Woman's unique name sets off both Alexa and Siri devices when she's in meetings

A woman in the US has opened up about her unusual name which has virtual assistants popping off.

In this day and age, we're surrounded by subservient tech, standing by to tell us the time, play our favourite song, or let us know the current temperature in Madagascar.

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These devices have changed our lives in many ways, but they've had an even greater impact on the life of a lady by the name of Alexa Seary - for reasons that should be obvious.

She has been the butt of many a joke since Apple introduced its personal assistant function, Siri, in 2011.

But she couldn't believe it when in 2014 when Amazon released its own human-like bot, the Amazon Echo – and named it Alexa.

Working in a restaurant in her early 20s, Alexa was constantly faced with customers laughing at her name and giving her commands like a machine.

The 27-year-old now works in pharmaceutical marketing, and thankfully the jokes have died down a bit, though her moniker can still cause practical problems.

Alexa, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said: "I like my name - it's like a trademark.

"But I'm constantly setting off people's Alexa's in their homes when they say my name in meetings. I feel terrible when it's a client call and they are all embarrassed.

"I thought sharing my surname with Siri was cool as a kid. When Alexa came out it went a little crazy and got a little annoying.

"Now I use it as an icebreaker. The odds of sharing my name with Alexa and Siri are pretty crazy."

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Of course, the Alexa gag is an obvious one to make, and people often don't clock that her surname is also phonetically the same as Siri too.

"People don't twig the Siri link at first," she explained.

"As a server in the restaurant, I'd get tables messing with me. I go over to introduce myself and they'd laugh and say – 'I have one of those.'

"When they'd ask for things they would say – 'Alexa, get me this.'

"I still get that joke."

Moronically, people often ask Alexa if her parents named her after the virtual assistant, seemingly forgetting that the devices haven't been around for almost three decades... Even if they had, it would be a weird thing to do, wouldn't it?

Alexa said: "People always ask me if my parents knew when they named me but they can't tell the future.

"I think I'll keep the name Seary in my surname when I get married."

She added: "It's like my stage name. I think it's cool and unique."

Topics: Technology, Weird

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey