How do you pronounce........?

Elsa1984

The name Thoreau?!

It is the name of a girl that was born to my boss's friend. Everytime she see's it, she asks me how to say it....which I have no clue! I told her I would ask the name boards and maybe they would know! HAHA!

Nel11

I would pronounce it Thor-o. 

MrsMeMo

Thur-oh

robynlesley

As in the author/poet? Henry David Thoreau? Hmm... odd name.

I'd pronounce it like he did: Thaw-roe.

cmobed

I'd say Ther-ROW.  I love names ending in 'eau'

balihaigirl

laura_belle:

Thaw-roe.  As in Henry David Thoreau, the author and poet. 

that's how I'd pronounce it as well.

718gemini

m.mckee1224:

Thur-oh

This.  Pronunciation will vary a bit depending on where you live, but it's not that difficult... as PPs have said, it's the name of an extremely famous writer and philosopher. 

tcline

cmobed:

I'd say Ther-ROW.  

Like this

CourtneyR2N

Nel11:

I would pronounce it Thor-o. 

This

lisa5201

balihaigirl:

laura_belle:

Thaw-roe.  As in Henry David Thoreau, the author and poet. 

that's how I'd pronounce it as well.

It's difficult for me to imagine that this is that hard to pronounce because of the popularity of Henry David Thoreau, but I guess some people have never heard of him (?). What a cool name! 

zaramarie81

cmobed:

I'd say Ther-ROW.  I love names ending in 'eau'

This... the emphasis would belong on the last syllable.  

msmerymac

lisa5201:

balihaigirl:

laura_belle:

Thaw-roe.  As in Henry David Thoreau, the author and poet. 

that's how I'd pronounce it as well.

It's difficult for me to imagine that this is that hard to pronounce because of the popularity of Henry David Thoreau, but I guess some people have never heard of him (?). What a cool name! 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn't graduate from high school in the US. Or dropped out in 8th grade.

But yes, the emphasis is on the second syllable. Thu-ROW.

starlight8323

PSA on writing out name pronuncations: put the emphasized syllable in capital letters, and any other syllables in all lower case letters. Do not capitalize the first letter, unless the first syllable is emphasized.

thu-ROW

The "th" sound at the beginning is more of an airy "th", rather than a hard one. So it's like the th in "theater", rather than the th in "the".

The "ROW" is like you would "row" your boat.

urmyantichrist

m.mckee1224:

Thur-oh

This 

MAMAxB

robynlesley:

As in the author/poet? Henry David Thoreau? Hmm... odd name.

I'd pronounce it like he did: Thaw-roe.

This.

Very weird for a girls name...

kerrymass

Eaglefoot23:

thu-ROW

The "th" sound at the beginning is more of an airy "th", rather than a hard one. So it's like the th in "theater", rather than the th in "the".

The "ROW" is like you would "row" your boat.

This.   

starlight8323

kellybellybean:

While basically everyone pronounces this name as PPs mentioned ("thaw-roe"), HDT actually pronounced his last name just like "thorough" (accent on the first syllable).  I'm an English teacher in Boston, and transcendentalism is my thing, so we take a trip to Walden Pond every year.  The tour guides are quick to tell people that his name is most often mispronounced, and that "thorough" is the correct pronunciation.  Just some food for thought!

That is interesting! Thanks!

So it really just depends on how knowledgeable the parents are about their supposed literary hero.

Elsa1984

msmerymac:

lisa5201:

balihaigirl:

laura_belle:

Thaw-roe.  As in Henry David Thoreau, the author and poet. 

that's how I'd pronounce it as well.

It's difficult for me to imagine that this is that hard to pronounce because of the popularity of Henry David Thoreau, but I guess some people have never heard of him (?). What a cool name! 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn't graduate from high school in the US. Or dropped out in 8th grade.

But yes, the emphasis is on the second syllable. Thu-ROW.

I graduated from high school and I have never heard of him. Neither have multiple friends of mine (who went to different high schools). Not all schools teach the same thing....

msmerymac

Elsa1984:

msmerymac:

lisa5201:

balihaigirl:

laura_belle:

Thaw-roe.  As in Henry David Thoreau, the author and poet. 

that's how I'd pronounce it as well.

It's difficult for me to imagine that this is that hard to pronounce because of the popularity of Henry David Thoreau, but I guess some people have never heard of him (?). What a cool name! 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn't graduate from high school in the US. Or dropped out in 8th grade.

But yes, the emphasis is on the second syllable. Thu-ROW.

I graduated from high school and I have never heard of him. Neither have multiple friends of mine (who went to different high schools). Not all schools teach the same thing....

There is such a tihng as state mandated curriculum, so all high schools in your state would need to teach the same thing.