Keity

The first time I went to 100 Montaditos (a chain restaurant that features 100 kinds of montaditos - little sandwiches on toasted baguettes), that's how the person taking my order spelled my name, and I thought that was interesting. :)  At 100 Montaditos you order at the counter and tell them your name, and they call your name when your order is ready.

My name pronounced in the normal American way sounds pretty weird to Spanish-speakers, which I've learned after spending time in Mexico and Spain. My first time in Spain, when I spent a summer in Oviedo with the IU Honors program, I didn't really think about it and just pronounced my name in the regular way, and it turned out that most people thought I was saying something more like "Kiri".

When I studied abroad in Mexico for a semester, I (along with the two other Katies in my program) introduced myself as Katie pronounced like Cati, which is indeed a Spanish name. Mexicans definitely understood that and it didn't sound weird to them…but it's not really my name.

So these couple of months when I've introduced myself to a Spaniard, I pronounce my name pretty much in the regular way, but in a more Spanish-friendly way…which means pronouncing the "t" like a "t" in Spanish (and not like a "d" as in the regular American pronunciation), pronouncing the long "a" more like a Spanish "e" followed by "i", and saying my name slowly. So people understand me better when I say my name, so when Spaniards say my name it sounds more or less normal. :)

In any case I've started using the name "Ana" when I go to 100 Montaditos…much less hassle, haha.