True story from Reader’s Digest:
Our surname, Stead, rhymes with bed, but people often say steed, like the horse. One day a business associate of mine came over to the house and was greeted by my mother.
"Is Mr. Steed in?" the woman asked.
"He’s Stead," my mother snapped.
"Oh, no," the woman gasped. "I was talking to him only yesterday."