Americans Try To Pronounce UK Surnames [20 Crazy British Names]

[@WanderingRavens]

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[@andrewleighton8820]

Featherstonhaugh is pronounced Fan-Shaw. I knew some people with this surname so I know it’s correct.

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know! :D

[@tonycasey3183]

I'm from Featherstone in West Yorkshire and there are quite a few Featherstonehaughs around here, and they pronounce it Fearnshaw. And there are a few Fernshaws around, too. I guess it's regional.

[@julianb1474]

I went to school with one. Agree generally but I think he said it out in full.

[@ChristopherStendeck]

I used to know someone called Siobhan Featherstonhaugh. I was manager of a record shop and she was a customer making a special order for an album we didn't have in stock. I asked her name, and wrote it down perfectly without her having to spell it. She nearly fell over backwards, and off the back of that, we became friends. Her name was pronounced "Sha-VAWN FAN-shaw". This was, and we are both from, where Surrey meets West London, although I imagine her ancestry is more pronvincial.

[@dave_h_8742]

Saw Fan-Shaw on Adventures and Naps so if everyone's saying that then it must be true 😁

[@paulfinchman3855]

Check out Rowan Atkinson as a school master reading out the class register. It's very naughty, but hilarious.

[@RiverMersey]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJq6e4qCeNR7aK8

[@Clodaghbob]

River Mersey Thanks for the link. It brightened my day.😊👍

[@RiverMersey]

@@Clodaghbob N.P. - Probably not the "official" "licenced" "legitimate" KZbin version of this Rowan Atkinson sketch. However, I'm sure that Rowan has got to a stage in his life now that he is so rich (multi-millionaire) that he won't feel he is missing out of a few extra $$$ from KZbin viewing royalties!

[@Clodaghbob]

River Mersey I'll say nuthin' if you say nuthin'. Nobody else need know. 🤐 👍

[@RiverMersey]

@@Clodaghbob "a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse"

[@Polyglot85to90]

If you see an accent in a British name: acute accent (é) is probably Irish Gaelic, grave accent (è) is Scottish Gaelic and circumflex (ê) is Welsh.

[@WanderingRavens]

Thank you!!

[@enbenby]

Also the Scots pronounce Gaelic as Gal-Ick.

[@isaacheywood3202]

Fun fact: The Irish ‘Mc’ and Scottish ‘Mac’ means ‘son of’ so McDonald would be son of Donald

[@WanderingRavens]

Didn't know that! Thank you!

[@robchissy]

also the o' as in o'reilly, or more accurate o' = of as patrick of reilly

[@grahamemackay1770]

@@robchissy Also the Fitz as in Fitzpatrick - derives from the French 'fils de' (son o0f)

[@Penddraig7]

fitz was also given to a bastard, an illegitimate child of royalty. So an illegitimate son of a king might be given the surname Fitzroy, Roy being the Norman word meaning King or you might have a more specific one like Fitzwilliam which would be given to the bastard son of King William or Fitzjames for King James etc etc

[@Penddraig7]

Mac and Mc are the same. Neither is Irish OR Scottish, they are both Irish and Scottish. You are more likely to get a Mc in Ireland than in Scotland but they are not exclusively one or the other. They are both Gaelic. Mc is just a more recent contraction of Mac. Gaelic is Irish and was brought to what is now Scotland by the Irish and it took over as the Irish settlers spread and the culture and language spread and it became what is now known as Scotland, so I guess some could argue that it is Irish and the Scots inherited it, but essentially, it’s Gaelic

[@wencireone]

This reminds me of the sitcom ' Keeping Up Appearances ' where the lead character was Mrs.Bucket, pronounced Bouquet 🤣👍

[@WanderingRavens]

😂😂

[@eleanorlyndon865]

*In her most poshest voice* "The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!"

[@amethyst1826]

@@WanderingRavens you should watch some of that comedy!

[@Clodaghbob]

Beauchamp is definitely French in origin (beautiful field) and definitely pronounced Beech-ham in UK and Ireland. You get a lot roads named after it. And there's a big law firm, Beauchamps - pronounced Beech-hams or Beech-hums (they don't mind either way so long as you pay your bill).😂

[@nigelashton]

There is a character called Connie Beauchamp in the popular medical soap opera Casualty, definitely pronounced as Beach-um

[@neilbuckley1613]

Beauchamp is Norman in origin, in the middle ages the Beauchamp family were Earls of Warwick for a long time. The strange pronunciation of Norman names is not simply Anglicisation, the Norman French pronounced a lot of words differently from Parisian french, the ancestor of modern french. So the pronunciation of the village of Beaulieu as Bewlee is a linguistic fossil.

[@keithorbell8946]

There’s a village in Buckinghamshire called Drayton Beauchamp.

[@overlordnat]

A lot of street names near Warwick are called ‘Beauchamp’ because of the Earls of Warwick, I once lived on ‘Beauchamp Avenue’ in Leamington, pronounced ‘Beech-um’

[@Clodaghbob]

Did some googling. Peter Chaceporc was Keeper of the Wardrobe in the reign of Henry III of England. He was from Poitou in France. The name is Middle French: Chace (chase) and Porc (pigs/hogs). So it means Hog Hunter.

[@steampunklemur]

Some surnames to try for next time could be Prideaux, Haigh, Clague, Teague, Trevithick, and Coad

[@carolinevaillant1176]

Haigh is the actual easiest surname ever for me.

[@andrewjames6488]

A lot of British surnames come from Norman French, when it was the Duchy of Normandy. For example, Langlois became Langley, which is Norman French for The English (Les Anglais in modern-day French). Also, Le Tourneur became Turner and Beauchamp did indeed become Beecham. Beaulieu became Bewley, too. In Jersey, Channel Islands, there are still plenty of surnames deriving from Norman French, which have an Anglicised equivalent. they include: Le Quesne = Kane Mauger = Major St Clair - Sinclair Perree = Perry Hacquoil - Hackwell I am sure there are many others that translated to English following the Norman Conquest, because, you know, England is the Channel Islands' oldest possession. :)

[@tonys1636]

Had heard of most of those, it depends on where one went to School if one had heard of them or knew someone with that name. Another few for you - Mainwaring, Cholmondely, St. John, Southwell. Mannerin, Chumley, Sinjon, Suthall.

[@HighHoeKermit]

Yeah those are good ones that I think most Brits would probably know... But I can't let it go without saying "Don't tell him Pike!"

[@Otacatapetl]

@@HighHoeKermit "Danke. P...I...K...E".

[@MrJonno85]

Cholmondely as in Cholmondely-Warner.

[@tonys1636]

@@HighHoeKermit Definitely getting old as remember Dad's Army first time round and Ian Lavender is the only cast member who is still alive.

[@trickygoose2]

@@tonys1636Nearly - Frank Williams who played the vicar is still alive at 89.

[@charlestaylor3027]

Gonville and Caius is a Cambridge college and Caius is Keys

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know!

[@allenwilliams1306]

Correct: and remember, Magdalen College, Oxford, is pronounced “maudlin”.

[@antonycharnock2993]

Cadwallader's a very good chain of Welsh ice cream parlours in North Wales!

[@martinmaynard141]

The name of a king en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadwaladr_(name)

[@WanderingRavens]

We’ll have to look them up when we get there! 😄

[@johnloony68]

4:48 Leamhanach is Gaelic. The letter "mh" is usually pronounced "v" (as in the name Niamh, which is pronounced "neev") but here it might be silent. "Lennoch" sounds about right. The problem with this video is that Tony and Simon are obviously only guessing most of them anyway. 5:38 There is a famous Oxford University College called Caius ("Keys") so presumably the surname is similar. 8:10 Beauchamp is definitely "Beecham". 8:38 Gaelic (not Welsh!) Probably "McCon". 9:29 A very famous trick name. "Fanshaw" or sometimes "Free-ston-hue". 11:24 Kennedy

[@julianb1474]

We had a neighbour - Mrs Sidebottom. She insisted it was Sidde-botam

[@Colin4763]

Keeping up appearances

[@allenwilliams1306]

I had a schoolmate called Winterbotham. He got upset if he was called Winterbottom, so we called him “Frosty Arse”.

[@autumnwinter1462]

Tehehehe

[@WanderingRavens]

Now there’s a name 😂

[@WanderingRavens]

Allen Williams 😂😂

[@PedroConejo1939]

Great fun. St John and Menzies are two of the more recognisable non-phonetic surnames. A lot of French surnames came over later than the Normans with the Huguenots in the 16th to 18th centuries but I believe Beauchamp (Beecham) is as you said, Norman.

[@zyndr_]

The _correct_ pronunciation of Featherstonehaugh is: Fan-shaw. The British guys should have known this as it is a well-known name.

[@AGKYS1992]

No it’s not well know. Never heard of it

[@Otacatapetl]

Yeah, like Belvoir and Beauchamp, everyone knows it. It's one of the first ones you learn.

[@tonycasey3183]

A girl in my class at school was called Featherstonehaugh and pronounced it Fernshaw. My school was St. Wilfrid's in Featherstone. I'm guessing that there are regional variations.

[@aldozilli1293]

@@Otacatapetl nope, I'd pronounce them the French way

[@mikesaunders4775]

Is also pronounced Featherstonehoff . I know one.

[@grahvis]

One name which is technically constantly mispronounced, is Mount Everest. Sir George Everest after whom the mountain is named, always pronounced his name as Eve rest.

[@frogandspanner]

Halley (as in the comet) should be pronounced "Hawley", and he occasionally spelt it that way.

[@paulqueripel3493]

I've only ever heard Dankworth pronounced the way you said it . Johnny Dankworth, a famous musician, husband of Cleo Laine. I'm English.

[@davidmarsden9800]

During the wars of the roses the Dukes of Warwick were from the Beauchamp family. Like the Dukes of Devonshire are all Cavendish. Although confusingly have estates in Derbyshire and Yorkshire.

[@MrTrull1]

Oh blimey the shirt’s back. 😉

[@WanderingRavens]

Hahaha, glad someone noticed 😆

[@palbrvn3737]

Beauchamp is 'Beecham' part of the Tower of London has a Beauchamp tower. It is Norman like the Tower itself - named after the Earl of Warwick (pronounced Warrick!).

[@barrygower6733]

When Ian Botham made his first Test appearances, I remember an Indian commentator pronounce his name as Iron Bottom.

[@JudgeGeneHunt]

My understanding is that Bottom is actually the correct pronunciation and that some families changed it themselves because they didn't like being called bottom

[@zerowhite2286]

I shall never be able to expunge that from my memory, and Ian Botham will always be Iron Bottom from now on! Thank you.

[@davidgardiner4720]

Perhaps because some consider him a bit of an arse?

[@morganetches3749]

I’m not sure why one of the guys thinks that “c” is pronounced as a palatal fricative in every word

[@morganetches3749]

Unless he’s Scouse?

[@victorromeo2238]

HI guys I worked in a school someone had the surname Knoupe it was pronounced Newt by all the staff.great video ......

[@martinmaynard141]

There was a politician called David Heathcoat-Amory (pretty sure it used to be pranced "Hethcot" by the BBC) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Heathcoat-Amory

[@johnmayhew9769]

Some surnames, like hills, are eroded with time and some of those hills were mountains! Featherstonehaugh is standardly pronounced Fanshaw (a more common spelling). And guys, you’re making me feel old. The actor Cary Elwes, was the lead actor in well-loved comedies The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, I thought his name, pronounced Ell-wezz, was still a household one.

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

Heathcote is the name of the village in Derbyshire there are several local pronunciation.. heath/coat ... heff/coat... heff/cutt ...or effcut ( said as if one syllable)

[@braces2]

Featherstonehaugh is pronounced Fanshaw. Great video as usual.

[@teaandabutty]

Those were certainly some super obscure names! haha We were able to guess a few of them, but Featherstonehaugh being Fanshaw?! Crazy!

[@lassievision]

You should check out Sir Reginald Pikedevant's song 'Shibboleth' kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4DHZJ-todqEf9k

[@hippouk1]

Loved the help from Tony and Simon!

[@benjapin]

Tony is correct with most of these. But fair play to Simon, a lot of these are pretty obscure. Cadwallader is Welsh. Named after an old Welsh king. The double L thing doesn’t happen here as this is the English spelling of Cadwaladr... It’s also somewhere you can find ice cream if you come to Wales... 🍦

[@britishjohn62]

5:37 Tony said it correct, because I've heard of Gonville and Caius

[@alisonrandall3039]

Mine maiden name is Atack. It’s a Saxon name meaning dweller by the oak. Before the Normans came along surnames were uncommon. You would be referred to Bob the butcher who lives next to the well. Or Harry the smith. In Wales you still refer to people as Jones the farmer or Willams the coach.

[@RiverMersey]

Chaseporcs only has 17 hits from Google. Doesn't seem to have anyone living with this surname in UK.

[@jemmajames6719]

Never heard of any of these names, plus names can still be quite regional

[@tonycasey3183]

You are right. There are a lot of regional variations in the pronunciation of both place names and surnames.

[@stonent]

(American here): I had an American boss with Beauchamp as a name and he said "Beach-ham" or "Beach-um" but said it was French in origin and would be "Boo-shahm" in France.

[@charlestaylor3027]

You missed Cholmondeley which is Chumley

[@WanderingRavens]

We would've definitely gotten that one wrong haha

[@Polyglot85to90]

My first teacher at primary school was Mrs Cholmondeley

[@scollyb]

In the 1970s a Royal Navy fighter pilot went to be an instructor at the US Navy Top Gun school. He had to choose a nickname, think maverick and goose, he choose Cholmondeley

[@yorkshirecoastadventures1657]

"I should say so Greyson".

[@susanashcroft2674]

Some surnames I have come across are Beckerlegge , Galetley, Wellbelove, Eckbry not necessarily difficult to pronounce but you do wonder where their origins came from. A sweet little tale from my childhood, my first teacher was called Miss Lamb, but I kept calling her Miss Baa Lamb!

[@Heresskip]

Knew a girl growing up who was called Heathcote-Drummond and her family just prounced it 'Heath-Coat' which matches up pretty well with the french pronuciation of 'Cote'. Think its a mixed english/french surname meaning 'grass by the sea'. None of these names really have 'true' pronounciations anymore though - rather they have traditional and modern ones and each individual family chose their prefered pronounciation/spelling over time.

[@olivertunnah3987]

Most Brits would struggle with these so I wouldn't worry. Even mine looks simple yet 90 odd percent of people will get it wrong.

[@milliegoodwin9540]

My dad grew up in a place called heathcote and the locals pronounced it Heeth- ct or heeth-coat

[@Naylte]

I can do 'Majoribanks' as it was a character's name in Carry On Cruising.

[@bonniesaxe9460]

That was fun to watch. Thanks

[@KD-wm5po]

How about Greenhalgh?

[@frogandspanner]

I went to primary school with a Gahan (pronounced "Gahn") and the Goalie brothers (pronounced "Goolie"). The pair of Goalies provided for much playground mirth.

[@charlestaylor3027]

It's Beecham - famous character in TV show Casualty is spelt that way and pronounced Beecham.

[@WanderingRavens]

That shocked us so much!

[@craigmarriott6759]

@@WanderingRavensI can second this kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZ-zmoFsqbujfas

[@craigmarriott6759]

it's like how Belvoir is pronounced Beaver.

[@trickygoose2]

I was at school with a girl with that surname and she pronounced it Beecham. The French teacher thought this was a shame.

[@irenepaulton3392]

The Beauchamp name comes from France, near Compiegne and did indeed come over with William the Conqueror. In French it literally means "Beautiful Field" (Beau = beautiful, champ = field). No idea how long it took for the name to transition to Beecham but Beecham it is.

[@Clodaghbob]

I'm still digging for the meaning of Swetinbedde. It's definitely Medieval English. Looking at similar names, it's possible that 'Swet' means 'sweet' rather than 'sweat'. So the full name was 'Sweet In Bed'. Personally, I think the first Swetinbedde made his name up. He was really plain old Fred Gyldenbollokes. 😜

[@Clodaghbob]

I've heard two variations of Featherstonhaugh. One family says fether-stun-haw and the other says fan-shaw.

[@Heresskip]

I know a MacComhghan and they pronounce it MacCorran as an anglicatisation - Tony was pretty spot on

[@paulhill4843]

You need to KZbin 'Keeping Up Appearances". Mrs Bucket, pronounced Mrs Bouquet of course. And we have Diaper as a surname here, and it's pronounced same as Diaper - unlucky name.

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh man! There's a stinky surname haha

[@alisonallen8658]

Beauchamp is beacham as I live down hte road from Kibworth Beauchamp! Culpepper is the old spelling of cooper!

[@dw300]

Some of the names will be pronounced differently depending on region, eg. McDowell is pretty much pronounced as its written by the English and Americans, but would be McDole in Northern Ireland. When you return to the States, suggest to everyone in Pittsburgh, that's it's pronounced Pitts-burrah, same as Edinburgh is Edin-burrah (and definitely not Edin-burrow as the Scots often hear). And finally.. never.. never mispronounce the name 'Cockburn' !

[@suzannehawkins383]

From Canada, I have a friend who’s last name is beachamps, pronounced Beechum. So, yeah, its definitely a thing.

[@johnwescott1500]

Don't forget Mr. Cholmondley-Warner (Chumley-Warner) and Captain Mainwaring (Mannering)!

[@ianprince1698]

no mention of Captain Mainwaring from the tv show Dads Army

[@grimulkin7111]

I had a highschool teacher with the name Cadwallader, and he pronounced it much the same as Tony : )

[@voodooacidman]

true story, i have friends from my school days called "Joe King" and "Russel Prout" , and i worked with a guy called " Albie Cummings" . keep up the great work guys, and hi to the purple shirt ;p big love to all people.

[@AnOldGreyDog]

When attempting British pronunciation, just remember that we reduce unstressed vowels to a schwa much more often than Americans do. Most of the names involving mh and gh and so on are Gaelic: either Irish or Scottish. If you thought French spelling was a bit profligate with unsounded letters, they're amateurs compared to Gaelic. Assume that at least 50% of the letters in such a name are silent. E.g. the port of Dun Laoghaire is pronounced "Dunleery". The orthography of Gaelic requires a vowel of the same "quality" (i.e. a, o and u go together, as do i and e. This because many consonants change their sound depending on the quality of the neighbouring vowel. Notice how the internal consonants of Ceannaideach and Laoghaire have a vowel of the same quality either side.

[@frogandspanner]

You might be interested in the book "What's in a Surname? A Journey from Abercrombie to Zwicker", by David McKie. How about the name "Mr Gyldenbollockes" ?

[@sonjaplastow4967]

The actor Cary Elwes from Princess bride pronounces it Ell Wes I believe.

[@JudgeGeneHunt]

I knew someone with this name years ago, they pronounced it Lewis

[@sonjaplastow4967]

@@JudgeGeneHunt Ha ha, we have no chance of being 100% correct then lol.

[@mikesaunders4775]

That is the way most people pronounce it.

[@youtoocat3953]

Good guessing Ravens, and thanks for a fun video 😄 For hundreds of years of name spelling and pronunciation, Britain has battled illiteracy, the Anglicisation of foreign ruling family names, and the ever present threat of local dialect to produce some completely ridiculous monikers . Good effort! (did better than me 😄)

[@jenniferbrown4375]

I’ve never met a Loughty but I’ve know two Doughtys, and they pronounced it differently, one pronounced the Dough like Dow to rhyme with cow, and the other pronounced it Doch, to rhyme with loch.

[@ianhodgson221]

Locally on thrb Isle of Man we get Callister and Collister both are derived from MacAllister, and for confusion are pronounced the same, ie "Collister". Another one is Kennaugh and it is not pronounced "Kennoh" but "KenYuk". Some of the Manx place names and personal names have interesting pronounciations as it is a gaelic language, with the spelling heavily influenced by english. Although usually easy to reach from Northern Ireland, it isn't at the moment due to COVID and that the borders are effectively closed to visitors, only Guernsey visitors at the moment, using a direct airlink, can easily visit as like us they are COVID free and have been for 100+days.

[@robnorris4770]

7:20 Apparently you haven’t seen Outlander.

[@WanderingRavens]

We haven’t! 😅

[@andrewhilton8142]

Try this famous one ‘Bucket’

[@jenniedarling3710]

"the Buckett residents, lady of house speaking"

[@mikesaunders4775]

Abercrombie and Lennox are anglicised versions of Gaelic names,definitely Beecham for Beauchamp,Mac names are always Scottish or Irish.Featherstonehaugh is English and can be either Featherstone-hoff or Fanshaw. The 'Worth' element (as in Dankworth) is Old English for Farm,not too sure about Dank though.

[@desmondswallow6989]

Isn't there an American actor called Carey Elwes? There's a character in the program called casualty, named Connie Beauchamp. They call her Mrs Beecham.

[@johnboy2562]

Carey Elwes was in The Princess Bride. Great film. 🎞🎟

[@BlameThande]

In a similar but funnier vein to Beauchamp/Beecham, you should look up Belvoir (also the name of a castle) which is not pronounced the way you may think it is.

[@BlameThande]

@ian d You are correct, but I suspect they wouldn't think of that...

[@TP-mv6en]

The weird sound one of your friends was making when he was pronouncing some of the surnames is the Welsh pronunciation of the “hard c” sound

[@selsig_dwp]

which sound?

[@nicolascarey6330]

There is no k in Welsh

[@selsig_dwp]

@@nicolascarey6330 i was gonna say this also

[@Rhianalanthula]

No K in Welsh, just hard Cs.

[@TP-mv6en]

Yeah I know there isn’t the letter k, I mean the “k” sound

[@zercon1131]

I think you need to do a video on Scottish Twitter. It will blow your minds.

[@youtoocat3953]

I second this suggestion 👍

[@WanderingRavens]

Thanks for the suggestion! We'll check it out :D

[@Smorans]

This one is good ole norn iron: Belvoir Pronunciation: Beaver 😂

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh no!! 😂😂😂

[@nigelashton]

@@WanderingRavens There is a Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire (just to confuse Americans!)

[@hanfran89]

And it has a Nottinghamshire Postcode to make it even more confusing! Because of the way the counties align so you drive through Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire within the space of a few minutes 😊

[@barrygower6733]

Always raises a smile in theTMS box when Aggers says the weather in the Belvoir is warm and sunny (he lives there).

[@MikeRees]

yea we always get shat on in Leicester for pronouncing it beaver by those who aren't locals; deep down we know we're right and people who aren't local aren't to be trusted!

[@Rhianalanthula]

You could always ask the Princess Bride actor Cary Elwes how he pronounces his name.

[@cijmo]

I think one of the simplest (mis) pronunciation is McKay. I live in Canada and you can tell how many generations removed the people are if they pronounce it to rhyme with 'why' or with 'way'.

[@Polyglot85to90]

Always be wary of "quh": Colquhoun (Cohoon), Ffarquhar (Farker), Urquhart (Urkut)

[@britishjohn62]

I was close on Colquhoun, I said Calhoun because that’s how my friend’s surname is spelled, Calhoun instead of Colquohoun. And for Beauchamp I went with Bocamp, Beecham sounds like Wisbech. Also for Featherstonehaugh I’d say Festonha

[@mentaldavethefirst]

Fernshaw is possible/probably. If not that I would guess for Featherone (stun, rather than stone) the haugh is superfluous whatever the correct pronunciation

[@southron_d1349]

There's a town a few hours from me which is called Heathcote. It's more or less pronounced "heath-ket".

[@greendragonpublishing]

Yes, that is the Irish spelling of Kennedy. In the Irish pronunciation, it would be more exactly, KYAN-ah-dech, but easily Anglicized into Kennedy. If you are interested in hearing Irish pronunciations of words, I recommend forvo.com/languages/ga/. It may not have names, but it will have words.

[@grahamgleed9040]

There's a village near where I live called Hatch Beauchamp; and it's pronounced beach-um

[@andybaker2456]

Beauchamp is definitely pronounced Beecham. It was actually the name of one of the houses at my school, named after one of the family lines of the school's founder.

[@andrewbutler7681]

I expected Feahterstonhaugh/"Fanshaw", Marjoribanks/"Marchbanks" and Beauchamp/"Beecham", I've known somebody called Colquhoun who pronounced it Ca-HOON and I've visited Gonville & Caius/"Keys" College, Cambridge, but I was a bit disappointed you didn't include Cholmondeley, Fotheringhay or Ó Súilleabháin... Also: a single "f" in Welsh is pronounced like an English "v", so wouldn't Faughn be a version of Vaughan?

[@jinxvrs]

Re Vaughn/Vaughan you are correct - derived from "Fychan" (meaning small / little) & Faughn is just an alternative spelling, although, I'm not sure if the "F" is pronounced as in Welsh or English...

[@kbrickell4732]

My surname is Brickell which is very well known in the US but not common in the UK

[@greendragonpublishing]

Accents to the left (like with MacComhghan) are Scottish. If they're to the right, they'd be Irish. Both of them have aspirations (MH =V; BH = V; GH = gutteral H; CH = Gutteral C like in Loch; etc.). Also, both Irish and Scottish names can have Mc or Mac (depending on how the clerk spells it when recording the census or birth), but there are more Mc/Macs in Northern Ireland than the rest of Ireland due to the Ulster Plantations. Mac = son in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. the O' on many Irish names means family of or son of, as well, like O'Brien or O'Hare. For how to pronounce the accented vowels, they are usually held a bit longer than normal vowels. Also, they're very important. So cáca (cake) is pronounced CAAW-cah, while caca (poop) is pronounced CAH-cah. You really don't want to confuse the two :D

[@Dementat]

Beachamp (Beecham) will not be Norman but Huguenots who were french protestants who fled to England around the 16th century

[@theinnocentbystander3815]

Please look at the "subtitle scene" from the film 'lock stock and two smoking barrels', you will not regret it. (especially if your interested in cockney slang)

[@RyanRyzzo]

Cadwallader is definitely Welsh :) basically means "Warlord" if you streamline the translation.

[@PaulHutchinson]

Featherstonhaugh = FAN-shaw

[@WanderingRavens]

Good to know!

[@speleokeir]

There used to be a sitcom called "Keeping up appearances" where the main character Mrs Bucket pronounced her name "Bouquet" because it sounded posher. I once had a similar experience. At the time I worked as a mortgage underwriter and one day received a call from a customer with a query about her application. The first thing I always asked for was the customers application number which would bring up all their details including their name. When her name came up on the screen it was all I could do not to crack up as it was Mrs Anal! Fortunately I just about managed to keep myself together and stay professional. Not wanting to cause offense I was reluctant to use her name in case she pronounced it some other way so thinking quickly I asked her to confirm her full name and address "for security purposes". It was a good job I did as she pronounced it like canal. Thinking I'd dodged a bullet I asked her how I could help and what her query was. "It's about my retention*..." she said. How I didn't lose it at that point I'll never know. N.B. * A "Retention" is an amount of money held back from the mortgage advance until some essential repairs are made to the property being purchased.

[@WanderingRavens]

Oh wow! I think I would have got fired for laughing at a customer if that story had happened to me 😂😂

[@speleokeir]

@@WanderingRavens Yeah I was quite proud of myself for managing to stay professional although as soon as she rang off I almost died laughing. Personally if I had a name like that I'd change it by deed poll asap.

[@felicitydavies3227]

Don't know if Cadwallader is also an Irish name but as far as I'm aware it comes from the Welsh name Cadwaladr which is a Welsh king in the 7th century. Its also currently a very popular ice cream parlour/restaurant company across Wales that spells it the way you had as a surname. Here's a few surnames for you: Wiegold Vaughan Powys Machen Leyshon Fluellen Mordecai Pugh Nist

[@greendragonpublishing]

More Irish surnames to have fun with: Muireadhaigh, Loinsigh, Mordha, Dochartaigh, Gallchobhair, Mac Carthaigh, Dubhghaill, ó Raghallaigh, ó Conchobhair, Mac Gabhann, ó Súilleabháin, ó Ceallaigh, Murchadha, Mac Lochlainn, Mag Uidhir, ó Ceallacháin, Donnabháin, ó Ruairc. Every single one of those has a common Anglicized version :D

[@dave_h_8742]

I'm supposed to be a Colhoune pronounced Col-hoone. Another great vlog to cheer up a grey day.

[@WanderingRavens]

So glad you enjoyed this one! Cheers, David! :)

[@dave_h_8742]

@@WanderingRavens Enjoy them all mate, except the bat one

[@emmagrigorian9638]

If there's a part 2 there are some great Welsh surnames like: Llewellyn, Gwalchmai, Glyndŵr and Gruffydd. Originally Welsh surnames would be the name of the father and have 'ap' meaning son of. Thus, lots of Welsh princes were called things like Gruffydd ap Llywelyn- meaning Gruffydd, son of Llewelyn. Due to the acts of union in 1536 and 1543, these tended to become last names. So many Welsh first names are also surnames :)

[@patcharinbaynham9681]

A distant relative of mine traced the family tree back over 1000 years and the surname I now have started as Ap-aynon

[@violetskies14]

I only got the English and Welsh ones, I'm English and my grandma is Welsh so I had her drilling how to pronounce Welsh words into me since I was little. I'm crap at guessing how to pronounce Scottish and Irish last names (I can say them once I'm told but I don't know from looking)

[@ddemaine]

You might find this guide to pronouncing Scottish Gaelic useful (often SG names get Anglicised). www.cuhwc.org.uk/page/unofficial-guide-pronouncing-gaelic

[@cscratchy5126]

Try Norman place names in N. Ireland, i.e. Belvoir Park or Boucher Road.

[@knowitall6677]

I am so use to people not pronouncing my surname right that I would be a Millionaire by now. My surname is ultra rare. There are, I believe only 2 in the UK, maybe the world. It would be fun to see if you can pronounce it. It would be great seeing you both squirm.

[@frogandspanner]

4:43 I think Leamhanach is Scottish Gaelic. EA, as it followed by "mh" has a short "e" sound (as in "bed"). MH is pronounced "v" A is pronounced short (as in "cat") CH is pronounced like, well, Scottish ch. 'Levanach

[@Catsandcamera]

My sister got married to a MacLeod, which a lot of people have a problem with pronouncing!