# How Do You Pronounce Honus Wagner's Name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289 "2004-04-10T05:59:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/1 "2004-04-10T05:59:13Z")
There was an awful movie on TNT the other day (“The Winning Season”) in which a main character was Honus Wagner. Half the time his name was pronounced in a way that rhymed with “bonus”; the other half of the time the “Ho” sound was similar to the “Ho” sound in “hospital.” And then a couple of times the actor couldn’t decide which pronunciation to use and wound up calling him a weird mix of the two, sort-of like “Hoonus.” So, uh, how should I pronounce his name, in case I meet him or something (yes, I know he’s dead; work with me here)? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/2 "2004-04-10T10:36:15Z")
Not that I’m any kind of authority on it, but I’ve always heard it Honus - Bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/3 "2004-04-10T12:22:58Z")
I have no idea, but since it’s a German name, how would a German likely pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/4 "2004-04-10T12:40:08Z")
Not a big fan of Bob Costas, but he pronounces it as in ‘bonus’. As does George Will. These guys have forgotten more about baseball than any of us will ever know. Gotta go with that. ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/5 "2004-04-10T14:30:45Z")
I can’t find a cite, but I remember hearing that it’s supposed to be pronounced “Hannis”, because it’s shortened from “Johannes”. ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/6 "2004-04-10T14:34:28Z")
> [@carterba](#): > > I can’t find a cite, but I remember hearing that it’s supposed to be pronounced “Hannis”, because it’s shortened from “Johannes”. Found a cite. William Hageman’s “Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero”. Bud Selig pronounced it “Hannis”, FWIW, though generally I want to do the opposite of what Bud Selig does. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/7 "2004-04-10T17:41:04Z")
I’ve seen copies of newspaper stories from the era spelling it “Hans”, as if that were interchangeable. I’d stick with the pronunciation closest to that, using the short o. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/8 "2004-04-10T18:40:54Z")
And now that you’re all here… How do you pronounce Nap LaJoie? Since it’s now April and his name might come up in pub confabs I want to be steered right and not embarass myself. I’ve always said, “Nap LA-zhwa-ay,” but tell me if I’m even close. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/9 "2004-04-10T18:46:32Z")
My grandfather’s from Pittsburgh, and his father walked Honus Wagner’s dogs. My grandfather says it Hannis, rhymes with lawn-iss. As for Lajoie, I always said Lah-joo-ayy, but I don’ t think I have a reason. I’ve also heard it La-zhoy, which is probably more reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/10 "2004-04-10T20:38:58Z")
> [@Jimmy Chitwood](#): > > My grandfather’s from Pittsburgh, and his father walked Honus Wagner’s dogs. My grandfather says it Hannis, rhymes with lawn-iss. > > As for Lajoie, I always said Lah-joo-ayy, but I don’ t think I have a reason. I’ve also heard it La-zhoy, which is probably more reasonable. “La-joo-ayy”?? It’s “La-zhoy.” ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/11 "2004-04-10T20:39:11Z")
I saw (part of) that movie too. It was pretty bad. I saw Kristin Davis on Kilborn (I think) and she said Hannis. Speaking of Davis, she needs to be in more movies. Movies that have better writing. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-honus-wagners-name/239289/12 "2004-04-11T02:33:40Z")
It isn’t that obvious down here in our single-language land, \*\*Rick \*\* - non-English names routinely have gotten their pronunciations mangled. [Baseball Digest](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_vrty/m0FCI/12_61/93448058/p11/article.jhtml?term=%22phil+rizzuto%22) sez Napoleon Lajoie pronounced it “LA-JO-EY”. His teammates pronounced his first name “Larry”.