The World’s Most Mispronounced Names, Mapped

Many people know the awkwardness that comes with mispronouncing a person’s name, or having one’s own name mangled. (Saoirse Ronan is certainly among their number.) But even seemingly simple names can still prove to be tricky.

Word puzzle advice site WordFinderX compiled a list of the most frequently mispronounced first names around the world. The data was culled from Forvo, an online pronunciation tool. The more people looked up a name, the more likely it was to be a source of confusion. You can view their findings in the map below:

Sean might be the most confounding name on the globe. Pronounced “shaun,” the Irish moniker has roughly 1 million hits on Forvo, far outpacing second-place Xuxa, (“shoo-shuh”) from the Basque language. Victoria (“Vic-tore-ee-uh”), Francisco (“Fran-siss-co”), and Plato (“Play-toh”) round out the top five. Here’s the full top 20:

Some might be surprised to see Anne on the list, which ranks 14 globally and is in first place in a list of the top 20 most mispronounced English names:

Anne is confusing for some due to its varied pronunciations. While it’s said “ahhn” in English-speaking countries, it’s “anne-uh” in the Netherlands and Finland. Others distinguish Anne from Ann by pronouncing the e in the former spelling (“ann-ee”). James, meanwhile, ranks highly owing to the fact some languages, like Spanish, pronounce j like an English h.

Obviously, not everyone will take it upon themselves to learn the correct pronunciations of names. Should you find your own name being botched, etiquette expert Sara Jane Ho advises to take a patient approach. After someone uses your name incorrectly, wait for a lull in conversation and then correct the speaker. You may want to add that the mistake “happens all the time” so they’re not too embarrassed.

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