‘Time to start butchering their names’: Entire office refuses to call employee by their rightful name for over a year, employee calls them out to HR

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jun 16, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Getting someone's name right is never that difficult. If a coworker's name doesn't sound familiar to you at first, just ask them privately to pronounce it for you. What can become an issue is if you hold off for too long and the acceptable window for asking for said pronunciation expires. Still, it would be better to clarify the confusion even a year down the line than to settle for calling someone the wrong name.

In this instance, we have an employee whose name ends with an "a." For whatever reason, both her boss and all the coworkers on her team keep calling her a different name that ends with an "e." The employee made countless attempts to correct them. She always did it gracefully with the understanding that not every name is easy to get right. However, despite all these attempts, the incorrect name-calling only kept on continuing… for over a year.

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    Cheezburger Image 10516964864
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Several members of the online community chimed in with their reactions. A few of them believed that after an entire year, this couldn’t have been a mistake but rather a deliberate attempt to intimidate and condescend. Frankly, we’re inclined to agree. How hard can this name be?! I smell a tense meeting with HR in the future!

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    I have a name, and it ends with an a. They have been calling me a name that ends with an e. I've tried multiple times to get them to call me the right name, or a nickname, but they continuously call me by the wrong name... not just in real life, but over email too - where my name is clearly spelled with an a.
    via cherryandfizz
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    In fact, the only people who call me either by my right name, or a nickname, are people from the company that is partnered with mine.
    via cherryandfizz
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    My own co-workers call me the wrong name, and it just feels so weird. Especially when they're calling each other by nicknames, and then they call me by my full (wrong) name.
    via cherryandfizz
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    I emailed my boss an email, about something irrelevant to this, and copied HR in. HR wrote my name right, but my own boss referred to me five times in that email thread with e instead of a.
    via cherryandfizz
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    (I promise I'm not as pushy about my name here as I make it seem, but it gets to a point where I'm nearly a year in and it makes me sad that they refuse to call me by my right name or a nickname).
    via cherryandfizz
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    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    svendro 7 hr. ago • Time to start butchering their names
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    NikNakskes 7 hr. ago Plot twist: OP is the one butchering somebodys name and now all her direct colleagues are doing this on purpose to her.
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    ailweni 6 hr. ago The assistant manager at my apartment complex was always getting my name. wrong even though my email signature, email address and outgoing name had the correct spelling. So I started
    via cherryandfizz
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    responding with variations of her name - Ashleigh, Ashlyn, Ashlie, etc. (I've had a ton of issues with my apartment, so I've had to contact them a lot.)
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    One day, she responds and says, "I'm unsure if you are unable to see my name is my signature, but it is spelled 'Ashley."" I was like, "I know, and my name is X, not ☐ as listed in my outgoing name, email address, and signature."
    via cherryandfizz
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    Since then, someone else from the complex has responded to my emails. I guess she refuses to deal with me now?
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    Start butchering your coworkers' names and make them progressively worse.
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    Ger_redpanda 9 hr. ago • Find it remarkable that your boss types your name wrong with HR on copy. Reads almost on purpose or really oblivious.
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    When someone consistently gets my name wrong (and been told so) then I react in kind. Meaning that I will mistype or wrongly pronounce their name as well.
    via cherryandfizz
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    I do keep it light, so not (passive) aggressive but clear enough that something is off.
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    • goldyblocks 6 hr. ago My name should be easy to remember. 3 letters. Example, say it was Pan. 9/10 call me Pane or Panet. I wear a name tag with it spelled correctly.
    via cherryandfizz
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    InsideOutD Rat 5 hr. ago A coworker named "Jorge" kept getting upset that a specific manager always wrote "George" on his paperwork and emails.
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    Jorge spoke up and said that is bothers him. Seems like his name is being whitewashed. He had a father named Jorge and his son was named Jorge.
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    A small investigation happened where HR asked random employees if they felt bu ied or discriminated against. Nothing came of it, Jorge quit
    via cherryandfizz
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    _TiberiusPrime_ · 7 hr. ago If they continue to use the wrong name, ignore them. Let them know that you know don't how they're talking to, because your name is " a"
    via cherryandfizz
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    and not "__e". In emails, always add a reminder of what your name is if the other name is used. make it part of your signature.
    via cherryandfizz

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories employee work stories toxic-workplace work coworkers toxic-boss workplace Horrible Bosses funny work stories toxic-work-environment
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