To wonder why people can’t say my name

[Rowennanotrowena]

I am resigned to being Rowena is written correspondence. But why is it when I say ‘my name is Rowenna’ people keep saying Rowena? The two names look similar written down but sound very different so I’m not sure why people get it wrong. And AIBU to find it really irritating?

The challenge of names like these is you have to spend your life correcting people.

Happens to me every day.

I don't let it bother me.

But parents should think about these things. Especially when coming up with 'unique' spellings and unusual names.

Automatically I'd say Ro-when-a..when spelt like that.. hope it's correct.

That is odd, do you have the same accent as the people around you? I'm just thinking that they would think it's your accent instead of the actual pronunciation if that makes sense.

E.g. i live where Francis is pronounced with a short a but I use a long one.

I'm just saying the name in my own accent.

I think the difference here is that Morwenna is the more common name, Morweeena is rare. With yours it's the opposite.

I do think if you've actually said your name people shouldn't be getting it wrong though!

I’ve lived all over the UK @Woman2023 so I don’t think it’s that. It would probably be fine if I moved to Cornwall though (if only!)

@WeeSleekitCowrinTimrousBeastie believe me I’ve done a fair amount of cursing my parents for doing this to me, but I’m over it now. I did give my own children very dull (though nice) names though.

My best friend in 6th form was Rowenna. It's a gorgeous name.

My parents gifted me a name that is usually pronounced differently from the way mine is. It used to annoy me, correcting people every single day but I don’t give a shit any more. Life’s too short.

Lol at the person asking whether you have considered spelling it phonetically - it already is spelt phonetically!! And as others have pointed out OP, that's the issue, people don't know that the double N makes it a short E sound.

But 'Morweena" isn't a name, is it? Whereas "Rowena" is.

If I saw it written down first I'd call you row-e-na because of the grammatical rule I was taught. But if you then corrected me i'd use your preferred pronunciation.

No, but why say a different name? It isn’t even like Joanne and Joanna - they sound totally different

It isn’t my preferred pronunciation - it is my name .

People are incredibly careless with language. My name can be shortened, but I never, ever use the shortened version. So when I introduce myself as eg “Jacqueline”, it really annoys me when someone assumes I am “Jackie”. Then, when I correct them, they get all huffy and say I’m a difficult character.

Probably because people default to the most common pronunciation.

I'd never heard of the name "Rowenna" before this thread so if I'd seen it written down I'd assume it was a typo!

Sorry, missed that it is actually a double n in your name. If I saw your name written down I'd pronounce it correctly.

I've had a lifetime of saying my surname followed by "with two L's"

Which grammatical rule? The ‘enn’ makes a long ‘n’ sound like ‘when’ or ‘pen’. You wouldn’t pronounce Dennis as ‘Dee-nis’ or Lennon as ‘Lee-non’, would you?

Your name is spelt phonetically OP, it is very easy to say! And it’s gorgeous

Cross-posted, sorry!

It could be worse. I gave my daughter a name that people mispronounce, but they also get both parts of her double-barrelled surname wrong as well,

One of my many parenting fails.

It's not that it's a long n, it's that it's a short e.

Double consonant after a vowel usually shortens the vowel.

But I'd misread OP, I'd thought she was spelt with one n but pronounced with two contrary to the rule) when in fact she is spelt with two n's.

I’ve never heard of the Roweeeeeena pronunciation, only ever the Rowenna one. So I’m equally as baffled OP!

Also my son has a Northern European first and surname. The first name is 4 letters, 3 of which are vowels. It's a simple name but some people just can't remember how to pronounce it. He tells them once then lets it slide. The surname is tricky so he always lets that slide 😊

Lots of people on here confused about how to pronounce. I have to say that I saw the 2 names and it was clear to me how they would both be pronounced but obviously not everyone knows this.

Think of a way to introduce yourself like ‘ hi, I’m Rowenna, a bit like Rowena but without the ‘ee’ sound’

@sorrynotathome Rowenna is not a 'special' version of the name - it IS a name. The pronunciation is perfectly obvious to me - two nn's means a soft 'eh' sound in the middle rather than the hard 'ee' sound.
Rowena is a more common name I think so people are probably just scanning it rather than reading it properly and assuming it is that name.

@DilemmaDelilah i do get that when it’s written down - it’s just a bit baffling when I say it and people repeat a different name. It’s a bit like saying Katherine and people calling you Kathleen (actually my grandmother did with my school friend so maybe I should be used to it!)