When using someone's name in print please make a TEENY TINY effort to spell that person's name correctly.
Clues as to how to spell someone's name are pretty easy to locate. Here are some hints:
In email - the individuals email address will commonly give you a clue. See example:
joe.jones@hoppedup.org
I bet you $10 he spells his name J O E.
In other communications, people tend to leave a signature, that is also a clue as to how their name is spelled. My signature at work is:
Terri XXXXX XXXXXXXX
Information Security
Blah Blah Blah
Phone Number
I commonly get "Thanks Tracy" or even "Thanks Patty"
Where Patty comes from I have no idea. (Actually, I know a Patti and she's from New Jersey, but that's a different story.
Use the clues given to you you find your way!
End of RANT
Also, in the Seattle area, where one is likely to run into many people of Scandinavian descent, one should note that many names that sound alike may end in either -en or -on, depending on the family's nationality -- and although it may not make any difference to you whether someone is Hanson or Hansen, it definitely makes a difference to him or her.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend that married out of her SON and into an SEN and holy crapola I have to really make an effort to get it right. I campaigned for her husband to change it to SON as a compromise (for me) but alas he didn't think it was such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteBut... you know my new last name: "Lacsentartsseterse." Clearly, the joke is on me.