How do you pronounce Laura?

jordanandkelly · November 2012

I have a friend from Kentucky with this name, and she pronounces it "Lahr-a". I am from Michigan, and every Laura that I know there pronounces it "Lohr-a". So, how do you pronounce this and what region are you from?[Poll]

alohamora · November 2012

lor-uh...I'm from the Midwest.

queenbone · November 2012

I'm from the PNdub and I pronounce it Lohr-ah.

However DH's cousin's name is Laura, but her parents pronounce it like Lara. They are from Ohio.

WashingtonQueen · November 2012

I have always heard it pronounced Lohr-a. I am from Colorado and Washington.

LadyXaverian · November 2012

It's my sister's name, and she/we pronounce is Lor-ah. Where I live now, it's more common to hear it pronounced Lawr-ah.

EastCoastBride · November 2012

Maryland. Lahr-uh, but I've heard Lor-uh too.

provwife · November 2012

I have always heard Laura pronounced Lor uh

I knew a Lar uh but she spelled it differently..I don't remember how though.

BLPL101 · November 2012

I'm Laura from CA (pronounced Lor-uh). I have never had anyone pronounce it differently until I moved to the South last year. Very rarely is it pronounced anything but Lor-uh.

Mrs.Frazier · November 2012

I'm Laura from VA and it makes my skin crawl when people pronounce my name Lor-uh. It is LAR-uh. I typically tell people it is said kinda like you have a southern accent.

It doesn't have an O, so why would you pronounce it with one?

LaurelBee · November 2012

I'm Laurel, pronounced Lorrel (rhymes with coral). I was born in the south and raised in the MIdwest and have never met a Laura/Laurie/Lauren pronounced "Lar." Funny that some places it actually is!

dee12807 · November 2012

Every Laura I've ever know is Lohr-a. I live in NJ.

guilletskichuk · November 2012

MorwenCimorene:
LOR-uh is the only pronunciation I've heard for Laura up here in Ontario

Same here. I've lived in all four western provinces in Canada and that's the only way I've heard it pronounced.

Lara, however, is pronounced Lahr-ah.

Todd&Laura · November 2012

Lah-ra is Lara (like the video game character Lara Croft or actress Lara Flynn Boyle)

Laura should be pronounced Lawr-ah.

Lohr-ah is Lora, just like Lori is different from Laurie

austenreader85 · November 2012

I say it like Lora unless I'm corrected and then it actually takes a bit of effort to get it to come out close to Law-ra. My speaking skills come from all over the place because my mom's dad was from Texas, her mother was from Minnesota and she was a naval brat with influences from everywhere. I've actually only met two or three that cared. The thing is, I still don't think I say it the other way quite right which probably just ticks off those peoplebut I swear I'm trying.

Todd&Laura · November 2012

Mrs.Frazier:
I'm Laura from VA and it makes my skin crawl when people pronounce my name Lor-uh. It is LAR-uh. I typically tell people it is said kinda like you have a southern accent.
It doesn't have an O, so why would you pronounce it with one?

Same here!!

MommaG123 · November 2012

lor-uh

lcunningham · November 2012

That's my name and people pronounce it Lor and Law - never Lar, that would be Lara. The U adds the different sound. I never correct people as it doesn't make a difference to me.

crwel1048 · November 2012

I'm also from the Midwest and pronounce it with either the Lahruh or Lawhra sound. My cousin's name is Laura and would get annoyed when people pronounced it Lohra. So when I prefer it spelled Lora if its pronounced with the "o" sound.

ZoeMay06 · November 2012

Living in California, I pronounce it LOR-ah. But...*puts on linguistics nerd glasses*...these differences in pronunciation for the 'au' sound in Laura are completely regional. Here's a cool link to a map showing the different ways people pronounce the same sound in the word "Lawyer":

https://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_14.html

Cool huh? Or am I the only one around here who is fascinated by the regional dialects of US English? Geeked

MrsTBird · November 2012

I'm from Michigan as well and I pronounce it Lohr-uh.

schnappycat · November 2012

I'm also a Laura and I pronounce it Lohr-uh. I can barely even pronounce the other examples if I try. I'm from MI originally.

duffmaker · November 2012

fitzpemberley:
lor-uh...I'm from the Midwest.

I'm chose Lohr-ah, assuming that's the same pronunciation as above just spelled differently? If you didn't mean it to be then I'm with PP, Lor-uh is how I pronounce it.

Lara, Lar-ah is really pretty to and I know a Lara. I would spell it like this if you want that sound.

AmandaAndTj · November 2012

I'm from the south and it's definitely Lawra. My grandmothers name is Laurie and she'll get ragey if someone pronounces it Lori.

BLPL101 · November 2012

Todd&Laura:
Lah-ra is Lara (like the video game character Lara Croft or actress Lara Flynn Boyle)
Laura should be pronounced Lawr-ah.
Lohr-ah is Lora, just like Lori is different from Laurie

I have never heard Lori/Laurie pronounced differently. They are both Lor-ee. I've never seen the name Lora before.