Midwest Mary

If your name is misspelled in print, is it still your name? The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story on the many times and ways Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s name has been misspelled, including in the Tribune. Even the White House website had it wrong when he was Chief of Staff. You think they’d check the spelling before listing his name.

I have to admit, I’ve misspelled names as well. In my first book, I omitted the “e” from Carole’s name. I also spelled Terri’s name with a “y” in a newspaper article.

In one of the articles I wrote for the Chicago Tribune, they incorrectly corrected Cooky the Clown’s name to Cookie.

And my own name has been misspelled many times. Doyle has been changed to Boyle and my married name of Brodien’s been spelled a variety of ways. Years ago I received a bill from a hospital after delivering a baby where my name was noted as Mark instead of Mary K (for Kathleen). No wonder the insurance company initially denied the claim.

©2014, Mary K. Doyle