# People you've known whose names were pronounced strangely **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374 "2011-07-17T20:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/41 "2011-07-18T15:23:47Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Say-rah”? “Sah-rah”? We in Southern Ontario would pronounce it “Serra” or “Sairra” (same pronunciation) unless otherwise advised According to the posts in this thread, it looks like we can include about half the vowels in English – ['seɪrə] /eɪ/ as in _face_ ['serə] /e/ as in Spanish or Italian ['sɛrə] /ɛr/ as in _merry_ (for [MINMINM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary-marry-merry_merger#Mary-marry-merry_merger) accents) ['særə] /æ/ as in _fast_ ['särä] /ä/ as in _father_ (for those without [father-bother merger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father-bother_merger#Father.E2.80.93bother_merger)) I choose ['særə], the same vowel as in _cat_. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/42 "2011-07-18T15:28:26Z")
[nm, beat to the punch] ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/43 "2011-07-18T15:31:05Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > The U.S. Although about 20 years of my life was spent living in various other countries (not Canada, however.) The friends in question live in the UK. Maybe there’s some sort of Brit/Canadian difference in pronounciation I’m not aware of. > > I know or have known several Sara/Sarahs, and they’ve all pronounced in “say-rah.” Where in the US? Say-ra, with a long a, is \*not \*a common pronunciation. Sair-ah, sare-rah, sa-rah, ser-rah, yes. \*Not \*Say-rah. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/44 "2011-07-18T15:36:10Z")
> [@JimmyFlair](#): > > My husband once worked in a place where the client’s info would be on the screen by the time the call came to him. When a call from “Michelle” (that’s how it was spelled), he did the polite thing by saying “how can I help you Michelle?” > The response? > > “IT’S PRONOUNCED MCKELLY!!!” > :rolleyes: Was the client a man? I wonder if the parents were going for the name Michele. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/45 "2011-07-18T16:07:05Z")
I knew a girl at school who’s name was spelled Karen, so that’d be Kah-rin then? Nope it was pronounce Kay-Ron. A Theresa who pronounced it Thressa (English speaker) An Erica who pronounced it Ear-isha \Heard a story about identical twin [toddler] girls who arrived at a creche or similar place the staff were told their names were Why-vonny and Why-vettey. Everyone marveled at such exotic names, and wondered what strange far flung land the parents were from. Turned out the kids’s names were Yvonne and Yvette :dubious: Know someone called Marguerite, only she spells it Margareet, well she did, until she went to school and the teacher spelled it Marguerite. \ ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/46 "2011-07-18T16:27:09Z")
My family’s name is Nagy. In Hungarian, it’s pronounced something like “nodj”, but that’s not how my family pronounces it. The rest of America generally wants to pronounce it with a short A, as in nagging, but that’s not how we pronounce it, either. Nay-gee. Hard G. I’ve had exactly one person (a professor of mine in college) pronounce it the correct-in-Hungarian way, and that didn’t bother me in the least. I’ve had a bunch of people pronounce it the rest-of-America way, and that always get a quick correction. It seems, though, that most people in the US with that name pronounce it that way. And my best friend in high school pronounced it Naw-gee (hard G), and that just perplexed me. I mean, it wasn’t as though she hadn’t heard me pronounce it a jillion times. Though, to hear it growing up, the last name is actually “Nagy-En-As-In-Nancy-Aye-Gee-Why.” And now this is inspiring me to start a different thread. . . ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/47 "2011-07-18T16:32:15Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > Though, to hear it growing up, the last name is actually “Nagy-En-As-In-Nancy-Aye-Gee-Why.” And now this is inspiring me to start a different thread. . . Yup, the rest of the world simply can’t cope with Hungarian. My family has a three-syllable name, and we can’t even agree whether the accent goes on the first or second syllable. Even we’ve Americanized the pronunciation so it’s pronounced exactly as it’s spelled, people insist on trying to make it harder than it is. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/48 "2011-07-18T16:42:08Z")
I had a friend whose name is spelled “Petty” but pronounced as “Patty.” She explained that her mom just wanted her to have something unique. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/49 "2011-07-18T17:05:15Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Sah-rah” is more common in the UK\*; “Sare-rah” is more common in the US. > > Don’t get me started on “Maurice” and “Cheryl”. > > \*But they do also use “Sare-rah”. I pronounce it more like “sare-uh,” which is how it’s usually said here in the midwest. But these other pronunciations are really just accent differences to me. I have a southern friend who says it like “say-ruh” and a New Jersey friend who says it more like “sah-ruh,” but it would never occur to me to correct them…they’re just pronouncing it like they pronounce everything. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/50 "2011-07-18T17:12:29Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Yup, the rest of the world simply can’t cope with Hungarian. My family has a three-syllable name, and we can’t even agree whether the accent goes on the first or second syllable. Even we’ve Americanized the pronunciation so it’s pronounced exactly as it’s spelled, people insist on trying to make it harder than it is. Interesting. I know how “Nagy” is pronounced in Hungarian (I’d write “nawdge” as the closest US English transliteration), but, in English, “Nagy” I would think would have “NAY-ghee” as the most common pronunciation, not “naggy.” I’m surprised the latter is more common. BTW, accents in Hungarian are always on the first syllable. I really can’t blame English speakers when it comes to non-English surnames, though–there’s just too many possible variations, depending on the the family, that even if you know the original language, you have no clue as to how that family might pronounce the name. For example, “Koehler.” I’ve heard everything from “keeler” to “kayler” to “kohler” in English (none are like the German pronunciation.) My Polish last name, Pawinski, has at least five possible pronunciations. I accept them all, although I generally go by the Anglicization “puh-WIN-skee” or “poe-WIN-skee.” Even I don’t pronounce it consistently. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/51 "2011-07-18T17:20:13Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > The U.S. Although about 20 years of my life was spent living in various other countries (not Canada, however.) The friends in question live in the UK. Maybe there’s some sort of Brit/Canadian difference in pronounciation I’m not aware of. > > I know or have known several Sara/Sarahs, and they’ve all pronounced in “say-rah.” In the UK, Sarah and Sara are different names with different pronunciations. Sarah is Sehr-uh (first syllable rhyming with hair) and Sah-rah is the way your friends pronounce it, Sah-ruh. She won’t have to correct as many people as you might expect. > [@Asimovian](#): > > I had a friend whose name is spelled “Petty” but pronounced as “Patty.” She explained that her mom just wanted her to have something unique. _shrug_ Well, that’s just petty. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/52 "2011-07-18T19:25:10Z")
I regards to the Sarah thing, I took it to mean that the first syllable and the second rhymed. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/53 "2011-07-18T19:42:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A lot of these “odd” pronunciations are traditional English pronunciations going back to the Norman era – > > Dalziel - Deal Dee-YELL surely? > [@Acsenray](#): > > According to the posts in this thread, it looks like we can include about half the vowels in English – > > ['seɪrə] /eɪ/ as in _face_ > ['serə] /e/ as in Spanish or Italian > ['sɛrə] /ɛr/ as in _merry_ (for [MINMINM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary-marry-merry_merger#Mary-marry-merry_merger) accents) > ['særə] /æ/ as in _fast_ > ['särä] /ä/ as in _father_ (for those without [father-bother merger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father-bother_merger#Father.E2.80.93bother_merger)) > > I choose ['særə], the same vowel as in _cat_. Que Sera, Sera. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/54 "2011-07-18T19:57:52Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > I haven’t known her in decades, but back in grade school I knew a girl named “Jaime”. > > Most people pronounced it “Jay-mee”, which she seemed cool with. > > But her parents insisted it was “french”. Interestingly they were both reasonably educated. > > "So what, pronounce like “zhem?” (like j’aime) > > "No! It’s French! It should be “JUH-may!” > > :rolleyes: > > Whatever. > > 😃 I would have pronounce Jaime as Hi-may. The Spanish name. I would spell the name pronounced “Jay-mee” as Jamie. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/55 "2011-07-18T20:54:56Z")
Not totally apropos, but Norbert Wiener – people always hypercorrect his name to the “original” continental, but, no, it’s Wiener. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/56 "2011-07-18T21:13:48Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > Not totally apropos, but Norbert Wiener – people always hypercorrect his name to the “original” continental, but, no, it’s Wiener. Anthony Weiner, who was in the news recently for some reason, could be accused of bowdlerizing his name, but no, e before i gives the pronunciation he uses (minus German/Yiddish “V” sound). The thing he is accused of showing is a wiener, i before e. One Michael Weiner must’ve been so afraid of wieners and so sure of his own manliness that he changed his name to Michael Savage. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/57 "2011-07-18T21:25:13Z")
I met someone whose name was spelled “Dyna,” but pronounced it “day-nuh.” I asked several different members of the family about it. No one kew why, but that’s just the way it was. ---
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/58 "2011-07-18T21:47:23Z")
Slight hijack. I have a friend who says Aaron and Erin are pronounced differently. I can’t hear it or vocalize it. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/59 "2011-07-18T21:57:35Z")
> [@Mewl\_Dear](#): > > Slight hijack. I have a friend who says Aaron and Erin are pronounced differently. I can’t hear it or vocalize it. It’s the Mary-marry-merry thing. Being from the Midwest, I didn’t encounter it until college. The main difference is in the first vowel, but there can also be a distinction in the second. It’s basically this: “Aaron” - the first vowel is something like the “a” in “apple”. For some people, the second vowel is more “un”-y than in “Erin”. “Erin” - the first vowel is like the “e” in “bet”. For some people, the second vowel is more “in”-y than in “Aaron”. Clear as mud? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/60 "2011-07-18T22:13:48Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I have cousins who are named “Colquhoun”. > > The first “o” is pronounced like “a”, and the “l”, “q” and “u” are all silent. > > Pronunciation: “Cahoon”. Isn’t that a Monty Python sketch? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374.md?page=4)