Do you hate being called by your second name?

[Arvandor]

I've noticed that some people really hate being called by their surname.

It doesn't bother me. If a friend or acquaintance comes up and says hello "surname," then I don't care. But I know some people who really hate it. They take it as a mark of utter disrespect and it makes them really angry. I've had colleagues at work try and have me disciplined over it, even though they are no higher on the totem pole than I am.

Does it bother you, or anyone you know?

[MyriVerse]

Never been an issue, because people can barely pronounce my surname.

[CSTowle]

Have a couple of friends named Chris, so it helps to keep track of us. "Towle" (rhymes with a##hole) works fine.

[KOSLOX]

I wrestled, played soccer, and played football in highschool. Then I played Rugby in college, so I'm pretty used to it. It would be a little bit weird to hear someone do it in my office but I don't think I would get angry, it does lack professionalism though.

[Double 0]

I personally don't like it because it's:

1) An excuse to not use my first name, despite me allowing people to use nicknames to make it easier.

2) I know who originally had my last name as their first name: my ancestor, born many centuries ago. I'm neither him nor a reincarnation as far as I can tell.

[WillieMorgan]

Yeah, definitely not keen. Unless it's got a 'Mr...' in front of it.

Takes me back to my lousy Grammar school days.

[DebkoX]

People can barely pronounce it so not much.
Its Erdogan, as in Turkish.
Yet people look at it and just say; Eh-red-oh-gan.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Oh, I thought you meant middle names. I would be annoyed by that, but no one's ever done it. I don't mind the surname at all, it's kind of a middle-ground on formality between first names and last names and honorifics that works in some contexts.

[Paradox]

It was, in fact, commonplace when I was growing up for high school kids to go by their last name. Everyone in my family did. All my friends did. My mother used to have to ask "Which one?" answering the phone, because of it.

I don't much like it now except from old friends, but I'm an old man now, so that's appropriate.

[Cold Water]

No one ever calls me by my surname.
It's meat head speak, and I don't like it.
At all.
Take that BS to the gym and leave it there.

yyyyuuuucccckkkkkk.

[fumetti]

It's a "wall."

I believe the practice is an attempt to appear friendly without ever letting the relationship get personal. It keeps the other person at a distance, sort of formal but not overtly, and just personal enough to say "I know your name" without being on a first name basis.

I don't much trust people who do this.

[Puppetmaker Grae]

I can't recall a time that it has ever happened to me. Would I be annoyed? I think that'd be context dependent.

[harashkupo]

When I was young and started a new school a teacher liked my last name and used it. From then on everyone just assumed it was my name and used it which was funny when they found out what my first name was. I actually prefer it now.

[llozymandias]

if always being called by your last name is disrespect (& it usually is), how about almost always being called by you first & last names? To me it feels like being equated with Forrest Gump.

[emac1790]

My last name starts with "Mc". Back in the day, on a summer job after 11th grade, my idiot supervisor (who thought he was cool and everybody liked him, which was not the case at all) kept calling me "Willie". So, I never answered him. This not my first or last name. It's "McWillie". One day, he did this several times and each time I didn't answer him. so it comes to the point where he comes over to me yelling asking why I'm not answering him. He starts to go into the whole "do you want to work here?" speech and I simply told him Willie is not my name. This ******* tries to say that is my name. His boss comes over and says "His name is McWillie". At this point, I felt I made enough money and it was just a summer job any way, so I called the supervisor a dick and quit.

The point of this story is, at least in my experience, a person that you're not friendly with that calls you by your surname is nine times out of ten, a (insert insult).