Whether your name is complicated or not, having it mispronounced is always a bummer. After all, names represent you and your family, so having it completely butchered might mean a lot to some people. For celebrities, because we hear of them so often, it’s easy to think we’ve got their names down, but, as you’ll soon see, that’s not always the case.
Twilight star Taylor Lautner, for example, recently set the record straight on how to pronounce his last name. “It is my fault that nobody knows how it’s actually pronounced because I never corrected anybody for decades,” Lautner said on an episode of The Unplanned Podcast With Matt & Abby. “It is technically Lout-ner, but I just never in interviews or anything stopped somebody and said, ‘It’s not Lawt-ner. It’s Lout-ner.’”
Lautner, however, seemed to have taken the mistakes in stride. “I just go with whatever,” he continued. “I don’t care.”
Although we’ll be now trying to relearn how to say his name, Lautner’s mispronunciation is only the tip of the iceberg of all the Hollywood names we’ve been getting wrong over the years. So, in honor of Lautner’s recent confession, check out all the other celebrity names we’ve been mispronouncing over the years below!
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Taylor Lautner
Image Credit: Terry Wyatt/WireImage For years, fans of Taylor Lautner have unfortunately been saying his name wrong. Instead of the common pronunciation of “Lawt-ner,” the actor’s name is pronounced “Lout-ner.”
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Chrissy Teigen
Image Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images Chrissy Teigen shocked the world back in 2018 when she revealed her name is not pronounced “Tee-gen” as everyone expected. Instead, the right way to pronounce her name is “Tie-gen.”
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Rihanna
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Even though she’s an icon, fans of Rihanna have been mispronouncing her name for years. Instead of “ree-aw-nah,” the correct pronunciation is actually “ree-ann-ah.”
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Paul Mescal
Image Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage Normal People star Paul Mescal has also gone on record to clarify how to pronounce his name right. Instead of saying it like the drink Mezcal, his last name has a softer “a” and “s” and is pronounced like “mess-cull.”
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Saoirse Ronan
Image Credit: Euan Cherry/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA Although it’s a common name in Ireland, Saoirse Ronan left people guessing on how to say her name when she rose to fame. For those of you still wondering, it’s pronounced “sur-shuh.”
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Emily Ratajkowski
Image Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images Emily Ratajkowski left everyone shook earlier this year when she revealed the right way to say her last name in a behind-the-scenes TikTok. As it turns out, she pronounces it “Rat-uh-COF-ska.”
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Raven Symoné
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Although she’s been in the public eye for a long time, former Disney star Raven Symoné has had her name mispronounced throughout her career. Instead of being pronounced “See-moan,” the correct way to say it is “See-mon-ye.”
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Brendan Fraser
Image Credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Oscar winner Brendan Fraser recently revealed the correct way to pronounce his name. The ending, as he revealed, rhymes with “razor” not “erasure.”
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Adele
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AD For this correction, pay attention closely or you might not hear the difference! According to singer Adele, we’ve been saying her name slightly wrong all this time, it’s “uh-dale,” not “ah-dell,”
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Lindsay Lohan
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Christian Siriano In her first-ever TikTok, Lindsay Lohan revealed there’s actually not a hard “h” in her name. Instead, her name is pronounced “lo-wen.”
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Alicia Silverstone
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival Unlike most celeb mispronunciations, Alicia Silverstone’s has everything to do with her first name. Instead of “Alee-Sha,” her name is pronounced “Ali-SEE-yuh.”
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Amanda Seyfried
Image Credit: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Despite having both an “i” and an “e” in her last name, Amanda Seyfried’s last name is simply pronounced “sigh-fred.”
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Justin Theroux
Image Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for HBO To be fair, not even Justin Theroux’s family can agree on how to correctly pronounce their last name. According to the actor on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, he pronounces his name “Tha-row” and not “Tha-roo.”
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Thandiwe Newton
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images After years of being known as just Thandie Newton, the Westworld actress reclaimed her name in recent years. For those wondering how to pronounce it, it’s “Tan-dee-way.”
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Ariana Grande
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage Despite being one of the most recognizable names is music, Ariana Grande’s name is mispronounced to this day. According to the actress, it should be pronounced “Gran-DEE” and not “Gran-DAY.”
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Josh Duhamel
Image Credit: Arnold Jerocki/WireImage When it comes to the pronunciation of Josh Duhamel’s name, it’s actually much simpler than expected. It’s simply “Da-mel,” easy, right?
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Joe Manganiello
Image Credit: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images Joe Manganiello’s name, however, is a little more tricky. Per the actor, the best way to pronounce it is “Mang-I-Nello.”
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Gal Gadot
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Although Gal Gadot’s first name is pronounced just like you’d expect, her last name is a bit trickier. Instead of not pronouncing the “t,” the letter is actually quite strong in “Ga-doht.”
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Domhnall Gleeson
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson has late-night hosts sweating when they try to pronounce his name. The correct way to say it, however, is quite simple – It’s “Don-ull.”
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic Unlike many other stars in this list, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is often entirely mispronounced. For those struggling, it’s “NICK-oh-lie COH-stir VALL-dow.”
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Milo Ventimiglia
Image Credit: Leon Bennett/FilmMagic This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia had fans swooning during the show but many of them still couldn’t say his name properly. For fans of the actor, his last name is pronounced “ven-tee-mee-lia.”
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Zosia Mamet
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Girls star Zosia Mamet also has a complicated first name and last name. Her first name is pronounced “zow-sha” while her second is “ma·muht.”
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Ralph Fiennes
Image Credit: Dave J Hogan/Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images Although there’s a common way to correctly pronounce the name “Ralph,” Ralph Fiennes’ first name is pronounced “rayf.”
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Eva Mendes
Image Credit: Donato Sardella/Getty Images for New York & Company Although her first name is short, Eva Mendes’ first name isn’t pronounced as expected. The actress once revealed the “E” in her name should be pronounced as an “A,” making it pronounced “Ava” instead.
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Charlize Theron
Image Credit: Steve Jennings/WireImage South African actress Charlize Theron has a uniquely pronounced last name. Instead of the usual pronunciation of “Ther-OWN,” the real pronunciation is “Ther-IN.”
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Haim
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage Musical sisters Danielle, Este and Alana Haim have already cleared the air on how to pronounce their last name, which is also their band name. For those wondering, it’s pronounced: “high-um.”
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Tove Lo
Image Credit: JC Olivera/Getty Images Swedish pop star has also clarified how her name is spelled in the past. Instead of “Tahv Low,” the real pronunciation is “Too-vay-LOO.”
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