# Do the surnames Farrell and Ferrell sound the same to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691 "2011-06-08T00:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/21 "2011-06-08T03:39:50Z")
Farrell, Ferrell, ferret, farrow, ferry, fairy. All have the same first syllable to me. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/22 "2011-06-08T03:46:10Z")
Nope - distinctly different. But I bet they are the same for my wife (native Georgian, but not here to ask), as we had some name confusion once as she pronounced Barry identically to Berry. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/23 "2011-06-08T03:57:45Z")
One of the splits in English dialect in various regions in North America is the merry/marry/Mary merger. Some dialects pronounce all three words the same (so that /æ/ becomes /ε/ before /r/). Others pronounce marry and Mary the same, but differently from merry. And others pronounce all three differently. Most of Canada and the American midwest pronounce them all the same. > **[English-language vowel changes before historic /r/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_r#Mary-marry-merry_merger)** > > /ɛːr/ In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by /r/ in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by /r/ that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vowel phonemes occur before /r/ than in other positions of a word. > In rhotic dialects, /r/ is pronounced in most cases. In General American English (GA), /r/ is pronounced as an approximant \[ɹ\] or \[ɻ\] in most positions, but after some vowels, it i... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/24 "2011-06-08T04:03:50Z")
I voted incorrectly myself. While I would normally pronounce the words in the same way, I have repeatedly heard Colin Farrell’s name with the A making a sound similar to the A in cat, and thus would say it that way without even thinking. Having an unusual name myself, I always find myself deferring to the pronunciation given. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/25 "2011-06-08T04:20:25Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > [“Mary was merry as she married Terry, but then Scary Larry got carried away and chased Barry’s hairy dairy cattle through the ceremony”.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445112) 😃 > > And [the sequel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=467688). I’ve got to marry Mary while my Mary’s taking care of me, we’ll all be feeling merry when I marry Mary Mac. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/26 "2011-06-08T05:26:30Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > I’ve got to marry Mary while my Mary’s taking care of me, we’ll all be feeling merry when I marry Mary Mac. YIGGLE AIGLE DIGGLE AIGLE DIGGLE AIGLE DUM. \ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/27 "2011-06-08T07:41:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > [“Mary was merry as she married Terry, but then Scary Larry got carried away and chased Barry’s hairy dairy cattle through the ceremony”.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445112) 😃 > > And [the sequel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=467688). I pronounce all of these words with the same first vowel sound. Same with Farrel and farrow and Ferrel and ferret. I lived in NYC for 25 years, and had to learn how to pronounce these vowels differently. Now that I’ve relocated back here, I had to relearn to pronounce them all the same (though at times I regress into New Yorkese). ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/28 "2011-06-08T13:12:28Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I notice Colin Farrell and Will Ferrell’s surnames mixed up on here and elsewhere online all the time. They sound different to me, are these names typically pronounced the same way where you live? > > Poll to come. My area has a conflux of accents, so I can’t really address how they’re pronounced in this area in general - but how I pronounce them. Not quite, but it’s damn close. Ferrell starts with ‘Feh’ and Farrell with a sound halfway between ‘Fah’ and ‘Feh’. Best way I can explain it, I think. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/29 "2011-06-08T13:20:56Z")
Left to my own devices, I would pronounce them differently. However, if someone whose last name is Farrell tells me she pronounces it Ferrell, I’ll say it that way and not argue. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/30 "2011-06-08T13:56:18Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > …Will Ferrell and Colin Farrell’s last names are homonyms. … The Devil you say! Do their wives know? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/31 "2011-06-08T14:32:26Z")
“Will Ferrell, while at the fair’ll ask Colin Farrell how far’ll he go.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/32 "2011-06-08T14:34:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > “Will Ferrell, while at the fair’ll ask Colin Farrell how far’ll he go.” Ferrell, fair’ll and Farrell sound alike in my dialect. Far’ll sounds different. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/33 "2011-06-08T14:51:21Z")
Anyone one know how he pronounces it himself? He’s from California, right? So I imagine those vowels have merged for him. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/34 "2011-06-08T14:57:16Z")
Very similar, but not exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/35 "2011-06-08T15:09:30Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > It is like Mary/merry/marry and Harry/hairy. Most Americans pronounce them alike, most British peeps don’t. I know we have this discussion often on the dope, and I’m always surprised when people consider words homonyms that clearly are not. Your examples are a case in point. First, it is not true that most Americans pronounce Marry and Merry alike, or Harry and hairy. I don’t know anyone who does. Marry Christmas doesn’t sound like Merry Christmas. Hairy Potter doesn’t sound like Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/36 "2011-06-08T15:29:04Z")
Try having Ferrell as a surname and having everyone insist that it must be spelled Farrell. All my life, I tell you. And then, about 15 years ago, suddenly half the US population insisted that Ferrell must be pronounced Fe-RELL. That drives me even more bonkers. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/37 "2011-06-08T16:08:45Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I know we have this discussion often on the dope, and I’m always surprised when people consider words homonyms that clearly are not. Your examples are a case in point. First, it is not true that most Americans pronounce Marry and Merry alike, or Harry and hairy. I don’t know anyone who does. Marry Christmas doesn’t sound like Merry Christmas. Hairy Potter doesn’t sound like Harry Potter. I’m always surprised when people fail to recognize that there are wide regional variations in how people pronounce things, especially at the end of a lengthy thread in which people have just been discussing those regional variations. Marry Christmas doesn’t sound like Merry Christmas _to you_. Most people I know pronounce those two phrases exactly the same. I am not, however, silly enough to think that a common Ohio pronunciation is how everyone else in the English-speaking world pronounces something as well. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/38 "2011-06-08T16:15:53Z")
What she said. Where are you from, **Onomatopoeia**? Where have you lived? Here in the South, they sound pretty damn alike. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/39 "2011-06-08T16:19:37Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I’m always surprised when people fail to recognize that there are wide regional variations in how people pronounce things, especially at the end of a lengthy thread in which people have just been discussing those regional variations. Marry Christmas doesn’t sound like Merry Christmas _to you_. Most people I know pronounce those two phrases exactly the same. I am not, however, silly enough to think that a common Ohio pronunciation is how everyone else in the English-speaking world pronounces something as well. Read **Brynda** ’s post again. She said “most Americans pronounce them alike”. I countered that this is not the case as I don’t know anyone who pronounce these words as homonyms. Granted, there are those who do, you being one, but as I don’t know anyone who does, there’s a pretty good case to make that **most** Americans do not pronounce these words the same. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691/40 "2011-06-08T16:21:34Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > What she said. Where are you from, **Onomatopoeia**? Where have you lived? Here in the South, they sound pretty damn alike. I’ve lived in a number of countries around the world. I currently live in New Jersey, in the US. Don’t get me started on New Jersey pronunciations. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-surnames-farrell-and-ferrell-sound-the-same-to-you/584691.md?page=3)