From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a set of lists of English personal and place names having spellings that are counterintuitive to their pronunciation because the spelling does not accord with conventional pronunciation associations. Many of these are degenerations in the pronunciation of names that originated in other languages. Sometimes a well-known namesake with the same spelling has a markedly different pronunciation. These are known as heterophonic names or
heterophones (unlike
heterographs , 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 convention: for example, the pronunciation
[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
Boldened names indicate place names where only one part is pronounced irregularly, italicized pronunciations are uncommon.
Exonyms are listed among examples.
General rules
Specific places
This list does not include place names in the
United Kingdom or the
United States , or places following spelling conventions of non-English languages. For UK place names, see
List of irregularly spelled places in the United Kingdom . For US place names, see
List of irregularly spelled places in the United States .
This list includes territories of the
United Kingdom and the
United States not wholly annexed into either country.
Personal names
Bold names are common; so, while not intuitive, they are among the most well-used. Names in italics are names of non-English origin common among English speakers and only irregular in English pronunciation.
Given names
Specific people
General use
General use
Name
Pronunciation
Notes
Respelling
IPA
Anthony
ANT -ə-nee
European pronunciation; also regular
Breanna, Brianna
bree-AH -nə
American variant pronunciation; also regular
Chloe, Chloë
KLOH -ee
Dafydd
DAV -idh
Regular in Welsh
Dana
DAYN -ə (North America);
DAH -nə (Europe)
(North America); (Europe)
few holders, e.g.,
Dana Rosemary Scallon and
Dana Bash
Dylan
DIL -ən
Regular in Welsh, also respelled "Dillon"
Eithne
EN -yə
Regular in Irish
Eleanor
EL -ə-nər ,
EL -ə-nor
Freda
FREE -də
Geoffrey
JEF -ree
Respelled "Jeffrey" in the United States and also Scotland
Hermione
[7]
hur-MY -ə-nee
Hugh
HEW
Isaac
EYE -zək
Isla
EYE -lə
Job
JOHB
John
JON
Liza
LY -zə
Also regular
Magdalen(e)
MAWD -lin
Archaic pronunciation
Malachi
MAL -ə-ky
Malcolm
MAL -kəm
Michael
MY -kəl
Morgause
mor-GAYZ
Naomi, Näomi
NAY -oh-mee ,
nay-OH -mee
,
Ngaire
NY -ree
Also respelled "Nyree", regular in Māori
Niamh
NEEV
Regular in Irish
Niall
NEE -əl
Regular in Irish; sometimes regular in English
Owen
OH -in
Penelope
[8]
[9]
pə-NEL -ə-pee
Phoebe
FEE -bee
Ralph
RAYF
Pronunciation now rare
Rhys
REESS
Regular in Welsh; also respelled "Reece" or "Rees(e)"
Rise ,
Risë
REE -sə
Saoirse
SUR -shə
Regular in Irish
Seamus, Séamas
SHAY -məs
Regular as Irish Séamas or Scottish Gaelic Seumas
Sean, Seán
SHAWN
Regular as Irish Seán ; also respelled "Shaun" or "Shawn"
Sian, Siân
SHAHN
Regular in Welsh
Siobhan
shih-VAWN
Regular as Irish Siobhán
Stephen
STEE -vən
Theresa
tə-REE -sə
American pronunciation
Theresa
tə-REE -zə
Non-American pronunciation
Thomas
TOM -əs
Vaugh(a)n
VAWN
Regular as Welsh Fychan
Zachary
ZAK -ə-ree
Zoe ,
Zoë
ZOH -ee
Family names
Specific people
General use
General use
Name
Pronunciation
Notes
Respelling
IPA
Abercorn
AV -ər-korn
Aucoin
aw-KOYN
Aucoin
oh-KOYN
Aucoin
oh-KWAN
Aucoin
oh-KWEEN
Ayscough
like
askew
Bagehot
BAJ -ət
Beauchamp
BEE -chəm
Beauclerk
boh-KLAIR
Berkeley
like
Barkley
Mainly British pronunciation
Bohun
like
Boon
Blount
like
Blunt
Boulware
like
Bowler
Also regular
Bowie
BOO -ee
Uncommon
Brough
BRUF
Buccleugh
bə-KLOO
Buyer
BOO -yər
Also regular
Cadogan
kə-DUG -ən
Cheves
CHIV -iss
Chisholm
CHIZ -əm
Coke
like
Cook
Colc(o)lough
KOK -lee
Colc(o)lough
KOHK -lee
Crichton
KRY -tən
Cholmondeley
CHUM -lee
Cockburn
like
Coburn
Colquhoun
like
Cahoon
Cowper
like
Cooper
Also regular
Cruwys
KROOZ
Cuyjet
soo-ZHAY
Dalyell
dee-EL
Dalziel
dee-EL
Davies
like
Davis
Sometimes regular
Death
DEETH
De'Ath
dee-AHT
DeLaughter
dih-LAW -tər
Delevingne
del-ə-VEEN
French-origin family name, as in
Cara Delevingne
De Ros
də-ROOZ
Devere(a)ux
DEV -ər-oh
Devere(a)ux
DEV -ər-ooks
Doughty
DOW -tee
Dyches
like
dikes
Eames
like
Ames
Often regular
Ehle
EEL -ee
Faneuil
FAN -yəl
[11]
Fe(a)therstonhaugh
[11]
FAN -shaw
Fe(a)therstonhaugh
[11]
FEE -sən-hay
Fe(a)therstonhaugh
[11]
FEER -stən-haw
Fe(a)therstonhaugh
[11]
FESS -tən-haw
Geogehan
GAY -gən or
ghih-HAY -gən
or
[11]
Geoghegan
GAY -gən or
ghih-HAY -gən
or
[11]
Gieves
GHEEVZ
Greenhalgh
GREEN -hahlsh
Greenhalgh
[11]
GREEN -halj
Greenhalgh
[11]
GREEN -halsh
Greenhalgh
[11]
GREEN -hawl
Grosvenor
[11]
GROH -və-noor
Grosvenor
[11]
GROH -vən-ər
Gough
like
Goff
Greenough
GREE -noh
Guice
GHYSS
Guild
like
guiled
Hardes
HARDZ
Harewood
[11]
like
Harwood
Home
[11]
HEWM
Hough
like
Huff
Jacques
JAYKS
Uncommon
Jervois
JAR -vəss
Australian, British
[14]
Jervois
JUR -voyss
New Zealander, Hongkonger
[15]
Jordan
JURD -ən
Uncommon
Jourdan
JURD -ən
Keogh
KYOH
Kehoe
KYOH
Kerr
KUR
Mainly Scottish and close
Debrett's adherents
Keynes
KAYNZ
Landrieu
LAN -droo
Lalor
like
Lawlor
Lange
like
Lang
Lascelles
LASS -əlss
Leicester
like
Lester
Legaré
lə-GREE
Leveson-Gower
LEW -sən-GOR , LOO -
Lewes
like
Lewis
Loesch
LASH
Mainly North American pronunciation
Lygon
LIG -ən
Machin
MAY -chin
MacCaughey, McCaughey
like
McCoy
MacGrath, McGrath
mə-GRAH
Pronunciation mainly Irish
MacKay, McKay
mə-KY
Pronunciation mainly Scottish
MacLean, McLean
like
McClain
[16]
[17]
[18]
Sometimes regular
MacLeod, McLeod
like
McCloud
MacMahon, McMahon
like
McMann
Mainwaring
MAN -ər-ing
Marjoribanks
MARTCH -banks
Marlborough
MORL -bər-ə
Maugham
MAWM
Meagher
MAH -(hə)r
,
Melancon
mə-LAW -saw
Mimics French
Melançon
Menzies
MING -iss
Regular outside Scotland
Molyneux
MOL -ee-new
Moog
MOHG
Moragne
morr-AY -nee
Muir
MYOR
Muirhead
MEER -hed
Muirhead
MYOR -hed
Muirhead
MURE -hed
Muschamp
MUSH -amp
Ouzts
OOTS
Peirce
PURSS
Uncommon
Petre
like
Peter
Pierce
PURSS
Uncommon
Pole
POOL
As in
Pole-Carew
Pou
PEW
Also regular if from Catalan
Powell
like
pole
Powell
POW -əl
Prioleau
PRAY -loh
Proulx
PROO
Pulitzer
PEW -lit-sər
Common but incorrect
Quincy
KWIN -zee
Slightly uncommon
Raleigh
RAW -lee
Rehm
REEM
Reich
RYSH
Uncommon
Reynolds
REN -ohldz
Rhea
like
Rae
Also regular
Rhys
like
Reece
Riordan
REER -dən
Roosevelt
ROHZ -ə-velt
Often regular
Rozier
roh-ZHEER
Otherwise regular, i.e.,
Saint/
St. Clair
like
Sinclair
Uncommon
Saint/
St. John
SIN -jən
Also regularly
Saint/
St. John
sin-JON
Uncommon
Salisbury
SAWLZ -bər-ee, SOLZ -
Sandys
like
Sands
Schlumberger
SHLUM -bər-zhay
Also regular if from German
Schaffer
SHAY -fər
Also regular
Scrope
SKROOP
Seau
SOH
Seay
like
say
Uncommon
Seay
like
see
Shea
SHAY
Smellie
like
Smiley
Somerset
SUM -ər-set
Sough
SUF
Stough
STOH
Strachan
STRAK(H) -ən
~
Strachan
STRAWN
Strange
STRANG
Uncommon
Synge
like
sing
Tal(i)aferro
like
Tolliver
Also regular if from Italian
Thome
TOH -may
Threatt
THREET
Tilghman
like
Tilman
Tjoelker
like
choker
Trevelyan
trə-VIL -yən
Teutel
like
Tuttle
Tyrwhitt
TIRR -it
Urquhart
UR -kərt
Vanderhorst
van-DROSS
Also regular
Vaugh(a)n
VAWN
Waldegrave
WAWL -grayv
Winzet
WIN -yət
Wodehouse
like
Woodhouse
Worcester
WUUS -tər
Wriothesley
RAWTS -lee
Wriothesley
[19]
RY -əth-slee
Wriothesley
RIZ -lee
Wriothesley
[20]
RYZE -lee
Wriothesley
ROHZ -lee
Wriothesley
ROKS -lee
Yeend
YEND
Yount
YUNT
See also
Notes
^ 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
^ Besides
Birmingham, Alabama , -ham after ⟨ing⟩ of Buckingham, Cunningham, Rockingham, etc. is usually and typically pronounced /hæm/ in the United States and Canada, but not after ⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ in Burnham and Durham. Additionally, the /hæm/ pronunciation is also found even among Australians in addition to /(h)əm/, especially
Rockingham, Western Australia .
^ Examples are
East Greenwich , Greenwich townships in
Cumberland ,
Gloucester , and
Warren counties, and Greenwich census-designated places in
Cumberland and
Warren , all in
New Jersey ;
Norwich and
Norwich Township, Ontario , Canada; and
Norwich, Connecticut .
^ Some English places have the pronunciation instead:
Southwick ,
West Sussex ;
Painswick ,
Gloucestershire ;
Prestwick and
Hardwick , as well as
Pickwick , a former village in Wiltshire from which the novel
The Pickwick Papers got its title, but these by population represent a very small minority.
^ cf. influential
Duke of Albany and
Albany, New York
^ French for "Bay of Hope", and paradoxically pronounced "Bay Despair"
^ Canberra as is rare and deprecated
^ Same as the surname.
^ Same as the surname.
^ When spoken in the clipped way, the same as original Scottish surname McKay.
^ Polish-derived pronunciation is sometimes used for the Australian example.
References
^
"Schenectady" .
Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary .
Oxford University Press . [
dead link ]
^
"Schenectady" .
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Retrieved January 22, 2016 .
^
"Agassiz" .
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Retrieved January 22, 2016 .
^
"Magaguadavic" . Place Names of New Brunswick . Public Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2017 .
^
"Kosciuszko" in Butler, Susan (ed), Macquarie Dictionary (online ed, at 26 November 2020)
^
"Rusagonis" . Place Names of New Brunswick . Public Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 21 January 2017 .
^
"Hermione" .
Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved January 22, 2016 .
^
"Penelope" .
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Retrieved January 22, 2016 .
^
"Penelope" .
Lexico UK English Dictionary .
Oxford University Press . Archived from
the original on 2020-03-22.
^
"Biographies : GENERAL ANDREW P. IOSUE" . Af.mil. Archived from
the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
Wells, John C. (2000).
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary . 2nd ed.
Longman .
ISBN
0-582-36468-X .
^ Douglas Martin,
James E. Fuchs, Innovator in the Shot-Put, Dies at 82 , New York Times, October 18, 2010
^
"Voices Against Indifference Initiative" . Echofoundation.org. Retrieved October 9, 2012 .
^
"The pronunciation of placenames" . Macquarie Dictionary. February 10, 2016.
^ Andrew Yanne; Gillis Heller (2009).
Signs of a Colonial Era (PDF) . Hong Kong University Press. p. 3.
ISBN
978-962-209-944-9 .
^
"Pronunciation Of Surnames" . Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012 .
^
"Mclean | Define Mclean at Dictionary.com" . Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012 .
^
"NHL pronunciation guide" . USA Today . February 4, 2000. Archived from
the original on October 19, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2010 .
^ Wells, J. C. Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. 3rd edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2008.
^
"Set VII, texts and comments" . Utm.edu. Retrieved October 9, 2012 .
Further reading