Four-letter boy's name is the 'most mispronounced baby name in the world'
By Kate Kachor|
For many parents deciding on a name for their newborn baby is a well thought-out process. So imagine, if the name you choose proves to be a struggle to pronounce.
That's the case when it comes to one particular popular baby name.
A study by WordFinderX has revealed the name Sean is "the most mispronounced name in the world".
?WordFinderX came to this conclusion after curating a list of almost 13,000 names from Nameberry.com in August 2023 and researching how many times each name was listened to on Forvo.com, an online pronunciation library.
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The Irish name Sean has one million listens on Forvo.
"The high search rate for this name may partly relate to confusion over one of the most famous Seans: actor Sean Bean, whose name does not rhyme despite its appearance," a statement from WordFinderX said.
"Just to confuse matters further, Bean's real first name is actually Shaun, a re-anglicized version of the name he now goes by. He took his stage name out of the belief it would be "catchier," andกญ here we are."
Another name people struggle with is Anne. It is the most mispronounced English name ?with 343,000 listens.
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"The idea that Anne (ann) may be difficult to pronounce may seem unusual to those with English as a first language. But confusion กช or rather, variety กช arises internationally since an "e" at the end of a word is not always silent in other languages," the statement said.
"Dutch and German speakers, for example, may veer towards anne-uh, while the Norwegians do the same but with an unexpectedly intense emphasis on the first syllable."
The Spanish name Fransisco has been listened to 635,000 times, with Icelandic name Bjork has 85,000 listens. In the US, the name Emory has 7,500 listens.
