# 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:** 5
**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:** [July 19, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/81 "2011-07-19T12:57:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I knew a guy who pronounced his name as Caw-Horn, but it was not spelled where the R was in that position, and I believe it had an extra C in it. But I can’t remember the actual spelling. > > I do remember that people would often mistakingly pronounce it as they would Cochrane. I just remembered it. Caughron. Apparently it’s a common last name, and is usually pronounced like one pronunciation Cochrane, i.e “cock-run.” > [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, it does give that pronunciation (and there is an IPA option.) > > For Aaron, it is: /ˈɛərən, ˈær-/ > For Erin, it is: /ˈɛrɪn/ > > However, the poster I was replying to said “Erin” is pronounced “air-un” and that’s not given as an option. I was mistaken in characterizing the pronunciations as being reversed, though. “Aaron” with a short “a” (æ) sound is also fine. I actually pronounce both names as “'ɛər ən” Most people I know pronounce air and err the same way, which can be written as either /ɛər/ or the more common /er/, since we don’t distinguish between [e] and [ɛ] in front of /r/, like everyone else with the [Mary, marry, and merry merger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_r#Mary-marry-merry_merger). ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/82 "2011-07-19T13:29:20Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I have a friend whose name is Kerstin. It’s pronounced “ShasTEEN”. > > She says it’s Scandinavian. I don’t get it but hey, it’s her name. I can see where she’s coming from. Speaking from a Swedish perspective, she’s got the ending rightish (“i” is pronounced like an English “e”, but some people would give it a long “e” sound and other give it a short one) but the beginning seems all wrong. The “K” is pronounced as a “sh” but the “e” would be pronounced as in English. I used to work with a Norwegian called Kersti that pronounced her name “sher-stee”. ---
**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 19, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/83 "2011-07-19T13:45:06Z")
Scandinavian languages are pronounced nothing like one would expect. Finnish, on the other hand, is very predictable. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/84 "2011-07-19T14:27:54Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Inspiring thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616651) > > Have you known people who pronounce their names in a way completely at odds with standard English phonics rules (I am flexible on the latter requirement in case any Thread Lawyers come along)? I can understand if they’re French or Thai or something and naturally their names will follow the rules of their native language, but what is the excuse of those who mangle Anglo names ( **yes I know about Gaelic et al.** )? > > I knew a prof who spelled his name as “Meagher” (so you think, “meager”, which has some Unfortunate Implications I guess), but he said it as “Mar”. **You then wonder what the point of all those extra letters is**. Bolding mine. Just to point out, this is Irish and pretty close to the correct Irish spelling. The surname comes from Irish _Ó Meachair_ M goes “mj” as in Swedish mjölk \> **M** E is to indicate that the M is palatal (mj above) \> **E** A is a vowel that sounds like “a” \> **A** CH is a gutteral consonant so difficult for English speakers that they ignore it. \> **GH** A is a vowel that sounds like “a” \> **E** I is a warning that another palatal consonant is coming. \> **Ø** R goes “r-sort-of-zh” as in Dvořák \> **R** The _gh_ is the way the English used to spell Irish _ch_ (as in “Bach, get out of the loch!”). Depending on your dialect of Irish, of course, but the _CH_ sometimes gets simplified to H and sometimes drops out altogether. ETA: the Irish dialects are also what simplifies the vowels to “uh.” ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/85 "2011-07-19T14:28:02Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Scandinavian languages are pronounced nothing like one would expect. Finnish, on the other hand, is very predictable. Living in Sweden and being able to speak Swedish, I’m guessing that I may be able to make a decent guess. ---
**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 19, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/86 "2011-07-19T14:38:08Z")
Okay, you convinced me. I’ll allow for exceptions on the part of people who actually know one of those languages. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/87 "2011-07-19T14:46:27Z")
I worked with Deirdre – deer-drah, no? Dee-AH-dray, and don’t you forget it! ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/88 "2011-07-19T15:09:27Z")
The beautiful and incomparable [Sade](http://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/sade%2027.jpg) pronounces her name ‘Shar-day’. I never was able to figure out how that works. ---
**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 19, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/89 "2011-07-19T15:59:06Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > The beautiful and incomparable [Sade](http://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/sade%2027.jpg) pronounces her name ‘Shar-day’. I never was able to figure out how that works. While I’ve heard the pronunciation with the “r”, I always thought is was more like “Shah-day”. FWIW, [Wikipedia agrees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade_(band)). Still, that doesn’t explain how “Sade” becomes “Shah-day,” but that’s one less sound to explain away. (If it were a Hungarian name, I actually could explain the pronunciation, as their “s” represents what we call an “sh.”) I wonder if the “r” came from some UK English phoneticization of her name. In UK English non-rhotic accents, “shar-day” would indeed sound something like “shah-day.” So if a UK pronunciation guide said Sade (“Shar-day”) and some American picked it up, there might be some confusion. It’s perhaps a stretch of an explanation, but that’s exactly what’s happened to me when reading UK English foreign language books. For example, in a guide to Hungarian written for UK speakers, the sound ö was explained as being similar to the _ur_ in _fur_. So, the word for thank you, _köszönöm_ was rendered phonetically as “KUR-sur-nurm.” It confused the hell out of me, as there are no "r"s in that word and I didn’t hear any "r"s when I heard natives use it. It only dawned on me much later that this book was for UK English speakers, and in Received Pronunciation, “KUR-sur-nurm” will actually get you in the ballpark of the Hungarian, but as a US English speaker with a rhotic accent, “KUR-sur-nurm” makes you sound like an idiot. I also have the sneaking suspicion that that’s how the “r” got into some American pronunciations of “Goethe.” ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/90 "2011-07-19T17:10:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Scandinavian languages are pronounced nothing like one would expect. Finnish, on the other hand, is very predictable. Predictable, but different than English, especially when it comes to which syllable gets the emphasis. Heck, this whole damn country can’t figure out how to pronounce the word ‘sauna’. What do you expect them to do with lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas? ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/91 "2011-07-19T21:51:18Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The name Koch. In German it’s kox, where x = the ch in “loch.” I have seen this as “cook,” “koch” (ch as in cheese), but never “cock.” I came in to report the three families in our town with the last name Koch; each pronounces it differently: COE KOTCH and COOK but definitely no “cock” ---
**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 19, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/92 "2011-07-19T22:28:27Z")
Coke -Cook ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/93 "2011-07-19T22:35:33Z")
Had a teacher in medical school named _Frankenstein_, but he insisted it was pronounced _Fronk-en-steen_. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/94 "2011-07-20T01:38:56Z")
> [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](#): > > As a high school teacher, I get to see a lot of variations on names. > > I’m guessing that 1994-1996 or so was a big name for the name Michaela. Within the past two years, I’ve seen: > > Michela > Michaeala > McKayla > Mikayla > Michelea This hasn’t gone away… my niece born in 2008 is Mikaylah. A friend of mine has a daughter born in 2002 named Makayla. So many variations of one name, it’s enough to make your head hurt. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/95 "2011-07-20T03:46:35Z")
I worked with a lady whose name was pronounced Eh-vah-deen and when I asked why her name tag was spelled Evadne she got very annoyed and told me that’s just how it’s spelled. Maybe her parents were good southerners like my grandparents who didn’t spell so pretty good. My aunt Katherine’s name was spelled Kathern and my mother’s middle name Lorraine was spelled Lorene. My aunt Novella’s name was pronounced Noveller and my aunt Avis was pronounced with a short “a” as in “bad”. And my mother had an Aunt Icydoe which has nothing to do with the thread but I always thought it was a very imaginative name. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/96 "2011-07-20T07:55:01Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > How else would you pronounce Yvette? Ev—Vet ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/97 "2011-07-20T11:34:27Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > 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. And [someone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Savage) who came by the Savage surname by birth talks about wieners a whole lot! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/98 "2011-07-20T11:37:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > While I’ve heard the pronunciation with the “r”, I always thought is was more like “Shah-day”. FWIW, [Wikipedia agrees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade_(band)). Still, that doesn’t explain how “Sade” becomes “Shah-day,” but that’s one less sound to explain away. (If it were a Hungarian name, I actually could explain the pronunciation, as their “s” represents what we call an “sh.”) She got it from her middle name, [Folasade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade_Adu), so I suspect it might be something from the Nigerian pronunciation. (Just a wild-ass guess because I know nothing of how that name “should” be pronounced.) ---
**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 20, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/99 "2011-07-20T11:51:22Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Ev—Vet That doesn’t seem significantly different from the pronunciation that Matt M. was asking about. ---
**Author:** ![inbabylove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@inbabylove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inbabylove)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374/100 "2011-07-20T11:58:53Z")
i live in the southwest jaime would be said hi-may, because that is how the Mexicans use it. I went to school with one and worked with another. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-youve-known-whose-names-were-pronounced-strangely/589374.md?page=6)