My name is Zoe Siskos. April 18
Yes, it seems we have another Fight Club themed post; it’s purely coincidental.
Growing up with a name like Zoe (pronounced Zo - eee) was a little difficult. I loved my name, I just hated how ignorant people were in pronouncing it (Zo? Zowie? Zoo?) Well, maybe it’s a bit understandable but it really drove me nuts when i would correct them and they would look at me as if I had three heads and say, “Really?” No, you idiot, I’m wrong…you must be right. Sigh.
In grade 8 my art teacher suggested I put an umlaut over the letter ‘e’. I did; I like it and even though it’s not official it seemed to solve the problem.
However, within the past year or so I’ve been experiencing some errors with my name again except this time it’s with my last name, which has never given me problems before.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bitch fest. I don’t want people to feel bad, I’m just trying to figure out what’s up. I mean, how can I go 27 years with everyone getting it right and then 3 times in past year, people (even a close friend) mess it up. It’s not like anything changed on my end.
Okay, here are they are, in reverse chronological order:
1) Ziskos - Wedding invite from a close friend (wanted to scan a picture but I recycled the envelope)
2) Sistos - Cool mention in a blog post on Bargainista. This is a funny story about games I like to play while furniture shopping. And Mrs. Bargainista has also hooked me up with Nutrisystem, which you’ll be hearing about very soon.
3) Sisko - Props from my Aussie social media buddy Paull ‘Two Els’ Young. Met him at a Third Tuesday Toronto.
Colin Carmichael Apr 18
Zowie, eh? Revealing that was probably a mistake on your part…
Carmi
Zoe Apr 18
heh…that’s not the worst of them. when you are in the office remind me to tell you about my two ‘fave’ nicknames, Zeus and Pooey.
z
Shey Apr 19
Man I still don’t know how to pronounce your name
Yeah I get frustrated too sometimes, I have family that still don’t know how to say my name or even spell it. Heck I’ve even had it hyphenated.
Zoe Apr 20
hyphenated? how? what do they say, “Shu-eh?”
we should start a support group or something…lol
z
BrandyS May 5
Yeah, you should try living with a last name like Schaffels. People who read it don’t know how to say it, and people who know how to say it don’t know how to spell it. It’s Dutch, and if you say it correctly, it’s supposed to sound like a big wet sneeze. In fact, if you say it correctly, people around you will feel as if they’ve been sneeze on, which is why it has been Americanized to sound like shahfulz (not shay-fulz, as it is most commonly pronounced, scaffols, which is also common).
Zoe May 6
Geez that must be frustrating!
I like the way you describe how you say it. My best friend is Dutch and I love listening to her speak it. Big wet sneeze eh, I’ll have to get her to say your name to hear that! LOl