“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.”

–  William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

“Don’t call me Justin!”

–  Jason Usilton, Pendant Automation

One quote goes down in history, and the other in Pendant history. Justin, sorry, I mean Jason, never actually said that, but he is so commonly referred to as Justin that it’s now a running joke here. I get confused at times as to which is his correct name (as the senior, i.e. oldest member of the team, I really do forget sometimes). We’re not sure why it happens so frequently. Jason says it happened rarely, if at all, at his previous place of employment.

Some speculate that the somewhat counterintuitive pronunciation of his last name – the “U” at the beginning is a short u sound so the first two syllables rhyme with muscle – adds to the confusion and causes people to swap Justin for Jason. But we’re not really sure.  Some people even spell it out as Justin in email messages he receives.

Justin is not the only incorrect version of Jason’s name that we hear. James is another, perhaps confused with the real James of  “Where’s James” fame.

But Wait, There’s More…

Jason isn’t the only one. Herewith is a list of incorrect names that are a recurring part of our story.

• Cassie Ward: Cathy Ford, Casey
  • These are usually spoken, not written.
• Rob Ward: Rod
  • This sometimes goes on for years.
• Gary Stokes: Gray, Gay, Mr. Strokes
  • The first two are always typos, but Mr. Strokes is often spoken in error. Sometimes this comes from someone who thinks they are making a joke that I am hearing for the first time in my life, but often from people that see a superfluous “r” in my surname.
• James Butler: Doug
  • No idea…
• Brad Hoffman: Brian, Mort
  • Ok, Brian, I can see, but Mort? When did you last meet someone named Mort?
• Jason Usilton: Justin, James
  • See above.
• Peyton (Cassie’s daughter): Kendall
  • By her own teacher!
• Pendant Automation: Pendant Automotive
  • Reasonable but wrong.

Fortunately, we take it in good humor and each new occurrence creates a laugh and gives us a reason to make fun of each other all over again. But I’m pretty sure that even Mort Shakespeare would get frustrated eventually.