Remember this post? You know the one where some chick named “Glenda” said my name was spelled incorrectly and a small Internet fight broke out? Yeah, that was a good day. Anyway, Tobyjoe and I were watching the Food Network recently and a commercial came on about french cuisine. And low and behold, check this out.
Take that, my American bitches. And then take that extra L and shove it straight up your ass.
My fourth grade teach consistently misspelled my name “Charley.” It drove me nuts. Years later, my father wrote my name down: “Charley” When I pointed out the mistake, he said “I named you! I get to say how it’s spelled!”
People’s names are people’s names, and while there are conventional spellings, there are many variations. These should not be classified as “right” or “wrong.” Moreover, knowing how someone spells her name, and respecting that spelling, is a fundamental courtesy. It’s part of who you are.
And, as a side note, when I first wrote down my wife’s phone number, I managed to misspell BOTH her first name and last name with more traditional variations. She married me nevertheless, and kept both.
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I totally remember that post. What strange one that was. I run into the whole name spelling thing with both my daughter’s name: Isabel. People want to add an extra “l” and an “e” to her name or sometimes an “a” at the end as well.
Then when it comes to my maiden name: Chappell. I got tons of misspellings on that one. One “l” and one “p”, or one “p” and two “l”’s or vice versa…. C’mon guys just get it right already!!!
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i’m not trying to rain on the parade or resurrect that internet fight, although it was pretty entertaining, but I think Glenda did in fact point out that your name would be “correct” (as she put it) with one “l” and the accent grave over the first “e” in one of her comments…
Again- no rain, just noticed it… For the record, if there is one, I would put myself in the “there is no ‘correct/incorrect’” category but then again my name is Aimee.
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AIMEE, I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!
Did she? damn, I totally didn’t catch that.
So, who’s the jackass now?
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Only glancing back at that string of comments, where did she point that out? I totally believe you, but I couldn’t find it.
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Damnit! Thanks, aimee, my dear gal.
Wow, well, Glenda was right after all. Oh how I’ve missed the her and the World According to Glenda.
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I always turn to Webster first:
Main Entry: accent mark
Function: noun
1 : ACCENT 5a, 8
2 a : a symbol used to indicate musical stress b : a mark placed after a letter designating a note of music to indicate in which octave the note occurs
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OH, noonoooooo
I just use Webster to help me brainstorm. That’s what I turn to with logos. From there, I move forward with the name.
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I sometimes wish we could put accent marks on my daughter’s name, Philippa. Everyone pronounces it with an accent on the second syllable, but it’s really on the first (technically, it’s a dactyl, I believe for those poetically inclined). So we just introduce her as Pippy to make it easy on the masses.
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As another one L Michele, I totally agree with you. What throne allows someone to tell another their name is spelled wrong and how in the hell did she get on that throne?
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Michele, how I’ve missed you.
See, that’s what I said. But I won’t lie, my name is spelled “oddly” compared to the norm. But what i want to know is who came up with this norm?
Also, once everyone here finds out what I plan on naming my daughter, Michele with on L will no longer matter. ;]
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Michele,
It’s your name and spell it however the hell you want. Meghan isn’t quite right either…Megan Meagan etc…
I have a cousin Michele in France and HE seems perfectly OK with the spelling. In France Michele is a predominantly male name. I believe it’s English equivalent is Michael.
M
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I can’t seem to get to the bottom of this whole name spelling bit. And I can’t really say I care that much but when asked, I do like to answer people with the right information. So, it’s NOT true that the male version is spelled like this: Michél? I was told the male version lacked the last E. I was then told that the female french version only had one l but two e’s.
Like I said, I actually do not care about this. If my name were Gertrude, I could give a rat’s ass. But I wish I knew what was right, at least with what’s right historically since we seem to be throwing spelling out the window. :]
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NO! help me. :]
I bet YOU’RE right. ugh. Will the real French person, please stand up. Please stand up. Please stand up.
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Charlie – Philippa is the reason there is a Mihow. She introduced Momhow and me a long time ago.
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Yeah your right. Never trust a woman who is battling strep throat with a two year old with diarrhea jumping on her head while her six year old has just been diagnosed with scarlet fever and the hubby calls to ask if he can go play tennis. Really I say one L is cool, screw eveybody else.
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sorry if that sounded offensive. you’re probably wondering who the heck this stalker person is. i came upon your blog a couple weeks ago-forgot whose link it was-and i’ve been reading and enjoying every post since. hope you don’t mind. curious about the book club.
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Mihow 
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