# S-M-I-T-H pronounced BROWN **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040 "2004-12-15T22:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Brufordesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecc23a/32.png) [@Brufordesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brufordesque)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/81 "2004-12-16T15:33:02Z")
I’m suprised this thread got so far without mentioning Brett Favre - who insists his name is pronounced “Farve” ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/82 "2004-12-16T15:42:44Z")
Here in town, we have a Duquesne Street. Which is pronouced exactly as it’s written. No du-Kain here. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/83 "2004-12-16T15:47:18Z")
> [@Brufordesque](#): > > I’m suprised this thread got so far without mentioning Brett Favre - who insists his name is pronounced “Farve” You’re [late](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5614156&postcount=15), too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/84 "2004-12-16T15:48:33Z")
> [@Brufordesque](#): > > I’m suprised this thread got so far without mentioning Brett Favre - who insists his name is pronounced “Farve” I’m not that suprised that you didn’t read the whole thread. 😃 Look again. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/85 "2004-12-16T16:03:27Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Different ethnic origin, same problem. > > The first “a” in my last name is pronounced more like an “o” the second “a” more linke an “ah” there’s an “s” pronounced like a “sh” and for good measure, there’s a “y” pronounced either like “ay” or “ee” depending on who I ask. > > And we DID use the Roman alphabet. Is it a Hungarian name? > [@ccwaterback](#): > > I worked with a guy who’s last name was Krch, pronounced Smith. Just kidding, but Krch, no vowel, odd. Actually, the “r” sound as found in standard American English is pretty much a vowel sound, or, at least, more like a vowel than a consonant, and it’s officially recognized as such in Serbo-Croatian. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > So, yes, you can insist that your name “S-M-I-T-H” is prounounced “Brown,” as long as you’re signing “Smith” on documents. Actually you can sign whatever you want. So long as you’re not trying to commit fraud, you can use anything you want in your signature – symbols, “Mickey Mouse,” whatever; it’s all legal. My wife’s signature comprises a total of four letters, one of which appears nowhere in her 13-letter name. > [@Jurph](#): > > And on the “Cuyahoga” front, sure Michael Stipe (from Georgia!) pronounces it as written. But Chrissy Hynde, a native Ohioan, pronounces it “cuh-HO-ga” in her song about Cleveland. I’m from Ohio too and I’ve always heard it with four syllables. Maybe Hynde is trying to make it fit the meter. Or maybe when speaking fast one of the syllables gets slurred away. I’m pretty sure all the newscasters in the Cleveland area say “cuy-a-HO-ga.” > [@F. U. Shakespeare](#): > > I once worked in an office with an Army officer whose name was spelled B-E-A-V-I-S, but he pronounced it ‘Bouvier’. I once met someone whose name was “Beaulieu,” which I would have pronounced “bowl-yeuh,” but he pronounced “boo-YAY.” ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/86 "2004-12-16T16:22:49Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Hunh? What’s wrong with that? Have you been pronouncing it to rhyme with “trenchant” all these years? > > (For those that haven’t got IPA fonts, that’s… well… pawnshawn. In Standard American English, \*\*penchant \*\*rhymes with **trenchant** ; the French-sounding pronunciation is acceptable but more common in British English. > [@TheInterruptingCow](#): > > Could be that I’ve always heard the river pronounced as you suggest, but the town pronounced as “Ca-hoga Falls” Or maybe it’s just a Pretenders thing…“from Seneca, to Cahoga (sic) Falls”. I used to live in Cleveland, and it was always “Cahoga Falls”… Yes, I did mean the river. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the town name pronounced. I’m from southern Ohio, so I’m no expert anyway, but most of my college friends were from Cleveland and they introduced me to this issue in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/87 "2004-12-16T16:25:48Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > BZZZZZZZ Wrong!!! > Wooster-shuh. The last syllable almost vanishes. And in the case of the condiment, it’s silent. I thought it was the case in the name of the county too, that’s why I asked. _Wooster_ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/88 "2004-12-16T17:01:09Z")
_“It’s FRONK-en-steen!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/89 "2004-12-16T17:11:20Z")
I’ve heard that the English family name “Featherstonehough” is pronounced “Fuff”. I’ve also heard that the word “nuclear” may correctly be pronounced “nucular” and am horrified to remark that IIRC one dictionary cites President Jimmy Carter (a PhD in nuclear physics, no less) as one of the usage references. See elsewhere on SDMB for “nucular” mispronunciation threads. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/90 "2004-12-16T18:18:02Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ve also heard that the word “nuclear” may correctly be pronounced “nucular” and am horrified to remark that IIRC one dictionary cites President Jimmy Carter (a PhD in nuclear physics, no less) as one of the usage references. I think we’ll have to ask for a cite on that. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/91 "2004-12-16T18:47:51Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I once met someone whose name was “Beaulieu,” which I would have pronounced “bowl-yeuh,” but he pronounced “boo-YAY.” The village of [Beaulieu](http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/) on the south coast of England (home to the National Motor Museum) is pronounced “BYOO-Lee”. Confused the heck out of a French exchange student we had to stay, when we visited. Lots of English places with French-influenced names have mangled pronunciations, e.g Shepton Beauchamp = “Shepton Beecham”, Congresbury = “Cooms-bree”, and Kingston Bagpuize (a favourite with fans of British children’s TV) is “Kingston Bagpews”). ---
**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:** [December 16, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/92 "2004-12-16T18:57:20Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ve heard that the English family name “Featherstonehough” is pronounced “Fuff”. I thought it was “Fanshaw.” Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/93 "2004-12-16T19:02:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I thought it was “Fanshaw.” > > Anyone? True. (I think. It’s either that or ‘Fenshaw’) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/94 "2004-12-16T19:13:24Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > True. > (I think. It’s either that or ‘Fenshaw’) Or Festonhay (which was the one I was trying to think of) or something else, as **commasense** noted. Incidentally, phonetic spellings don’t always help. I rented a cottage up in Scotland a few months back that went by the name of “Colquhoune’s Byre” (see [here](http://www.scottish-holiday-cottages.co.uk/skye/colquhounes.html) - highly recommended 😉 ). I knew Colquhone = “Cuhoon”, or so I thought, so when I went to pick up the key’s from the owner in the next village I used that pronunciation and the woman said: “Ach, you mean HhcchhuuhhQHoouuwwwnnn’s…” or something :rolleyes: I didn’t try to copy that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/95 "2004-12-16T19:20:00Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I didn’t try to copy that. Good lord, never! If you aren’t a native speaker a major backwoods Highland accent has been known to cause strong men to swallow their tongues trying to extract the last juicy bit of CHHHHHHH! ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/96 "2004-12-16T20:12:45Z")
> [@daffyduck](#): > > I used to live on Cholmeley Park Rd in Highgate (London). Pronounced Chum-ly. Wasn’t Cholmeley the walrus sidekick of Thiennessy Tuchsydeaux? ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/97 "2004-12-17T01:12:28Z")
Houston Street in Manhattan is HOUSE-ton. I’m always amused by a sportscaster on ESPN called Berthiaume, who pronounces his name burr-THYOOM, when the correct pronunciation is ber-TYOAM’ In the maritimes, the name Paquette gets anglicized to Pocket, instead of Pah-kett. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/98 "2004-12-17T01:34:44Z")
> [@bluethree](#): > > Ohio also has a Berlin and a Milan, pronounced BER-lin and MI-lan. More useless Ohio town name pronunciation info… Berlin used to be pronounced like the city in Germany, until World War I. There’s a town in Ohio named Louisville, which is actually pronounced Louis-ville, as opposed to the city in Kentucky. The town of Bellefontaine is pronounced Bell-fountain. Lancaster - Lan-caster is in PA, Lanc-aster is in OH. Living most of my life about an hour south of Cuyahoga Falls, and watching Akron and Cleveland television stations, the only place I’ve ever heard “Cahoga” was in the Pretenders song. Maybe the locals say “Cahoga”, but the only Cuyahoga Falls locals I’ve talked much to were at the Blossom Music Center, and the alcohol made them somewhat incoherent anyway. Having moved to Columbus, there is a Morse Road. It’s pronounced “Morris” by at least half of the city (mostly the half that has lived here all their lives). This one drives me crazy. Anyone want to take a stab at pronouncing Gnadenhutten or Schoenbrun? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/99 "2004-12-17T01:35:32Z")
in london on, there is a lake & park (and a road) called fanshawe, but pronounced _featherstonehaugh_ :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040/100 "2004-12-17T01:39:47Z")
after 1916, the ontario pronunciation of “berlin” became _kitchener._ and sorry for the double post, i clicky too quicky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-m-i-t-h-pronounced-brown/280040.md?page=6)