Has anyone else ever caught hell simply because of their names? As you can see by mine I was wide open to it

SPC Charles Brown — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:20:24 -0400

I think I have heard just about every stupid comment there is to be made about my name, and they no longer phase me. I am just wondering if there is anyone else out there who has gone through the same difficulty?

Response by MAJ Steve Sheridan made Apr 24 at 2014 4:25 PM

MAJ Steve Sheridan — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:25:36 -0400

Sorry to hear that.

Remember, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2014 4:31 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:31:53 -0400

CPL Brown, I served on the enlisted side of the house from 2004-2007 before switching over. I noticed that on the enlisted side especially, I would catch hell from my peers and superiors constantly. My last name is pronounced "HACK-AH-LAH," but I had many individuals who liked to pronounce it "HACK-A-LOOGIE." Since being on this side, I haven't HEARD too many people making comments about my name; it doesn't mean is doesn't happen though...

Have you taken a direct approach discussing this with those who give you a hard time?

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Apr 24 at 2014 4:53 PM

MSG Wade Huffman — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:53:01 -0400

CPL Brown, I was stationed with a LTC years ago who had almost the same name, except his legal first name was Charlie. Yup... big 'ol sign out front of Bn HQ saying Battalion Commander LTC Charlie Brown. Great guy though and a true benefit to the entire community... and he was always the first to comment about his name, guess that defused those who would try to be funny.

Response by PO2 Rocky Kleeger made Apr 24 at 2014 6:13 PM

PO2 Rocky Kleeger — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 18:13:33 -0400

I was once stationed with a guy named Shithead. He said it was pronounced with an emphasis on the "th" sound, but we all just pronounced it as it was spelled

Response by CPL Ryan Robinson made Apr 24 at 2014 8:57 PM

CPL Ryan Robinson — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 20:57:37 -0400

grow a thick skin. Should already have one by now.

Response by SSgt Gregory Guina made Apr 24 at 2014 8:59 PM

SSgt Gregory Guina — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 20:59:57 -0400

I don't catch any shit for my name just the fact that no one can pronounce it. I go by SSgt G.

Response by 1SG Shane Hansen made Apr 24 at 2014 9:13 PM

1SG Shane Hansen — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 21:13:33 -0400

I don't catch too much flack for my name on a regular basis. On a few occasions I have gotten the "mmm-bop" song sung to me by that kid group Hanson. Never has bothered me, just couldn't figure out why people always wanted to sing to me.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2014 9:15 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 21:15:57 -0400

CPL Brown,

You bet! As a kid, I heard every weather-related joke under the sun (no pun intended). I used to respond by punching the boy in the face and half the time I ended up losing, but I was too proud to let our family name go undefended.

Nowadays it doesn't bother me in the least if someone cracks a joke about my name. If it's a good one, I'll laugh along with them and then dish it back. Most people don't intend to be mean; they just want to appear to be witty.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2014 9:44 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 21:44:44 -0400

Well with a last name like cross you would think...hey that's normal until these guys decide to come out with a song. So I got all the Cris cross jump jump jokes!

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2014 10:00 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 22:00:34 -0400

No, I have never shot my eye out or had my mouth washed out with Life Boy soap.

Response by Col Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 24 at 2014 10:20 PM

Col Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 22:20:41 -0400

Well, let's see... Major Burns, um, nope, never heard anything about it! :)

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2014 7:17 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 07:17:42 -0400

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I was related to Helen? I even had a TCN in Iraq ask me once, go figure!

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Apr 25 at 2014 8:54 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 08:54:42 -0400

Well I have had the obligatory "Space Balls" references..."May the Schwartz be with you!"; "I see your Schwartz is as big as mine." etc, I've been referred to as GEN Swartzkopf....only time I get annoyed is when people keep adding the "ch" to my name after I have corrected them on the spelling/pronunciation.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Apr 25 at 2014 9:01 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 09:01:48 -0400

Not you CPL Brown, I couldn't think of any flak you'd catch, lol!

Response by SSG Steven Borders made Apr 25 at 2014 9:01 AM

SSG Steven Borders — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 09:01:51 -0400

Have the last name Borders I have gotten a few jokes my way. Hey "better run for the borders." Or my LT used to call me Books-a-million instead of Borders. Not to mention how many times I have had to correct spelling and add the "s". LOL

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2014 11:45 AM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 11:45:06 -0400

Yes - my brother's legal name is Dear Beloved. Mine was Bhakti Beloved and I have a sister named Bloom Beloved. We all have served and always got made fun of for our names. But we got over it eventually. :)

Response by CWO2 Shelby DuBois made Apr 25 at 2014 12:09 PM

CWO2 Shelby DuBois — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:09:58 -0400

Not so much...but I have flown or worked with Captain Marvel (and Lt Marvel), Sgt Rock, Cpl Assman, Pvt Quarters, and both Sergeant Major and a Major Sargent.

Response by SGT Allison Churchill made Apr 25 at 2014 12:23 PM

SGT Allison Churchill — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:23:58 -0400

"Churchill" always got shortened to Church, which I thought was unfortunate given Winston's place in history, but it's not something I ever corrected.

I remember pulling PX guard on Camp Liberty during my first deployment, and passing time by looking at all the nametapes that passed. I saw a few that made me very sympathetic!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2014 12:35 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:35:36 -0400

With a last name like Hauschildt- Yes!!

One of my DS in Basic called me "Haul Sh*t".
I've had a whole bunch of variations on my last name- too many to write down.
Most folks could not pronounce my last name- The would call me "House-child" or just "H" or SGT "H".

Response by PO1 Dana Pierson made Apr 25 at 2014 1:13 PM

PO1 Dana Pierson — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 13:13:48 -0400

Haha no... never had any problems being a guy with the first name Dana! I just laugh it off. If a person is being a jerk, a little returned sarcasm can usually shut them up. Good sarcasm, not bad sarcasm. (If you don't know the difference don't use it) Just for the record, Charles Brown is an awesome name to have!! Lmao but I could see some jerk making dumb jokes.

Response by SrA Troy Barber made Apr 25 at 2014 3:14 PM

SrA Troy Barber — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 15:14:42 -0400

Lets see with the last name Barber, Nope never, unless the million times I was ask "Do I gave hair cuts and shaves?" and I always had some smart butt answer that I will not repeat here lol. TI at Basic gave me hell when we went for our first hair cut and I still didn't have hair when I left basic.

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Apr 25 at 2014 7:55 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 19:55:34 -0400

"Quick"...could NEVER be "quick" enough :(

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2014 9:53 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 21:53:04 -0400

Still to this very day.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2014 10:45 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 22:45:20 -0400

Okay, this is one reason I go by my initials almost everywhere....

One day, I was in the middle of DC. It was close to quitting time, and where I needed to go was right across the street from where I was. There were no cars coming, so I just ran across the street. All of a sudden I heard "Hey you in the suit!"

I turn around, and there's a cop getting in my face. He's going to write me a ticket for jaywalking, and asked my name. I said to him: "Officer, I better just show you my license, because if I tell you my name, you're going to think I'm being a smart-ass and just try to take me to jail".

Without missing a beat, he said:" Oh, and I suppose your name is Jay Walker?!?!?".

After viewing my license, he doubled over with laughter, and told me "Get the hell out of here before I change my mind"

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 26 at 2014 12:19 PM

MCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 12:19:34 -0400

There is only about 10% of the population that can pronounce my last name correctly... it rhymes with Clinton's old girlfriend's name, Monica. I've been called Miata, Montero, Montoya, Moyatka, Makiata, and my favorite...

Mmm... (followed by a hopeful look around the room)

What's even better (some think it's worse), is that it's an ancient Polish name for the farming implement, the HOE - or it can alternatively be used as the name of the person using it... yeah, I'm a hoer. For some immigrants, when they hit Ellis Island, the name was changed to Farmer.

I once ran into PO1 Stains - and just said, "Duuuuuude." He smiled and said, "That's why I went Fireman!" (as an E-1 to E-3, he was Fireman Stains, instead of Seaman Stains)

I've also known Major Minor, Commander Commander (who used to be Lieutenant Commander Commander and before that, Lieutenant Commander!!), Sergeant Rock, Sergeant Savage, and a Sergeant Major.
The best was after I was advanced to Master Chief - I stopped at Fort Benning and lost all decorum and self restraint. Walking down the sidewalk in my dress uniform, I snapped a salute at an Army O-4 and immediately came to a stop as he passed, saying, "No wayyyy!" The officer stopped and I turned, saying, "Sir, you have the best name in the ENTIRE Army - hell the entire MILITARY!!" We both smiled, I shook his hand, saluted him again, and shook my head the rest of the day.

I had just met Major Havoc.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Apr 26 at 2014 8:54 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 20:54:15 -0400

Nope but I was raised for the most part in a German/Irish/Black Community so my name was pretty common actually. Now since the majority were Germans it was not uncommon to call each other a Nazi if you were being a little pushy.

Response by SSG Chris Cherry made Apr 28 at 2014 12:21 PM

SSG Chris Cherry — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 12:21:33 -0400

Jump school was pretty bad for me. I still get asked, multiple times, at every airborne op after 5 years "Is this your first jump? hurr hurr..."

Response by MSG Brad Sand made May 1 at 2014 10:41 AM

MSG Brad Sand — Thu, 01 May 2014 10:41:16 -0400

I was one of the first groups of trainees to go through Infantry OSUT on Sand Hill at Fort Benning. With the last name Sand, everyday I would be asked, "Sand, you think you are some kind of hero?" by my DIs. No right answer. If I said "No, Drilll Sergeant." I would do push-ups because "I am volunteer soldier in the greatest land force the free World." If I said "Yes, Drill Sergeant." I would be dropped because we were lower than whale...dung. Half way through my first week, I was asked the same question and just got down and start doing push ups. Drill Sergeant asked me what I thought I was doing and I told him that since it did matter what I said I might as well just start doing push-ups? That was the last time I was asked that question?