If your name is unusual, it’s almost inevitable the barista will misspell it on the side of your coffee cup. And sometimes the mistakes seem downright unkind

I do not drink the coffee in Starbucks because it doesn’t taste good. But even if I did, I wouldn’t, for another reason: my name. Because if you’re a half-Turkish, half-Iranian second-generation immigrant like I am, it means you have a name that few can pronounce, and which even your parents can’t agree how to spell. (My father spells it with a Sh, my mother with an Ş. In their defence, they don’t agree on much.)

When your own parents can’t agree on the spelling of your name, and beloved co-workers continue to get it wrong after years of gentle admonishing – well, I’d rather not have to go through the rigmarole of painstakingly spelling it out to a barista. In the past, when ordering an iced caramel frappuccino from Starbucks (I am not proud of this drink choice, but there we are), the conversation has gone a lot like this: “Sirin ... No, S-I-R-I-N ... pronounced Shirin. No, not like Ed Sheeran. SIRIN.” (Is presented with a cup with “Sharon” written on it.) Which is why I have the utmost sympathy with the 25-year-old admin worker and Starbucks patron Nadia Khan.