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

By Olivia Bahou
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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1 of 31

Amanda Seyfried

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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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2 of 31

Anders Holm

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

3 of 31

Anna Faris

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

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4 of 31

Charlize Theron

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

5 of 31

Chloë Sevigny

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

6 of 31

David Kaluuya

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

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7 of 31

David Oyelowo

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

8 of 31

Demi Moore

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

9 of 31

Eva Mendes

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

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10 of 31

Gabourey Sidibe

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According to the Precious star, Gabourey rhimes with Cabaret.

11 of 31

Ian Somerhalder

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

12 of 31

Idina Menzel

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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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13 of 31

Idris Elba

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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.

14 of 31

Joaquin Phoenix

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

15 of 31

Joe Manganiello

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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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16 of 31

Lupita Nyong'o

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

17 of 31

Mariska Hargitay

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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."

18 of 31

Mia Wasikowska

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

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Milla Jovovich

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

20 of 31

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

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

21 of 31

Quvenzhané Wallis

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

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22 of 31

Rachel Weisz

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

23 of 31

Ralph Fiennes

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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.

24 of 31

Ryan Phillippe

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

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25 of 31

Saoirse Ronan

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

26 of 31

Steve Buscemi

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

27 of 31

Taylor Lautner

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

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28 of 31

Timothée Chalamet

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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.

29 of 31

Zendaya

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

30 of 31

Zosia Mamet

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

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