Here are 55 mis-spellings of my surname WORNUM, which I have collected since 1981 from filming schedules, envelopes, letters, invoices, airline tickets, notes, memos, cards  and other kinds of documents addressed to me. Yes, I know, the obvious question is “Why?” but then I don’t collect stamps or follow a football team or build model aircraft; everyone should be allowed one minor hobby and this one is mine.

Some of them you just would not believe, but even when the name is spelled out for people, somewhere along the line it just goes totally wrong.

MORNUM, VORNUM, WARENHAM, WARHAM, WARNER, WARNUAM, WARNUM, WARNUN, WENUM, WEORNUM, WERHAM, WERMAN, WERMUN, WERNHAM, WERNHEM, WERNUM, WHERNHAM, WODNUM, WOENUM, WOFNUN, WOKNUM, WOMAN, WOMUM, WOMUN, WORBUM, WORDNUM, WORJUM, WORKMAN, WORMAN, WORMANN, WORMUM, WORMUN, WORNAM, WORNEM, WORNHAM, WORNHUM, WORNIUM, WORNM, WORNON, WORNUGA, WORNUN, WORNUW, WORNVM, WORORNUM, WORRAM, WORRNUM, WORTHAM, WORTOM, WORUM, WOTNUM, WURHUM, WURNHAM, WURNOM, WURNUM, WYMAN.

Aren’t they great? My favourite is WORNUGA; (from an invoice from a firm of locksmiths) and if I ever wanted to change my name…

Curiously enough, the one spelling I have not yet had attributed to me is WORNOM, the variation in use by a sizeable number of people in the U.S.A.

In case anyone wonders how to pronounce Wornum correctly, the British Wornums use this rule: the first syllable is the stressed one and the surname is pronounced as if was spelled “WUR-num” and not “WAR-num”.