Hello. My name is Aimee. Pronounced like Amy, but not spelled like it. Spelled like it sounds. A-I-M as in the toothpaste with double E’s at the end. It’s French for beloved. Folks misspell it all the time.
My most free-spirited college BFF recently spelled it Amy online. Ouch. So did the kindest boy I dated in high school. Ouch, ouch.
Another good friend from high school spells it Amiee. So close I can’t bear to tell him. Well, now he knows. Makes me feel a little Pure Prairie League coming on. Or Counting Crows. Wow. Did you even know the Counting Crows rendition existed until this post? Neither did I.
I haven’t seen these people in years, they’re all married with kids, and the spelling of my name is not a priority in their lives at this time.
My kindest high school boyfriend explained he was so concerned about spelling everything else right in his comment that he misspelled the most important part. Aw. Great save, man.
People in my not-so-distant past have a habit of misspelling it too. How excusable is that? And if you add my last name, there’s no end to the butchery of what my husband calls Americanized German.
Whetstine. Pronounced like a damp mug, a wet stein. Members of my own family still get it wrong and I’ve been married 15 years.
More than one person has asked me if Aimee was the name I was given at birth. No, I changed it when I was 15. My real name is Joleisa.
Yes, of course it was my birth name! Had you there, didn’t I? As the story goes, Amy was a popular name when I was born in 1970. My mom saw it spelled Aimee in a magazine. The rest is history.
And it’s not that unique. Lots of people spell it that way. Like Aimee Mann. Okay, that’s all I can think of right now, but there are lots of others I’m sure.
A-I-M
In a particularly legalistic time of my life, I wanted everyone to get it right. So I took preventive measures when I sensed a misspell coming.
“It’s A-I-M-E-E. Like the toothpaste with two E’s,” I said to my victims. “W-H-E-T-S-T-I-N-E. Like a damp mug, a wet stein. Get it?”
That was working really well until I overheard my then two-year-old, the verbal parrot, muttering as he played with his toy trains, “My name is Aimee. A-I-M-E-E. Like the toothpaste with two E’s.”
Maybe the correct spelling of my name doesn’t matter all that much. Maybe it’s a luxury like privacy.
Spelling doesn’t seem to count these days unless it’s your resume, Scrabble, or Scripps National Spelling Bee. It’s not like we’re being graded. Those pesky misspellings are harmless. They just sting a little.
Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine. from Isaiah 43:1 NLT
hello my name is
If Toni Basil and Debbie Harry morphed, joined forces with a male J Crew model on drums and backup, entered The Matrix, and made a music video, you’d get The Ting Tings’ That’s Not My Name. Thanks to this dynamic duo for the song that inspired the post title when I first heard it on Muzak in FroYo. It rocks.
Want to know what’s funny? My father-in-law spelled my name Aimee until just recently. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up and I just got A-M-Y on cards. I’m jealous that you’re an Aimee. It’s a lot more exotic than Amy. Enjoy your fancy spelling :)
Amy, that is hilarious about your father-in-law! Any ideas why he spelled it Aimee? My friend who spells it Amiee insists its a brain processing issue. lol.
My husband’s family is French Canadian and my father-in-law says his parents spoke French when he was growing up. I know he doesn’t speak or write in French, so maybe it’s an osmosis thing. :) He is the nicest man, so I really didn’t mind, just thought it was funny.
Well the French connection makes sense, even if by osmosis. He sounds like a sweetheart. Tell him je t’aime!
I meant can’t spell or pronounce your name — LOL!
No worries! In case you didn’t notice, typos are welcome here. Just blame it on the blasted new spell check technology that anticipates what you’re trying to type (often incorrectly). Ah, I think we’ve uncovered the seed for another post…
My daughter’s name is Mari, pronounced like the common spelling,
M-A-R-Y; it’s often mispelled, but more frequently butchered when pronounced … at the doctor’s office, on the first day of school, by telemarketers on the phone. It’s a sure sign that someone doesn’t really know you when they can spell or pronounce your name! I loved that name because of a song in the movie “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, but with our Americanized German last name of KNEHANS, think of your knees and hands to pronounce that, I wanted the spelling to be a little more unique. I’ve been sarastically thanked over the years for doing this to her! With the middle name of Elizabeth (yes, she is my name sake), she is often called Marie, since many forms not leave much visual space. I find that funny considering pronounciation of the name is actually addressed in that song of old that I love so much.
Elizabeth, I love the spelling Mari. Beautiful. Elizabeth is my sister’s name and I love that too. Now Knehans, well, that’s another story. And another word picture: “Glad to meet you knee hands. I’m wet stein.”
I hated when I was little and couldn’t find Erika with a k on personalized stuff (like hair clips & those little liscence plates for your bike) like everyone else could. Today it drives me crazy when people misspell my name on FB..really? It’s right in front of you! Maybe this is why I gave my kids very classic names, no crazy spellings! ;)
Erika, my childhood lacked those pre-personalized items as well (sigh). And I love your point about FB. It’s like having a cheat sheet for names, and people still get it wrong. Too funny…
Dang it! A typo right off the bat! Please don’t inform me of any other errors! :)
Okay, now I can’t even see the typo! Are you sure there is one or are you playing with my senses? lol. As I told Rodney above, thankfully most things are correctable on the blog. And we allow LOTS of typos here. There’s at least one in every new post. It’s a game. Get there before I do to find them.
SInce you were one of the first Aimee/Amys I ever knew, I never thought of your name as being different! You were always such a dynamic person, I can’t imagine you with the more common spelling. I pride myself on being a proper speller, if for no other reason than my friend Alicia above is usually reading what I have to say and I would be mortified if she discovered an error in my spelling. Proofreading and editing were probably my favorite jobs, before my current one, of course. That said, I did realize at the end of this school year that I had been misspelling the name of the teacher I worked with for two years. I had been spelling her last name “Vaughn” instead of the correct “Vaughan”. I had good intentions and “mom brain” I guess. I’ve paid my dues by hearing my name pronounced “Sondra” (nails on chalkboard), maiden name spelled “Coltrain” (glad to be rid of that one) and most people misspell “Sims”. What are you going to do?
People misspell Sims? How can you misspell Sims?! Please explain, Sondra, er, Sandra :). I bet you get a lot of Sondra because of the popular triad anchorwoman. And if I may remind you, you beat me in the fifth grade spelling bee. I misspelled address (yes, address), and the rest is a blur. Given the Vaughn/Vaughan incident, you may be slipping. Do I see my chance to move in for the win?
My first name is commonly spelled “Michelle.” I like to tell people that there is no “hell” in Michele (although there is a little deviltry, perhaps)….
You win the double dog dare. And I can attest to the deviltry part…lol…
Aimee,
Another great post, appreciate by a Jan-IS rather than a Jan-ICE or Jan-ET
Thanks, Janis. I thought you might like this one. You are the only person I’ve met with the “is” spelling.
I have to tell you, that when I met you at high school cheerleading tryouts, and I saw your name, I thought, “How cool!” Still think it’s cool! And I like the fact that you went old school with the Aim toothpaste reference for the correct spelling from folks – haven’t seen that brand in years! I got very used to hearing everything BUT Krista…Crystal, Kristie, Chris, Kristin. I even get Kirsten or Kirsta from time to time. And, I just answer to everything and don’t bother to correct them. The other day someone was on the phone with me, looking at my name and she called me Kristen probably half-a-dozen times. Those funky 70’s parents, that’s who I blame! =)
Let’s not even go into your maiden name.
I don’t think I can spell her maiden name anymore. Thank you, Clint!
Hey Alicia & Krista, can one of you forward this to the other Aimee W.?
I found the Aim toothpaste on the very bottom shelf at Walmart. It’s been upstaged by Crest, Aquafresh and Colgate. They had one little stack of them left, just for me. I got the strangest look from a man in the toothpaste aisle as I squatted down to snap pictures of the boxes. Imagine that.
As always thank you for reading and commenting. And thank you, Krista, for announcing to all my readers that I was involved with cheerleading. As you may have guessed, a post is brewing on that too. May be a while, but it’ll keep. You know what they say. Once a cheerleader… :)
What about Christel …..spelled as it sounds! Then throw in Oliphant ….this really messes people up!!!
Yes, I imagine you’ve had your share of Crystal Elephants, huh?
As an Amy with the “commoner” spelling, I have always been very aware of your fancy name!! :)
Amy, you are a princess among the masses. lol. All us Amys, Amies, Aimees are!
Joleisa,
I feel proud yet hesitant to say that I have never….never…gotten your name wrong. Now, I will hide and pray that I have actually backed that up. I must say that I have always loved your name as it is. Any mistakes I might have made then would be inexcusable. I hope you will forgive me if I have…lol
Rodney
Rodney, I can’t remember you ever misspelling my name. So no guilt, man! And forgiveness for all who have. Lord knows, I’m not above misspellings. The post An Ebenezer in July went live with a misspell in the first line. How could I miss Ebenzer?! It was the key concept! Thankfully, nearly all things are correctable on the blog. Take care.
Your friend, Joleisa
Just out of curiosity, where did you come up with Joleisa? That might just be the most unique name I have ever seen. lol. And by the way….. I was pretty kind in school too and I got your name right. (hey says as he raises his chin towards the sky in a haughty manner)….
Rodney
I got Joleisa from metrolyrics.com. It’s in The Ting Tings’ song. Oh, now we know who’s not clicking all the links… rotflol!
Rodney, you know I’m just joking with you, right? Rodney?
Joleisa,
Of course I know you are kidding. I click every link every time. *Wink* Now if we can just get this darn blog monetized…. You really should be earning some money for all this entertainment you provide…
Rod
Such a nice word, monetized…
My friends misspell my name all the time may be i have to write a similar article to stop doing it ;) love your style of writing so spontaneous:)
Thanks, Arabian Rose. Feel free to share this post with your misspelling friends. Perhaps together we can gently “nudge” them into submission :)
Want to know what’s funny? My father-in-law spelled my name Aimee until just recently. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up and I just got A-M-Y on cards. I’m jealous that you’re an Aimee. It’s a lot more exotic than Amy. Enjoy your fancy spelling :)
Amy, that is hilarious about your father-in-law! Any ideas why he spelled it Aimee? My friend who spells it Amiee insists its a brain processing issue. lol.
My husband’s family is French Canadian and my father-in-law says his parents spoke French when he was growing up. I know he doesn’t speak or write in French, so maybe it’s an osmosis thing. :) He is the nicest man, so I really didn’t mind, just thought it was funny.
Well the French connection makes sense, even if by osmosis. He sounds like a sweetheart. Tell him je t’aime!
I meant can’t spell or pronounce your name — LOL!
No worries! In case you didn’t notice, typos are welcome here. Just blame it on the blasted new spell check technology that anticipates what you’re trying to type (often incorrectly). Ah, I think we’ve uncovered the seed for another post…
My daughter’s name is Mari, pronounced like the common spelling,
M-A-R-Y; it’s often mispelled, but more frequently butchered when pronounced … at the doctor’s office, on the first day of school, by telemarketers on the phone. It’s a sure sign that someone doesn’t really know you when they can spell or pronounce your name! I loved that name because of a song in the movie “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, but with our Americanized German last name of KNEHANS, think of your knees and hands to pronounce that, I wanted the spelling to be a little more unique. I’ve been sarastically thanked over the years for doing this to her! With the middle name of Elizabeth (yes, she is my name sake), she is often called Marie, since many forms not leave much visual space. I find that funny considering pronounciation of the name is actually addressed in that song of old that I love so much.
Elizabeth, I love the spelling Mari. Beautiful. Elizabeth is my sister’s name and I love that too. Now Knehans, well, that’s another story. And another word picture: “Glad to meet you knee hands. I’m wet stein.”
I hated when I was little and couldn’t find Erika with a k on personalized stuff (like hair clips & those little liscence plates for your bike) like everyone else could. Today it drives me crazy when people misspell my name on FB..really? It’s right in front of you! Maybe this is why I gave my kids very classic names, no crazy spellings! ;)
Erika, my childhood lacked those pre-personalized items as well (sigh). And I love your point about FB. It’s like having a cheat sheet for names, and people still get it wrong. Too funny…
Dang it! A typo right off the bat! Please don’t inform me of any other errors! :)
Okay, now I can’t even see the typo! Are you sure there is one or are you playing with my senses? lol. As I told Rodney above, thankfully most things are correctable on the blog. And we allow LOTS of typos here. There’s at least one in every new post. It’s a game. Get there before I do to find them.
SInce you were one of the first Aimee/Amys I ever knew, I never thought of your name as being different! You were always such a dynamic person, I can’t imagine you with the more common spelling. I pride myself on being a proper speller, if for no other reason than my friend Alicia above is usually reading what I have to say and I would be mortified if she discovered an error in my spelling. Proofreading and editing were probably my favorite jobs, before my current one, of course. That said, I did realize at the end of this school year that I had been misspelling the name of the teacher I worked with for two years. I had been spelling her last name “Vaughn” instead of the correct “Vaughan”. I had good intentions and “mom brain” I guess. I’ve paid my dues by hearing my name pronounced “Sondra” (nails on chalkboard), maiden name spelled “Coltrain” (glad to be rid of that one) and most people misspell “Sims”. What are you going to do?
People misspell Sims? How can you misspell Sims?! Please explain, Sondra, er, Sandra :). I bet you get a lot of Sondra because of the popular triad anchorwoman. And if I may remind you, you beat me in the fifth grade spelling bee. I misspelled address (yes, address), and the rest is a blur. Given the Vaughn/Vaughan incident, you may be slipping. Do I see my chance to move in for the win?
My first name is commonly spelled “Michelle.” I like to tell people that there is no “hell” in Michele (although there is a little deviltry, perhaps)….
You win the double dog dare. And I can attest to the deviltry part…lol…
Aimee,
Another great post, appreciate by a Jan-IS rather than a Jan-ICE or Jan-ET
Thanks, Janis. I thought you might like this one. You are the only person I’ve met with the “is” spelling.
I have to tell you, that when I met you at high school cheerleading tryouts, and I saw your name, I thought, “How cool!” Still think it’s cool! And I like the fact that you went old school with the Aim toothpaste reference for the correct spelling from folks – haven’t seen that brand in years! I got very used to hearing everything BUT Krista…Crystal, Kristie, Chris, Kristin. I even get Kirsten or Kirsta from time to time. And, I just answer to everything and don’t bother to correct them. The other day someone was on the phone with me, looking at my name and she called me Kristen probably half-a-dozen times. Those funky 70’s parents, that’s who I blame! =)
Let’s not even go into your maiden name.
I don’t think I can spell her maiden name anymore. Thank you, Clint!
Hey Alicia & Krista, can one of you forward this to the other Aimee W.?
I found the Aim toothpaste on the very bottom shelf at Walmart. It’s been upstaged by Crest, Aquafresh and Colgate. They had one little stack of them left, just for me. I got the strangest look from a man in the toothpaste aisle as I squatted down to snap pictures of the boxes. Imagine that.
As always thank you for reading and commenting. And thank you, Krista, for announcing to all my readers that I was involved with cheerleading. As you may have guessed, a post is brewing on that too. May be a while, but it’ll keep. You know what they say. Once a cheerleader… :)
What about Christel …..spelled as it sounds! Then throw in Oliphant ….this really messes people up!!!
Yes, I imagine you’ve had your share of Crystal Elephants, huh?
As an Amy with the “commoner” spelling, I have always been very aware of your fancy name!! :)
Amy, you are a princess among the masses. lol. All us Amys, Amies, Aimees are!
Joleisa,
I feel proud yet hesitant to say that I have never….never…gotten your name wrong. Now, I will hide and pray that I have actually backed that up. I must say that I have always loved your name as it is. Any mistakes I might have made then would be inexcusable. I hope you will forgive me if I have…lol
Rodney
Rodney, I can’t remember you ever misspelling my name. So no guilt, man! And forgiveness for all who have. Lord knows, I’m not above misspellings. The post An Ebenezer in July went live with a misspell in the first line. How could I miss Ebenzer?! It was the key concept! Thankfully, nearly all things are correctable on the blog. Take care.
Your friend, Joleisa
Just out of curiosity, where did you come up with Joleisa? That might just be the most unique name I have ever seen. lol. And by the way….. I was pretty kind in school too and I got your name right. (hey says as he raises his chin towards the sky in a haughty manner)….
Rodney
I got Joleisa from metrolyrics.com. It’s in The Ting Tings’ song. Oh, now we know who’s not clicking all the links… rotflol!
Rodney, you know I’m just joking with you, right? Rodney?
Joleisa,
Of course I know you are kidding. I click every link every time. *Wink* Now if we can just get this darn blog monetized…. You really should be earning some money for all this entertainment you provide…
Rod
Such a nice word, monetized…
My friends misspell my name all the time may be i have to write a similar article to stop doing it ;) love your style of writing so spontaneous:)
Thanks, Arabian Rose. Feel free to share this post with your misspelling friends. Perhaps together we can gently “nudge” them into submission :)