My given name is Theodore John Michalik. I have generally gone by Ted since high school. It’s not that I dislike the name Theodore, just that it takes too long to write. This desire for minimal length may be due to my lousy handwriting, Maybe if it looked better I wouldn’t mind the extra letters.
My last name is almost never pronounced correctly by strangers. Michalik is a Polish name which I have been told is the equivalent of Michaelson. The way we pronounce it is with the “c” silent and the accent on the “hall”. Some of my relatives have dropped the “c” from their name which probably makes it easier for everyone. I really don’t mind being different and having to correct people on the spelling and pronunciation, so I’m going to leave the “c” where it is.