# The name "Graham": How do you pronounce it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 5, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854 "2015-02-05T01:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/21 "2015-02-05T04:52:42Z")
I’ve heard it pronounced “gram”. There may be a slight aspiration within the vowel of an almost silent “h”, making it slighty two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/22 "2015-02-05T04:57:47Z")
I too say gram, like the unit of mass. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/23 "2015-02-05T05:05:24Z")
Surprised there’s just the 2 options mentioned so far. It’s definitely not “gram” , but certainly not “gray-um” either. The correct answer is “gra-um” (short A as in grass, not long A as in gray) it sounds awfully close to “gram” but with a very slight pause in the middle ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/24 "2015-02-05T05:16:15Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Crackers aside (and I, an American, say “Gray-em crackers”), my observation is that in general, Americans tend to say “Gray-em” and Brits “Gram.” I know a Kiwi named “Graham,” and he definitely says the latter. Brits might regionally say Gram, but my Southern England raised SO says Gray-em and has never heard Gram as an alternative pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/25 "2015-02-05T05:17:53Z")
Gra um. No H sound, not a real emphatic Y sound. It’s a family name (used as both a first and last name). This is how we pronounce it, YMMV. Or…as Bootis says. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2015, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/26 "2015-02-05T07:32:33Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I mean if she wants to say, "Oh thats a common mistake. Our family actually pronounces it “Gra-hooty-nob-pull-zoinkensteen” that’s on _her_. That’s just silly. I would naturally pronounce it Grayingcestershireham just like it was originally spelt in the elder days. But people took to pronouncing it Grayshireham (“Grayshrm”) then Graysh’m (origin of the cognate name Gresham BTW) then Graym, leading to any of the various modern pronunciations. Eventually, the written spelling followed suit, more-or-less, giving us Graham. (My ass is my cite.) 🙂 ---
**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:** [February 5, 2015, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/27 "2015-02-05T07:36:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > (My ass is my cite.) 🙂 and you do it a disservice ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/28 "2015-02-05T07:38:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Graeme is pronounced the same way. Except for Graeme Labrooy \<-obscure reference ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/29 "2015-02-05T07:57:00Z")
In the ninth dimension, it’s “Big-boo-TAY.” ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/30 "2015-02-05T08:28:35Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Crackers aside (and I, an American, say “Gray-em crackers”), my observation is that in general, Americans tend to say “Gray-em” and Brits “Gram.” I know a Kiwi named “Graham,” and he definitely says the latter. Other way round: it would never be Gram in the UK. New Zealand, maybe, but that’s not the UK. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/31 "2015-02-05T09:20:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Crackers aside (and I, an American, say “Gray-em crackers”), my observation is that in general, Americans tend to say “Gray-em” and Brits “Gram.” I know a Kiwi named “Graham,” and he definitely says the latter. > [@Eliahna](#): > > Brits might regionally say Gram, but my Southern England raised SO says Gray-em and has never heard Gram as an alternative pronunciation. > [@SciFiSam](#): > > Other way round: it would never be Gram in the UK. New Zealand, maybe, but that’s not the UK. I (Midland / Southern English) concur with **Eliahna** and **SciFiSam** – I’ve never to the best of my recollection, heard any fellow-Brit say anything but “Gray-em”. (Re Kiwis, I wouldn’t know.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/32 "2015-02-05T10:01:29Z")
It’s two syllables in this other ex-British colony. Gray-im for me, but gray-him for others I know. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/33 "2015-02-05T10:11:00Z")
As it’s my brother’s name I can confidently say it is…Grame, pretty much all one syllable, perhaps the slightest hint of a second syllable as in Grayam but said so quickly that you’ll not notice. And this is the typical north-east pronunciation in the UK. I have heard a more drawling pronunciation with two definitely separate syllables in other parts of the UK but I’ve certainly never heard “Gram”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/34 "2015-02-05T10:32:05Z")
Same as “gram.” But it’s one of the few words (word pairs, in this case) which, when pronounced exactly as I do, could be regarded as having either one syllable or two. This is simply a consequence of the mouth transitioning from the “broad a” sound (the “ae” ligature in IPA notation) to the “m” sound. The mouth is forced to move in a way which creates a little schwa sound right before the “m.” It’s up to the listener to decide if that fleeting “uh” deserves its own syllable or not. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/35 "2015-02-05T12:56:16Z")
Another “gram” over here. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/36 "2015-02-05T13:12:03Z")
Gray-im in Ireland. When I hear an American say “Gram Greene” it grinds my gears. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/37 "2015-02-05T13:20:23Z")
Two syllables generally for me. Unless told otherwise, I say “gray-um.” I say it the same way in “graham cracker.” I’m born & raised in the US. For all I know, this might just be a personal quirk. I also pronounced words like “Tube” and “Tuesday” with a “soft T” (something like “ch,” but more properly a “t[sub]y[/sub]” when I was a kid, and I have no idea where I could have gotten that from, as I had no British English influence growing up that I am consciously aware of.) That one shifted to the usual American pronunciation by the time I was a few grades into elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/38 "2015-02-05T13:30:51Z")
Gram. Exactly like the unit of mass. Ditto for the crackers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/39 "2015-02-05T13:47:48Z")
I pronounce the crackers “gray-um” but the name “gram”. Go figure! But the “gray” is not quite like the color. The “a” is softer, but not like the “a” in “at”. About inbetween the two pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854/40 "2015-02-05T14:49:21Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Except those of us who pronounce it as gray-em also pronounce the cracker the same way: gray-em, gray-im, gray’m. But those that make them and [Mr Rogers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFWP0vGWA10) don’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-graham-how-do-you-pronounce-it/711854.md?page=3)