# Annoying pronunciation of "Halley" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327 "2012-10-20T15:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/1 "2012-10-20T15:57:03Z")
[This story](http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/meteor-lights-sky-over-northern-calif-111545218--abc-news-tech.html) about meteors that are remnants of Comet Halley has a video that includes the annoying pronunciation of the great astronomer’s name as “Hailey”. My understanding has always been that the correct pronunciation has the name rhyming with “valley” - though there is apparently some support for the notion that he would have said it as “Hawley”. I wonder why this clearly bogus pronunciation has become so common. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/2 "2012-10-20T16:12:02Z")
Because of [Bill Haley and the Comets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM). Joe ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/3 "2012-10-20T21:11:04Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Because of [Bill Haley and the Comets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM). > > Joe :smack: Oh my freaking God…41 years old and this is the first time I’ve actually twigged to that! ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/4 "2012-10-20T21:15:31Z")
Smack my head too. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/5 "2012-10-20T21:16:51Z")
I’ve always pronounced it as Hailey. Sorry if this offends you… ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/6 "2012-10-20T21:32:36Z")
The man himself pronounced it in the way that rhymed with “valley” so I’m going to stick with that. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/7 "2012-10-20T21:51:38Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > The man himself pronounced it in the way that rhymed with “valley” so I’m going to stick with that. You heard him say it, did you? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/8 "2012-10-20T21:57:01Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Because of [Bill Haley and the Comets](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM). > > Joe Presumably, though, Bill Haley named his band “The Comets” because he thought the heavenly body’s name was pronounced like his own. The band may have helped to popularize the “Hailey” pronunciation (as applied to the actual comet), but it can’t have been its origin. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/9 "2012-10-20T22:01:34Z")
_Everybody_ pronounces it the wrong way. The right way just makes me think: “Halley, Halley, Halley, get your adverbs here!” ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/10 "2012-10-22T06:18:44Z")
I can’t remember where I read it, but I read somewhere that he pronounced it as Hale-y. Wikipedia says nobody knows the proper way to either pronounce it or spell it. hh ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/11 "2012-10-22T17:36:07Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I can’t remember where I read it, but I read somewhere that he pronounced it as Hale-y. > Wikipedia says nobody knows the proper way to either pronounce it or spell it. > > hh Yeah: [Edmond Halley - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Halley) > [@](#): > > There are three pronunciations of the surname Halley. The most common, both in Great Britain and in the United States, is /ˈhæli/. This is the personal pronunciation used by most Halleys living in London today. The alternative /ˈheɪli/ is often preferred for the man and the comet by those who grew up with rock and roll singer Bill Haley, who called his backing band his “Comets” after the common pronunciation of Halley’s Comet in the United States at the time. Colin Ronan, one of Halley’s biographers, preferred /ˈhɔːli/. Contemporary accounts spell his name Hailey, Hayley, Haley, Haly, Halley, Hawley and Hawly, and presumably pronunciations varied similarly. > As for his given name, although the spelling “Edmund” is quite common, “Edmond” is what Halley himself used. It’s always surprising to me just how free and easy people were with the spellings of their own names in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/12 "2012-10-22T18:07:01Z")
My father was born in 1921 and assured me that people were pronouncing it “Haley” long before the dawn of rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/13 "2012-10-22T18:40:18Z")
I learned like “Haily” and everyone I knew pronouced like that when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s. Didn’t learn it should rhyme with ‘valley’ until I was an adult. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/14 "2012-10-22T18:42:03Z")
Obligatory Monty Python reference. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/15 "2012-10-22T20:17:31Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > It’s always surprising to me just how free and easy people were with the spellings of their own names in the past. William [del]Shakespeare[/del] Shakspere demands you rescind that insult (if that is his real name) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/16 "2012-10-22T21:54:03Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > My father was born in 1921 and assured me that people were pronouncing it “Haley” long before the dawn of rock and roll. Which ties in with the Wiki link I quoted, saying that Bill Haley used the name because that’s how people commonly pronounced the comet guy in those days. If they’d only rename it “Eddie’s comet” things would be a lot easier. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/17 "2012-10-23T02:52:36Z")
Supposedly, there are three different spellings of his name by the man himself on record, one of which is “Hawley”. It’s hard to interpret that as rhyming with “daily” or “valley”, which leads me to believe that however his name was spelled, it was pronounced “Holly”. To confound matters even more, a photograph of his signature in the Royal Charter Society book appears on [this page](http://www.utdallas.edu/~m.vidyasagar/images/royal-society/Halley.jpg). It looks more like Halloy. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/18 "2012-10-23T04:13:41Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > It looks more like Halloy. Could easily be “Halley” with the “e” formed less than carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/19 "2012-10-23T14:31:17Z")
Yeah, I should have included a winking smiley. I just thought it was funny after the debate about the first part of his name. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327/20 "2012-10-23T23:00:18Z")
I too have often wondered where the “Hailey” pronunciation came from. FWIW, “[Halley’s Waitress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=274CB0VL7_4)” in the Fountains of Wayne song is also pronounced with the long A. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-pronunciation-of-halley/638327.md?page=2)