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You've Been Saying Taylor Lautner’s Name Wrong All Along

If you imprinted on Taylor Lautner as a teen, you wouldn't be the only one. Nearly 15 years after the first Twilight movie, the actor revealed to E! News the correct way to pronounce his name.

By Lindsay Weinberg Feb 04, 2022 2:43 AMTags
Watch: Taylor Lautner Is Engaged to Longtime GF Tay Dome

Call us locas, but we've been pronouncing Taylor Lautner's name wrong all these years. 

And by all these years, we mean literally since he first starred as shy and adorable Jacob in Twilight in 2008 (or, if you're a real O.G. fan, since he played our childhood crush, Sharkboy, and appeared in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 as Eliot Murtaugh). 

While speaking to E! News on Feb. 3 to promote his latest partnership with Courtyard by Marriott, Taylor introduced himself by his full name, revealing the first syllable of his last name actually rhymes with "out" and not "lot." So, that would make him Mr. Taylor Lowt-Ner, instead of Lot-Ner.

During his chat, Taylor also gave his thoughts on the latest Gen Z trends. As the 29-year-old actor told E! News, "Although you have attempted to cancel the side part, I am an advocate for the middle part. Please don't let that one go. Keep the middle part for me or Kendall Jenner." He hilariously added, "Yeah, that is a message from Jacob Black."

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The Twilight Cast: Then and Now

These days, the teen heartthrob is happily engaged to nurse and blogger Tay Dome and starring in the new Netflix movie Home Team alongside comedy legends Kevin James and Rob Schneider

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Hey locas, the king of middle parts has spoken

? original sound - E! News

Plus, Taylor recently teamed with Marriott ahead of the 2022 Super Bowl to reveal the contest winners for a suite at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where the L.A. Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Feb. 13.

While he's clearly in a different stage of life now than he was when filming the Twilight saga, the memories of the powerful fandom have kept with him.

Speaking with Jason Kennedy for NBC's Today show last month, he admitted that he avoided going out in public—including visits to grocery stores, malls and movie theaters—for nearly 10 years during the franchise's peak popularity.

Taylor confessed, "I went so many years either not leaving my house, or if I did, hat, sunglasses, and just like, [feeling] scared." He also recalled the strain it put on him, saying, "It built up something inside of me where, I didn't know it, but I was scared to go out. I'd get super anxious to go out. So I just didn't."

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Home Team is now streaming on Netflix.

But before you press play on the football film, keep scrolling to see more celebrity names you've been mispronouncing.

Travis Kelce (Pronounced: Kels)

Travis and brother Jason Kelce debated on their New Heights podcast whether to go by "Kel-see" or "Kels," with Travis deciding to do the latter.

Taylor Lautner (Pronounced: Lout-Ner)

Speaking with E! News in February 2022, Taylor revealed the first syllable of his last name rhymes with "out" instead of being pronounced as "lot." 

Emily Ratajkowski (Pronounced: Rat-Ah-Kof-Sky or Rat-Ah-Cow-Skee)

After much speculation surrounding her moniker, the model set the record straight in a TikTok shared by Tory Burch, where she provided "the Polish way" to say it. She has also introduced herself by pronouncing her last name "Rat-Ah-Cow-Skee."

Raven-Symoné (Pronounced: See-mon-ye)

While Raven-Symoné's character could see the future on That's So Raven, fans likely didn't see this coming. The actress revealed in a January 2023 TikTok that her name has been mispronounced for years and is actually pronounced See-mon-ye.

Brendan Fraser (Pronounced: Fray-zer)

After Adam Sandler accidentally mispronounced the Oscar winner's last name during a December 2022 interview for Variety's Actors on Actors series, the George of the Jungle star swung in with a trick that can help fans remember how to say the moniker correctly: Fraser rhymes with razor.

Adele (Pronounced: Uh-Dale)

During a Q&A in October 2022, the powerhouse singer praised a fan for "perfectly" pronouncing her name as "uh-dale" when asking a question.

Lindsay Lohan (Pronounced: Lo-Wen)

For her introductory video shared to TikTok in February 2022, Lindsay Lohan inadvertently set the record straight on how to correctly pronounce her last name, which is "Lo-wen."

Alicia Silverstone (Pronounced: Uh-Lee-See-Uh)

The Clueless actress set the record straight on how to pronounce her name on TikTok. Alicia said she's not bothered if fans don't get it right, noting, "But my sweet mama didn't like it... so for her... get it right! Ali-SEE-yuh."

Kesha (Pronounced: Keh-Sha)

"My name is Kesha. Keh-sha," the singer said on TikTok. "Not Keisha. Not Ketchup. Kesha."

Justin Theroux (Pronounced: Tha-Roo)

The Leftovers actor's uncle revealed in an interview with Apple TV+ that we've all been pronouncing "Theroux" incorrectly, including Justin himself! 

"The main character is played by Justin Theroux, my nephew," Paul Theroux explained of the actor starring in his novel's television adaptation. The novelist later poked fun at his nephew, saying, "Sometimes he calls himself Justin tha-row [laughs]. It's a French name, it's Theroux."

Ariana Grande (Pronounced: Gran-Dee)

The pop star dropped jaws in 2018 after she explained the correct way to say her last name. When speaking about her engagement to Pete Davidson at the time, Ariana discussed whether or not she'd take his last name in an interview with Beats 1's Ebro Darden. That's when she blurted out the "gran-dee" pronunciation when describing her own last name.

Chrissy Teigen (Pronounced: Tie-Ghen)

The Cravings cookbook author blew everyone's mind when she shared the real way to say her last name. During an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2018, the model admitted it was her "fault" for the mispronunciation. "It's been 25 years, I'm tired of correcting people," she expressed.

Gal Gadot (Pronounced: Guh-Dote)

The lasso of truth! The Wonder Woman actress chatted with Jimmy Kimmel about the pronunciation (guh-dote) and the meaning of her last name, which is "Riverbank" in Hebrew. "The Gadot used to be Greenstein," she confessed of her original last name, but her parents "felt" it had more oomph.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Pronounced: Yee-Len-Hey-Lo)

Prepare to be mind blown. During an appearance on Conan in 2012, the actor shared the "only two places that that is pronounced correctly, my last name, is in Sweden and in Ikea." 

Ralph Fiennes (Pronounced: Ray-F Fines)

The star has openly discussed just how frequently people screw up his name. However, in 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter he'd never change it because he was named after his step-grandfather, who pronounced it in the same way.

Sade Adu (Pronounced Shar-Day)

According to the legendary singer's IMDb page, her stage name is pronounced shar-day.

Steve Buscemi (Pronounced: Boo-Sem-Ee)

In 2014, the Fargo alum confirmed his last name is pronounced boo-sem-ee during a panel for Running Late with Scott Rogowsky. However, he said he doesn't "correct people" if they say boo-shh-em-me because "it's not wrong."

Charlize Theron (Pronounced: There-In)

In 2014, the Oscar winner told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that her last name is always botched. "They screw it up," she quipped. "I almost want to make an audiotape on how to pronounce my name."

Anya Taylor Joy (Pronounced: Anne-Ya)

Check(mate) your pronounciation of the Queen's Gambit star, who says her name like anne-ya—and not awn-ya.

Amanda Seyfried (Pronounced: Sigh-Frid)

The Mean Girls alum has us all feeling like Karen because she revealed in 2012 during an interview with Hollywood Streams that the correct pronunciation of her last name is sigh-frid. Although, she admitted that her "sister says it differently" than she does.