You might be shocked to hear the real pronunciations of these celebrity names!
For instance, Raven-Symoné finally revealed the correct pronunciation of her name after she took to TikTok in January 2023 to reveal that the Disney Channel alum’s name is not pronounced see-moan, but is rather pronounced see-moan-a.
She shared a video of herself which featured text that read, “It’s pronounced See-mon-ye.” The accompanying sound stated, “Shut up it is not,” which Raven-Symoné insisted “Yes it is.”
In a follow up post, the Raven’s Home star revealed why she never corrected people who were mispronouncing her name. “Yo, people out here real mad that I never said, ‘Hey, my name is Raven-Symoné and you’re watching Disney Channel,'” the That’s So Raven star said, referencing the channel’s iconic past ads.
“I didn’t do that because at a very young age I was told to tell people my name was Raven-Symoné and it just never left my body,” she explained. “Except when I go to French-speaking countries. I’m like, ‘Yeah, it is spelled that way and that’s how it should be pronounced.’ But coming here, to where I’m living, Raven-Symoné is just fine.”
In conclusion, Raven-Symoné said, “So, yes. I don’t trip over it. I don’t correct people, but the correct spelling of my name is pronounced Raven-Symoné, but you can call me Raven-Symoné. I’m not tripping over it.”
Another celebrity name you’ve probably been pronouncing wrong is Ariana Grande herself!
During an interview with Beats 1‘s, Ariana dropped a bombshell: We’ve all been saying her last name wrong! She revealed that her name is actually pronounced Ariana gran-dee—not grahn-day. Apparently, Ariana’s brother Frankie Grande established the pronunciation change, but the songstress pronounced her last name as grandee all her life growing up.
“Well, my brother kind of changed it to Grande, because Grand-ee was kind of, like, the Americanized version of it,” she explained. “Then, my brother was like ‘We should say Grande, it’s so fun to say it, it’s like a funny name.'” And Grande it is!
Scroll through the gallery below for all of the celebrity names that you’re probably saying wrong.
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