Saoirse - I know it’s said “ser - sha” but I always say Sour-see Answer from WookieMonsterTV on reddit.com
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BuzzFeed
buzzfeed.com › victoriavouloumanos › people-react-butchered-names
36 People With Tough-To-Pronounce Names Are Opening Up About How They Respond To It, And The Frustration Is Real
June 28, 2023 - The other name my parents considered was Siobhan (pronounced 'Shove-von')!" ... "When people call to speak with [butchered first name], I always respond by saying, 'This is [correct pronunciation], how can I help you?' After that, or if it's in person, I just say, 'It's [correct pronunciation].'
Discussions

What are your difficult to pronounce names?
Saoirse - I know it’s said “ser - sha” but I always say Sour-see 🥴 More on reddit.com
🌐 r/namenerds
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November 17, 2021
Which Name is Hardest?
It’s no secret that scientific names are hard to pronounce, see topic: Where Do I Start With Pronouncing Scientific Names? If you do try to pronounce them, which one(s) do you find most difficult and what do you end up calling them instead? Bonus points if it’s something you encounter regularly ... More on forum.inaturalist.org
🌐 forum.inaturalist.org
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December 10, 2022
naming - Is it better to avoid names with a difficult pronunciation in Middle Grade fiction? - Writing Stack Exchange
But there are other Latin-written languages and other names that you aren't familiar with, and you likely would pronounce them wrong. And children, who often have been exposed less to people and names from foreign cultures than adults, might have even more difficulties reading foreign names, ... More on writing.stackexchange.com
🌐 writing.stackexchange.com
Hard-to-pronounce names: how is your experience?
It is an absolute burden and makes me very angry, honestly. I'm 43. I don't remember the last time someone got my name correct on the first try, exactly, but I do remember almost scaring her with how enthusiastically I thanked her for getting it right. It's that rare. I've literally been to doctor's visits where I interacted with four or five people and every last one of them said my name in a different, wrong way. There's a difference between a name that is mispronounced occasionally and one that's mispronounced constantly. I see the sentiment on here regularly that you will only need to correct people once and it's not really a big deal. But in my experience it's not the case more often than not. And I live in a large city with a nonwhite majority and an international population, so I can't imagine how much worse it is in small, insular towns. That said, when it's a matter of culture, it's valid for that to be the most important consideration. I'd personally still try to shoot for the simplest name, but I'm not saying all names should be standard middle America. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/namenerds
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August 16, 2022
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Scary Mommy
scarymommy.com › parenting
24 Beautiful (But Hard To Pronounce) Baby Names
March 15, 2021 - The name of the Greek goddess of the dawn, this one’s pronounced AE-ohs. It may be short and simple, but people will invariably say it with a long “EE” sound at the beginning. ... In this Spanish name, the “X” is bound to throw everyone but native Spanish speakers for a loop.
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iNaturalist Community Forum
forum.inaturalist.org › nature talk
Which Name is Hardest? - Nature Talk - iNaturalist Community Forum
December 10, 2022 - It’s no secret that scientific names are hard to pronounce, see topic: Where Do I Start With Pronouncing Scientific Names? If you do try to pronounce them, which one(s) do you find most difficult and what do you end up calling them instead? Bonus points if it’s something you encounter regularly but still struggle with: Mine: What it’s called: Corethrogyne filaginifolia What I say instead: Corethrogyne filafi-fi-fiiiii…
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Npnparents
npnparents.org › articles
Take the time to learn how to pronounce 'difficult' names - Articles - Neighborhood Parents Network
July 31, 2024 - It took time for me to finally pronounce Cyriac with ease. Today, when I perfect a new name, the smile I sometimes see on a person’s face is worth every minute I spent practicing their name. It is especially fulfilling for a child to see me, as a school staff member, make the effort to learn their name.
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Stuff
stuff.co.nz › life-style › life › 111635843 › 15-of-the-hardesttopronounce-names--and-the-right-way-to-say-them
15 of the hardest-to-pronounce names
March 27, 2019 - Latest lifestyle stories, including love, sex, parenting, food and wine, wellbeing, beauty and fashion, and property coverage from Homed.
Find elsewhere
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Wordpress
thewellthumbedreader.wordpress.com › 2018 › 03 › 05 › fictional-names-cannot-pronounce
21 Fictional (And Real!) Names I Couldn’t Pronounce If My Life Depended On It
March 5, 2018 - I’ve realised part of the reason ... want to confuse myself over the character names. Khalid is usually pronounced with a soft K sound, not a hard one, from how I’ve heard it. I think because I’ve grown up around Asian names – my own name is so difficult for people ...
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NameShouts
nameshouts.com
NameShouts - Pronounce Names Right
Learn how to pronounce names in different languages — Hindi, Mandarin, English, Spanish and more — with NameShouts.
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Enlego
blog.enlego.com › post › top-10-most-difficult-celebrity-names-pronounce
The Top 10 Most Difficult Celebrity Names to Pronounce - Enlego
July 21, 2021 - Her first name means ‘Freedon’ in Irish Gallic. Here is how she and other pronounce it: He is a prolific actor with an incredible British accent. He is best known for his roles in Love Actually, 12 Years a Slave and his supporting role in Amistad. But it should be a comfort to his fans to know he has made peace with people being terrible at the pronunciation of his name:
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Quora
quora.com › Which-famous-people-names-are-difficult-to-pronounce-and-how-do-you-pronounce-them
Which famous people names are difficult to pronounce and how do you pronounce them? - Quora
Answer: Here are a few- Enjoy!! * Arnold Schwarzenegger P: AAr-nold Shh-war-zenn-egger * Ralph Feens - Played Voldemort in HP series P: Rafe Fines * Charlize Theron-starred in Prometheus ...
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Short answer: definitely, absolutely, wholeheartedly 3.

Long answer: Sir Terry Pratchett wrote somewhere that since he was reading a lot as a child, when he was little there were many words he knew only in writing, but had never heard spoken. For example, it was years before he learnt that "ogres" were not pronounced "ogreees". Having a large vocabulary that he couldn't pronounce correctly didn't harm him in any way, nor diminish his joy of reading, but instead excited his imagination. Pratchett then proceeded not writing down to children when he himself wrote for a younger audience. Exciting kids' imaginations is something you're trying to do, right? Then go for it.

Why does it matter that a child wouldn't pronounce a name correctly? So they'll pronounce it incorrectly - it would still sound foreign, look foreign on the page, and evoke the sense of "exoticism" that you're looking for. Furthermore, a child wouldn't know that they're not pronouncing the name correctly. So how could it impede their reading enjoyment? Being 8-12, I was reading Hector Malot (at 6), Jules Verne (at 8) Alexandre Dumas (at 10), and Victor Hugo (at 12). I did not learn until around age 12 that the stress in all the French names is supposed to go on the last syllable. It did not affect my reading pleasure in the slightest.

A pronunciation guide would be helpful. Not being a native English speaker myself, I do not know to this day how one is supposed to pronounce many Irish names. I resort to googling their pronunciation, when I'm not lazy. Tolkien is one example I can think of who gave a detailed pronunciation guide.

Edit:

Found another example of hard-to-pronounce names in children literature for you: In Diana Wynne Jones's Dalemark Quartet, there are names like "Cenblith", "Mayelbridwen" and "Ynynen".

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I'm also going to agree with the third suggestion. The idea of a pronunciation guide is a good one, and you could do as others have done and make it part of the dialogue (for example "My name's Shawn, but it's spelled s-e-a-n"). Susan Cooper did something similar with Welsh names in "The Grey King".

I know that this example might be aimed at the upper end of the age range you've suggested, but many children read books aimed at people above their age, and learning new words is part of the adventure. The counterpoint to this is that what many children really hate is people making things too simple for them Because They're Only Young.

As Galastel mentions, it really doesn't matter if people get it wrong. For years I pronounced the name "Honoria" is if it was a disease two very close friends might share, and I've heard that there might be some quite popular books around with a character named "Hermione", which also has potential to be a tricky one. But I still get a small thrill of discovery when I encounter a name I've not heard (or read) before - it's one of the reasons to keep reading.

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Go Natural English
gonaturalenglish.com › home › pronouncing difficult brand names in english
Pronouncing Difficult Brand Names In English | Go Natural English
May 4, 2022 - Learn how to pronounce these difficult brand names in English. We cover luxury brands, streetwear, and car and electronics! Let's practice speaking!
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Giant in the Playground
forums.giantitp.com › archive › index.php › t-418156.html
Difficult Names to Pronounce (And their correct pronunciations) [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums
That, and I don't want people confused if they meet a daemon because they will assume a demon. Forgotten Realms has the Iyachtu Xvim character, which I often pronounce as 'Bob' to make things easier. ... It seems to me that for a usually-spoken medium such as tabletop/pen and paper roleplaying games, we sure have a lot of unpronounceable names.
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Every Speaker Counts
everyspeakercounts.com › home › language
American names you might not know how to pronounce - Every Speaker Counts
April 28, 2025 - On the other hand, the name Dan /dæn/ has the vowel /æ/ as in cat /kæt/. But because /æ/ comes before the nasal consonant /n/, it’s practically pronounced like [æ.ᵊ] with a very short schwa: [ˈdæ.ᵊn]. This name is often shortened from the name Daniel /ˈdæn.jəl/, but it can be a separate name as well. Now let’s try to pronounce all three.
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IMDb
imdb.com › list › ls059500569
Difficult to Pronounce Celebrity Names
Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana, to Qulyndreia (Jackson) Wallis, a teacher, and Venjie Wallis, Sr., a truck driver. She has one sister, Qunyquekya, and two brothers, Vejon and Venjie, Jr. "Quven", the first part of her name, combines the first syllables of her parents' first names.
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Cult of Pedagogy
cultofpedagogy.com › home › podcast › how we pronounce student names, and why it matters
How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why it Matters | Cult of Pedagogy
September 21, 2025 - And I am pretty sure that they are doing it on purpose when they laugh after it (and not in an embarrassed way) – and I have also pronounced it to them MANY times. ... Of all my titles, Mrs., is the one to which I am the MOST honored to be referred, Doctor Kleber! ... Giving your child an unpronounceable name is the true “microagression.” I always have prided myself on my efforts to get names down. My biggest struggle came with the French names at a school in Louisiana. However, those with difficult names must recognize the struggle people face and, as many Asian cultures do, actively assimilate to the culture they are trying to be successful in.
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VICE
vice.com › home › a simple guide to pronouncing unfamiliar names
A Simple Guide to Pronouncing Unfamiliar Names
August 9, 2024 - While a name you’ve never heard before might sound all shits and giggles to you, for many of us, it’s no laughing matter. “People had been calling me ‘Oz-gay’ [at primary school],” Ozge explains, “so when I was on an open day for secondary school, I was determined to get people to pronounce my name correctly, but a boy that I was partnered up with just gave up and blurted out ‘Elizabeth’! From then on, I just decided that ‘Ozzy’ was easiest to go by to save several more years of ‘Oz-gay’ jokes.”
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BetUS
betus.com.pa › home › nfl season 2025-2026 › nfl expert picks and predictions › the most mispronounced athlete names and how to pronounce them!
The Most Mispronounced Athlete Names and How to Pronounce them!
February 22, 2023 - Bohan Marjanović (Bau-bon ... most difficult to pronounce with 68% choosing incorrectly with 40% choosing the pronunciation Boh-ban Mar-jan-nov-ick. Mario Hezonja (Mario He-zon-ya) was the most correctly spelt with 38% of fans choosing the correct pronunciation. Other names that fans ...
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Honi Soit
honisoit.com › honi soit › comedy › how to pronounce these difficult white names
HOW TO PRONOUNCE THESE DIFFICULT WHITE NAMES - Honi Soit
October 13, 2017 - Leighton (Lay-ton) McConaughey (Mc-koh-ne-hay) Pesci (Peh-she) Piaget (Pee-ah-jeh) Saoirse (Seer-sha) Schwarznegger (Sh-warts-neg-er) Scorsese (Score-sess-e) Sevigny (Sev-uh-nee) Seyfried (Sigh-fred) Seymour (See-more) Shakespeare (Shake-spear) Shia (Shy-uh) Siobhan (Shi-vaun) Szyslak (Siz-lack) Ulysses (Yoo-luh-seas) Wahlberg (Wall-berg) Wasikowska (Vah-she-kof-scar) Weisz (Vice) Filed under: acar honi 2017 · comedy · pronunciation · white names