Many of us will have been there before - in a situation where we're having our name mispronounced for the tenth time, and we're looking at the person, resisting the urge to roll our eyes. This situation becomes a whole lot worse, however, when it's your husband's family who are mispronouncing your name after you've been together for six years in total.
A woman took to Reddit's 'Am I the a**hole' forum to explain she was 'on the verge of being an a**hole' so needed to vent and ask whether she was in the wrong to be upset about her husband's family constantly mispronouncing her 'slightly unusual name'.
She wrote: "This feels ridiculous, but I also feel like I’m on the verge of being an a**hole, so time to ask Reddit. I (25f) have been with my husband (27m) for almost six years. Three dating, two engaged, and almost one married.
"We recently welcomed a beautiful baby boy to the family. For context, I have what I would consider a slightly unusual name. (Think like Farrah). I've gotten very used to correcting people when I meet them, but it's not a super common name so I always try to be polite and nonchalant about it. 'Oh, it's pronounced like Sarah but with a F!'
"The issue - my husband's family has always gotten my name wrong in some way. His mum mispronounced it for the better part of the first year we dated, and his dad has always misspelled it. They are divorced and both have new partners who have no issues getting it right. Some of his extended family get it wrong still too (his grandma mispronounced it several times at our wedding).
"I try to be understanding that it's not a common name, but it feels insulting at this point in our relationship to still be getting it wrong. I’m hovering between it’s just a name and who cares and why in the world can't you spell your daughter in law's name right?
"I have honestly stopped correcting them after SEVERAL attempts, but I'm very tempted to correct it when it's misspelled on Facebook comments (when my name is right there) or on texts to me, but I'm not sure I can be polite about it anymore.
"I feel like I lose some of my sanity every time it happens, but is it worth possibly being rude over something so silly? My husband does correct them in person and if they misspell it in a text to him. They aren't old either. I'd say we all have a decent relationship otherwise."
People were miffed at how his family didn't know the correct way to pronounce or spell her name when they'd been together for such a long period of time, but some admitted they didn't know what she should do.
One wrote: "Not the a**hole - but what can you do? However, in my opinion, this is something your partner needs to correct. You run the risk of falling out with them, so your partner should seriously speak to his family if it's important to you."
Another said: "Correct them. If people can pronounce Tchaikovsky they can pronounce your name. I have a name that is incredibly common for British women my age. My in-laws spell it wrong and it is like a knife scraping across a plate."
Someone else reassured: "You would not be the a**hole if you had a conversation with them about how mispronouncing or misspelling your name after 6 years with their son is upsetting for you.
"I'm surprised your husband hasn't had this conversation with them already to be honest."
A Redditor agreed, writing: "Your husband needs to step up and say have a longer conversation, not just a quick correction", whilst another claimed it sounded 'purposeful'.
What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.
