# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/21 "2003-06-08T19:23:13Z")
There’s a baseball player called Bobby Estalella. Her played for the Giants for a while, and one of the announcers would not pronounce his name correctly. (He’s Latino, and his name is pronounced “Estaleya” - the announcer pronounced the double l like one would in English.) I have to think it was willful because the other announcers all said it correctly. It was infuriating, not to mention a little insulting. I think someone must have given the announcer a talking to, because he eventually started saying the name correctly. The Giants’ new manager is Felipe Alou. There are like, twenty Alous in the major leagues, and I’ve always heard the name pronounced “A-loo.” Until now. The Giants’ announcers are saying it as “A-low.” I have no idea what’s going on, it’s confusing the hell out of me. Confusion was compounded when the Giants played the Cubs, who have Moises Alou, and the same announcers said his name as “A-loo”! FTR, the Alous are all related, and the Giants’ announcers speak Spanish. I. Do. Not. Get. It. Also hate it when my name is mispronounced. It’s phonetic. Really, why is it so hard? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/22 "2003-06-08T19:34:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\* > 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. \*\* Natchitoches, LA perhaps? Nack-O-tish is how I always heard it pronounced when I was traveling through there. As far as personal names, my last name is long and confusing, so I just accept mispronunciations with a correction the first time and a shrug the rest (I worked for someone who couldn’t get it right for four years.) But I have a really hard time saying the name “Penelope”. Pen-el-o-pee, right? Well, I look at it every time, think about the right way to say it, but it comes out as "Pen-lope. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/23 "2003-06-08T19:39:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > \*\*Nack-O-tish is how I always heard it pronounced when I was traveling through there. > \*\* Make that Nack-a-tish. :smack: That’s what I get for not looking at the screen as I type. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/24 "2003-06-09T01:38:39Z")
We worked on a project for the Wyoming department of education a couple of months ago. a minority of people insist on pronouncing it “Wyomy” Why??? I hope to God that’s not how it’s supposed to be said. ---
**Author:** ![superstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f4b2a3/32.png) [@superstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superstar)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/25 "2003-06-09T01:56:35Z")
Sorry but I don’t see what the big deal is? So someone can’t say the name of a town exactly the same as you. Does it really annoy people that much? (I’m being inquisitive not rude) Are we all sure that the way we pronounce it is actually the correct way???(Twilight Zone music here!) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/26 "2003-06-09T02:44:52Z")
It’s misspelled and mispronounced. My name is Loretto. Not Loretta. Not Laredo. Loretto. When I tell people my name, I am careful to pronounce the “O” at the end. They call me Loretta anyway. Or they call me Laredo. And they continue to call me things other than Loretto even after I’ve corrected them several times. I think I may have to quit answering to it. People are always asking me Loretto is my last name, even after I’ve given them both my first and last name. Yeah. I’m an American, and it’s very common for Americans to give the surname first, so that’s an easy mistake to make :rolleyes: . Never happened when I was living in Indiana, but out here in Vegas, I have a hard time doing business. I made a collect call recently, told the operator my name, and she asked the person I was calling if they would take a collect call from a “Miss Loretto”. What really pisses me off is when people _look_ at my name written or printed and still call me Loretta. Or worse, I will fill out a form, making sure my handwriting is clearly legible before sending it off (or even using a computer screen when handwriting isn’t even an issue) and get something back addressed to Loretta, or worse, Lorerro. Come on, my handwriting isn’t so bad that you can’t tell my ‘r’ from my ‘t’. But, Loretta? there’s no excuse for that when I gave it to you correctly spelled. When I get an envelope addressed to Loretta, it goes in the trash. I figure, if they don’t care enough about me to spell my name correctly after I wrote it down for them/spelled it out for them over the phone/whatever, they really must not need my business. I just this week finally broke one of the instructors at school of calling me Lowetto. Where the hell she got Lowetto, I have no idea. But there it is. My name isn’t that hard to pronounce, and Loretto is a fairly common name for Hispanic and Filipino women , both of which abound here in Vegas, so, it shouldn’t be a problem. Well, actually, it isn’t a problem for Filipinos. A few Mexicans don’t quite grok it, but they associate it with a town called Loretto, and that makes it easier for them… ---
**Author:** ![Never\_to\_be\_Queen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Never\_to\_be\_Queen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_to_be_Queen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/27 "2003-06-09T02:53:32Z")
A friend 🙂 is named Stephanie, but most people around here leave out the “a” so that it sounds like “staff knee.” However, like superstar, I usually do not get too shook up about these types of things. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/28 "2003-06-09T05:07:05Z")
The capital city of Queensland is not pronounced Brisbayn - it’s Brisb’n. Similarly, it’s not Melborn but Melb’n. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/29 "2003-06-09T06:23:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by lindsay.reid_ > Worchester, MA… > and Skowhegan, ME come to mind… First of all, it’s Worcester. That’s part of your problem. 🙂 It can be pronounced either “WUH-stur” or “WUH-stah”, depending on your accent. (The vowel in the last syllable is essentially a schwa, and it’s up to you whether you pronounce the /r/ or not. I would guess that the Maine town is pronounced “sko-HE-gan”, where the “o” is like “doe”, the “E” is long like “he”, and the final vowel is essentially a schwa. (But, if carefully enunciated, it would rhyme with “pin”.) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnugTheJoiner \* > \*\*I dislike hearing “Anne Frank” pronounced to rhyme with “tan bank.” > > It’s AH-nuh FRAHNK. \*\* **Snug** , (love the username, btw), I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think that’s going to change. “Anne Frank” rhyming with “tan bank” is an anglicized pronunciation, just like “Des Moines” and “Montpelier”. I’ve never heard anybody pronounce her name your way, and I don’t know if I’d understand them if they did. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/30 "2003-06-09T06:26:43Z")
Oh, and I should add that I assume people are trying to be funny when they mispronounce my name. I mean, everybody knows how to pronounce “Steven”, why is “Stephen” so different? It’s just the original, Greek spelling rather than the anglicized version. It’s as bad as people mispronouncing “Sean” or “Siobahn”… All three are old names with a proud heritage; we shouldn’t need to change the spelling to make them more accessible! Hmm, does this contradict my rebuttal to **Snug** , above? ---
**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 9, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/31 "2003-06-09T07:50:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terminus Est \* > \*\*Pronounced exactly as it’s spelled: nah-coh-DOH-chess > > Do not round your lips when pronouncing the “o”. \*\* Thanks! I just pray I never have to actually say this word in public one day. It hurts too much. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/32 "2003-06-09T11:31:48Z")
I’m not a New Orleans native, but I live within a couple of hours drive of the city, and the pronunciation is “Nuh-wallins” not “N’Awlins”. N’Awlins is just something they print on the postcards for the tourists. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/33 "2003-06-09T13:05:45Z")
We Nevadans can’t stand it when people say Nev-ah-da. It really is Nev-aa-da with that nasal short a sound. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/34 "2003-06-09T13:30:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StephenG \* > **It’s as bad as people mispronouncing “Sean” or “Siobahn”… All three are old names with a proud heritage; we shouldn’t need to change the spelling to make them more accessible!** Excuse the nitpick, but that should be Seán and Siobhán. The accent (fada) is frequently omitted outside of Ireland, but the b and h go together to make the v sound. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/35 "2003-06-09T13:34:47Z")
Collins rather than Colin. Coal-in rather than Call-in. Big gold star for anybody who can guess my real name, and how I pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/36 "2003-06-09T14:15:47Z")
Well, I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts called Natick. It’s pronounced “nay-tick,” but everybody outside of the state (and many within) seem to think it is pronounced with a short “a.” Barry ---
**Author:** ![Stomp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Stomp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stomp)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/37 "2003-06-09T14:27:15Z")
Roof. It is not ruff, it’s roof. And guacamole is another one. Batteries not badderies. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/38 "2003-06-09T14:39:43Z")
I always find it a little jarring when I hear “Toronto” pronounced by a non-Torontonian–and recent American news reports on SARS have recently illustrated this. The reporters pronounce it exactly as it is spelled: Toe-ron-toe. That’s not really a mispronunciation, though; it’s just not something we hear often. Most longtime Torontonians say either “Ta-ronna” or simply “Trawna.” Of course, we also use such slang terms as T.O. or Hogtown. And, from what I’ve experienced on my travels, many Canadians refer to Toronto as “that @#$% city in Ontario.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/39 "2003-06-09T15:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stomp \* > \*\*Roof. It is not ruff, it’s roof. And guacamole is another one. Batteries not badderies. \*\* Which ones of those are proper names? You don’t list your own location, but if you’re outside North America, surely that last one isn’t so much a mispronunciation as the different, softer, way they pronounce a t in the middle of a word over there isn’t it? **Spoons** : There was a guy at my school from Toronto. His dad’s job moved them back and forth between there and Liverpool every four of five years. He finished up with a _weird_ accent. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348/40 "2003-06-09T15:30:52Z")
It used to bother when people said “Los Ang-eles” or “Los Angeleeze” instead of “Los An-geless”, but I got over it. Of course, none of these reflect the original, Spanish pronunciation. I’ve come to appreciate regional and national differences in pronunciation. I think it would be a shame if everyone spoke alike. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-names-we-hate-to-hear-mispronounced/180348.md?page=3)