US Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg is making Americans tongue-tied because they can't pronounce his Maltese last name. He brushes it off, encouraging the nickname "Mayor Pete" to save everyone the embarrassment.

As a fellow Buttigieg, the feeling is all too familiar. According to my cousin, who traced our family tree in light of Mayor Pete making headlines, it turns out we're distantly related. I'm told Pete Buttigieg's dad and my grandfather, Nannu Tony Buttigieg, were cousins. Small world!

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg. Credit:AP

Over in the motherland, the surname is practically as common as Jones or Williams. At my Catholic primary school in Melbourne's western suburbs (Victoria's hub for Maltese immigrants), I was one of four Buttigiegs in my year level alone.

Working in the corporate world in my 20s, I became embarrassed having to phonetically spell my name or email address, repeatedly, whenever anyone requested it. I could practically hear their brains melt from the other end of the phone. Every. Single. Time. Nobody can say it, let alone spell it. "B-U-double-T-I-G ... wait, I'm not done yet ..." I can't even count the times I've had inbound emails lost due to a typo. My colleagues usually call me "Butters", or simply "Mel". In the early 2000s I even got "Scary Spice" because of my namesake, Mel B.