# Proper Names We Hate To Hear Mispronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348 "2003-06-07T22:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/1 "2003-06-07T22:27:13Z")
There’s already a thread about U.S. cities that are mispronounced versions of other global locations, but I thought there was room for more. I’m only asking for enough space to name one of my biggest pet peeves with movies and national television shows, Eastern US - to - Western US transplants, and sometimes even the news. It’s the name of our neighboring state to the south: Oregon. It sets my teeth on edge when I hear it or-e-GON. Folks, it’s OR-e-g’n. Grrr. Anyway, can anybody else think of some badly mispronounced place names that the rest of the world doesn’t seem to get? I’d love to hear from the folks in New Orleans. Or is it … uh … N’awlins? FISH ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/2 "2003-06-07T22:56:56Z")
I always wanted to know how you correctly pronounce New Orleans. So please…do tell… ---
**Author:** ![lindsay.reid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@lindsay.reid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsay.reid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/3 "2003-06-08T00:19:42Z")
Worchester, MA… and Skowhegan, ME come to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/4 "2003-06-08T00:25:51Z")
I’ve heard the people who actually live in New Orleans pronounce it N’awlins, as **Fish** thought. (I like your sig, buy the way). Granted, I’m about as far from New Orleans as you can get and still be in the continental US, but still. That’s what I’ve heard. This is similar to your Oregon thing: I HATE HATE HATE it when people pronounce the ‘s’ in ‘Illinois.’ One of my good friends does this every time she says it, and it makes me want to rip off my earlobes. It’s Illanoy!!! ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/5 "2003-06-08T01:18:06Z")
NOBODY here in Ireland, or in Britain for that matter, can pronounce my home state (Maryland) correctly. They all try to pronounce it phonetically, which is understandable, but still wrong. When people say “Where are you from?” and I say “Merralind” they should know not to say “oh, Mary-land?” - I mean if I was from a place called “Mary-land” I would have _said_ “Mary-land” wouldn’t I 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jesleigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@jesleigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesleigh)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/6 "2003-06-08T02:19:25Z")
the town I live in ends with -ton. Everybody (that doing live here) writes it and pronouces it -tion instead. Our diplomias and football jerseys had that one them one year. That sucks pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/7 "2003-06-08T02:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesleigh \* > \*\*the town I live in ends with -ton. Everybody (that doing live here) writes it and pronouces it -tion instead. Our diplomias and football jerseys had that one them one year. That sucks pretty bad. \*\* _What?_ 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/8 "2003-06-08T03:13:01Z")
After posting, I thought I ought to add: WORSH-ing-t’n (instead of WASH-ing-t’n) There is no R in Washington. POLLS-bo (instead of PALLS-bo) Granted, Poulsbo doesn’t have an intuitively spelled name. It’s sort of a bellwether name in Western Washington. If you can’t pronounce it right, you’re not from around here. Ditto Enumclaw, Puyallup, Skokomish, Chehalis, and a dozen other names based on Native American tribes. (But where Poulsbo comes from, I dunno.) FISH ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/9 "2003-06-08T03:17:39Z")
I wish people would stop adding a non-exsistant ‘l’ to by last name. No chance of that happening, ever. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/10 "2003-06-08T03:38:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*NOBODY here in Ireland, or in Britain for that matter, can pronounce my home state (Maryland) correctly. They all try to pronounce it phonetically, which is understandable, but still wrong. When people say “Where are you from?” and I say “Merralind” they should know not to say “oh, Mary-land?” - I mean if I was from a place called “Mary-land” I would have _said_ “Mary-land” wouldn’t I 😕 \*\* The “mary-land” pronounciation was always quite common at least up until the turn of the 19th/20th century. May still be in some places. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Lynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90db22/32.png) [@Princess\_Lynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Lynn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/11 "2003-06-08T03:40:02Z")
The mother of a friend, who is known for her mispronounciations (the mother) read Bugs Bunny comics to him as a kid and called the trash-talkin’ red bearded cowboy fellow “YOS-mite” Sam, as opposed to “Yo-SIM-i-te” like the National Park which is correct. An Hispanic friend’s last name is “Ramirez” which is correctly pronounced “RUH-mar-iz”; but when he went to boot camp in the Navy the C.O. called him “RAM-uh-REZ” .:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/12 "2003-06-08T03:44:05Z")
Ramirez is pronounced rah-ME-rez. Perez is pronounced PEH-rez and not pe-REZ like sportscasters think. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/13 "2003-06-08T03:47:23Z")
No one can read aloud my last name. It’s actually very simple, no strange vowel or consonant combinations. I’ll use the last name “Summer” as an example of what it’s like. People would say, “Sooomer? Soomeer? Soomay?” instead of just saying it as it’s written. I get the strangest pronunciations of my name. It’s almost like people try to mispronounce it. It drives me nuts. Our country went to hell when they stopped teaching phonics. ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/14 "2003-06-08T06:57:35Z")
I dislike hearing “Anne Frank” pronounced to rhyme with “tan bank.” It’s AH-nuh FRAHNK. A local news station once had an airhead announcer who consistently mispronounced the surname “Gonzales” as “Gon-ZAY-liss.” Here in Phoenix you’d think that he’d have heard that name spoken a few times. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/15 "2003-06-08T10:31:34Z")
I have trouble remembering to pronounce Aguirre as “Ah-GEAR-ee.” I want to say “Ah-GWIRE” because when I was growing up, the only person I knew of with that last name was Detroit Pistons star Mark Aguirre, and he was an “Ah-GWIRE.” ---
**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/16 "2003-06-08T13:25:12Z")
Valdez, Alaska, is pronounced Val-deez up here. Surprisingly, I have heard many newscasters pronounce Valdez the same way that it is spoken up here. Tourists, bless their economy-boosting hearts, usually pronounce it to rhyme with the candy dispenser. Most locals will gently explain the local pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/17 "2003-06-08T15:36:35Z")
My last name, Fehr, should be pronounced “fair”, not “fuhr”, as I’ve had it pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/18 "2003-06-08T15:55:49Z")
Hyundai & Taibo. The first doesn’t rhyme with Monday or any other day for that matter, and it’s first syllable doesn’t rhyme with Hun. The second is pronounced so the first syllable rhymes with Day, not Die. Correct pronunciations: Hyundai hj[sym]l[/sym]nde Taibo tebo ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/19 "2003-06-08T16:47:04Z")
Ok, what I want to know is how to pronounce this city: \*\*Nacodoches \*\* TX And there is another city down there that is just as mystifying to me, but I can’t remember it. I think it is actually in LA, but I can’t recall at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/20 "2003-06-08T18:41:15Z")
Pronounced exactly as it’s spelled: nah-coh-DOH-chess Do not round your lips when pronouncing the “o”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348.md?page=2)