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An A-Z Guide to All the Celebrity Names You Don't Know How to Pronounce

An A-Z Guide to All the Celebrity Names You Don't Know How to Pronounce

By Olivia Bahou

Updated Jan 24, 2018 @ 1:30 pm

theellenshow/Instagram

It's a situation that happens far too often: You're having a conversation about a celebrity with your friends, but you're not entirely sure how to pronounce the name.

Let's take Joe Manganiello, for instance. You can either pretend that you can't remember his name and start rattling off identifiers. "He's Sofía Vergara's husband! He was in Magic Mike!" Or, you can take a stab at pronouncing it and risk getting admonished by a major True Blood fan. "It's Manganiello, with a hard 'G.'" You hang your head in shame.

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Even celebrities have a hard time getting it right. Tiffany Haddish made headlines during the Oscar nominations announcement, when she struggled with saying nominees like "David Kaluuya" and "Timothée Chalamet."

That's why we created this handy guide to pronouncing all of those difficult celebrity names. Keep scrolling to learn which letters are silent, which "J"s are actually "Y"s, and how the heck to say "Quvenzhané." You'll never stumble over "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau" again.

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Amanda Seyfried

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

You may think this one is a slam dunk, but it's actually "SIGH-fred," not "Say-fried." Listen to her pronounce it in this clip.

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Anders Holm

Araya Diaz/WireImage

Holm's name looks simple, but it's actually pronounced "ON-ders."

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Anna Faris

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

There are multiple ways to pronounce "Anna." In Faris's case, it's AH-na, not AN-na.

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Charlize Theron

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Theron is no stranger to having you mess up her name. It's "Ther-in," not "Ther-own."

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Chloë Sevigny

George Pimentel/Getty

Another name that's not what it seems. Instead of "Seven-yay," say "Seven-e."

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David Kaluuya

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

David's last name is pronounced "kah-LOO-ya." Someone should tell Tiffany Haddish.

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David Oyelowo

Jim Spellman/WireImage

According to the Selma star, the best way to remember the pronunciation of his last name is to say "o-yellow-o."

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Demi Moore

Amanda Edwards/WireImage

Contrary to popular belief, it's "Duh-me," not "Deh-mi."

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Eva Mendes

Angela Weiss/Getty

Nope, it's not "Ee-va" but "Ava." Game changer.

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Gabourey Sidibe

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan

According to the Precious star, Gabourey rhimes with Cabaret.

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Ian Somerhalder

Frazer Harrison/Getty

If you listen to Somerhalder introduce himself, the first two syllables in his last name sound like "summer," not "somer."

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Idina Menzel

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

While it'd be hard to flub Idina's name as badly as John Travolta did, get it right by saying "Uh-Dina" instead "EE-Dina."

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Idris Elba

Mike Marsland/WireImage

This hunk may be smooth but pronouncing his name definitely isn't. Think "Eh-dris" instead of "Ee-dris" and you'll be on the right track.

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Joaquin Phoenix

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

This one definitely has a silent "J." It's "Wah-keen," not whatever you just mumbled to yourself.

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Joe Manganiello

Amanda Edwards/WireImage

There's no "J" sound in the pronunciation of this name. Listen to Joe say it himself: Say "mang" as in "mango," and then add "anello."

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Lupita Nyong'o

Amanda Edwards/WireImage

The actress recorded a helpful video to teach us how to say her name with Kenyan, American, and Mexican accents.

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Mariska Hargitay

Mike Coppola/Getty

To remember how to pronounce this name, think of it as missing an "H." To say it correctly, try "Mar-ish-ka" instead of "Mariska."

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Mia Wasikowska

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

This one's a toughy. Wasikowska is pronounced "VAH-shee-KOF-ska."

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Milla Jovovich

Kevin Winter/Getty

Yet another "J" that you won't hear in her name. It's pronounced "YOH-ve-vich."

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

For when you can't just call him Jaime Lannister, don't pronounce the "j." It's "Nee-ko-ly."

21 of 30

Quvenzhané Wallis

C Flanigan/FilmMagic

Don't take it from me: Repeat after the young Oscar nominee.

22 of 30

Rachel Weisz

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

This time, a deceiving "W." Rachel's last name is pronounced "Vice."

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Ralph Fiennes

Franco Origlia/Getty

Call him He Who Must Not Be Named—because everyone is saying it wrong. It's not "Ralph" but "Rafe." Rafe Fines, to be exact.

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Ryan Phillippe

Jerod Harris/WireImage

Ditch the fancy French accent. Ryan's last name is actually pronounced like the named Philip, with a Canadian "eh" at the end.

25 of 30

Saoirse Ronan

Ben Gabbe/Getty

Thanks to this handy sign from Ellen DeGeneres, we learned that "Saorise" is pronounced like "Sur-sha."

26 of 30

Steve Buscemi

Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic

No, it's not "Boo-skemi" or "Boo-schemi": It's "Boo-semi." Game changer.

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Taylor Lautner

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

In a behind-the-scenes video from 2011, the Twilight star introduces himself as Taylor LAUT-ner, not LOTT-ner. Mind blown.

28 of 30

Timothée Chalamet

Steve Granitz/WireImage

While his name is written the French way, the Oscar nominee pronounces it "Timothy." As for his last name, it's "SHALL-uh-MAY." Listen to him say it here.

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Zendaya

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

This name is easier to pronounce than we make it. Say it "Zen-DAY-uh," not "Zen-DIE-uh," just like she instructs.

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Zosia Mamet

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Instead of "ZOH-sha," this name "rhymes with Sasha."

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An A-Z Guide to All the Celebrity Names You Don't Know How to Pronounce

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Amanda Seyfried

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Anders Holm

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Anna Faris

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Charlize Theron

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Chloë Sevigny

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David Kaluuya

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David Oyelowo

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Demi Moore

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Eva Mendes

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Gabourey Sidibe

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Ian Somerhalder

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Idina Menzel

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Idris Elba

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Joaquin Phoenix

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Joe Manganiello

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Lupita Nyong'o

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Mariska Hargitay

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Mia Wasikowska

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Milla Jovovich

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

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Quvenzhané Wallis

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Rachel Weisz

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Ralph Fiennes

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Ryan Phillippe

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Saoirse Ronan

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Steve Buscemi