I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. My last name is NOT actually "EyeCanSee."
Shocker...I know.
I'll take a moment while you all gasp in disbelief.
My last name is in fact a German catastrophe that sorta, kinda, sounds like Eye-Gun-See or Eye-Can-See depending on who says it and how jacked up it gets in translation.
Now. In the three years I've known my husband I've never messed it up. He told me once, prior to our first date in fact, how to both spell and pronounce his last name and that's all it took. Apparently I'm a genius, because for the rest of the human population this is not the case.
I knew after living 27 1/2 years with the last name 'David' that I was in a for a real ride when I voluntarily took on the hubs name. After years of being asked "Last Name" and saying David, only to be given the stink eye and told again, "No Ma'am, LAST name" I was glad to be taking a name that most definitely was NOT a first name. Though really people...I have boobs and am wearing a skirt, clearly my first name is not David.
When I went to the BMV to get my Driver's License changed, all happy and giddy in Newlywed bliss, the woman behind the counter very seriously asked if I was SURE I wanted to do this. Wow. That's a little rude. Well now I'm beginning to know why.
In the last few days I've had to spell my name over the phone to various people. E-I-G (what, did you say C?) NO. G as in Gary. S-E-E (what, V-D-B?) OMG I'm going to strangle you. I've resorted to full out A as in apple, B as in Boy spelling and people still get it wrong. They repeat it back to you and I'm like, what, was that a niner in there?! Where did you even get half those letters?
This folks, is the name I get to saddle my future children with. My 5 year old will most definitely flunk kindergarten for being unable to spell his own last name. And the clincher is....we're not even German! Not 1 lousy percent. Try explaining that to the one freak who pronounces your name right and then starts speaking to you in German. Oi-vay!
18 comments:
People amaze me - I swear. My maiden name is 'Camp' and people would try to spell it with a 'K' - I don't know how many times I had to say "No, CAMP as in CAMPING" like really? Basic English.
Just chalk it up to everyone else has the IQ of a snail and you are the one with the cool last name :)
I can't wait to get rid of my maiden name, it's always mis-pronounced.
My fiance's last name is much easier to pronounce and pretty common, however it doesn't go by the most common spelling version so I will still have to spell it out for people to make sure they get it right. Oh well.
haha... that is very german sounding. not as in 'it sounds like a german last name' though - there is literally a word in german that sounds like your last name. though it's prob spelled differently and equally as hard.
my bf has a french last name and he gets a million different pronunciations. i'm dreading it.
hahaha....awww lady!!!! if it is any consolation i have one of the world's easiest last names...well not entirely but it's up there and folks STILL have trouble spelling it...but i'll take masters over my maiden name ANY day!!!
i suggest make up a song spelling out your last name and teach it to your wee ones...that is what we do with our address and phone number and it works like a charm!
I'm feelin' ya on this one...(ok not literally... but I can relate... dirty)
The hub's Lastname is really german... and he is german. (like the g-ma is right off the boat german) and now that I've switched names I'm finding people inserting their own letters all over the place... now really. is it so hard to let a name end with 'ig'... is making it 'ing' totally necessary even when you have my name spelled out for you on the paper right in front of your eyes?
Ahh the joys of difficult last names!
I went from Johnson to an Italian name that when people say, "How do you spell it?" I still have to think about it sometimes. :-) I have blond hair/blue eyes & my husband is light brown/green. We well definitely not have "Italian" looking children, but they will most definitely have the Italian last name. I feel your pain!!!
Its truly amazing how stupid people are. This happens to me ALL THE TIME and we have Lawlor. That's it. Seems simple enough right? Forget it. Can't say it, can't spell it.
My maiden name was like this! It was Polish, and it had a "j" stuck in the middle of what have sounded like a very typical (traditionally Eastern European) girls name. Seriously, the name was pronounced like the girls name...with a silent "J." I argued with many a bank teller over, "Ma'am that IS my last name." And oh the spelling. There was no chance I wasn't changing my name when I got married.
Once I had a customer whose last name was Murthingathparumbil.. and I said it right. And I'm still bragging about it.
My maiden name was fairly easy and people still jacked it up. My current last name is something like "Smith"... that typical. People STILL get it wrong. Sigh.
Unfortunately, I can't say that I relate. I became a JONES when I got married. *sigh* I went from a unique last name where I was the only Taryn K...to Taryn Jones. Blah.
Don't worry, spelling your last name is not grounds for repeating kindergarten :o) I traded up on last names, so I went 27 years the other way. Good luck!
I totally know how you feel! Whenever someone asks to spell my last name..I always thank the husband for having such a funky italian last name too.
Ha, you're so funny. Maybe even more so that your knocked up...I can't tell really.
I'm not a fan of my first name. I mean seriously, who the fuck names there kid Brown Girl???!!! ;)
haha, I totally understand! My married last name starts with Gill-- like a fish gill, but for some reason more people pronouce it jill, then slaughter the rest.
I guess it's easier than my mom's maiden Polish name, Krzyzak!
ughhh so annoying.
my first name is always misspelled...mispronounced. actually i think you misspelled it in your comment today. ha! don't worry, no hard feelings. it's when people spell it wrong every time that bothers me and it's usually this spelling...MYRA. i hate it! it's MAYRA!!!!
but anyway, your german last name is awesome. my last name is italian and i'm not italian so i feel ya.
This post is so funny and I feel you. My maiden last name was one of the most common names out there and I never had an issue. I took on Geof’s oh-so-Italian last name and I have to resort to the same A as in apple, B as in boy crap. I also don’t have the most normal first name and people constantly spell it with 2 n’s. It drives me insane!!
At least it's not Szymczak...
Ohhhh I hear ya! My last name is a lonnnng German one and people have a hard time with it, very hard. So.much.fun.
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