My name is not Bill.
It does not sound like Bill.
I’m not sure as to how people think that upon hearing my name, it sounds like Bill.
My name is also not Peter, Des, or any other name that you choose to mishear my name as because you’re too much into selective hearing to realise that my name sounds nothing like any of those.

It’s not a hard name to hear. It’s got enough syllables in it and when it’s shortened, it’s still pretty easy to understand.

I’ve spent far too much of my time correcting people on what my name is that I could have probably used said time to go on a vacation for somewhere close to a year if it was given to me as annual leave.

That’s not an exaggeration.

I’ve been asked many a time where I’m from as well as where I’m located (whilst at work) because apparently people can’t work out that someone’s name does not dictate their nationality.

This is not the biggest issue in the world, I must admit. However, it still really grinds my gears. After being alive for this amount of time, you’d think that at least seven or eight years ago I would have stopped getting annoyed by telling people what my name is almost every day of the year. However, it still bothers me because I am still continuously surprised by how little people will listen.

If it’s right at the start of a conversation then it’s a little more tolerable, but quite often the question will come up at the end of one. Perhaps if you were that unsure, you should probably have kept your mouth shut or actually listened at the start.

Better yet, if you insisted on calling me something that was not my name, you should get off the phone and clean out your ears so you are listening to when someone introduces themselves instead of hearing someone’s name and then calling them someone that you think is more appropriate because you can’t comprehend that there are more names in the world that are ones you don’t know and Peter, Des, or Bill are not suitable substitutes, especially when these names don’t sound anything like my name.

It might be better to say that you missed someone’s name instead of then going ahead and assuming they’re some old friend that you used to know, or your pet sheep.

End rant.