How to Teach Siri to Pronounce a Name
When Siri mispronounces a name, immediately tell it, “That’s not how you say that.” It will ask you to pronounce the name and offer you a choice of pronunciations. As an alternative, you can give a contact a phonetic spelling to help Siri out.
How to Give Yourself a Nickname
Having Siri call you by a different name is one of the easiest tasks you can perform. Activate Siri and say, “Call me…” followed by whatever nickname you want to use. The neat part is Siri will update all shared contact lists on the account. So, if you share a contact list with your spouse, your nickname will show up on their contact list as well.
How to Give Someone Else a Nickname
You can give anyone a nickname by adding a nickname field in the Contacts app. This works the same as adding the phonetic spellings: go to Edit > Add Field > Nickname. Once you add a nickname, you can refer to the person by their whole name or their nickname when using Siri to call or text them.
How to Play Fun Nickname Pranks
The ability to give contacts a nickname opens up some avenues for mischief. The best subjects of these pranks are family members and friends. For example, we wouldn’t suggest putting “Ball and Chain” as your spouse’s nickname, but yes you can do that. You can even call someone “The Dude Who Owes Me 5 Bucks,” which is hilarious when they’re standing right beside you. Just remember to say it exactly as it is in the nickname or Siri might think you’re trying to pay the person with Apple Pay.
