A Rose by Any Other Name

I have a name problem. Actually, I have several name problems.

1) My name is one that many people find difficult. They constantly mispronounce it or call me by a word that sounds like my name but is not actually my name.

2) I have many different nicknames and some people will only use a certain one while others won’t use one at all. So I have to remember who calls me what and how to refer to myself when signing letters or emails or when introducing myself when I make phone calls.

3) I share a last name with someone who is fairly well known, and I am frequently referred to by his first name, despite the fact that it is a name only for men and I am female. This frequently happens in emails, where my name is clearly shown in the “from” field and in my signature. When I reply to such people using my correct name, many of them tend to call me by the wrong name yet again when they write me back.

4) My name can be for both men or women and people always feel the urge to point that out, as though I didn’t already know that. Some snicker about it and ask if my parents were trying to be “politically correct” or if they really wanted a male child. I don’t find their comments amusing.

Why is it so hard to accept people’s names and to refer to them as they want to be referred to? Naturally, one can be curious about what a name means or where it comes from, but is it necessary to make comments? And can’t we try to pay attention to what people’s names are so we use the correct one?

--Curly