List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations

This is a set of lists of English personal and place names whose pronunciations are counterintuitive to their spelling, because the pronunciation does not correspond to the spelling, or because a better known namesake has a markedly different pronunciation. The latter are known as heterophonic names (the opposite of homophones, which are written differently but pronounced the same).

Excluded are the numerous spellings which fail to make the pronunciation obvious without actually being at odds with it: for example, the pronunciation /skəˈnɛktədi/[1][2] of Schenectady is not immediately obvious, but neither is it counterintuitive.

See Help:IPA/English for guides to the IPA symbols used, and variations depending on dialect.[n 1]

Place names of the UK and Ireland

See List of places in the United Kingdom and Ireland with counterintuitive pronunciations, and:

Place names in the United States of America

See:

Place names in Canada

Place names in Australia

Place names in New Zealand

Place names in other English-speaking countries

Given names

Emboldened names are traditional so while not intuitive, are among the most well-used.

Most commonly used of Irish and Welsh origin

  • Dafydd – /ˈdævɪð/
  • Dylan – /ˈdɪlən/
  • Eithne – /ˈɛnjə/
  • Niall – /ˈnaɪəl/ also /ˈniːəl/
  • Niamh – /ˈniːv/ or Irish: [ˈniː.əv]
  • Rees/Rhys – /ˈriːs/
  • Seamus – /ˈʃeɪməs/ (spelling Séamas is regular in Irish)
  • Sean – /ˈʃɔːn/ (spelling Seán is regular in Irish)
  • Sian/Siân – /ˈʃɑːn/
  • Siobhan – /ʃɪˈvɔːn/; spelling Siobhán is regular in Irish

Surnames

A–B

C

D–E

F–H

I–L

M

N–Q

R

S

T–V

W–Z

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ For towns near the cusp of two dialect regions, both variants are usually heard, and wider still for important cities or even within them. Examples in that article include New York City and Bath
  2. ↑ French for "Bay of Hope", and paradoxically pronounced "Bay Despair"
  3. ↑ The Thames River in Connecticut is intuitive: /ˈθeɪmz/.
  4. ↑ cf. influential Duke of Albany and Albany, New York
  5. ↑ Cf Brisbane, California, which is /ˈbrɪzbeɪn/
  6. ↑ Canberra as /kænˈbɛrə/ is rare and deprecated
  7. ↑ Same as the surname.
  8. ↑ When spoken in the clipped way, the same as original Scottish surname McKay.
  9. ↑ Polish-derived pronunciation /kɒˈʃʊʃkoʊ/ is sometimes used for the Australian example.
  10. ↑ American English pronunciation of “Antoine" see the section on his name.
  11. ↑ /oʊˈkwæn/ (e.g. Kevyn Aucoin), /oʊˈkwiːn/, /oʊˈkɔɪn/ (e.g. Bill Aucoin), to /ˈɔːkɔɪn/
  12. ↑ Generally in Virginia
  13. ↑ Variant of Copeland (surname)
  14. ↑ Usually e.g. H. D. G. Leveson-Gower, Granville George Leveson-Gower
  15. ↑ While generally keeping separate vowel sounds at the end (as though with a diaresis), 'er' in Olivier is never pronounced like Oliver
  16. ↑ Scottish, e.g. William Smellie
  17. ↑ Scottish, see Urquhart Castle
References
  1. ↑ "Schenectady". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  2. ↑ "Schenectady". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  3. ↑ "Agassiz". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  4. ↑ "Magaguadavic". Place Names of New Brunswick. Public Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Rusagonis". Place Names of New Brunswick. Public Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "ReserVORE or ReservWAH? Praan or Peran? There are many different ways Melburnians pronounce place names — but which is right?".
  7. ↑ "Hermione". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  8. ↑ "Penelope". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  9. ↑ "Penelope". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  10. ↑ "Voices Against Indifference Initiative". Echofoundation.org. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  11. ↑ Elsdon Coles Smith (1986-05-01). American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 296 /. ISBN 978-0-8063-1150-0.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. 2nd ed. Longman. ISBN 0-582-36468-X.
  13. ↑ Douglas Martin, James E. Fuchs, Innovator in the Shot-Put, Dies at 82, New York Times, October 18, 2010
  14. ↑ National Library Service
  15. ↑ "Biographies : GENERAL ANDREW P. IOSUE". Af.mil. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  16. ↑ "Pronunciation Of Surnames". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  17. ↑ "Mclean | Define Mclean at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  18. ↑ "USA Today". 4 February 2000. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  19. ↑ Arika Okrent (2013-06-13). "Why is 'Weiner' sometimes 'weener' and sometimes 'whiner'?". The Week.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  20. ↑ "Set VII, texts and comments". Utm.edu. Retrieved 2012-10-09.

Further reading

  • G. M. Miller (editor) (1971). BBC pronouncing dictionary of British names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-431125-2.
  • Ordnance Survey of Ireland (1989). Gazetteer of Ireland. Government Publications Office. ISBN 0-7076-0076-6.
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