Names

Names of prominent European mathematicians

and how to pronounce them

Last updated August 31 (2009)

The names of prominent mathematicians should be pronounced in a uniform manner all over the world in order to be recognized (at conferences etc) and also to show due respect. This is how prominent musicians, artists and politicians like Mozart, Gandhi, Gauguin are treated. Correct pronunciation will definitely enhance their international standing. The natural choice is their original phonetics.

[The syllable to be stressed is preceded by ‘]

[’Aa-bel]

Abel, Niels Henrik (Norway,

1802-1829)

Emile

(1855-1930) [Ah-’pel]

Appel,

Paul

D’Alembert, Jean le Rond (1717-1783) [Dah-lam-’behr]

Ampère, André-Marie (1775-1836)

[Ahm-’pehr]

(1902-1979)

[’Bah-ehr] Reinhold

Baer,

Louis

(1874-1932) [’Behr] Rene

Baire,

(1892-1945)

[’Bah-nakh] Stefan

Banach,

(1835-1900) [Bel-’trah-mih] Eugenio

Beltrami,

Becquerel, Antoine Henri (1852-1908) [Beh-keh-’rhel]

(1667-1748) [Ber-’noo-lih] Bernoulli,

Johann

[’Bern-’shtein] Bernstein, Sergey Natanovich (1880-1968)

[Beh-’zoo]

Bézout,

(1730-1783)

étienne

Bieberbach, Ludwig Georg Elias Moses (1886-1982) [’Bee-behr-’bakh] Binet, Jacques Philippe Marie (1786-1856) [Bih-’neh]

Blaschke,

[’Blush-keh]

((1885-1962)

Wilhelm

(1899-1982) [’Bokh-nehr] Salomon

Bochner,

(1781-1880) [Bol-’tsa-noh] Bernhard

Bolzano,

[’Boy-‘ai]

(1802-1860)

Bolyai,

János

)

[Bom-bee-’eh-rih] (1940-

Enrico

Bombieri,

Ossian

[Boh-’neh]

(1819-1892)

Pierre

Bonnet,

Borel, émile (Félix édouard Justin émile) (1871-1956) [Boh-’rel]

[’Bohr-sook]

(1905-1982)

Borsuk,

Karol

Bouquet, Jean Claude (1819-1885) [Boo-’keh]

Brahe, Tycho (Tyge Ottesen Brahe) (1546 -1601) [’Tai-kou ’Brah-ee] Brillouin, Marcel Louis (1854-1948) [Brih-lu-’en]

Briot, Charles Auguste (1817-1882) [Bree-’yoh]

de Bruijn, Nicolaas Govert (1918- ) [duh-’Brujn]

[Boo-‘rha-li-‘for-tih] Burali-Forti,

(1861-1931)

Cesare

Cantor, Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp (1845-1918) [’Kahn-tor]

Carathéodory, Constantin (1873-1950) [Kah-‘rha-te-o-do-'ri] Cardano, Girolamo (or Gerolamo) (1501-1576) [Kahr-‘dah-noh]

Sadi Carnot, Nicolas Léonard (1796-1832) [Kahr-‘noh]

[Kahr-’tahn]

(1904-2008)

Cartan,

Henri

Cauchy, Augustin Louis (1789-1857) [Koh-’shih] Castelnuovo, Guido (1865-1952) [Kas-tel-nu-‘oh-voh] Catalan, Eugène Charles (1814-1894) [Kah-tah-‘lan] Cavalieri, Bonaventura Francesco (1598-1647) [Ka-va-lee-‘yeh-rih] ?ech, Eduard (1893-1960) (?ech complex) [‘Chekh]

Cesàro, Ernesto (1859-1906) [Che-‘sah-rho] Chebyshev (Tschebyscheff), Pafnutii Lvovich (1821-1894) [Chebih-’shyov]

(1915-2006) [Shoh’keh] Gustave

Choquet,

Christoffel, Elwin Bruno (1829-1900) [Kree-‘stoh-fel]

(1445-1488) [Shoo-‘keh] Chuquet,

Nicolas

Clairaut, Alexis Claude de Clairault (1713-1765) [Kleh-’rho]

Clausen, Thomas (1801-1885) (Clausen function) [‘Klau-zehn]

Coriolis, Gustave (1792-1843) [Koh-rhi-‘oh-lis] Cornu, Marie Alfred (1841-1902) (Cornu spiral) [Kohr-‘noo]

[Koh-‘lon]

de Coulomb, Charles Augustin

(1736-1806)

Courant, Richard (1888 – 1972) [‘Ku- rant]

[‘Krel]

(1780-1855)

Crelle,

Leopold

August

Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph (1749–1822) [Deh-lan-’breh] Darboux, Jean Gaston (1842-1917) [Dahr-‘boo] Dedekind, (Julius Wilhelm) Richard (1831-1916) [‘Deh-deh-kynd]

)

(1944-

[Deh-‘leen]

René

Deligne,

Pierre

(1884-1974)

[Dan-zhu-’ah] Arnaud

Denjoy,

(1591-1661) [Deh-‘zarg] Girard

Desargues,

Descartes, René (Renatus Cartesius) (1596-1650) [Deh-‘kart]

Dieudonné, Jean Alexandre Eugène (1906-1992) [Dyo-doh-‘neh]

(1845-1918) [‘Dih-nih]

Dini,

Ulisse

(1805-1859) [Dee-rikh-’leh] Dirichlet, Gustav Peter Lejeune

(rare) [‘Dih-rikh-leh] versionn

German

version [Dee-rish-'leh] French

[‘Doych]

(1892-1977)

Gustav

Doetsch,

Du Bois-Reymond, Paul (1831-1889) [Dju-boh-‘ah-ray-‘mond] Duhamel, Jean-Maria-Constant (1797–1872) [Due-ah-‘mel]

Egorov, Dmitri Fyodorovich (1869-1931) [Ye-‘go-rhav] Eisenstein, Ferdinand Gotthold Max (1823-1852) [’Ay-zehn-shtain]

[‘Epp-shtain] Epstein,

(1871-1939)

Paul

(1913-1996)

[’Ehr-dyo:sh] Paul

Erd?s,

von Escherich, Gustav Ritter (1849-1935) [fon ‘Esh-eh-rikh]

[’Oy-lehr]

(1707-1783)

Euler,

Leonhard

Faulhaber, Johann (1580-1635) [‘Fah-uhl-‘haa-behr] Fatou, Pierre Joseph Louis (1878-1929) [Fah-‘too]

(1880-1959)

[‘Feh-‘yehr] (Leopold)

Fejér,

Lipót

Fermat, Pierre de (1601-1665) [Fehr-‘mah]

(1901-1954)

[Fehr-‘mih] Enrico

Fermi,

Feuerbach, Karl Wilhelm (1800-1834) [‘Foy-ehr-‘bakh] Fibonacci, Leonardo Pisano (1170 – 1250) [Fee-boh-’na-chi]

de Finetti, Bruno (1906-1985) [dih-Fih-‘netty]

Floquet, (Achille Marie) Gaston {1847-1920) [Floh-‘keh]

Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon (1819-1868) [Foo-‘koh]

Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph (1786-1830) [Foo-rhi-’eh]

Fréchet, Maurice René (1878-1973) [Freh-‘sheh]

Frege, Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob (1848-1925) [‘Frey-‘geh]

Fresnel, Augustin-Jean (1788-1827) [Freh-’nel]

Freudenthal, Hans (1905-1990) [‘Froy-den-‘tahl] Freundlich, Erwin Finlay (1885-1964) [‘Froyd-likh] Frobenius, Ferdinand Georg (1849-1917) [Fro-‘beh-nih-yus]

Fr?hlich (Froelich), Albrecht (1916-2001) [‘Fryo-likh]

Fubini, Guido (1879-1943) [Foo-‘bih-nih] Fuchs, Lazarus Immanuel (1833-1902)

[‘Fooks] Galois, Evariste (1811-1832) [Gah-loo-‘ah] Gateaux, René Eugène (1889-1914)

[Gah-‘toh] Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855) [‘Gah-oos],

[’Gause] Genocchi, Angelo (1817-1889) [Jeh-‘noh-kih] G?del (Goedel), Kurt (1906- 1978) [‘Ghiyo-dehl] Goursat, édouard Jean Baptiste (1858-1936)

[Goohr-’sah] Grave, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich (1863–1939)

[‘Grah-veh] Haar, Alfréd (1885-1933) [‘Haarh]

Hadamard, Jacques Salomon (1865-1963)

[Ah-dah-'mahr] Hájek, Jaroslav (1926-1974) [‘Hai-ek]

Heine, Heinrich Eduard (1821-1881) [’Hi-neh]

Hermite, Charles (1822-1901) [Ehr-’mit]

Hilbert, David (1862-1943) [’Hill-bert]

De l’Hospital, Guillaume-Fran?ois-Antoine (1661-1704)

[Loh-pee-’tahl] Hudde, Jan (1628-1704) [Hoo-’ddeh]

Hurewicz, Witold (1904-1956) [Hoo-’rhe-vich] Hurwitz, Adolf (1858-1919) [’Khour-vits] Huygens, Christiaan (1629-1695) [’Huhy-gens] Jacobi, Carl Gustav Jacob (1804-1851) [’Ya-koh-bih] de Jonquières, Ernest Jean Philippe Fauque (1820-1901)

[Zhon-’kehr] Jordan, (Marie Ennemond) Camille (1838-1921)

[Zhor-’dahn] Kac, Mark (1914-1984) [Kats]

Kapitsa, Pyotr Leonidovich (1894-1984) [’Kah-pih-tsa] Khinchin, Aleksandr Yakovlevich (1894-1959)

[’Hin-chin] Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824-1887) [’Kir-hof]

Klein, Felix Christian (1849-1925) [’Klah-in]

(like Kline) (von) Koch, Niels Fabian Helge (1870-1924)

[fon ’Kokh] (Koch’s snowflake)

K?be (Koebe), Paul (1882-1945)

[’Kiyo-beh] Kolmogorov, Andrey Nikolaevich (1903-1987)

[Kal-ma-’gorav] Korteweg, Diederik Johannes (1848-1941), Dutch

[’Kohr-teh-’vekh] Koszul, Jean-Louis (1921- ) [Koh-’shool] Kovalevskaya, Sofia Vasilyevna (1850-1891)

[Kava-’lev-ska-ya] Kroneker, Leopold (1823-1891) [’Kro-nek-ehr]

Kummer, Ernst Eduard (1810-1893) [’Koo-mehr]

Kuratowski, Kazimierz (1896-1980) [Ku-rha-’tof-ski] Kurosh, Aleksandr Gennadievich (1908-1971) [’Koo-rhosh]

Kutta, Martin Wilhelm (1867-1944) [’Koo-tah]

de Lacroix, Sylvestre Fran?ois (1765-1843) [Lah-kro-’ah] Lah, Ivo (1896-1979) [Lakh]

Ladyzhenskaya, Olga Aleksandrovna (1922 – 2004) [Lah-’dee-zhen-ska-ya] Lagrange, Josef Louis (1736-1813) [Lah’granzh]

Laguerre, Edmond Nicolas (1834-1886) [Lah-’ger]

Lambert, Johann Heinrich (1728-1777) [’Lam-bert]

Lamé, Gabriel (1795-1870) [Lah-’meh]

Laplace, Pierre Simon (1749-1827) [Lah-’plas]

Laurent, Pierre Alphonse (1813-1854) [Loh-’rhan]

Lavrentiev (Lavrentev), Mikhail Alekseevich (1900-1980) [Lav-’ren-tyef]

Lebesgue, Henri Léon (1875 -1941) [Leh-’beg]

Legendre, Adrien-Marie (1752-1833) [Leh-’zhandr] Léger, Emile (1795-1838) [Leh-’zheh]

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm (1646-1716) [’Laib-nits]

Lerch, Matyá? (Matiyash) (1860-1922) [Lerkh]

Levi-Civita, Tullio (1873-1941) [’Le-vi-chi-’vita] Lévy, Paul Pierre (1886-1971) [Leh-’vih]

Lichnerowicz, André (1915-1998) [Likh-neh-’rho-vich] Lie, Marius Sophus (1842-1899) [’Lee] or [’Lee-eh] Lindel?f, Ernst Leonard (1870-1946 [’Lin-deh-’lyof] Liouville, Joseph (1809-1882) [Lee-u-’vil]

Lissajous, Jules Antoine (1822-1880) [Lee-sah-’zhoo] (curves of Lissajous)

Lobachevsky, Nikolai Ivanovich (1792-1856) [Loh-bah-’chev-ski] Loewner, Karl (1893-1968) [’Lyov-nehr] Lommel, Eugen Cornelius Joseph von (1837-1899) [Loh-’mel]

Loretz, Hendrik Antoon (1853-1928) [Loh-’rhents] Lucas, Fran?ois édouard Anatole (1842–1891) [Lou-’kah]

(Lucas numbers)

Luzin, Nikolai Nikolaevich (1883-1950) [‘Loo-zin]

Lyapunov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich (1857-1918) [Lya-poo-’nof]

Mach, Ernst (Waldfried Josef Wenzel) (1838-1916) [Makh]

(Mach number, Mach principle)

Mainardi, Angelo Gaspare (1800-1879) [My-’nahr-dih]

Mandelbrot, Beno?t B. (1924- ) [‘Mahn-del-‘brot]

Mascheroni, Lorenzo (1750-1800) [Mas-keh-’rho-nih] Mathieu, Emile Léonard (1835-1890) [Mah-‘tyo]

(de) Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau (1698 – 1759) [Moh-pehr-tju-’ee]

Mazur, Stanis ?aw (1905-1981) [Mah-‘zoor]

Mellin, Robert Hjalmar, (Finland, 1854-1933) [Meh-‘lin]

Menchoff (Menshov), Dmitrii Evgenievich (1892-1988) [Men-’shof]

Mikusi ński, Jan (1913 -1987) [Mih-koo-‘sin-ski]

Minkowski, Hermann (1864-1909) [Min-’kof-ski] de Moivre, Abraham (1667-1754) [Deh-moh-’avr] M?bius (Moebius), August Ferdinand (1790 – 1868) [’Miyo-bius]

Monge, Gaspard (Comte de Péluse) (1746-1818) [‘Monzh]

Montel, Paul Antoine Aristide (1876-1975) [Mon-‘tell]

von Neumann, János (John) ( (1903-1957) [Fon-’Noyman]

Navier, Claude Louis Marie Henri (1785-1836) [Nah-vee-‘eh]

Nikodym, Otton M. (1889-1974) [Nih-koh-’dim]

N?rlund (N?rlund) Niels Erik (1885-1981) [’Nohr-loond] Hudde, Jan (1628-1704) [Hoo-’ddeh]

Orlicz, W ?adys ?aw (1903-1990) [‘Or-litch]

Oleinik, Olga Arsenievna (1925-2001) [Oh-‘ley-nik] Ostrogradsky, Mikhail Vasilevich (1801-1862) [Os-troh-‘grad-ski] Padé, Henri Eugène (1863-1953) [Pa-‘deh]

Painlevé, Paul (1863-1933) [Pen-leh-‘veh] Papin, Denis (1647-1712) [Pah-‘pen]

Parseval des Chênes, Marc-Antoine (1755-1836) [Pahr-seh-’val]

Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662) [Pas-‘kal]

Peano, Giuseppe (1858-1932) [Peh-‘ah-noh] Phragmén, Lars Edvard (1863-1937) [‘Frag-‘men] Picard , Charles Emile (1856-1941) [Pee-’kahr]

Pincherle, Salvatore (1853-1936) [Pin-‘kehr-leh] Plana, Giovanni Antonio Amedeo (1781-1864) [‘Plah-nah]

Plancherel, Michel (1885-`967) [Plan-sheh-’rel] Pochhammer, Leo August (1841-1920) [‘Pokh-’hummer]

Poincaré, Jules Henri (1854-1912) [Poh-ahn-kah-‘re] Poinsot, Louis (1777-1859) [Poh-an-‘soh] Poisson, Siméon-Denis (1781-1840) [Poh-ah-‘sohn] Pólya, Georg (1887-1985) [‘Poy-ah]

Pompeiu, Dimitrie (1873-1954) [Pohm-’pey-u] Poncelet, Jean-Victor (1788-1867) [Pons-‘leh]

Pontryagin, Lev Semyonovich (1908-1988) [Pohn-‘trya-ghin] Puiseux, Victor Alexandre (1820-1883) [Pu-ee-‘zoh]

Raabe, Joseph Ludwig (1801-1859) [‘Raa-beh]

Rademacher, Hans (1892-1969) [‘Rha-deh-‘ma-kher] Radó, Tibor (1895-1965) [Rha-‘doh]

Ramanujan, Sr īniv āsa (1887-1920) [Rha-‘mah-noo-jahn] Ricci-Curbastro, Gregorio (1853-1925) [‘Rih-chi kuhr-‘bas-troh] Riccati, Jacopo Francesco (1676-1754) [Rhi-‘kah-tih]

Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard (1826-1866) [‘Rhee-mahn]

Riesz, Marcel (1886-1969) [‘Rhis]

Rolle, Michel (1652-1719) [‘Roll]

Rouché, Eugène (1832-1910) [Roo-’sheh]

Runge, Carle David Tolmé (1856-1927) [‘Roon-geh]

Schr?dinger (Schroedinger), Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander [‘Shriyo-din-gher]

(1887–1961) or [‘Shryo-din-g ?r]

Schwarz, Hermann Amandus (1843-1923) [‘Shva:rts]

(Ritter) von Seidel, Philipp Ludwig (1821-1896) [fon-‘Zai-del]

Schl?milch, Oscar (Oskar) Xavier ((1823–1901) [‘Shliyo-milh]

[Sehr]

(1926-

)

Serre,

Jean-Pierre

[’Zee-gehl]

(1896-1981)

Carl

Ludwig

Siegel,

(1882-1969) [Sehr-’pinski] Sierpiński, Wac?aw

Sommerfeld, Arnold Johannes Wilhelm (1868-1951) [’Zomm-ehr-feld] Sperner, Emanuel ( Sperner’s lemma; 1905-1980) [‘Shper-nehr]

von Staudt, Karl Georg Christian (1798-1867) [’fon ’Shtod]

[’Shtay-nehr] (1796-1863)

Steiner,

Jakob

[’Shtay-nits] Steinitz, Ernest (1871-1928)

Stieltjes, Thomas Joannes (1856-1894) [’Steel-tjess]

-1961) [Sto-‘ee-lov]

(1873

Simion

Stoilow,

(1842-1905) [Shtolts] Otto

Stolz,

Steinhaus, Hugo Dyonizy (1887-1972) [’Shtayn-house] Sturm, Jacques-Charles-Fran?ois (1803-1855) [’Shturm]

Sylow, Peter Ludwig Mejdell (1832-1918) [’See-lov]

[’Seggio:h] (1895-1985)

Gabor

Szeg?,

Sz?kefalvi-Nagy, Béla (1913-1998) [’So:keh-falvy-’No:d] Teichmüller, Paul Julius Oswald (1913-1943) [’Taikh-’mju-lehr] Tikhonov (Tichonov) Andrei Nikolaevich (1906-1993) [’Tee-kho-nof]

(1885-1946) [Toh-’neh-li] Leonida

Tonelli,

[Toh-rhi-’cheh-li]

(1608-1647)

Evangelista

Torricelli,

Tricomi, Francesco Giacomo (1897-1978) [’Trih-koh-mih] Tschakaloff (Chakalov), Lyubomir (1886-1963) [Cha-’kah-lof] (von) Tschirnhaus, Ehrenfried Walter (1651-1708) [’Chirn-hause]

(1909-1984) [’Oo-lahm] Ulam, Stanis?aw

Marcin

Vallée Poussin, Charles-Jean étienne Gustave Nicolas [Va-’leh poo-’sehn] (1866-1962)

Vandermonde, Alexandre-Théophile (1735-1796) [Van-der-’mond]

[Ve-rho-’neh-zeh] (1854-1917)

Veronese,

Giuseppe

[Vee-’et]

(1540-1603)

Fran?ois

Viète,

[Vih-’ta-lih]

(1875-1932)

Vitali,

Giuseppe

Viviani, Vincenzo (1622-1703) [Vee-vee-’ah-nih] (1860-1940)

[Vol-’teh-rha] Vito

Volterra,

(1949-

) [Voi-ku-’les-ku] Dan-Virgil

Voiculescu,

,Dutch [De-’Fris]

de Vries, Gustav (1866-1934)

Wantzel,

[Vaan-’zel]

(1814-1848)

Laurent

Pierre

Weierstrass, Karl Theodor Wilhelm (1815-1897) [’Vy-ehr-’shtrass]

or

[Vei]

[Vay] (1906-1998)

Weil,

André

[Vail]

(1885-1955)

Hermann

Weyl,

[’Vee-nehr]

(1894-1964)

Wiener,

Norbert

Wronski, Josef-Maria Ho?né de (1778-1853) [’Vron-ski] Zermelo, Ernst Friedrich Ferdinand (1871-1953) [Tsehr-’meh-loh] Zolotarev, Yegor (Egor) Ivanovich (1847-1878) [Zoh-loh-tah-’ryof] Zorn, Max August (Zorn’s lemma, 1906-1993) [’Tsorn]

Notes

This pronunciation rule mimics the Voice of America rule https://www.wendangku.net/doc/593477791.html,

Many English speaking mathematicians meet foreign colleagues at conferences or when visiting abroad. For better communication it is good to keep in mind some specifics of European name phonetics. Here are some very short and “rough” rules how to read certain European names.

In French, the stress is on the last syllable, while in German it is often on the first.

The German “z” is pronounced mostly as “ts”, like in “pizza”, but harder (example Zorn [‘Tsorn]). The German “s” is pronounced “z” in front of a vowel. Thus Sommerfeld becomes [‘Zomm-ehr-feld]. In front of a consonant, “s” often becomes “sh”, like in Steiner [’Shtay-nehr], Springer [’Shprin-gher].

The letter “w” in German is pronounced “v”, while “v” is mostly pronounced “f”. Example: Wiener [‘Vee-nehr], which means a citizen of Wien (Vienna); also Volkswagen = [‘folks-vaagen].

The Polish “?” (with the slash) is a very soft sound, something like “lw”. The Czech and Polish “cz” is pronounced “ch” like in “chip”, while the Czech, Polish and German “ch” is “kh” like in “hood”. In Italian, “c” is often pronounced “ch” too.

Remember that in Spanish “j” is read as light “h”, Juan is [Hoo-‘ahn].

In several Slavonic languages sounds like “sh”, “ch”, “zh” are presented by single letters with additional features. In Serbo-Croatian, for instance, ? = zh, ? = sh, ? = ch, and ? also sounds very close to “ch” (i.e. Kova? = [‘Koh-vach], Mitrinovi? ~ [Mit-‘rhi-noh-vich], etc). Unfortunately, very often these letters appear in “stripped” form. Thus Mitrinovi?appears in print as Mitrinovic and is pronounced [Mitrinovik], also Tri?kovi? becomes Trickovic, i.e. [Trikovik] (should be [‘Trich-koh-vich]) and the name becomes almost unrecognizable.

Comments and suggestions are very welcome!

k-boyadzhiev@https://www.wendangku.net/doc/593477791.html,

Khristo N. Boyadzhiev

Department of Mathematics

Ohio Northern University

Ada, OH 45810