Ever find yourself wondering where a specific name comes from? Even if you're not ready to do a genealogical search, there is a great website that can help narrow it down. The World Names Profiler is an extensive database of 8 million surnames and 5 million given names. You can search for a specific name to find out the top countries where it is found and the origin. Try it with your own name.
HowToSayThatName.com is now HearNames.com. We made the switch recently and it is working well so far. The database has been expanded and is far more efficient. Our web guru, Dirk Preus, has done an amazing job.
More names are added to the site everyday. Slovene names are the newest addition.
Now that everything is up and running, I'll be adding more blog posts and other items of interest. I've received thousands of requests to add specific names to the database. I am working on them and am doing my best to get them all up. Keep the requests coming.
We had some friends over last weekend and the subject of this website came up in our conversation. Soon enough, we were all telling funny stories about mispronounced names. One shared how his name Buba (pronounced Boo-buh) is often addressed in the U.S. as Bubba (buh-buh, as in Bubba Gump). That one had me rolling, but maybe because I've long known how to pronounce his name and because my image of someone with the name Bubba doesn't remind me of our friend.
There was also Modou (mo-doo) who hears "Muh-dew" and Bala (bah-lah) who gets "bay-lay."
Of course, I wonder if we all hear our names mispronounced every once in awhile. I used to live with a four year old who called me "Wizzbiff" (instead of Elizabeth).
What about you - do you have any funny mispronunciation stories? I'd love to hear them and with permission, share them on the blog!
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