# Popular baby names. Pronouncing "George". **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036 "2007-12-23T18:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/1 "2007-12-23T18:22:39Z")
Can [this](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) be true? Three of the top four names surprise me. “Michael” nas always been popular, but “Jacob”? My name, George ranked 153. Down from 15 in 1945, my birth year. Anyway, I came here to discuss why so many people say my name (George) with an odd inflection that’s kinda hard to describe. For one thing, it isn’t consistant. The only thing that is consistant (among those who pronounce it oddly) is that they don’t just pronounce it normally, as it’s spelled. Not just me, of course. I hear the same when people talk about Bush, or that TV guy with the greek last name which I’m not even going to try to spell. I got sidetracked by the above linked site. “Jacob”. Indeed. Is there a handsome celeb with that name? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/2 "2007-12-23T19:17:08Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Can [this](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) be true? Three of the top four names surprise me. “Michael” nas always been popular, but “Jacob”? My name, George ranked 153. Down from 15 in 1945, my birth year. [/QUOTE] I haven’t noticed any odd pronunciation of “George”, but here’s a cool Java app that displays the SSA name popularity data: [http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html](http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html) ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/3 "2007-12-23T19:22:17Z")
Some names come and go in fads, others seem to stick around forever. My name’s been in the top twenty since the late '20s, according to that site. I don’t know any way to pronounce George other than how I say it: “jorj”, rimes with _forge_. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/4 "2007-12-23T19:23:23Z")
When you say “pronounce it […] as it’s spelled,” do you mean something like “Gee-orge”? I’ve always said “Jorge,” to rhyme with “gorge.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/5 "2007-12-23T19:57:15Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] \ “Jacob”. Indeed. Is there a handsome celeb with that name? Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] Jake Gyllenhaal (born Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal) ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/6 "2007-12-23T20:04:32Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] Some names come and go in fads, others seem to stick around forever. My name’s been in the top twenty since the late '20s, according to that site. I don’t know any way to pronounce George other than how I say it: “jorj”, rimes with _forge_. [/QUOTE] My name’s never been more popular than #70 in the US, which is good enough for me. I’m not particularly fond of the names that around now, a lot of them feel too cutesy. Then again, my generation produced several million Jessicas and Jennifers. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/7 "2007-12-23T20:07:43Z")
You mean it isn’t pronounced “Hor-hay”? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/8 "2007-12-23T20:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] Then again, my generation produced several million Jessicas and Jennifers. [/QUOTE] Yeah, thanks a ton for that, guys. - Jennifer #226,604 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/9 "2007-12-23T20:19:30Z")
I, too, find it hard to imagine any other way to pronounce your name, although I know some people who will add an odd emphasis to a “George” they don’t like – a sort of “GeORRRge,” as if Lenny were saying it. As for the name ranking, bear in mind that there are a lot more names in use now, and none are as dominant as the popular names of the past. In 1945, there were 2.86 million live births in the U.S., of whom 74,400 were named James. In 2006, there were 4.26 million live births in the U.S., of whom a mere 24,400 were named Jacob. That’s still a lot more than the roughly 400 Jacobs in 1945, though, and I can’t claim to understand the sudden popularity increase in the '90s, except that maybe it’s really about the name “Jake.” ---
**Author:** ![Pel2na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Pel2na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pel2na)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/10 "2007-12-23T20:24:04Z")
Does anyone else think it’s kind of creepy that the Gov strongly encourages the citizens to sign their babies up for tracking numbers? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/11 "2007-12-23T20:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Nametag] I, too, find it hard to imagine any other way to pronounce your name, although I know some people who will add an odd emphasis to a “George” they don’t like – a sort of “GeORRRge,” as if Lenny were saying it. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that! Only not exactly and not in dislike nor in anger. My co-worker often says “gee-or-gee”. Affectionately. I think. 😉 Some _really_ silly people like to say “Hor-hay”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/12 "2007-12-23T20:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] My name’s never been more popular than #70 in the US, which is good enough for me. I’m not particularly fond of the names that around now, a lot of them feel too cutesy. Then again, my generation produced several million Jessicas and Jennifers. [/QUOTE] I take it you’re not going to divulge that name? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/13 "2007-12-23T21:11:30Z")
My name ranks in at 288 for last year. It was a little more popular in 1998, rising to 265. That’s the most popular it had been in at least 50 years. Ah, [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118617/) from the year before is the likely culprit. Grumble. Also, I say Jorj. My husband says Hor-hay, because he likes it and is a little silly. Jacob seems to be the new “Cody” in my limited area of experience. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/14 "2007-12-23T21:12:02Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] Jake Gyllenhaal (born Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal) [/QUOTE] Oh. The gay guy! 😉 (Okay, so I had to google ol’ Jake) Has, I wonder, any study ever tied baby name popularity to celebrity? Seems obvious, but you never know. I still think ovaries should be “set aside” at birth and installed (with a permit) at around age 25. That would eliminate a lot of names that end in an “i”. I say ovaries because I’m a guy, and I think it’s all the girl’s fault. Plus, there is that pain thing. I hesitate to click “submit”. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Br\_er\_Lapin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Br\_er\_Lapin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Br_er_Lapin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/15 "2007-12-23T22:44:15Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] I take it you’re not going to divulge that name? [/QUOTE] If it isn’t Natasha, then consider my entire worldview shattered. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/16 "2007-12-23T22:53:16Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] … “Jacob”. Indeed. Is there a handsome celeb with that name? Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] Would it amuse you to know that a recent “popular baby names” thing here - and I cannot now recall whether this was Scotland or the U.K. as a whole - probably Scotland - included the name “Jakey”? I’m assuming this is a variant of Jacob/Jake, BUT the thing is that there is a colloquial term - “jaikey” - that means one of those grotty cheap booze-swilling tramp types. Stupid parents, trying to be original and clever. Oh, and one poor kid was named “Human”. Wow, the fond ? parents really put some thought into that one, eh? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/17 "2007-12-23T22:55:02Z")
My name used to be in the top 10 of the world. Now it’s completely vanished from the list; nobody names their boy “Paul” anymore. I don’t know why it fell out of favour, but I imagine it will return eventually, as these things tend to do. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/18 "2007-12-23T22:59:20Z")
I just realized the only person I’ve heard pronounce George so that it doesn’t rhyme with forge or gorge is George’s mother on Seinfeld. She pronounced it something like Jwawge. Well, actually Jwawgie, now that I think of it, but if he weren’t her kid, she’d say Jwawge. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/19 "2007-12-23T23:12:31Z")
We named our two daughters “Susan” and “Anne”. They both have thanked us. Susan’s married name is Smith (I don’t think that’s TMI 😉 ). Believe it or not, she actually got a few negative comments and more nasty glares after that incident where that woman drowned her kids. How stupid some people are. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036/20 "2007-12-23T23:13:34Z")
None of me in the top thousand for any decade. I’ll settle for that 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-baby-names-pronouncing-george/431036.md?page=2)