): It's just Jess actually.

Him: Oh, OK then, thanks for letting me know.

Job done and no hard feelings.

I'm Irish, in Ireland, and so many people don't know how to pronounce it. I have a link on my email signature to an audio file of me saying my name.

If you're not emailing all the time I get this won't be helpful. Just tell them, I hate correcting people as I think I come across as snotty, I feel your pain!

I've been trying to guess your name, I think it might be Caragh :)

That's a really good idea @HamstersAreMyLife and @blueshoes if OP can work out how to do it. I'd have no idea.

I would definitely correct them, you can say you know it's unfamiliar and doesn't need to come across as critical at all.
Some people (including myself) really struggle with hearing certain sounds (not deafness, more like an auditory dyslexia). I think writing it phonetically in your email signature would be helpful - I've seen a few people do that. I'd appreciate being corrected as many times as needed and do try hard to get things right, but it can be difficult for some people.

This happens to me all the time. I just correct it in the moment (though that’s much easier when it is the first time someone has said it, than weeks or months later!). I feel emailing about it after, or taking it up separately almost makes a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be. People are generally really apologetic straight away, even when it’s not their fault as they have only seen my name written, so cannot possibly know for sure how to say it. I’m almost 40 and have been correcting people my whole life. I can’t think of a single time where doing so has ended badly.

I have to say, if I were the OP, I'd be really annoyed at people trying to guess my name. What does it matter? If she wanted us to know it, she'd have said it.

Someone upthread mentioned Mhairi, which was the name of a girl I was friends with at school. There were two Mhairis in our year but my friend pronounced her name Varry and the other girl pronounced it Marry. Teachers would just use the names interchangeably so they were both constantly correcting people.

In my experience, it's usually Mhairi = Varry and Mairi = Marry but it's always best to check as there are exceptions!

It's my first "big girl job" really, I'm in my early 20s and when I was at school I was quite abrasive about correcting people - I absolutely would not let a mispronunciation slide. Now I'm older I think I'm finding the balance between being direct without being rude!

Yeah I’d tell them. I get how annoying it is though. I have to correct people with my little girls name ALL the time… her name is Lorelei (lor-uh-lie) but it’s been pronounced lore-eh-lee more often than I can count.

@Girlmumma1912 not enough girlmore girl fans about if people struggle with Lorelai!

Oops - Lorelei sorry!

OP, also to say, it's possible your boss is just completely thick with names. I think you said you've already told him at the interview? I'd maybe correct him as casually as you can one more time and then leave it at that.

I work with someone who makes a haims out of any name that's not completely bog-standard, she literally cannot get her head around something she hasn't heard before. It's almost comical 😂

Oh, totally! Definitely not something to be rude about. I am polite and try to add a bit of humour, if appropriate. E.g. I’ll sometimes throw in something along the lines of how my parents probably ought to have spelt it differently if they wanted people to pronounce it correctly!
But I always address it because I really dislike the alternate pronunciation. As I say, it has never ended badly.

Sorry.
My last post was meant to be a response to this one. Still a bit of a mumsnet newb!

How about an email/Teams message with ‘A couple of people on the team have asked me to confirm how to pronounce my name. Thanks for asking, it’s Anna, sounds like Hannah but without the H.’

I have a 'difficult' (not difficult, just not European) surname. I give people a couple of tries and I'm patient if they ask but if they continue to get it wrong I challenge them or just start saying their name wrongly.
If anybody makes a fuss I tell them 'if 500 four year olds have learnt it without an issue, then you can' (a lifetime in infant schools!)
It's one of the many micro aggressions people have to bear and with awareness as it is now, it's inexcusable.

I love this!

Everyone has given great advice but I just had to reply because I read your post to my daughter and she is relating hard because her name is Aoife and she has a load of teachers who just can't get her name straight. Doesn't matter how many times she corrects some of them it won't stick. She's given up now.

Correct it! Ita literally the most basic respect to get someone's name right!

if your going to do it you need to nip in the bud quickly, it could be a case of they do it automatically because it’s never been corrected but they subconsciously do it.
I had someone I know in passing but then also became a work colleague who’s name I mis pronounced for years she never once corrected me. Someone told me how it should be and said she hates ppl saying it the way I say it but not once has she ever corrected me. I asked her about it and she said she’s used to it now she doesn’t correct people. I can honestly say because of how long I’ve said the name, subconsciously I cannot pronounce the correct way.

Was this reply for me?🤔
If it was, my name is Fionnuala, pronounced Fin-nu-la. Very easy once you know! And growing up in London with Moroccan, Pakistani, Bulgarian, Romanian, Ugandan, Nigerian friends, we are all able to pronounce each others names! My good friend is called Juwayriya, she said growing up people would pronounce it Ji-a-reah, and cruel people liken it to, diarrhea. I was so upset for her, she was too shy to “correct” these bullies!

Why would you not correct them? If they called you Fred you would say .... hold on. I'm not Fred!