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Woman Mortified To Realise She Had Been Pronouncing Her Name Wrong

Woman Mortified To Realise She Had Been Pronouncing Her Name Wrong

She now wants it saying in the correct way, though her family aren't happy

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A woman has spoken of her utter horror after realising that she had been pronouncing her name incorrectly all her life.

While most of us would probably keep this kind of thing quiet, she decided to share her story on social media.

Writing on Reddit, the woman revealed that her mum was inspired to call her Saoirse after seeing it in a novel, but that she never learned how to say it correctly.

The post reads: "My name is Saoirse. I am not Irish.

"My parents named me Saoirse because my mom was reading a book with a character named Saoirse and she thought the name was really unique.

"In her head, she thought the name was pronounced 'Say-or-cee' and my dad had never heard the name before, so that's how I've grown up my whole life.

Saoirse revealed she had been saying her name incorrectly all her life.
PA

"Nobody else at school seemed to know the name either, so they trusted my pronunciation - up until recent years. A certain actress has become popular who shares my name, but she pronounces it the right way (Sur-sha).

"Most people who've just met me but have seen my name first call me by Sur-sha now, and I don't correct them, because the fact that my name is a mistake is pretty embarrassing to me."

And she revealed that an Irish woman in one of her classes 'laughed hysterically' during their intros when she said her name.

And now Saoirse said she now lets people call her 'Sur-sha' and doesn't 'correct' them.

"I've asked my friends to call me it, and they trip up sometimes, but for the most part they've been respecting it - besides one friend who says that going by Saoirse will trick people into thinking I'm Irish and is unfair to actual Irish people," she wrote.

The woman shared her story on Reddit.
PA

She said that the issue had also caused some problems at home, with her family upset by her decision.

She said: "When I told my parents, they both got upset, because apparently they'd found out the pronunciation of my name much sooner than me, but decided it didn't matter because they preferred Say-or-cee to Sur-sha.

"Honestly, I prefer Say-or-cee because I grew up with it, but I don't think it will really matter a few years down the road. My sister--who has an English name--tells me it's like I'm caving in to peer-pressure and disrespecting my family because of a few people at school.

"Honestly, peer-pressure has played a part in it but ultimately it is my own decision."

Despite her family's upset, though, other users backed her decision to have her name pronounced however she likes it.

One person commented: "Tell people to pronounce it the way you like it. It is your name after all."

While questioning why her parents didn't know how to pronounce her name before she was born, another said: "You'd think most people would double-check before putting it on a birth certificate, of course, but if you're monolingual, it might not even occur to you that the pronunciation could be different."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Ireland, TV and Film, Funny, Community, Reddit, Weird