Ugh, spelling problem - how to handle?

zaramarie81 · March 2014

So... in the past two days since we've announced our daughter's name (Julianne), not one but two dear friends have made public announcements (like for a meal's ministry, on FB, etc) spelling her name "Julieanne". Not even a legit alternative spelling from what I can tell.

Do I say anything? I am starting to wonder if this is going to become a long-term issue with her name... and I totally love these folks and don't want to make it awkward (I am so touched by their excitement), but... that's not how her name is spelled! I figured y'all could help me out here!

zaramarie81 · March 2014

Oops... forgive the grammatical errors. See, I am no better at making errors, ha!

zaramarie81 · March 2014

That's the the thing: we have announced it in writing. Both friends have only seen our typed announcement (FB and email).

emmy236 · March 2014

Ehh just politely correct them. I have 3 friends (one is my childhood BF) who always spell my son's name incorrectly. It's Reed but they all spell it Reid. Usually it's in a text message like "how's Reid doing?" I say he's fine then usually I'll say "oh guess what Reed did today?" a few minutes later. It's 4 letters people, not that hard.

CruiseGirl28 · March 2014

My mom's name is Julieann (JulieAnn?) so that's the only way I've ever seen it. She goes by Julie.

britab · March 2014

Some people just can't spell names. My name has 5 letters and even when I spell it out, people spell it wrong. My husband's grandparents still misspell it 5 years after we got married.

I might say something, especially if others might think that's how you're spelling it. Just a, "Hey, this is how we're spelling it."

sunnyday016 · March 2014

I probably would just let it go. I'm sure they'll learn soon enough.

zaramarie81 · March 2014

britab said:

Some people just can't spell names. My name has 5 letters and even when I spell it out, people spell it wrong. My husband's grandparents still misspell it 5 years after we got married.

I might say something, especially if others might think that's how you're spelling it. Just a, "Hey, this is how we're spelling it."

Thanks, I like this wording! My concern is that these are actually "announcements" on our behalf (not just casual references to her name), so it comes off like that is the official spelling, and I'd like it to not "stick." My name is "Sarah" and I often have to remind people to keep the "h" (just didn't anticipate a similar issue with DD!).

zaramarie81 · March 2014

emmy236 said:

Ehh just politely correct them. I have 3 friends (one is my childhood BF) who always spell my son's name incorrectly. It's Reed but they all spell it Reid. Usually it's in a text message like "how's Reid doing?" I say he's fine then usually I'll say "oh guess what Reed did today?" a few minutes later. It's 4 letters people, not that hard.

Lol yes! Especially when it's spelled out right in front of them.

I think I'll make a point to keep putting her name out there in writing to see if that helps. It doesn't help that I have my degree in English and spelling is kind of a "thing" with me, especially with names! (I try to return the favor to everyone else, too!).

Irishcurls · March 2014

I actually also know a JulieAnne so....I don't know. Frustrating but not the end of the world IMO. I've gotten Alix before. DH has gotten Bryan. Nothing to really do about it.

mhickey426 · March 2014

emmy236 said:

Ehh just politely correct them. I have 3 friends (one is my childhood BF) who always spell my son's name incorrectly. It's Reed but they all spell it Reid. Usually it's in a text message like "how's Reid doing?" I say he's fine then usually I'll say "oh guess what Reed did today?" a few minutes later. It's 4 letters people, not that hard.

I do the same thing. My step mother aka my dd's grandmother alwaysssss spells her name wrong. I have told her flat out many times that she is spelling it wrong. I do the corrected name in texts/emails. I don't know any more. They bought us a christmas decoration with all of our names on it and she spelled it wrong on that too. It is not difficult. Just correct them in a nice way and see how it goes.

zaramarie81 · March 2014

Irishcurls said:
I actually also know a JulieAnne so....I don't know. Frustrating but not the end of the world IMO. I've gotten Alix before. DH has gotten Bryan. Nothing to really do about it.

Yes, I can see how a parent could go for a kind of double name scenario like JulieAnn or MaryAnn or any infinite number of pairings, but like Marianne, Julianne is also it's own name and if you search databases like behindthename, the only two spellings are Julianne or Juliane (these are the feminine forms of Julian). Julianne is the most common spelling, just like actress Julianne Moore!

g8trkim · March 2014

Correct them now. It will only get more awkward if you wait. Just say something like "Oh by the way, we're spelling it Julianne." No biggie!

Mnerani · March 2014

CruiseGirl28 said:

My mom's name is Julieann (JulieAnn?) so that's the only way I've ever seen it. She goes by Julie.

CruiseGirl28- I just have to ask- am I reading this correctly that you don't know how your mother's name is spelled? I promise I'm not being snarky, I actually think it's freaking hilarious. And it probably doesn't allay OP's fears about people misspelling her daughter's name

brooksidebride · March 2014

Mnerani said:

CruiseGirl28 said:

My mom's name is Julieann (JulieAnn?) so that's the only way I've ever seen it. She goes by Julie.

CruiseGirl28- I just have to ask- am I reading this correctly that you don't know how your mother's name is spelled? I promise I'm not being snarky, I actually think it's freaking hilarious. And it probably doesn't allay OP's fears about people misspelling her daughter's name

Haha, I wanted to ask the same thing, but was afraid I would come off as snarky too.

queenbone · March 2014

Wow, I would not have anticipated that spelling issue. Frustrating!

Ugh, spelling problem - how to handle?

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