# The bizarre pronunciation of certain English surnames **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2000, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594 "2000-02-19T09:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/81 "2017-06-05T15:38:37Z")
Then there is Cairo, Illinois. Pronounced KAY-roh. Like the corn syrup. And Genoa, Nevada. Pronounced Geh-NO-ah. Americans love to mess up words. It’s like an artform for us. 😃 ---
**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:** [June 5, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/82 "2017-06-05T15:51:28Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Then there is Cairo, Illinois. Pronounced KAY-roh. Like the corn syrup. > > And Genoa, Nevada. Pronounced Geh-NO-ah. > > Americans love to mess up words. It’s like an artform for us. 😃 Yeah, there’s countless examples of this. [Here’s an article with 20 of 'em.](http://mentalfloss.com/article/50967/20-towns-named-other-towns-pronounced-differently) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/83 "2017-06-05T15:55:43Z")
> [@Bones\_Daley](#): > > The P is silent …as in tub… or bath. Or … pool? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/84 "2017-06-05T19:22:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > That is [a fascinating piece of history](http://www.americanheritage.com/content/enroughty-darby-and-general-mcclellan). Is any, or all, of that story for realz? Anyway, how is _Enroughty_ pronounced, when it isn’t being pronounced _Darby_? En-ruff-ty? En-roo-ty? En-rau-ty? ---
**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:** [June 5, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/85 "2017-06-05T19:38:04Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is any, or all, of that story for realz? > > Anyway, how is _Enroughty_ pronounced, when it isn’t being pronounced _Darby_? En-ruff-ty? En-roo-ty? En-rau-ty? More to the first part, [post 53 in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=411186&page=2) goes over the story. That one claims it’s not an English pronunciation, but a specific Southern US pronunciation of the name. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/86 "2017-06-05T20:02:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is any, or all, of that story for realz? > > Anyway, how is _Enroughty_ pronounced, when it isn’t being pronounced _Darby_? En-ruff-ty? En-roo-ty? En-rau-ty? I am going to guess that it was bawdlerized into the latter potion of the name of that famous American tennis player. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/87 "2017-06-05T23:52:48Z")
Can’t find it, but I remember a limerick that started: “A young man named Chelmondsley Colquon Fed his baboon with a spoquon…” ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/88 "2017-06-06T00:47:49Z")
Doesn’t help that even higher education gets in on the act of stuffing up pronunciations. See Magdalen and Caius colleges, pronounced respectively Maudlin and Keys. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/89 "2017-06-06T00:52:49Z")
Ooh, and I forgot one famous American pronunciation shift - Drumpf. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/90 "2017-06-06T01:02:47Z")
Not too many people would recognize who Alois Hiedler was. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/91 "2017-06-07T05:00:32Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Not too many people would recognize who Alois Hiedler was. And, I suspect, a great many people who _do_ recognize that name are confused about just who he was. No, he wasn’t Adolf Hitler. And Adolf Hitler wasn’t born Schicklgruber either. The whole genealogy, per [Heidler’s Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Hitler), seems convoluted. Alois Schicklgruber was born an illegitimate child of uncertain fatherhood. At a young age he became a step-child of Johann Georg Hiedler (who he later claimed was his biological father), and at the age of 39 formally adopted Hiedler as his surname – except that at this point, it inexplicably became _Hitler_ instead of Hiedler. He later had several children, some of whom died in early childhood. One of those children who unfortunately _didn’t_ die in childhood was Adolf Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/92 "2017-06-07T12:35:19Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > There’s Hyooston texas and howston st, which is near grennich village not to be confused with green witch Ct. My often pasted quote from Wikipedia because its needed so often: The street’s name is pronounced “HOW-stən”, unlike the city of Houston in Texas, which is pronounced “HYOO-stən”. This is because the street was named for William Houstoun, whereas the city was named for Sam Houston. Also the street predates the founding of the city of Houston. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/93 "2017-06-07T14:39:58Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > And I suppose Dorchester is ‘dooster’? :dubious: > > No, “ch” is so much more distinctive a sound than a sibilant “c” that there’s that much less risk of elision. \ That, and there’s less of this elision stuff in the West Country (at least until you get to the western end of Devon, wharrr aaaahvereethang is ooonintellijable). Dorchester is “doorchester,” Sherborne is “shurbun” or “shareborne” depending on how long you’ve lived there, Taunton is “tawnton,” Bristol is “brisstul” and so on. Everything fairly close to the phonetic spelling. ISTM that this has something to do with either the lack of Norse/Danish influence in the south of England, or the large number of Normans who lived there. The Anglo-Saxon spellings have been modified to conform to pronunciation more so than Oop North. For example, Sherborne was _scirburnan_ to King Alfred, and its spelling gradually [shifted](http://placenames.org.uk/id/placename/59/018493) over time. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/94 "2017-06-07T15:12:12Z")
Nguyen pronounced WIN 4th most common surname in the world. Most common surname outside of China. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/95 "2017-06-07T15:33:26Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Nguyen pronounced WIN > > 4th most common surname in the world. Most common surname outside of China. Not really “win” except for people who aren’t used to the “ng” combination at the front of words. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/96 "2017-06-07T15:42:08Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Not really “win” except for people who aren’t used to the “ng” combination at the front of words. Yeah, that’s just an Anglicized pronunciation (though I assume other languages without the ng initial phoneme also have similar accommodations.) ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/97 "2017-06-07T15:49:33Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > Can’t find it, but I remember a limerick that started: > “A young man named Chelmondsley Colquon > Fed his baboon with a spoquon…” I know said limerick, approximately as follows (the name Colquhoun, by the way, is Scots, not “English English” – pronounced, roughly, “ka-HOON”): A young man named Cholmondely Colquhoun Once kept as a pet, a babquhoun. His mother said, “Cholmondely, I don’t think it colmondely To feed a babquhoun with a spquhoun”. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/98 "2017-06-08T00:24:22Z")
> [@chrisn](#): > > Why are a few English surnames pronounced so differently than they are spelled? I’m thinking of names such as Churmondley (pronounced Chumley), Mainwaring (pronounced Mannering), and Featheringstonehaugh (pronounced Fanshaw). Stephen Fry mentioned these names in the afterword of a “Jeeves and Wooster” episode (he was commenting upon the pronunciation of P.J. Wodehouse’s name), but he never explained how or why their pronunciations had diverged from their spellings. > > Were these names ever pronounced the way they were spelled? Or were they always pronounced the way they are now and the extra letters just thrown in later on a whim? Apart from Featherstonehaugh and Fanshaw the Guinness Book of Records lists at least two intermediate pronunciations: Freestonehugh ad Festonhay, ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/99 "2017-06-08T00:38:45Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The town in Mass is “whuh-stuh.” > Robert Heinlein wrung this dichotomy (double dichotomy? quatomy?) dry in a late novel, where the pronunciation and spelling of a man’s name was a red herring. "\* The Cat Who Walked Through Walls \* ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594/100 "2017-06-08T00:56:31Z")
> [@Damfino](#): > > Apart from Featherstonehaugh and Fanshaw the Guinness Book of Records lists at least two intermediate pronunciations: Freestonehugh ad Festonhay, Almost a pity it didn’t remain as “Freestonehugh”, really, so that people could have fun amending the road signs. Welcome to FREESTONEHUGH!" Stone Hugh is Innocent! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bizarre-pronunciation-of-certain-english-surnames/7594.md?page=6)