If you have a last name that is still spelled like how it was in the old country...

[Anonymous]

We have a Danish last name that's spelling was never anglicized. We pronounce it as it is pronounced in Denmark and how the popular anglicized version of our name is pronounced. It's just how my DH's family always pronounced it. DH is only the 4th generation here. Well, it seems most people with this name in the us and especially the uk pronounce it like a completely different name--like how it would be pronounced in English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:German/Yiddish name pronounced about four different ways by Americans.

Ha same. Well, it's DH's last name. Mine is Smith which is hard to screw up (although I've been asked more than once how to spell it). DH's last name is common but I'd never heard the particular pronunciation his family uses until I met him. Apparently it's a New York thing; in other parts of the country it's pronounced differently.

[Anonymous]

Dutch last name, spelled the same way but use the American pronunciation of the G instead of the gutteral noise used in the old country

[Anonymous]

It's a Spanish name, so we say it with the Spanish phonetics (there's a double-l, so we use the English /y/ sound). But a different accent depending on whether I'm speaking English or Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Chinese name that was anglicized in the 1950's and pronounced using the old phonetics (think Peking vs Beijing) instead of the current PinYing phonetics.

[Anonymous]

Italian name, pronounced with a Brooklyn accent. Some of the vowels are completely ignored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Italian name, pronounced with a Brooklyn accent. Some of the vowels are completely ignored.

Although Brooklyn could be considered the "old country" because no one in my family has lived there in two generations???

[Anonymous]

Polish name, Polish spelling, Polish spelling. Ditto for relatives on all sides with few rare exceptions. In my major urban Midwestern city (not in Illinois), people from many places, of all different colors and ethnicities pronounce my name correctly. In DC and the DC Metro area I can count on one hand how many people pronounced it correctly in the nearly 25 years I've lived here. So weird. Just reinforces the idea that although DC is an international city, it is a bit podunk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Polish name, Polish spelling, Polish spelling. Ditto for relatives on all sides with few rare exceptions. In my major urban Midwestern city (not in Illinois), people from many places, of all different colors and ethnicities pronounce my name correctly. In DC and the DC Metro area I can count on one hand how many people pronounced it correctly in the nearly 25 years I've lived here. So weird. Just reinforces the idea that although DC is an international city, it is a bit podunk.

Throw me in with the podunk folks -- I meant Polish name, Polish spelling, Polish pronunciation! Oy weh!

[Anonymous]

Thai name and it is pronounced like it is spelled, though it's a mouthful. Americans have a common wrong way they pronounce it but it hadn't occurred to me to go by that.

[Anonymous]

Completely americanized

[Anonymous]

Spelling and pronunciation were changed. I'm not sure they were even literate enough to spell it correctly when they arrived in this country.

[Anonymous]

I have a German last name of only four letters and people pronounce it wrong every time.

[Anonymous]

Mine is pronounced in a hybrid way. It would be too much work to get Americans to pronounce it "correctly." But when someone makes the effort, it makes me really really like them!

[Anonymous]

I had a last name that people did not want to pronounce the way it should be pronounced in English (think something like, "Dique"), but in the original language sounds nice.

I was happy to change to my boring old, easy to pronounce English surname when I got married.