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Not What I'm Called meme template

Not What I'm Called is a meme format on WhatiMeme. Used when a casual hello is followed by the wrong name, nickname, title, or label, and the person shuts it down on the spot. The stock reply is the blunt "NOT WHAT I'M CALLED." It fits unwanted nicknames, wrong honorifics, outdated labels, and any address the speaker should have known better than to use.

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A white-background cartoon with three dark speech bubbles and two black line-drawn figures at the lower left. The top bubble is small, holds the white lowercase words "hey guys," and has a tail pointing down-right. Below it on the left is a large solid black rectangular speech bubble with a long tail pointing down; no letters are visible inside it. To its lower right, a smaller dark bubble shows white all-caps text on two lines, "NOT WHAT" and "I'M CALLED," with a short tail pointing right. The left figure is a simple round head and body. The figure beside them has curly hair, a shirt, and one arm raised and extended, pointing upward.

How to write this meme

Type only a name, nickname, title, or short label in the blank black bubble — something a person could actually be called. "hey guys" and "NOT WHAT I'M CALLED" are already printed on the image.

Caption zones

  • Wrong name — The wrong name or label. Only this black bubble is filled in. Leave the printed "hey guys" and "NOT WHAT I'M CALLED" alone, and do not cover the two figures.

Example captions

  • Wrong name: champ

A friendly opener plus a tiny patronizing nickname, then an all-caps shutdown. The overreaction to one small word is the joke.

  • Wrong name: rockstar

Office pep-talk language is treated as if it were someone's actual name. The correction refuses the forced cheer.

  • Wrong name: bestie

An over-familiar nickname collides with a hard boundary. It lands because "bestie" assumes a closeness that clearly is not there.

  • Wrong name: sir

The greeting is polite and the label is only one word, so the blunt reply feels especially sharp. Contrast does the work.

  • Wrong name: the new guy

"The new guy" is a label that sticks after it has stopped being true. The correction rejects both the name and the outdated role.

Common mistakes

  • Writing a full sentence that is not a form of address
  • Explaining the joke inside the bubble instead of stating the bad name
  • Making the wrong name too long for the bubble
  • Softening the correction so the punchline loses its snap
  • Using a name that is obviously right, so there is nothing to reject

Also known as

Hey Guys

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