My name is David Ritchie MacIver.

This is why I go by DRMacIver online, and why that particular capitalisation - I am not Doctor MacIver, I’m certainly not Doctor MacGyver, I’m D. R. MacIver.

The ‘I’ is pronounced ‘ee’. Mack - ee - ver. If we were the Scottish branch of the family, we would pronounce the ‘I’ as ‘ay’, but we’re not.

Common errors

  1. Spelling it McIver
  2. Pronouncing it in the Scottish manner
  3. Spelling it Maclver (lower case l instead of capital I)
  4. Pronouncing ‘Mackelver’

General name etiquette

I have absolutely no problem with people pronouncing my name wrong if they’ve just read it. Assuming it is pronounced in the scottish name is very reasonable. The following are however good general rules of name etiquette:

  1. Asking me in advance how to pronounce a name you are at all unsure of is polite and helpful.
  2. Pay attention to how someone pronounces their own name when they say it and follow their lead.
  3. In particular, the exchange “Hi, I’m David MacIver”, “Pleased to meet you, Mr Mack-ay-ver” is infuriating.

Historic example of our usage

From the movie Atlantic Ferry, about our branch of the family (I lose track as to whether the MacIvers in question are direct ancestors of mine, but I think they’re not):