# Famous names that your brain just refuses to get right **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999 "2012-03-06T20:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/41 "2012-03-07T21:07:29Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I also can’t help but to say “Barnes and Noble’s”. Oh, don’t get me started. It’s a “thing” in my dialect. I didn’t notice it until I was in my thirties, and people from the internet made fun of me for it. Every store ends in " s", even if it doesn’t. Aldis, Dominicks, Jewels, JCPennys, Fannie Mays…I honestly have no idea if any of them has an s in their actual name or not, but they all do in my dialect. About the only exceptions I can think of are Target and Wal-Mart, and Wal-Marts doesn’t sound all that “wrong” to my ear. (Targets sounds weird, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/42 "2012-03-07T21:47:48Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Oh, don’t get me started. It’s a “thing” in my dialect. I didn’t notice it until I was in my thirties, and people from the internet made fun of me for it. Every store ends in " s", even if it doesn’t. Aldis, Dominicks, Jewels, JCPennys, Fannie Mays…I honestly have no idea if any of them has an s in their actual name or not, but they all do in my dialect. About the only exceptions I can think of are Target and Wal-Mart, and Wal-Marts doesn’t sound all that “wrong” to my ear. (Targets sounds weird, though.) Yeah, I don’t say Targets or Wal-Marts… but I do, for some reason, say “The Wal-Mart”. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2012, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/43 "2012-03-08T09:51:37Z")
One of the exits on I-80 is Scotrun, PA. When I see the sign, my mind reads it as “Scrotum.” Apparently I’m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/44 "2012-03-08T11:27:19Z")
Director M. Night Shamalamadingdong. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/45 "2012-03-08T12:28:06Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > When I was a kid I thought the hero of Miguel de Cervantes’ story was his donkey, “Hotee.” Me too! And we had a copy of the book in my dad’s library, but it wasn’t until high school that I made the connection between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/46 "2012-03-08T13:57:30Z")
Mena Suvari and Mira Sorvino. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/47 "2012-03-08T15:01:42Z")
In high school I had know idea who Christian Dior was (or even that the brand existed). My girlfriend was into historical fashion. And so his name came up occasionally, and she pronounced it “Cretin Dior” simply because it amused her. Which I didnt learn until I said it to the guy in the tux shop for prom. She found that the funniest thing ever. But 20 years later “cretin” is still the first thing that comes to mouth. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/48 "2012-03-08T16:24:24Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Stephen Fry is the voice actor on Futurama, right? > > Oh wait… No, that’s the [guy](http://stephenmerchant.com/) who does stuff with Ricky Gervais. [two people I get confused. Englishmen named Stephen, I guess that’s enough for me. I can never remember which one is funnier though.] ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/49 "2012-03-08T18:53:16Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Then there’s [Meshell Nagadoccio.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meshell_Ndegeocello) I call her “Michelle Snoop Doggy O’Cedar.” ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/50 "2012-03-08T19:05:01Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I just realized the other day that I frequently confuse Broderick Crawford and Burgess Meredith. > > No, I have no explanation for it. This one actually threw me. Just due to the names? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/51 "2012-03-08T21:32:35Z")
Mr. Sali has always been stumped, despite patient tutoring, on how to pronounce Keanu Reeves. (The ‘Keanu’ part.) So now he calls him Kleenex Reeves. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/52 "2012-03-09T13:43:25Z")
The Yankees aquired pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Everytime I hear the name my brain substitutes it with Rookie Carroca, the name of a character in My Favorite Year. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/53 "2012-03-09T16:34:53Z")
The crowd of current mundane actors milling about - the Ryans. The Kates. The Jennifers. There are too many similar first names, and I can’t tell one from the other. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/54 "2012-03-09T18:02:06Z")
Mary Cassatt and Mary Surratt. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/55 "2012-03-09T19:39:19Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The Yankees aquired pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Everytime I hear the name my brain substitutes it with Rookie Carroca, the name of a character in My Favorite Year. Don’t even get me started on Kazuko Fukudome. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/56 "2012-03-09T20:13:20Z")
We were watching Parks and Recreation last night and I was asking my wife a question about Phylicia Rashad. Who isn’t on the show, but Rashida Jones is. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/57 "2012-03-09T20:38:27Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Bull Pulman and Bill Paxton > Upton Sinclair and Sinclair Lewis > > And for some stupid reason I always mix up Jennifer Jason Leigh and Lee Thompson In my case, it’s Jennifer Jason Leigh, Leah Thompson and Allie Sheedy. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/58 "2012-03-09T21:07:43Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Don’t even get me started on Kazuko Fukudome. But I get the added bonus of thinking about one of my favorite movies. Alan Swann: Rookie, your Meatloaf Mindanao was superb! Rookie Carroca: Thanks. That takes two days to prepare, you know. Alan Swann: Really! Tell me, what was that rather pungent taste? Rookie Carroca: Parrot! [someone spits up and Aunt Sadie swoons; the parrot cage is empty] Rookie Carroca: And theyre not easy to work with. They put up some squawk. Alan Swann: I can imagine! ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999/59 "2012-03-10T20:17:46Z")
I always read Sarah McLaughlin as Sarah McClanahan, no reason…:dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-names-that-your-brain-just-refuses-to-get-right/614999.md?page=2)