Denzel Washington and Other Celebrities Whose Names You’ve Been Mispronouncing

Denzel Washington blew a lot of people’s minds during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he revealed that most of us have been pronouncing his name wrong.

The Academy Award-winning actor told the late night host, “My name is not pronounced Denzel.”

Washington shared that the correct pronunciation is not “DEN-zel,” but “DEN-zuhl” with the second syllable clipped.

He went on to explain, “My father’s Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. I’m Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. My mother would say ‘Denzel,’ and we’d both show up. So she said, ‘From now on, you’re Denzel (using the pronunciation people are familiar with). That’s how we got Denzel.”

Washington’s admission may have you thinking about other celebrities whose names fans have been pronouncing for years.

One is Lindsay Lohan, who previously clarified that her last name should be pronounced as “Low-EN,” not “Lo-HAN.” Another actress whose name is often said incorrectly is Raven-Symoné, as hers hould be pronounced “See-mon-ye” rather than “Raven Sim-moan.”

Rihanna also hears her name mispronounced a lot. It should be said as: “Ree-ANNE-uh.” And fellow singer Adele once told fans that they should say her name as “Uh-dale,” not “Ah-dell.”

Ewan McGregor’s name should be pronounced “YOO-uhn muh-GREH-gur,” while Amanda Seyfried’s last name is pronounced with “Sigh” as the first syllable, not “Say.”

And Kirsten Dunst made headlines recently when she shared in an interview with Town & Country that people mispronounce her first name all the time. According to the star, it should be said as “Keer-sten.” The actress added that she has stopped correcting people at this point and will answer to anything.