# The Duke of Cambridge: Why is he Prince William William Arthur Philip... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224 "2011-05-25T23:54:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/1 "2011-05-25T23:54:08Z")
“_Louie_”…or more specifically, why is the name pronounced in the French manner? I am aware that he has various relatives and ancestors named Louis or Louise, but I’m curious as to what the antecedent of this is. After all, French as the language of the Court went out some time in the Middle Ages, or so I thought. Obviously however he and the family choose to pronounce it is correct, but I am not saying they pronounce it _wrong_, rather just wondering why they do pronounce it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/2 "2011-05-26T00:08:26Z")
Because “Louie” is the correct pronunciation everywhere in the world. Americans are the only people that pronounce “Louis” as if were “Lewis”, which is an entirely different name. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/3 "2011-05-26T00:18:45Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Because “Louie” is the correct pronunciation everywhere in the world. > > Americans are the only people that pronounce “Louis” as if were “Lewis”, which is an entirely different name. Heh, hope I haven’t been pronouncing the only two Americans I can think of with the name “Louis” wrong. Louis Armstrong, Joe Louis? Edit: this is a genuine question! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/4 "2011-05-26T00:25:27Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Heh, hope I haven’t been pronouncing the only two Americans I can think of with the name “Louis” wrong. Louis Armstrong, Joe Louis? > > Edit: this is a genuine question! It’s pronounced Loo-ee Armstrong and Joe Lew-is ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/5 "2011-05-26T00:28:31Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Because “Louie” is the correct pronunciation everywhere in the world. > > Americans are the only people that pronounce “Louis” as if were “Lewis”, which is an entirely different name. really? spaniards say “luis” just like on sesame street. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/6 "2011-05-26T00:30:54Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > It’s pronounced Loo-ee Armstrong and Joe Lew-is Been getting the former right, but have always got the latter wrong. Not that his name comes up often, but still…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/7 "2011-05-26T01:06:03Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > really? spaniards say “luis” just like on sesame street. Everywhere in the English-speaking world, and the French speaking world. The OP seems to be saying that there are English and French pronunciations of “Louis” - no, only Americans pronounce it phonetically. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/8 "2011-05-26T01:07:38Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > really? spaniards say “luis” just like on sesame street. The Spanish name Luis is pronounced LOO-ees; the English name Louis is pronounced LOO-ee. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/9 "2011-05-26T01:21:28Z")
My point being that the Royals aren’t using a fancy French pronunciation, they’re using the correct English pronunciation, and only Americans consider the phonetic pronunciation correct. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/10 "2011-05-26T03:07:57Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > The OP seems to be saying that there are English and French pronunciations of “Louis” - no, only Americans pronounce it phonetically. Except the American pronunciation appears to preserve an older pronunciation used by the English, as shown by a couple of the characters in two of Shakespeare’s plays. Both [Henry V](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_(play)#Characters) and [King John](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_John_(play)#Characters), feature a Dauphin of France. Historically, the real Dauphins these two characters were based on were named “Louis” ([Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Guyenne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(1397-1415)) in Henry V, and [Louis VIII the Lion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VIII_of_France) in King John, respectively) but Shakespeare refers to both of them as “Lewis.” That suggests to me that the English in Shakespeare’s time pronounced the name by English phonetics, sounding the terminal “s”, but over time, the English may have adopted the more traditional French pronunciation of the name, which is now used by the Royals. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/11 "2011-05-26T08:33:54Z")
Louis is after his great-great-Uncle [Louis Mountbatten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mountbatten,_1st_Earl_Mountbatten_of_Burma), who was Charles’ favourite great-uncle and a big influence on the royals; he was killed by the IRA. Just to confirm what others have said - in the UK Louis and Lewis are different names. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Except the American pronunciation appears to preserve an older pronunciation used by the English, as shown by a couple of the characters in two of Shakespeare’s plays. > > Both [Henry V](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_(play)#Characters) and [King John](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_John_(play)#Characters), feature a Dauphin of France. Historically, the real Dauphins these two characters were based on were named “Louis” ([Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Guyenne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(1397-1415)) in Henry V, and [Louis VIII the Lion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VIII_of_France) in King John, respectively) but Shakespeare refers to both of them as “Lewis.” > > That suggests to me that the English in Shakespeare’s time pronounced the name by English phonetics, sounding the terminal “s”, but over time, the English may have adopted the more traditional French pronunciation of the name, which is now used by the Royals. No - the name is completely Anglicised and written as Lewis, not Louis. ‘Jacques’ in Shakespeare’s plays is also pronounced Jay-kweez (you can tell by the rhymes and scansion). ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/12 "2011-05-26T12:08:01Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > The Duke of Cambridge: Why is he Prince **William William** Arthur Philip… Reading this makes me wish I could think of a good “Louie Louie” joke… ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/13 "2011-05-26T14:40:20Z")
Just to confirm that in Ireland the name Louis is always pronounced “Louie” as in France. It is after all a French name. If we were calling someone Lewis, as a first name or surname, we’d spell it Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/14 "2011-05-26T18:06:36Z")
[QUOTE=Michael of Lucan] If we were calling someone Lewis, as a first name or surname, we’d spell it Lewis. [/QUOTE] And if you’re Inspector Morse, you pronounce the name as “Oh _come on_, Lewis.” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/15 "2011-05-27T04:44:52Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > My point being that the Royals aren’t using a fancy French pronunciation, they’re using the correct English pronunciation, and only Americans consider the phonetic pronunciation correct. I didn’t know this. And when people mention “Louie” Armstrong, I thought it was a diminutive of the formal name “Louis”. But everyone in the Anglophone world does pronounce the ‘s’ in Charles, right? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-duke-of-cambridge-why-is-he-prince-william-william-arthur-philip/583224/16 "2011-05-27T05:32:06Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I didn’t know this. And when people mention “Louie” Armstrong, I thought it was a diminutive of the formal name “Louis”. Complicating things, Louis Armstrong apparently did pronounce his name Lewis. See the beginning of Hello Dolly here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kmfeKUNDDYs/hqdefault.jpg "Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly Live") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmfeKUNDDYs) And also this interview with him, 10 seconds in: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5Eu2aYiu7Uo/hqdefault.jpg "Satchmo Louis Armstrong interview and film of Louis in Copenhagen in 1933") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eu2aYiu7Uo)