How to pronounce names?

English as a Second Language Listening, speaking, pronunciation and accent
1

Hi Everyone,

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this question but I need your guys help on how to pronounce last names. Please help me out. This is giving me stress. I am having trouble sleeping as dramatic as that sounds. I am not a native English speaker but I been speaking English for a while now. Example: How would I pronounce a last name MacConaghy?

Thank you!

2

There are a lot of British (English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh) names which are not pronounced as they are written, and often two people with the same name will pronounce it differently. The only way to be sure is to ask the person concerned. They will not be offended, as they are probably rather proud of having an unusual name.

3

Iowtrish is right, there is no offense asking someone’s last name if you don’t know how to pronounce it.

4

I doubt the gentleman in this video is very proud of having an unusual name:

youtube.com/watch?v=YAVi_FITACk