Hi Tom

Some people are just text-blind. At least if you say your name people will repeat it correctly - I have to go through this production of spelling it, pronouncing it by the syllable, emphasising the "ELL" at the end (which is how I DON'T want it to be pronounced - it should be "MakDONll"). IN fact, the Gaelic spelling of my name is like "Macdomnhail"

...
>People have a problem pronouncing my last name. It seems easy enough but would you believe that only three people (outside of our family and people with the same name) have pronounced Whiteley correctly when I am being addressed?
>
>It comes out Whit-a-lee, Whit-lee and other variations...

I guess that's because people EXPECT simple spellings to come out corrupted in English. Take "Davies" - some families pronounce their name "Daveez! - others "Davis". Take the name "Cholmondely-St John" - "Chumley-Sinjun"

>
>Ley is old English for forest
>Leigh is Middle English for forest
>Forest is Modern English for guess what? :)

BTW, isn't a leigh like a water meadow or something? There is a very famous Richard Whiteley (not sure if he's got a second "e") in the UK, who presents a quizz show week-daily, called "Countdown". He's a person who people love to hate, or hate to love

Cheers

Terry