# How to pronounce the new pope’s birth name **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254 "2025-05-11T16:35:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **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:** [May 11, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/1 "2025-05-11T16:35:50Z")
Robert Prevost. Is it PRE-vost (rhymes with most)? PRE-vost (rhymes with lost)? Accent on the second syllable? Larry? While we’re on the subject, how do we pronounce Karol Wojtyla (JPII)? In my head it’s Carol (like a Christmas carol) woe-TILL-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/2 "2025-05-11T16:43:47Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > woe-TILL-uh. More like WOE-tee-lah ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/3 "2025-05-11T16:43:58Z")
Wikipedia says /ˈpriːvoʊst/; that is, first syllable rhymes with “free”, second syllable rhymes with “most”, accent on the first. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/4 "2025-05-11T16:44:47Z")
Neither. You would pronounce it whatever way he wants it pronounced, but in general, “Prevost” is of French origin and as such would be pronounced something like “pray-vo”, the “s” and “t” at the end silent. “Prevost”, incidentally, is the name of a major manufacturer of highway buses based in Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/5 "2025-05-11T17:11:16Z")
Right should be “PRAY-voh” haha. I have seen Prevost buses and they are very nice. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/6 "2025-05-11T17:11:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Prevost”, incidentally, is the name of a major manufacturer of highway buses based in Quebec So, literal Popemobiles! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/7 "2025-05-11T17:19:49Z")
I worked with a guy with the same last name. He pronounced it “PREE-vost,” to rhyme with _most_. Stress on the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/8 "2025-05-11T17:33:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I worked with a guy with the same last name. He pronounced it “PREE-vost,” to rhyme with _most_. The history of traditional French names becoming Americanized/anglicized is legendary. Which is why I said that French or any other non-anglo names should be pronounced however the person wants them pronounced. But consider place names like Des Moines, Marquette (MI), Bellefontaine (OH), Dubuque (IA), or for that matter Detroit or Illinois and thousands of other place names. They’ve all been perverted into English pronunciation. It doesn’t happen as much in bilingual Canada, but it definitely does in the US of A. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/9 "2025-05-11T17:36:35Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Neither. You would pronounce it whatever way he wants it pronounced, but in general, “Prevost” is of French origin and as such would be pronounced something like “pray-vo”, the “s” and “t” at the end silent. Mind you, in making the big announcement of the result (albeit in Latin), Cardinal Mamberti, who actually is French, undoubtedly pronounced the final ‘t’. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/10 "2025-05-11T17:44:27Z")
Well, here’s how the French manufacturers of magnificent Prevost buses in Quebec pronounce the name … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jTO3vyYvZvE/hqdefault.jpg "Prevost | The Making of Clarisse") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTO3vyYvZvE) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/11 "2025-05-11T20:29:24Z")
Not that it means a lot, but on SNL news update, Colin Jost pronounced it PRAY-vost. Perhaps they looked up the pronunciation ahead of time. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zP0mKoMFcow/maxresdefault.jpg "Weekend Update: Catholic Church Elects First American Pope, Trump Wants to Reopen Alcatraz - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0mKoMFcow&t=35) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/12 "2025-05-11T21:35:18Z")
In Polish, it’s voy-TIH-wah. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/13 "2025-05-11T22:53:25Z")
My favorite is the common French last name Beauchamp. Americans with this name usually pronounce it “bee-champ”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/14 "2025-05-11T22:59:57Z")
Prevost RVs are really high-end rigs, as in custom built, marble throughout, big screen TVs, etc. Used models are over $200K and new ones can push $1M with ease. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/15 "2025-05-11T23:19:06Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Wojtyla KA-rol voy-TIH-wah The letter in JPII’s Polish name that looks like an ordinary “L” in the OP is actually this letter: Ł, lowercase ł, and is pronounced like an English “W,” pretty much, in the majority of dialects, including what most people think of as “standard” Polish, which is what an interpreter would use in diplomatic and journalistic situations, and Poles brought up with another dialect would switch to if they went into politics, diplomacy, or academia. Polish also has the letter L l, which is pretty much like the English “L,” and what was used when JPII’s name was typed or word processed for most of his lifetime in the US, due to the limits of the equipment. So a lot of people in the US (and probably other English-speaking countries) pronounce his name voy-TIH-lah quite understandably. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/16 "2025-05-12T04:27:29Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > “Prevost”, incidentally, is the name of a major manufacturer of highway buses based in Quebec. It was also the name of an actor who was not actually eaten by her dog, but it made for a good song.        _She was the winner_        _Who became the dogge’s dinner_        _Poor Marie_ ---
**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:** [May 13, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/17 "2025-05-13T21:01:19Z")
And the source for the aforementioned Wikipedia article is a video of him saying his own name, so it’s pretty definitive: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YKDP4e0ekvc/maxresdefault.jpg "Old Video of New Pope Leo XIV- Greeting from Bishop of Chiclayo, Mons. Robert Prevost Martínez (OSA)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKDP4e0ekvc) It is indeed PREE-vohst. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254/18 "2025-05-21T16:04:41Z")
I pronounce it “Lee - Oh” . He didn’t become Pope until a week or so ago.