What is your default pronunciation of the name Lucia?
Asked by
kneesox (
4593
)
July 8th, 2021
One of those names I hate to just take a shot in the dark, but it seems dumb to have to ask. One downside of melting pots.
Options:
LOO sha
loo SHEE ya
LOO seeya
loo SEE ya
LOOCH ya
loo CHEE ya
It involves guessing which language group rules apply and whether or not the person is anglicizing it.
In countries and regions where there are several dominant language groups, it can be hard to avoid offending someone if you do or don’t use, say, the correct Spanish or French pronunciation—or if you do.
I’ve had someone get mad at me for not giving his name the proper Russian pronunciation, when from just his single name I couldn’t even tell it was Russian, never mind not knowing those two things, language rules and whether to anglicize.
I get that people want their names said right, but a little help would be, well, helpful.
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23 Answers
I know a LOO sha and a LOO seeya, and they’re both constantly correcting people. My name slows some folks down too, but I just try to let it go unless they ask.
“Pronunciation: Loo-chee-a. This is an Italian name and is very popular. It is an alternative to the word ‘Lucy’ or ‘Lucie’.”
Source:
How to say or pronounce Lucia – PronounceNames.com
I say: loo Chee ya.
Like in the song.
@janbb that’s my default too. But if she says her name is LOO sha, or if Renee says her name is REE nee, or if Zoe wants to be called Zoh, don’t we try to remember that and say it their way? I wish the people with the ambiguous names would be a little more tolerant of variants. It’s hard to remember what pleases everybody, and that’s not even getting near pronouns.
@kneesox Yes. I will always try to say it their way but probably slip up at times. My neighbor is a Renee who pronounces her name “reenee”.
The song says it all! Sa hant aha Lu u chee ee ah, Santa Lucheeah
loo CHEE ya
Because I’ve studied Latin and Italian, both of which pronounce it that way. And I’ve never known anyone named that who pronounced it differently.
Loo SEE uh
I knew a woman named Lucia, who was from Mexico, and that’s how she pronounced it.
Loo chee ah
But, I grew up in NYC suburbs as a young girl and there are a ton of Italians in NY, so any name that is Italian I would likely pronounce as the Italians do as a default.
If I knew the person was Latin American, I almost for sure would ask the person if they pronounce loo chee ah or loo see ah. Actually, almost any American I would ask just to be sure unless I knew they were Italian-Americans.
My niece and nephew are Mexican and Italian and both have Italian names. One name is a little difficult for his Mexican grandmother to pronounce.
If it’s Italian, Loo/CHEE/ah, if it’s Spanish, Loo/SEE/ah, but as @JLeslie said, Hispanics in the US might pronounce it the “Italian” way, so, if that’s the case, I’d ask.
My wife, an Italian Argentine, said ‘loo CHEE ah’.
@cookieman Ask her if she’d pronounce it the same way if she were in Argentina?
I think of the Italian pronunciation first, but I don’t know anyone with this name and the opera Lucia di Lammermoor is probably in my mind.
There are so many Italians in Argentina, even the Pope! Lol. Im guessing the Argentinians like Americans might hold to the Italian pronunciation. I’m interested to hear @cookieman’s answer.
My Italian-Venezuelan friends, I’d bet money they would pronounce it the Italian way. They are 100% Italian and migrated to Venezuela and had kids (the kids are my age) and now everyone is in the US.
My Mexican Inlaws change almost everything into Spanish. They say Cartier Car-tee-air. I don’t know if that’s a Mexican thing, a general Spanish speaker thing, or my husband’s family is just clueless.
Unrelated: I recommend the Netflix series Vientos de Agua. It’s subtitled in English. It’s about people immigrating to Argentina from Europe during WWII, and also other plots.
I usually just mimic Desi Arnaz with, “Hey LOOOceeee!”
If I met someone with that name, I would ask them their name and then pronounce it as they did.
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