Alexa is the most uncommon female form of the name Alexander but recently has become more popular since a certain company made it it's own. Since I have had the name way before Amazon invented their version, I realized a lot of people struggled with my name. I get it's not as easy as say Susan or Ellen but how hard can a five letter name be? Here are a couple struggles only people named Alexa will understand.
1. Never ending Amazon jokes
Ever since Amazon gave their echo the name Alexa, I have not heard the end of Amazon jokes. "You should work for Amazon!" or "Does Amazon know you stole their name?" just a few I have heard for a couple years now. Still waiting for Amazon to pay me royalty fees for taking my name.
2. Never spelled correctly
You'd think since Amazon took my name, that people would know how to spell it now. Well, I found out that is an assumption that is wrong. When asked "Can I have a name for your order?" I will say "It's Alexa" and wait for my coffee or food and see either Elexa, Aleta, Alexis, Alexia, Alexandra, Alexandria, Lexa, and Alex but very rarely is it spelled correctly. I have no resorted to telling the cashier "It's Alexa like Amazon" and it is still misspelled.
3. Never pronounced right
For some reason, the "a" at the end of my name really trips people up. Growing up and even now in college when attendance is taken my professors will call out "Alexis" or "Alex". I've gotten so used to my name being mispronounced that I will respond to Alexis or Alex because I am tired of correcting people. For those of you who do pronounce it right, know that ALL Alexa's appreciate you as you are a rare gem. For future reference, It's pronounced "uh-LEK-suh."
4. Strange Nicknames
The list includes Lex, Lexa, Lexi, Ally, Ali, Andria, and Alex. Lex, Lexi, and Lexa are fine but why Ally, Andria, or Alex? I don't have a Y in my name, Alexa is usually not short for Alexandria, and if you're calling me Alex at that point why not call me Alexa since you're just chopping off the last vowel of my name.
5. Never finding your name on a tacky tourist item
Good luck finding Alexa on any mug, magnet, Coke bottle, or Christmas ornament out there. If you don't have time to get one personalized, you settle for Alex or Alexis. It's so hard to find an Alexa item but yet they print out Alexandria or Alexander no problem. Please explain because last I checked Alexa was a lot shorter than Alexandria or Alexander.
6. Autocorrect or Microsoft Word correct your name automatically
One of my biggest pet peeves about my name is that Autocorrect and Microsoft Word do not recognize it as a legit name. Alexa is always corrected to Alexis or Alex for some reason. I have noticed since Amazon has taken the name, more recent programs have started to recognize Alexa and have stopped autocorrecting it.