The Name Game
November 2, 2009 I don't usually post name misspellings, because - let's face it - names are kind of a crap shoot. Even really common names have those few screwball versions that mess it up for the rest of us. (I'm looking at you, Jenifer with one "n" and Jerimee with no "y"!) So really, bakers can't be expected to get them all right.
However, there is a point at which names get so thoroughly butchered that your only option is to laugh. These...[dramatic pause]... are those butcherings.
"Let's see, is it Steven or Stephen?"
"Eh, I guess I'll go with both."This approach also works with the "ie" vs "y" issue:
(Try saying this aloud, and see if you don't sound like you're stuck in a stutter loop. "Criss-ee-ee-ee. No wait, I mean, Criss-ee-ee-ee-eah-crap.")Those at least have a method to their mistakes, but now we're going to veer into some unexplained territory. See if you can guess the names on these next three:
Fortunately, sometimes a Wreckerator will recognize that something looks a little "off" with his or her spelling. When this happens, s/he will do the only sensible thing: draw a question mark after the name - on the cake.
Then, when the customer points out that the name in question should be "Jenny" and not "Fenny", the Wreckerator will spare no effort in making a few virtually undetectable corrections:
Magnifique.(You've also gotta love that lone "C" hanging out under "Happy".)
- Related Wreckage: Keith and What's-Her-Name
Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!!! Those of you coming to see us tonight in Kansas City, be sure to offer him plenty of birthday greetings, songs, spankings, etc.
Reader Comments (141)
I had no trouble reading these. I guess years of deciphering my dyslexic father's creative spelling finally came in handy.
Awww, John - thanks for sharing your birthday with me! And I'm unusually spelled both for my nickname and full name, so this is a great birthday post. Many are the times I've cursed my mother for spelling it "creatively", but now it's stuck.
Suzi / Suzannah
wv: ammin - It's our birthday! Can I get an ammin?
are you sure that is not Savanna... clearly the decorator doesn't know cursive
I'm pretty sure that Sauanna(h) is supposed to be Savanna, which is normally spelled with an h at the end, which they erased.
Happy birthday, John!
I actually interpreted the Sarah and Susanna cakes correctly. But the Seth cake? Uh-uh.
Happy birthday, John! (Raising a slice of cake high.) To your good health!
I read Shrahs, Sauanna (which I took to mean Savannah, but apparently not o.O) and Hath.
Thank you, Cakewrecks, for providing my future children's names!
Ha! My name is Sarah and you would be shocked at how many people spell it Shara. Glad to see it in icing.
Happy Birthday John!!
We've heard from several ppl who have 'popular' names and get them spelled wrong...how about those of us with uncommon names? Lenore seems like it is pretty straight-forward but I've gotten everything from 'Lenoir' (which is the 18th century spelling) to Leynor and even Leonard. My sister has it worse...her name is Michaeline. You can only imagine what people do that that!
Yikes! I never would have gotten "Seth" out of "Hath!" I'm with everyone else, it really says "Hoth" and the wreckerator still misspelled it!
I can completely relate to all the strangly spelled names! I have a very common name with a different spelling. Try explaining Jessika to the rest of the world!
And of course, Happy Birthday Jon with a H!
WV: dingov - Dingov all the misspelled cakes out there!
Happu Birthday, John! You've had a rough month! Hope you eat lots of yummy cake!
Any Sarah will have recognised the "Sarah" wreck. We've all had that spelling at some stage!!
Hmm, I thought the "Susanna" was "Savanna."
Are we sure that Sauanna is not supposed to be Savanna? Still wrong, but not as ridiculously so...they just don't know how to script a "v" It even looks like they scraped the "h" off the end.
Ugggh, names!
My first and middle names have been on the top 10 baby names list EVERY YEAR since the year I was born (and my last name is always in the top 100, since it's also a first name), so they're pretty common and popular.
And STILL people spell them wrong all the time.
Happy birthday, John!
Hope your day is wonderful. Happy birthday John@
The one says "Savanna".. that's a real name. Was it really supposed to be Susanna?
'Happy Birthday Shrah'? Who want to give a cake to a bottle of wine?
Happy birthday John!!!
I thought that first cake was a reference to the old Daily Show segment, "Even Stevphen" with Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.
say hello to my hometown for me! wish i could be there.
Okay, you got me. I was sure that second one was Savanna.
I thought Seth was Kath, and I was thinking it's not THAT bad.
I don't care if the name is Bob, I always ask them to spell it.
That's why I ALWAYS asked the spelling, even for really common names. I got some funny looks but I explained that people spell even seemingly simple names in complex ways.
Dd and I sooo much regretted missing y'all in KC last night, but she had to start her new job. Fortunately, she'll be working in a place with a bakery on-site...fodder.... Happy Belated Birthday, John!!
The mispelled "Sausagna." which must be lasagna with sausage.
(Homer Simpson voice)
mmmm...Sausagna...
word verif.
"torterac"=what these wrecker should be tortered on.
It's supposed to be Susanna? It looks like 'Savanna' which is indeed an actual name so...
My name's been misspelled as "Shra"... by a school official. So I'm not really surprised by all this. Amused, yes, but not surprised at all.
Halarious!
What's really sad is that my mom, a former cake maker/decorater,spelled my name wrong on one of my birthday cakes. Me. Her DAUGHTER.
Unfortunately I don't have a picture and it doesn't qualify since it wasn't "purchased" but still- cake lady misspells daughter's name on birthday cake.
Lovely.
THANK YOU so much for those. I was at the hospital all day with my daughter who had to have surgery, and have been crying all day and sick with worry. This was the first time I laughed all day, and it felt good.
Fenny?!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!
p.s. My daughter is going to be fine :)
I've never had my name put on a cake before. I'm Kristina with a K, but my mom didn't ever want to go round and round with the bakers.
Fun fact: Her name's Suzan. Like Susan, but with a z. She once had to have my grandmother come to her school with a copy of her birth certificate to prove she knew how to spell her own name.
Of course, nobody ever learns anything from ANY of this; I named my daughter Allyson.
lol.. people do that to my name all the time. I say "Sarah with the H" and they throw it in all willy nilly. Makes me wonder if I said "Kris with a K" if they'd spell it Crisk"... -_-
In the interest of protecting true Douglas Adams geekdom, Fenny is a name in the Hitchhiker's Guide Series. Short for Fenchurch, the rail station where she was conceived.
Cake #2 definitely says Savanna. It's still a wreck in that they scraped off the H after finding out it was wrong for her spelling. But as a Savanna-with-no-H I can't tell you how many times I've seen this... *sigh* Give us H-less Savanna's some credit! :)
The "Susanna" cake looks more like a Savannah with the "H" removed (notice the smeared purple?) -Wendy
Are you sure the "Susanna" one really says that? It looks like Savanna to me. That's actually an old friend's name.
The Susanna one... It looks like Savanna which is a name. Do they have proof it's supposed to be Susanna?
I think the one you dubbed "Susanna" is actually "Savanna" and the wreckerator added an "h" originally, then ceremoniously scraped it off?
Does the third one say "Happy Birthday Shrek"?
Chriss-eeee