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At least 65% of the people seeing my last name "Adler" pronounce it as "Alder" and maybe 10% as "Atler". I was telling a friend who has a Sailboat using "Adler/Barbour refrigeration" about this and he said "'Alder'
like in my refrigeration?". He was not joking, for 20 years he thought it was "Alder" not "Adler". Now there has to be a reason that so many people have trouble with this and I would love to know what it is or where to find the answer.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I would blame dog for giving so many people dyslexia.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Good one, tsuwm! Welcome, Carltree.  Sorry about that. I was just thinking about our tendency to make new input fit patterns we are familiar with, and yet--alder is not all that well-known or used a tree name. Maybe they're thinking of the letter pattern of older or elder. Two other things: your part of the country is my husband's favorite vacation spot; and, can you tell us how Kill Devil Hills got its name? I never have gotten around to trying to look it up. (LIU, as you may have seen it here.)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Nice to have with you with us Carl. I am utterly bewilderd by the difficulties you describe. I have no idea how people could get Adler misslepped in their minds like that. When I hear Adler, I automatically get an image of a very old manual typewriter, followed by an image of the old German flag, complete with Adler. It might be interesting to see how many countries, use an Adler as their national bird. I suppose if the problem proves incurable, you could concede defeat by changing your surname to Eagle. I do admire your patience, though. I live with people constantly misspelling my "real" name, and it drives me nuts! I suggest that you spend as much time as you can here, among people who are meticulous in their use of language. Here at least, you will always be "Adler", never "Alder", or "Atler". 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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here, among people who are meticulous in their use of languageThat's a foul calumny! Some of us are particulate in our misuse of the luggage
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Have you noticed anyone making the same mistake referring to Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes stories?
Bingley
Bingley
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old hand
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old hand
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My guess is, those people instinctively want to avoid the dilemma of how to pronounce the initial vowel in "Adler" (at least 4 possibilities), so they fall back on Alder, which has a "consensus pronounciation" . My own last name, Sieber, (correct pronounciation like "Sea'ber"), is generally copied as "Seiber" and pronounced "Cyber" in Anglo-Saxon contexts, whereas Germans can't resist adding a final 't' to it!.
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old hand
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old hand
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And I was (in my mind) pronouncing your last name 'zee-ber' - assuming false Germanic pronunciation authority. (Serves me right!)
As for Adler, though I am familiar with the Irene Adler reference (as which Holmesian would not be?) the first thought I had was of the psychologist/psychiatrist Adler - wasn't he the third in the holy trinity begin by Freud and Jung?
And, no, I would not dream of pronouncing (or spelling) the name 'Alder' (being perhaps more likely to 'correct' it the other way - from Alder to Adler...)
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I have often thought the same, but although I am very familiar with alder as a tree being an outdoors type person, I don't think many would be. Now 'elder' is a real possibility. We keep our sailboat on Albemarle sound about an hour from Kill Devil Hills and have never thought of how it got its name. I will find out though.
Carl (Tree)
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"My guess is, those people instinctively want to avoid the dilemma of how to pronounce the initial vowel in "Adler" (at least 4 possibilities),"
Now that is something I never thought of and may be the best explanation yet. Thanks.
Carl
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