# Lora/Laura/Lara -- common pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246 "2007-10-10T18:24:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/1 "2007-10-10T18:24:13Z")
How would you pronounce these names: Lora, Laura, and Lara? (I say the first syllables sound like lore, law, and scare, respectively. My wife says that both Lora and Laura are pronounced lore-uh, and Lara is pronounced law-ruh. She denies that there’s any such name as lehr-uh. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/2 "2007-10-10T18:26:02Z")
Lara Spencer of “The Insider” pronounces it “Lair-ah.” I’ve never seen Lora. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/3 "2007-10-10T18:27:05Z")
Lor-a, Lor-a, and Lah-ra, respectively. The first two are homynyms, the third is not. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/4 "2007-10-10T18:31:56Z")
Laura=law ruh Lara=lar uh (subtle difference, basically Lara is pronounced without the pronounced u and with less of a pause) Lora=lore ah IMHO, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/5 "2007-10-10T18:32:05Z")
Lore-ae, Lore-ae, Lair-ae (where the ‘ae’ is the short flat ‘a’ as in ‘cat’, not ‘a’ as in ‘father’. The first two are the same. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/6 "2007-10-10T18:33:02Z")
Lora and Laura are NOT homonyms. Lora has a longer o sound, Laura has a softer “aw” sound. Lora is Lor-ah. Laura is Law-ra. Lara is Lai-ra or Laa-ra (Lae-ra?) ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/7 "2007-10-10T18:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I say the first syllables sound like lore, law, and scare, respectively. My wife says that both Lora and Laura are pronounced lore-uh, and Lara is pronounced law-ruh. [/QUOTE] Looks like there’s support for both sides. Maybe it’s a regional thing? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/8 "2007-10-10T19:02:51Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Looks like there’s support for both sides. Maybe it’s a regional thing? [/QUOTE] Definitely a regional thing. Wait until the Brits and Aussies sign on… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/9 "2007-10-10T19:08:37Z")
My wife’s name is Lara, and it’s pronounced LAH-ruh. She wishes to dash Lara Spencer’s parents heads against a very hard wall, because now she’s getting her name mispronounced more often. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/10 "2007-10-10T19:12:49Z")
Lora and Laura are the same to me (“Lore-uh”) and Lara is different (“Law-ra”.) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/11 "2007-10-10T19:17:08Z")
Never seen “Lora” before. In my experience, “Laura” is LOW-rah (first syllable is like “lore”) and “Lara” is LAH-rah (first syllable has same vowel sound as “lock”). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/12 "2007-10-10T19:24:59Z")
I renamed my wife. 😉 Her father called her Law-ra. From the moment I started dating her I called her “Lor-a”. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/13 "2007-10-10T19:26:33Z")
I’ve known one Lora. She pronounced her name “LAW-ruh”, but I’d say “LORE-uh” if I just saw “Lora” in a random context and had to read the word out loud. My cousin Laura is definitely a “LAW-ruh”, so that’s how I pronounce that particular spelling unless corrected. If the bearer is a native speaker of Spanish, though, she’s likely to prefer “LAU-rrah” (“lau” rhyming with “how”), with the “r” rolled so much it almost sounds like a “d”. I don’t recall ever knowing a Lara, but I’ve heard “LARR-uh” and “LAIR-uh” about equally. I’d probably say “LAIR-uh” if I were reading the word aloud. However, the first name of video game/movie character Lara Croft sounds like “LAW-ruh” when I hear it in commercials, so I’d guess that pronunciation has become the preference of a plurality (if not majority) – at least in circles where the Tomb Raider is known. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/14 "2007-10-10T19:33:25Z")
Follow-up question: Does the way you pronounce “Tara” depend on the way you pronounce “Lara”? ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/15 "2007-10-10T19:43:11Z")
I used to work with a girl named Laura who would grill anyone who pronounced her name incorrectly. We made outbound calls to set up appointments and this conversation was heard at least 30 times a day: “Hello, this is Laura Smith, is Mr. X available?” “No, it’s LOW-ruh, not LORE-ah. LOW-ruh Smith…is Mr. X available? He is? OK, I’ll hold…” “Hi, Mr. X, this is Laura Smith with The Widget Company…uh, no, that’s LOW-ruh Smith, sir, LOW-ruh, not LORE-ah. As I was saying…” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/16 "2007-10-10T20:10:02Z")
Lora and Laura sound the same to me (lore-uh). However, Lara to me the would be similar to the male name Lars. First syllable rhymes with bar. Lar-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/17 "2007-10-10T20:15:08Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Follow-up question: Does the way you pronounce “Tara” depend on the way you pronounce “Lara”? [/QUOTE] I’d think it might, since my instinct is to say both to rhyme with “Sarah” (I hope nobody pronounces that name “SAHR-uh”). However, I’m fully aware that [the Stanford women’s basketball coach](http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/vanderveer_tara00.html) is “TAHR-uh”, not “TAIR-uh”. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/18 "2007-10-10T20:25:23Z")
There was one girl named Laura whose name I pronounced “law ra” (you’d have to know her to understand) but most of the time Laura is just like it’s spelled. Lora has more of a longer “o” sound and Lara is as above. “Tara” is like “Sarah”, although I think the hill in Ireland is not pronounced that way. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/19 "2007-10-10T21:29:52Z")
[QUOTE=Brynda] Laura=law ruh Lara=lar uh (subtle difference, basically Lara is pronounced without the pronounced u and with less of a pause) Lora=lore ah IMHO, at least. [/QUOTE] A Laura checking in here to agree with you. And don’t call me “Laurie”. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246/20 "2007-10-10T21:37:21Z")
Lora= Low-ra Laura= Law-ruh Lara= La-ruh My roommate’s name is Lauren and half the time when I say it, it comes out something like, “Lorn”. Friggin’ Bakersfield accent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lora-laura-lara-common-pronunciation/422246.md?page=2)