# How should "Patel" be pronounced? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916 "2012-10-16T19:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/21 "2012-10-17T13:11:05Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Rhymes with the toy manufacturer. So I have been saying it correct. Tonka! ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/22 "2012-10-17T13:17:20Z")
The way the person who has that name would like you to. I work with two people with this surname and they both pronounce it differently so I have a Pat-ell and a Puh-tell to keep straight. In my husbands family there are 3 distinctly different pronounciations of his surname and I’ve given up keeping up with all of them, I’ve picked mine and now I have a side 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/23 "2012-10-17T16:02:48Z")
I’ve never known a Patel, so I voted “something else”. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/24 "2012-10-17T16:24:27Z")
Does your company not have an IT team? No, I kid, I kid. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/25 "2012-10-17T17:07:23Z")
Only Patel experience I have is listening to the Vergecast (The Verge’s podcast), which has senior editor Nilay Patel. He pronounces it Puh-TELL. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/26 "2012-10-17T17:36:13Z")
Out of over 100 votes so far we haven’t had one smartass vote pottle yet??? ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/27 "2012-10-17T18:20:29Z")
I would pronounce it “Puh - TAIL” As an Indian, I have known a fair number of Patels. The “TELL” ending is used more by Westerners than Indians. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/28 "2012-10-18T23:45:43Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Pa-TELL Probably like this. Definitely an “a” sound, not a “u” one in the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/29 "2012-10-19T00:32:46Z")
Pa-TELL, where “Pa” I guess sounds like “Puh” in the same way that vowels often get swallowed. You may as well write “P’tel” like the name of a Dragonrider from Pern or something. How else would you pronounce it? “Pottle”? Whaaa? OP has to come back and tell the back story to this rather lopsided poll. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/30 "2012-10-19T01:32:22Z")
What back story? I’m not familiar with Indian names, is all. I first began to suspect I had it wrong when I heard Professor McGonagall use the Pa-TELL pronunciation. Again, ignorance fought and all that. :o ---
**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:** [October 19, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/31 "2012-10-19T04:00:40Z")
Pa-TELL. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/32 "2012-10-19T07:00:00Z")
It’s usually pronounced Pa-tell in English speaking countries by non-indians but is more correctly pronounced Puh-tell. In India it would be more like Puh-deil although most British Indians, and probably US Indians, wouldn’t go that far. In India an a in the middle of a word is usually pronounced as a u. T especially at the start of a word is often pronounced as a d. So if I could vote I’d go for Puh-tell. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916/33 "2012-10-21T16:53:57Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Pa-tail > [@ashtayk](#): > > I would pronounce it “Puh - TAIL” > > As an Indian, I have known a fair number of Patels. The “TELL” ending is used more by Westerners than Indians. IANAGujarati, but another Indian checking in FWIW. If I were to pronounce it, the ending would definitely be closer to ‘tail’ than to ‘tell’. That said, there are people in this thread who know Patels living in the west, and such communities tend to diverge from their roots. It is entirely possible that Patels now prefer a pronunciation that is closer to Puh-tell than the original Puh-tail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-patel-be-pronounced/637916.md?page=1)