« Back

I have heard many westerners complained about our Asian names being too challenging for them to properly pronounce. I’m sure many of you have also experienced the same things at some point of your life: your name being spelt wrong, pronounced wrongly or your westerner friend simply wasn’t able to remember your name. That might explain why, under the influence of globalization, many considerate, thoughtful Asians have adopted a western first name so that other people can refer to them more easily. I’ve even come across professionals who gave themselves funky names such as Apple, Orange, Purple, etc. (and they had it printed on their name cards).

But, from my very Asian point of view, the alphabetical names of many westerners are no way easier to be spelt or pronounced correctly. These days, I have been having more and more problems pronouncing Hollywood stars’ or youngsters’ names -

1. Saoirse
Well, I have had trouble to properly pronounce Irish actress Saoirse Ronan’s first name. What about you?
Saoirse means “Freedom” in Irish.
Pronunciation: /ˈsɪərʃə/, roughly “SEER-sha”

2. Joaquin
Perhaps we shall all learn how to say the Oscar-nominated actor’s name correctly…?
Pronunciation: /hwɑːˈkiːn/, roughly “Wah-Keen”

3. Xavier
A masculine name derived from the Catholic Saint Francis Xavier. I was surprised when I was told by a kindergarten kid named Xavier that it was not pronounced as “Javier” or “Javior”!
Pronunciation: /ˈzeɪvi.ər/, /ˈseɪvi.ər/, roughly “zei-vi-er” or “sei-vi-er”

4. Phoebe
A feminine western name derived from Greek, which means “bright, pure” in Greek language. I have heard people called it “foe-bee’, but the proper pronunciation is actually “fee-bee”.
Pronunciation: /ˈfiːbiː/, or roughly “Fee-bee”

5. Nikolaj
The first name of Game of Thrones’ star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shall be pronounced as “Nee-ko-lai”.

6. Chloë Sevigny
If the umlaut on the actress & fashion designer’s first name is not so much of an issue to you, what about her family name?
Pronunciation: /ˈkloʊ.iː ˈsɛvəni/

7. Niamh
The pronunciation for this Irish feminine name, meaning “bright” or “radiant”, is “niːəv”. It is noteworthy that in Irish mythology, Niamh was a goddess and the daughter of the God of the Sea.
Pronunciation: /’ni:v/, or roughly “nieve”

8. Charlize Theron
When “o” isn’t pronounced like an “o”: Shar-lees Thair-en
General American Pronunciation: /ʃɑrˈliːs ˈθɛrən/

9. Gwendolyn
A Welsh word meaning “white” and pronounced as “ɡwɛndəlɪn” (GWEN-də-lin); I have to admit, I had difficult time spelling the name of Pulitzer Prizing winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, correctly.

10. Ioan
The given name of Mr. Fantastic is a variation on the name John, but it sounds nothing like John.
Pronunciation: /YO-an/