How do you pronounce "Marquis"? Clicky poll

EdenJaine · June 2011

I'm just a lurker.. not pg. But obsessed with names so I lurk here WAY too often. Previous posts have me wondering: How do you pronounce Marquis? I only ask because I grew up with someone with this last name and it was *Mar-kee*. But there's a prominant family in the community who own a big company called *Mar-kwis*. So.. just curious.. How do you pronounce it?
[Poll]

Elsa1984 · June 2011

I have no idea. I always thought it was an odd spelling but my SO's cousin has a boy named Marquis and they pronounce it like Marcus/Markus

EdenJaine · June 2011

mj.reilly:
mahr-KEE
I might say mahr-KEYS at first glance, without thinking.
I would never say mahr-KWIS.

Ok this is what I thought.. but this family has a big business with a lot of commercials and they always call themselves "Mar-kwis Chevy"! It's so hard rolling off the tongue.. I'm like "No! That's Mar-kee!". But oh well.. I hope they're the only wrong ones. "Mar-kee" is so much nicer and more natural!

Moxie27 · June 2011

when used as the name of a person, i pronounce it "mar-kees"

when used as a noun, e.g. a marquis diamond, i pronounce it "mar-kee"

AlphabetFish · June 2011

It's French, so naturally it is pronounced "mar-kee." All q's make the k sound, and an ending of "uis" is always pronounced "ee" (like in Louis). Also, in French, one can usually assume the last letter of a word, if a consonant, is silent (like with "ballet" or "mardi gras").

Wikipedia tells me that the English equivalent of this word is Marquess, which is pronounced "mar-kwis."

The word refers to a certain nobleman, like a duke or earl. This isn't a made-up name, and I'm afraid it does have an established pronunciation, depending on the spelling.

Mags748 · June 2011

Moxie27:

when used as the name of a person, i pronounce it "mar-kees"

when used as a noun, e.g. a marquis diamond, i pronounce it "mar-kee"

This. I have never heard it pronouced any other way. I was shocked that so many people voted for "mar-kee"

blu-eyedwife · June 2011

I went to school with a girl named Marquis and she pronounced it Mar-kees.

brightyellow2 · June 2011

Elsa1984:
I have no idea. I always thought it was an odd spelling but my SO's cousin has a boy named Marquis and they pronounce it like Marcus/Markus

this

KBBH · June 2011

I would say "Mark-eese," rhymes with geese. I have known 2 Marquis in my life and they were both pronounced this way.

HAFranklin · June 2011

Moxie27:
when used as the name of a person, i pronounce it "mar-kees"

when used as a noun, e.g. a marquis diamond, i pronounce it "mar-kee"

This.

Ceridwen21 · June 2011

mj.reilly:

I would say mahr-KEE.

I might say mahr-KEYS at first glance, without thinking.

I would never say mahr-KWIS.

Is it a family named company? Because if the company was named after a current or previous owners first or last name, mahr-KWIS could be right. There are so many variations / different pronunciations based on the family's country of origin.

The surname Christ is a family name for me (5-6 generations back) ... but it is not pronounced like "Jesus Christ." It is KRIS-t.

This.