‘I’ve been pronouncing my name wrong my whole life – and my parents didn’t say anything’

Naomi Leanage has been left baffled after discovering she’s been pronouncing her last name incorrectly for her entire life – and her parents knew but never told her

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Woman realises she has been pronouncing her surname wrong

A woman has been left lost for words after she discovered she’s been mispronouncing her own name for her entire life, and her parents never considered correcting her. Naomi Leanage said she recently found out that her last name isn’t pronounced the way she thought it was, but claimed her parents have allowed her and her siblings to continue to say it wrong for almost three decades.

Naomi, 30, spent her whole life believing her surname sounded like the French word “fromage”, but her dad Paul, 62, confessed to her a couple of years ago that it should actually be pronounced “Lean-a-ge” instead.

The error in her surname’s pronunciation began when her family moved from Sri Lanka to Canada, as people assumed the name was French and began pronouncing it as such.

Naomi’s family then took up the alternative pronunciation, leaving the content creator and her siblings – Natalie, 27, and Dylan, 25 – to think that it was the correct way of saying the name.

The woman, from Toronto, Canada, said: “I found out a couple of years ago from my dad, Paul. We asked why our last name sounds French. He said ‘oh, well, it is not actually pronounced like that’.

“My family are originally from Sri Lanka and when we came over to Canada, he changed up the pronunciation as people were pronouncing the name wrong. My siblings and I were very shocked, I felt like I was bamboozled my whole life.

“My mum, Nayana, knew but she didn’t think to mention it.”

Naomi shared her pronunciation blunder in a video online, and was surprised to find out that many people resonated with her story, especially people who have moved to different countries.

And despite discovering the truth behind her surname, Naomi won’t be switching to the original pronunciation, as she’s too accustomed to using the technically incorrect one she’s been using her whole life.

She added: “A lot of people have said to me that when they came to live in Western countries, their names would be changed or spelt differently.

“I feel like over two decades of saying it, I don’t think I can switch it up that easily – I will continue to say it how I have been doing.”

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