Even though I’m a name nerd—I love learning what people names mean and how to pronounce them—

I still get some of them wrong. I sometimes make assumptions about names unfamiliar to me, like Damneet.

Damneet Kaur’s LinkedIn post about mispronunciation of names prompted me and more than 37,000 people to like, love, support, celebrate or criticize what she shared. And to comment.

My names get mispronounced, too. Jim, Jimmy, Jaime, Dwyer. What I’m called depends upon the circumstances and context.

To Brazilians, for example, Jim can sound more like jeen because native Portuguese speakers don’t close their mouths when they pronounce the final letter in words like bem (well) or fim (end). These are words I mispronounced for a while until, well, I started paying more attention to Portuguese pronunciation.

How do you pronounce Jaime in Spanish? For native English speakers who are learning Spanish, it’s sort of like this: HI-meh. That’s way better than saying JAY-me or JIGH-may. The J in Spanish is really more like an H in English except with a bit more force from the throat. Try it again, with your mouth more closed than open: HI-meh. Maybe hearing it will help you?

I’ll correct and forgive folks who botch Dwyer. That W can throw a wrench into pronunciation. The Irish, get it right: duh-wire. Doesn’t matter which syllable you emphasize because it’s really just one syllable.

While I like the sound of my name in English, I think it’s cool to “translate” my name to Spanish (Jaime, Diego) and Portuguese (Jiminho).

Some native Spanish speakers with traditional names like José will anglicize their name, to Joe, perhaps for the same reason I translate mine to Spanish or because it’s easier than explaining how to pronounce their name or because they want to seem more “American,” whatever that is.

Quick lesson on José: If you’re typing the name, use Alt + 0233. If you’re pronouncing it (remembering what I mentioned about the Spanish J above), it’s ho-SEH, not ho-ZAY.

Manuel (mahn-WELL, rhymes with Montel) or Manny? Some want to stick with the given name. Lots of variables, right? Manuel Muñoz, author of The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue, shares his experience and thoughts on names and cultural assimilation in Leave Your Name at the Border.

My big takeaways from reading Damneet Kaur’s post and comments and Manuel Muñoz’s story: If I’m not sure how to say someone’s name, ask them for help. Apologize. Do better. Remain grateful for my curiosity and opportunity to learn about other names and cultures by learning another language.

How about you? What’s your name, your story? Not sure how to pronounce something in Spanish? Considering learning Spanish or Portuguese but don’t know where start or where you want to go with it?

I’m “hear” for you. Let’s get started.