Are You Pronouncing Celebrity Names in Spanish Wrong? – 10 Examples
These last years we’ve seen a boom in Latin or Spanish actors in Hollywood, so here at Spring Spanish, nos dimos a la tarea (we gave ourselves the task) of helping you pronounce 10 of these —often mispronounced— names.
Are you pronouncing celebrity names in Spanish right or wrong?
Are you pronouncing celebrity names in Spanish right or wrong? – Female Celebrity Names
1. Sofía Vergara
As you can see, the “I” has an accent mark, so we need to emphasize it, and let’s roll those Rs!
- Sofía Vergara es de Barranquilla, Colombia. (Sofia Vergara is from Barranquilla, Colombia.)
2. Penélope Cruz
La musa de Almodóvar (Almodovar’s muse) has a name un poco difícil (a bit difficult) for people who speak English: there’s an accent in the second “E” and then… there’s another E —both should be pronounced the exact same way in Spanish, so avoid saying “Penelopi” Cruz.
3. Zoé Saldaña
Next, we have nuestro pitufo gigante favorito (our favorite giant smurf) Sorry! Favorite Na’vi, sorry Avatar films!
This is one of the names that are completely mispronounced. It is similar in the way that Zoe is pronounced in English, with the “E” sounding as an “I”, pero no en español (but not in Spanish), where it also has an accent mark: Zoé.
Her last name is tricky overall because, since English doesn’t have the letter “Ñ”, the name seems to have been adapted, but in reality, her name is Saldaña.
4. Selena Gómez
I’ve heard many times people saying “Selina”, pero recuerda que, en español (remember that in Spanish), the “E” is pronounced [eh] always.
This actress and singer was named after the late Selena, a very important Tex-Mex singer from the 90’s. ¿La conoces? (Do you know her?) Let me know in the comments!
5. Karla Souza
Do you know how to get away with murder? Aparentemente Karla lo sabe (Apparently, Karla knows it), but do you know how to pronounce her name correctly?
Souza is a Mexican last name and all its vowels are pronounced a la mexicana, por supuesto (the Mexican way, of course), so instead of Suza, which sounds like sauce, we say “Karla Souza”.
Are you pronouncing celebrity names in Spanish right or wrong? – Male Celebrity Names
6. Pedro Pascal
Este actor chileno está de moda (this Chilean actor is “in”), from playing Oberyn Martell in Juego de Tronos (Game of thrones) to the main character in The Mandalorian, a Star Wars Spin off —del que soy re fan! (of which I’m a super fan).
7. Antonio Banderas
Uno de mis actores favoritos (one of my favorite actors), this Spaniard actor also has a last name that means “Flags” (Banderas)… ¿Sabías esto? (Did you know this?)
8. Marc Anthony
Yes, I know the world knows this cantante de salsa (Salsa singer) of Puerto Rican descent, but in reality, his real name is: Marco Antonio Muñiz.
9. Rico Rodriguez
We couldn’t let his TV mom be alone in this list, so Many Delgado, from Modern Family también fue incluido en esta lista (was also included in this list).
Born in the USA, but of Mexican descent, Rico Rodriguez’s name might sound like a tongue twister, but if we roll the R, and say it slowly, I’m sure we can make it!
10. Danny Trejo
The main actor of “Machete”. So, remember to roll those Rs and pronounce the J as a very strong H in English.
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¡Muy bien! ¿Qué te pareció este artículo? (What did you think of this article?) ¿Me merezco un Óscar o no? (Do I deserve an Oscar or not?) ¿Tienes algún otro nombre en mente y quieres saber cómo se pronuncia? (Do you have any other name in mind and want to know how to pronounce it?) Let me know in the comments!
Feel free to check out the other videos on our channel. We also have a free, more in-depth Spanish training on our website where you’ll discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach students to speak fluent Spanish. You also get some free sample Spanish lessons there that come straight from our Academy!
✔️ Cheat Sheet with 54 essential Spanish Chunks you’ll hear and use yourself in ANY Spanish conversation (and example sentences). Taken from our YouTube Teacher’s most popular videos!
✔️ 2 Bonus Cheat Sheets with Travel Chunks and Dating/Relationship Chunks
✔️ A Spanish Chunking Tutorial showing you the 1 technique that’ll help you make 100% of the Spanish from our videos roll off the tongue in just 5 minutes a day (you’re probably only using 50% of our lessons’ potential right now…)
