There are some brands that are incredibly well-known, yet are consistently mispronounced. Some of it is down to them originating in another language, some of it not.
Indeed, some brands have even taken it and run with it as part of their marketing. Car manufacturer Hyundai is doing just that in its latest advertising campaign, poking fun at the fact that many people don't pronounce its name correctly.
With this in mind, Business Name Generator (BNG) has taken a look at the search volume of 70 brand giants – with origins from 17 global nations – to reveal the names we struggle with the most and how to pronounce them correctly.
The 20 most mispronounced global brands and how to say them
According to the research, these are the 20 brands across different industries that are most commonly mispronounced around the world:
Rank |
Brand name |
Industry |
Monthly search vol. for pronunciation |
Yearly search vol. for pronunciation |
Correct phonetic pronunciation |
The luxury and high-end sports car manufacturer, Porsche, was found to be the most commonly mispronounced brand overall, with 13,700 per month searching for “how to pronounce/how to say Porsche”. Commonly mistaken for Italian, Porsche is, in fact, German and means “offerings” in English. The correct pronunciation is “porsh-aa”.
The sportswear brand, Nike, follows in second with 10,780 monthly searches made by consumers to clarify its true pronunciation. If you have been saying it so that it rhymes with “bike”, then you have been pronouncing it wrong. It is actually pronounced as “nigh-key”, rhyming with “spikey”.
Competitor sportswear brand Adidas has also had consumers mispronounce its name, ranking in 12th with 4,320 monthly searches. Ranking third on the list is fashion brand Hermés, with 8,820 searches per month for the correct pronunciation - more than 105,000 searches per year. The name of this brand can be difficult if you don't speak French, however, for future reference, it is “air-mez”.
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The research found that fashion, food and drink, and automotive are the industries with the most commonly mispronounced brand names:
Sriracha and Godiva are the most commonly mispronounced food and drink brands
Rank |
Food and drink brand |
Country of origin |
Monthly search vol. for pronunciation |
Yearly search vol. for pronunciation |
Correct phonetic pronunciation |
The sauce that is hot and tangy on the tongue ranks as the food brand most mispronounced in the ranking with 1,050 global searches per month. The vast majority of people believe Sriracha is pronounced “sir-racha”, but the proper pronunciation is actually ‘see-rotch-ah’.
Belgium chocolate brand, Godiva (go-dee-vuh), ranks second place for food and drinks commonly mispronounced, with 990 monthly searches, followed closely by Schwarzkopf (shwartz-kof) with 750 searches.
Automotive brands are also commonly mispronounced
Rank |
Automotive brand |
Country of origin |
Monthly search vol. for pronunciation |
Yearly search vol. for pronunciation |
Correct phonetic pronunciation |
Hyundai follows Porsche as the second most common car brand people mispronounce, with 7,900 monthly searches – a 483% year-on-year increase thanks to a recent marketing campaign highlighting the pronunciation to be “hun-day” not “hi-yun-die”. German car brands Audi (o-dee) and Volkswagen (foaks-vaa-gun) make an appearance in the top five with up to 5,120 monthly search queries for its correct pronunciation.
Fashion brand names prove difficult for consumers to pronounce
Rank |
Fashion brand |
Country of origin |
Monthly search vol. for pronunciation |
Yearly search vol. for pronunciation |
Correct phonetic pronunciation |
Looking only at fashion brands, iconic names from France dominate the ranking. Following Hermés is Louis Vuitton in second with 8,580 monthly search queries. The brand, commonly known for its LV monogram, is correctly pronounced “loo-ee we-taahn”.
Yves Saint Laurent (eve-sanh la-rahn) is another luxe fashion house that people outside of the French language find difficulty in saying, with 5,120 monthly “how to say / pronounce” searches. Italian brand Versace (vur-sah-chay) also makes the top five, with 4,990 monthly searches for its pronunciation.
Chloe Chai, spokesperson for Business Name Generator, said: “Frequently, brand names are mispronounced when they are in a language or dialect that is different from the speaker's native language. It is not uncommon for individuals to be unaware that they are mispronouncing a brand name, especially if global marketing campaigns have promoted anglicized versions of the name. This is something that brands like IKEA and Hyundai are striving to move away from.
When devising a name for your business, marketers must consider its phonetics and ensure that it can be easily pronounced and remembered across various languages and cultures. This can be achieved through thorough research, testing, and localisation efforts. Ultimately, a brand name that is easy to pronounce and recall can contribute to heightened brand awareness, customer loyalty, and overall success in the market.”
