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How Many Names Have You Been Called in this Business?

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 Lic. #01871795

How Many Names Have You Been Called in this Business?

I've been called a million of them.

Tri, Thi, Toni, Tani, Tina, Traci (huh?), and just today in a comment on my featured post, No Offense But I'm Sick of Your Offer, I was referred to as, Tre.  Thanks for the chuckle.  Since I've gone 37 years with this name, I thought I had seen or heard them all, but those of you who have an unusual name know it is the gift that just keeps on giving.  I generally have a very nonchalant attitude about mispronunciations and misspellings because it happens so frequently.  Although I will, at times, refuse to give my name to a Starbuck's Barista if I am pressed for time (Please just call me "Grande Frappuchino®.") 

I suppose my name is a bit deceiving.  It is short - three letters, but that unheard of double consonant throws everyone for a loop.  So even when people are not called upon to pronounce it, they feel drawn to "correct" it.  What I find most amusing is that even people who can't spell well will try to correct the spelling of my name.  I don't know what they are thinking "Poor child, she made it through college and STILL can't spell her own name." Or, maybe they are trying to say "I may not know everything about spelling, but I know THAT'S wrong."  One nice thing about having an unusual name is that people always remember that it is unusual, although they may not remember what it is.  One of my least favorite renditions is Thi, as I believe it brings undue attention to whether I have recently gained weight.  Tri is also annoying because I think it makes me sound a bit too eager.  

There are definite good sides and bad sides to having an unusual name.  As some may know, before I turned to real estate, I worked as an attorney.  And one thing you should know about lawyers is that they generally don't like to admit when they don't know something, especially if they are litigators.  I mean if you are presenting your case in court and the other side just cited a case you never heard of, you just have to keep going and not lose your "air of authority."  You can't exclaim "For real?" in open court and expect to win.  Unfortunately, this behavior extends beyond the courtroom.  Therein lies the problem with my name.  Lawyers look down, they don't know how to pronounce it, but they aren't going to admit that.  They do what all good lawyers do, they plow right through it.  As a result, my good friends at the firm often jokingly referred to me as "Teeny Leeblank," in emails and behind closed doors.  (I couldn't be too upset about Teeny because I was named for my grandmother, Tiny, and if she could suffer a lifetime of Tiny, I could live through a few good hearted moments as Teeny.) 

I've even encountered colleagues who were "jealous" of my special name.  Once I was cornered at a Happy Hour by an attorney who noticed that a local judge always addressed me, an attorney fairly new to the community, by first name at social events.  He wondered what was so special about me.  I kindly explained to him that the first time that judge ever said my name was in front of a group of other colleagues and he pronounced it as "Tui" as in "P-Tooey," and though I like to go with the flow, I draw the line when I am addressed as the sound you make when you spit, so I corrected him in front of everyone - and he never forgot it.  That story quickly put an end to his envy.

The name Tni itself is simple, it's like "tonight" without the "t" on the end.    And though I've been called by many names, the name my mother chose, is the one I recommend.

Copyright © Tni LeBlanc 2010 * How Many Names Have You Been Called in this Business?*

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Posted by

Tni LeBlanc, Broker
(805) 878-9879 mobile/text

tni@mintprop.com
www.MintProp.com
CalBRE #01871795

Comments (47)

Jon Quist
REALTY EXECUTIVES ARIZONA TERRITORY - Tucson, AZ
Tucson's BUYERS ONLY Realtor since 1996

Sometimes I have been called Jonathan. Nope, not me.

Dec 05, 2010 05:30 PM
Jon Quist
REALTY EXECUTIVES ARIZONA TERRITORY - Tucson, AZ
Tucson's BUYERS ONLY Realtor since 1996

Oh yeah, and Johnny Quest. Not me. Never even saw the cartoon!

Dec 05, 2010 05:31 PM
Maureen Fukumoto
Help-U-Sell Realty Pro - Mililani, HI
Maureen

I've wondered how to pronounce your name and I have to admit that I have more than once thought of calling you just to hear you answer the phone. 

Dec 05, 2010 06:55 PM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Tni - so WHAT is your Starbucks name?   I think I may tell them Tni next time!

Dec 06, 2010 03:52 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

You know, I'm glad you posted this easy pronunciation of your name.  My maiden name--Balulis (Bah-LOO-less)--got butchered constantly.  I would simply tell people it rhymed with clueless, but was no indication of what they were getting with me. 

Dec 06, 2010 04:01 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

BTW, if I had to guess before this post, I would have guessed the T to be silent and called you Ni (knee).

Dec 06, 2010 04:02 AM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Jon Zolsky - a better way to spell my name would have been with an apostrophe.  My mom debated that one.  She didn't want me to have to dot an i and put an apostrophe.  Whatever.  T'ni probably would ave been difficult too.  I just use tonight because will get it from that when I say it, so it stops being hard, but really there is no vowel.  How creative what you did with your name.  I had a friend whose mom's name wouldn't fit on a check so she decided to shorten for convenience as well.

Jon Quist - So just Jon?  That's kind of unusual isn't it?  Most guy I know who spell it Jon are shortening from Jonathan.  Who is Johnny Quest? 

Maureen - Mystery solved.  I try to always answer my phone with my name to solve that for people.  As a result usually, the first sentence people say to me is "So that's how you say it."  LOL.

Michael - Actually it's Grande Caramel Frappuchino, but you can call me Frap.  What's yours?

 

Dec 06, 2010 04:11 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Tni aka Frap - my Starbucks name changes depending on the mood and the drink.  I know someone who is so well known in her community the barista writes Realtor Lady on her cup --- how about that for market share!

Dec 06, 2010 05:58 AM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Michael - Wow now that is impressive!  We Realtors tend to live on caffeine I guess.

Dec 06, 2010 06:14 AM
J. Philip Faranda
Howard Hanna Rand Realty - Yorktown Heights, NY
Associate Broker / Office Manager

I was kind of wondering about that. My best guess was pronounced Teeny. 

Then again, lots of people call me J or Jay. I am Phil. 

A Rose by any other name. 

Dec 06, 2010 08:05 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Tni, I just scurried back to check an email I sent you earlier today to make sure I got it right!  My youngest sister's name is Bairbre, and it's constantly mis-pronouned - and she gets a little prickly about it.  I think she could use a bit of your humor about a unique name!

Dec 06, 2010 09:04 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Tni, I just scurried back to check an email I sent you earlier today to make sure I got it right!  My youngest sister's name is Bairbre, and it's constantly mis-pronouned - and she gets a little prickly about it.  I think she could use a bit of your humor about a unique name!

Dec 06, 2010 09:04 AM
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff
Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Babylon NY - Babylon, NY
"Moving at The Speed of YOU!"

Ah ha! I got it right. To me that is the only way to pronounce your first name <patting myself on back> lol. For whatever reason, i've always been good at pronouncing unique names. I have been called either Julie or Kathy. I can see Kathy but Julie? Makes you wonder.

Dec 06, 2010 11:29 PM
Gay E. Rosen
Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty - Larchmont, NY
As Real as Real Estate Gets!

Hi Tni: You write so well..... I haev been called Gary (of course), Gaye, Gabriel..... but the worst name I have seen in writing is when I type quickly and type gasy in error....  I can only blame myself for that one! Best, Gay

Dec 07, 2010 12:53 AM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Phil - Good to know!  Wasn't sure before.  I guess Teeny is a good guess it is infinitely better than Tui, which is essentially flipping the "n" upside down.

Patricia - Yes that is an unusual name and I wouldn't know how to pronounce it either.  If I got upset every time someone mispronounced my name I would spend all day upset though.  Not worth it. 

Jackie - You are one in a million.  I can't see Julie or Kathy.  Can they read?  LOL.

Gay - Well my auto correct one time changed my client's name from Maggie to Maggot.  Now I thought, our relationship is strong, but if I hadn't caught that I somehow think I would have lost a client.  So, there are worst things than being gasy.

 

Dec 07, 2010 01:37 PM
Charita Cadenhead
eXp Realty - Birmingham, AL
Serving Jefferson and Shelby Counties (Alabama)

Well now that answers my question.  At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me and that I was mistaking an "r" for an "n."  You just don't know how many times my nose nearly touched the computer monitor to make sure that that the "n" was not actually and "r."

Dec 13, 2010 03:55 AM
Anna Tolstoy
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Natick, MA

Tni, that was hilarious! (BTW my spellchecker just underlined your name, indicating that it's "wrong" - maybe that's one of the reasons people feel compelled to "correct" it?)

My husband has quite a unique name. It was easy to spell in Russia, but here in the US - it's a different story. hWe decided to have fun with that - we have a "wall of fame", where we have copies of all misspellings. His full first name is a nightmare, but short form is only slightly better. The right name is "Slava", we get all sorts of things: Slaza, Flava, Salda, Salsa" - to name just a few.

His last name is the worst. It's Tolstoy, so we actually hoped it'll be easier for him than for me, but you'd be surprised. I only get an occasioanl "Gleboba" instead of Glebova, not bad at all. He on the other hand... That's why I didn't change my name, and am still debating - I'm going to write a post about it, you inspired me!

Dec 19, 2010 08:23 AM
Lanre-"THE REAL ESTATE FARMER" Folayan
Samson Properties - Bowie, MD
I don't make promises.I deliver results.SOLD HOMES

People have and still butcher my name. The way to pronounce my name is the same why you would pronouce Andre. Expect put a L in front of An and take out the D=Thats how you pronounce my name. Thanks for sharing. Great post.

Dec 28, 2010 02:24 PM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Cynthia should be an easy name, but I get called Sylvia, Sophia Cyncia, Chincia ... But my favorite was in school from 1st grade through High School. There were so many Cindy's and Cynthia's, so my last name was shortened and everyone called me Lars (rhymes with farce). Lars Larsen. Loved it.

Jan 02, 2011 10:26 AM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Charita- That is so funny that we both wrote blogs about what we were about to ask one another when these came out.  Next time I won't even email you I'm just going to think a thought and pull up your blog.

Anna - That is funny because I have a wall of fame as well.  I just started it a couple years ago when I got a letter addressed to "Lebland" and I thought that was too funny.  I can't imagine that people would have a hard time with Tolstoy though -- everyone has heard that name!

Lanre - That would have been my guess. Glad I was right.

Cynthia - That's a great nickname why'd you give it up?

Jan 02, 2011 11:01 AM