August 24, 2007
My name is…
Written by Jenna Petersen in Jaunty PostHave you ever had a pet peeve that sort of comes and goes. Like sometimes it bothers you more than others? Mine is my name. My first name may not be mine, but my last name IS and it seems like people can’t spell it right about 75% of the time.
PetersEn
Now don’t get me wrong, I get that the ‘en’ isn’t as common a spelling as the ‘on’, so I guess it doesn’t bother me so much when someone doesn’t know me or doesn’t have any reference to how to spell the name. They guess and they guess ‘on’. But what bothers me is when they either ASK me how to spell it or they have reference material to go by and they STILL don’t spell it right.
PetersEn
For example, at the car dealership where we get our car serviced. I went in there the other day and they couldn’t find us in the system. They swore up and down that we’ve never been in the system. Now I remember, quite plainly, spelling our last name out the last time I was there (because I ALWAYS spell our last name out). But I still said, “try s-o-n”. Sure enough it was there.
PetersEn!!!!!
It happens all the time in writing-related life, as well and there it bothers me more since spelling my name incorrectly can cause confusion when readers look on the shelf, when they try to find my website, if they go to Amazon, the list goes on and on. In the past six months, I don’t think one reviewer, interviewer or workshop description has spelled my name correctly. This bugs me because of a few things:
1. They likely have an email from me WITH my name spelled correctly in the signature (since I always sign business-related emails with my full name).
2. In the bio they have asked me to include with workshop materials, my name is spelled correctly. As it is in the workshop description (”Petersen will do a Q&A session” should be your first indication that my name is spelled s-E-n).
3. They have a book sitting in front of them with the correct spelling of my last name plastered all over it. The spine, the cover, the copyright page… anything?
If you’ve done this to me lately, don’t think this is directed at you specifically! Like I said, it seems to be happening more and more. And this week, it’s really starting to bug me.
PetersEn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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AndreaW Says:
I hear you, Jenna. My problem is also my name . . . except mine is in how they pronounce it. I can’t tell you how many times people pronounce it as if it was spelled ONdrea instead of ANdrea. I mean, how do they pronounce the word “and”? The thing that really gets me is when I correct them and they continue to say it wrong. That happened A LOT in school.
Jacqueline Barbour Says:
One of the reasons I came up with a pen name that’s actually an inversion of my real first and last names, because NO ONE can pronounce or spell either my maiden or married surnames worth a patootie. I go through my real life correcting the spelling/pronunciation of my last name. I didn’t want to do it in my writing life, too.
Also, just FWIW, I have Pedersen/Petersen/Petersons in my family tree on my father’s side. There’s almost no agreement in the family on whether the name should be spelled with an “e” or an “o” in the final syllable and plenty of disagreement about the “d” vs. “t” in the middle. Suffice it to say that I’ve seen it EVERY way within a single family, so it comes as no surprise to me that people have trouble “seeing” it correctly, even when they’re LOOKING at it!
My oldest son’s middle name, incidentally, is PEDERSEN, which my father felt was the “correct” spelling of the name.
J Perry Stone Says:
Jenna, the only thing that helps me spell correctly is when I get some sort of heuristic aid.
This blog is my heuristic and I’ll never get it wrong now, my lovely Mrs. PetersEn!
Yay, cuz I stink at spelling.
What’s currently bugging me is rereading my WIP, which I thought was so wonderfully original, and now realize might be below average work.
How many manuscripts did you all tackle before getting to the “one that sold”?
And the other thing that bugs me is triple digit temps … especially since I’ve recently found myself at the start of perimenopause replete with hot flashes.
OMG! I’ve turned into the creepy man I sat next to in the movies who kept wiping his sweaty brow.
Jenna Petersen Says:
J Perry, my 10th historical manuscript sold, but I’d written about five or six more after that before the actual sale. It just takes time, sometimes. Keep at it!
Haven Rich Says:
J Perry Stone, when you mentioned triple digit temps I thought you were talking about fevers. That’s what I’m dealing with right now…ugg.
Anyhow, I will admit to having spelled your name wrong and like a good sweetie you are, you corrected me. Now typically I do it when I’m in a rush and my fingers are typing and my mind has moved on to three topics ahead. Sad, but there you have it.
Now I’ll also say that I don’t use my REAL name on here because I grew up with millions of people saying and spelling it wrong. My name is NOT Eddie! I am not a male… I have girlie things!! So I am very sympathetic with you on this.
OT: I saw the article that your apart of in RWR this month. Very cool! And very correct. I know what I’m getting when I pick up a Jess or Jenna book. No questions asked.
Kathryn Says:
I deal with this ALL the time. When I say my name is Kathryn, people automatically start spelling it with a C. A few enlightened people ask if it is C or K, but even then, getting KATHRYN right off the bat has never happened. I spell it out and they spell KATHERINE or KATHERYN. My name starts with a K and there is no E in it at all. And don`t get me started on the people who call me Kathy… I don`t use that derivative of my name, EVER. I am either Kathryn or Kath. I am very careful about this (and the number of times I find myself in a database as Karen or Christine in boggling).
Millie Bullock Says:
I live in Idaho but am not a native here. I started out in Philadelphia and have a noticeable east coast accent (although I never knew I had one until a few years ago when I started to be able to hear it myself). Anyway, my name is Millie but invariably if I leave a message on someone’s phone who doesn’t know me, they will call back and ask for “Nellie” or worse yet “Nillie.” I actually think it is funny but they you must understand that my husband of 35 years and I each pronounce our last name of Bullock differently (He says [Bul-luk] and I say
[Bull-ock]). But I can empathize with the frustration that mispronunciation and misspelling bring, especially when it is so easy to check.
Karen H in NC Says:
I so laughed when I read this, Jenna. Here’s my story: my maiden name is Swanson. How hard is that to spell? You’d be surprized. But, not too many people got it wrong after the initial spelling UNTIL Michigan elected a governor with the last name of SWAINSON. That’s when all hell broke loose.
“What’s your last name?”
“Swanson”
“Swainson?”
“No, Swanson”
“Spell that please.”
“S-W-A-N-S-O-N”
“S-W-A-I-N-S-O-N?”
“nO, S-W-A-N-…”
Well, you get the picture. And don’t get me started on the first name…Karen…what is hard about that?
Now, I’ve been married twice and the problems with each married name are similar to the above…and my present last name is only 4 letters long!!!!
I named my daughter Erika Mari (pronounced Mahri, not Mary & not Marie) and you would not believe the problems she had/has with everyone about the spelling and pronunciation of her name. I think there was a time in her life she would have cheerfully killed me for the name I gave her, but after nearly 40 years, she’s past that urge now!
catslady Says:
My maiden name was impossible to spell or pronounce and I thought I got a simple married name but no one gets it right either. My first name is Jeanne - not pronounced Jean and not spelled with an i. My husband’s closest relative that I have known for 40 years and we see him constantly still spells my first name wrong.
Crystal Says:
My maiden name was also difficult for people to spell and pronounce. The nice thing about it was that I always knew if it was a phone solicitor calling and told them they had the wrong number.
My first name should be easy enough, but I get called Christy all the time.
Aemelia Says:
Ooooh I can so relate…no one can spell my first name, even after they e-mail me at work, which my first name is part of… I understand that aEmelia is not a common spelling, but for crying out loud, you just typed it correctly in the e-mail address! I still have family memebers that can’t spell my name though. And now my married name -NO ONE can pronounce or spell that…I’ve just learned to let it go…usually if they give my last name a more “french” emphassis, I just go with it
Barbara Elness Says:
I can relate too. You would think since Barbara is a pretty common name, people would know how to spell it, but Barbra Streisand really messed things up for the rest of us. I also abhor Barb and Barbie, I have to correct people all the time. My last name is another one that I have to spell every time - Elness is pretty unusual and I get Ellis, Elmers, Ellmess, Illness, Elneff, even after spelling it.
Then I went and spelled my son’s name Erik and he has had to correct people all his life, since Eric is more popular. Even family members spell it wrong constantly.
Shirley Karr Says:
I can SO relate … do you know how many people want to spell my last name with a C? I switched to spelling it first before I say it because otherwise they *still* spell it wrong. I’ve gone through the whole “can’t find you in the computer” routine more times than I can count, too.
When I sold I thought there might be an issue with the C vs K spelling but it turned out not to be a problem, though my editor did ask me to consider changing my FIRST name. “It just doesn’t sound very Regency-ish.” But Shirley is an old, old English name…