People Who Shorten Your Name

[puff_not_snuff]

Am I the only one who finds this irksome? Well, I know I am not but let me rant on... you know when for example you introduce yourself as Robert and the person says "nice to meet you Rob". In this situation I chalk it up to laziness or poor listening but their are these other people who keep on calling you Rob despite you correcting them on occasion. What's that about? I find it to be intentionally insulting. If a person can't get my name right under such a circumstance I will stop trying to have a conversation with them unless it's somehow unavoidable.

-Not Robert or Rob

 

[ashdigger]

Well Puff, it’s a name. I personally don’t get worked up about stuff like that, but I’m an ass I mean asset to my family name.

 

[warren]

You've corrected them and they ignored the correction. If you are subordinate, grin and bear it. If in a social or business arena, I'd terminate the conversion and ignore them. If they are intentionally pulling my chain? I might get sarcastic simply for the sheer enjoyment of the situation.

I was taught that the only thing you can take out of this life is your own good name. So, like you, I can get a bit testy when a gentle correction goes unnoticed or, even knowingly ignored.

 

[justscience]

It's preferable to those who add a suffix, like -ster or -meister

 

[Flatfish]

It annoys me.
My name is Kristian with a "K". Not Kris.

What annoys me the most is when people email me. They have to spell my name correctly in order to email me as my name is part of my email address in work. Then they write "Dear Christian"

Or worse still "Dear Kristen".... Have I suddenly changed sex between email address and greeting?

Grrrr.

 

[anotherbob]

Am I the only one who finds this irksome? Well, I know I am not but let me rant on... you know when for example you introduce yourself as Robert and the person says "nice to meet you Rob". In this situation I chalk it up to laziness or poor listening but their are these other people who keep on calling you Rob despite you correcting them on occasion. What's that about? I find it to be intentionally insulting. If a person can't get my name right under such a circumstance I will stop trying to have a conversation with them unless it's somehow unavoidable.

-Not Robert or Rob

nope I am the same guy who had a boss that thought my name was Jack and I rolled with it for three months. Honestly I kind of liked it. The closest I get is people used to always add an s on the end of my last name. Oh and no one has ever called me Robert that is my Government paper work name, except my mom. I've been a Bob always but she still calls me Robert and no one else ever has. I kind of hate that a bit. But that has more to do with the fact that she's a horrible person.

 

[JOHN72]

Unless it's your boss, the boss never calls you by name, he's such an asshole, he just communicates with a finger to the ceiling, with a smoky bacon face. My God, this crappy translator is creating a serious depression for me. You're right, they should call you by your full name, unless I'm dumb or deafer than a nuclear submarine cover. For example, my name is john in the forum, but my wife calls me juan. But I like John better, as John Rambo. This is not going to end well. I knew ashdigger, he loves charred pizzas, that's for sure.

 

[ashdigger]

Unless it's your boss, the boss never calls you by name, he's such an asshole, he just communicates with a finger to the ceiling, with a smoky bacon face. My God, this crappy translator is creating a serious depression for me. You're right, they should call you by your full name, unless I'm dumb or deafer than a nuclear submarine cover. For example, my name is john in the forum, but my wife calls me juan. But I like John better, as John Rambo. This is not going to end well. I knew ashdigger, he loves charred pizzas, that's for sure.

One Rambo or Two Mombo?

 

[warren]

I remember a first year Spanish teacher asking me what I would be called if I was in Mexico. I told her that I didn't know names changed when crossing the border. My name, acceding to the variations in from different pronunciations of letters. As an example, in Russia my name was pronounce something close to "Ou oran." that's as close as a Russian tongue could get in most circumstances.

 

[JOHN72]

One Rambo or Two Mombo?

ashdigger, what the hell is Mombo?

 

[JOHN72]

I remember a first year Spanish teacher asking me what I would be called if I was in Mexico. I told her that I didn't know names changed when crossing the border. My name, acceding to the variations in from different pronunciations of letters. As an example, in Russia my name was pronounce something close to "Ou oran." that's as close as a Russian tongue could get in most circumstances.

Warren. My mother, to make fun of me for a while, called me Juanita Banana. How can a mother call her own child that.

 

[--dante--]

I think you should refer to someone by the name they introduced themselves to you as, at least until/if you become closer friends. For me, I have an Italian name "Dante", and what has irked me sometimes was people asking me if I go by "Don" or "Dan" (as if to say 'surely you don't actually go by that name'). There is no short version of the name, and those are short for Donald and Daniel. In fact "Dante" is a shortened version of the old Italian name "Durante".

 

[GetOffMyLawn]

My fathers name is William, he was called Bill, Billy, Will and Willy growing up and hated it. So he named all three of us kids with names you supposedly couldn't shorten. My name is Randy on my driver license and Birth certificate and i have constantly had to inform people my name was not Randal or Randolph. Some of these included Teachers and one very annoying soon to be in-law who argued with my mother and grandmother about it for a hour on my wedding day.

My favorite was a boss who went by Mo. Only his sister and mother were allowed to call him Maurice and this was well known in the office. On more than one occasion he would pass by my desk and say hello Randal i tried correcting him multiple times to no avail. So one day i replied Hello Maurice. He stopped and turned around and said excuse me and stared at me. I simply said My birth certificate says Randy what does yours say. He paused for a minute said have a good day Randy and never called me Randal again and i even got a invatation to golf on our company golf team.

 

[telescopes]

For some, it is simply that they don’t listen. But for others, it is clear that their insistence on calling you by the shortened name even though you have introduced yourself as something else on numerous occasions is them just being a control freak. I finally fixed that situation with the following.

My friends call me Douglas, but you can call me Doug.

It has worked without fail.

 

[canucklehead]

Am I the only one who finds this irksome? Well, I know I am not but let me rant on... you know when for example you introduce yourself as Robert and the person says "nice to meet you Rob". In this situation I chalk it up to laziness or poor listening but their are these other people who keep on calling you Rob despite you correcting them on occasion. What's that about? I find it to be intentionally insulting. If a person can't get my name right under such a circumstance I will stop trying to have a conversation with them unless it's somehow unavoidable.

-Not Robert or Rob

Ok Jimmy, calm down.

 

[verporchting]

If it’s unintentional I probably wouldn’t get too upset although it would certainly be irksome. If they’re just being an asshole I would respond appropriately by calling them something randomly annoying each and every time I addressed them or referred to them. Every. Single. Time.

What could they possibly say except, “I get it now, I’m sorry.” Mission accomplished.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, I used to always introduce myself as Michael, and inevitably they call me Mike. I’m not a Mike, so yeh, it bothers me.
If someone else introduces me, they usually call me Cosmic these days. My daughters’ friends all call me Papa.
Michael, Cosmic, Papa… I can handle those, but not Mike. It just doesn’t sound like me.

 

[lraisch]

If you've corrected them and they persist, they're just being annoying. I would extend the benefit of a doubt for the first time and assume they're just trying to be informal and personable.

 

[jpberg]

Good thread, P.

 

[workman]

I never shorten peoples names and I expect them to use my full name as well.

Janus