Was ‘Meer’ly Asking

(I’m in an aisle returning items to the shelf when a customer notices my name tag, which says ‘Mir,’ and asks me about it.)

Customer: “Oh, that’s a different name. How do you pronounce it?”

Me: “Meer.”

Customer: *in a knowing tone* “And is that Middle-European?”

Me: “No…”

Customer: *confused and questioning look*

Me: “…it’s just short for Miranda.”

Customer: “That’s horrible! You tricked me! Here I thought I was being all clever, knowing where it comes from, and you tricked me!”

Me: *slightly stunned at her outburst* “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

(I have people ask about my name multiple times a day, but I’ve never had anyone else get mad at me for ‘tricking’ them when my answers weren’t what they expected!)