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How To vs. Pronounce Cormac?

My husband recently suggested Cormac for our little boy.. I’ve found differing opinions about how it is pronounced, though. Some say cor-MACK, and some say COR-mick (where mick is similar to the sound at the beginning of McAdams). I’m a bit of a pronunciation snob and would want to use the "correct" pronunciation if we use this name. Is this a case of having two true alternate pronunciations? Or is one incorrect?

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How To

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Pronounce Cormac?

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Poll created: Jan 19, 2012
Total Votes: 0
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Comments

I’ve always said/heard Cor-mick and I would think that most people would agree, but I don’t know. I like Cor-mick better for pronunciation but with the spelling you have for Cormac it may work better as Cor-mack.

(please comment on my poll about middle names for Gwen?)
posted by :D :: 13 years ago | report
I really don’t know how it’s MEANT to be said, but I say Cor-mack.

Think about the word tarmacadam. It’s pronounced Tar-mc-adam, but the short version is Tarmac - always pronounced tar-mack.
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
I would think Cor-mick.
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
I think it partly depends on accents. For instance, I pronounce Mackenzie and Mackynzie the same, while someone from farther north might emphasize the ’eh’ sound in Mackenzie from the ’ih’ sound in Mackynzie (mah-KEHN-zee versus mah-KIN-zee; I pronounce them both the latter way).

I personally pronounce Cormac as COR-mick, but I do hear a bit of a ’a’ sound in there when I say it.
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
Yeah.. It’s a little bit of an "a" sound, but it’s just a bit slurred and a bit soft. Most people I’ve asked who know someone with the name say more like COR-mick, it seems. I don’t care for the abrasive emphasis on MACK in the other pronunciation, either.
posted by poll poster :: 13 years ago | report
Evidently, COR-mac is the correct pronunciation ...

http://wiki.name.com/en/Cormac
posted by Lori Johnson :: 13 years ago | report
[as in COR-mack]
posted by Lori Johnson :: 13 years ago | report
COR-mick is how I would pronounce it, but I think it could go either way. CORmick is much nicer than corMACK in my opinion, but I do love the name
posted by Mrs.Phillips :: 13 years ago | report
I don’t know which pronounciation is correct, but I always said Cor mack and I prefer that to Cor mick. GL figuring it out!
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
i would pronounce it Cor-MACK, Cormac and Cormick are different names
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
I live in Ireland (name is very popular here) and have a friend called Cormac. His name is pronounced cor-mack. Never heard it pronounced otherwise
posted by guest :: 13 years ago | report
We have a son named Cormac and we pronounce it Cor-MACK. It’s a name I heard first in Galway and the guy I met introduced himself as Cor-MACK. Seems a bit more masculine in my opinion. I have a friend with the last name MacCormack and it’s pronounced Mick Cor Mick.
posted by guest :: 10 years ago | report
I have friends from Northern Ireland, one of whom is named Cormac. He pronounces it "Cormick" but without too much emphasis on the "ick" ..... that part is more like you pronounce "Mc" in "McDonald" eg MicDonald. Fortunately everyone who knows him calls him "Cormo" which makes it easier for all of us ;-)
posted by Jethro :: 9 years ago | report
When I went to Ireland, it was pronounced with a "mick" sound, so that is how we pronounce it with our son.
posted by JB :: 8 years ago | report
I'm a Cormac in America. I shudder when people ack my name. It's closer to ick or even eck and that's how my 100% Irish family raised me. I can forgive those who use a soft a so long as the emphasis is squarely on cor. Times I've spent in Ireland they tended to go with a soft a but it was always COR-mac and not cor-MACK. The mac was so soft it was practically an afterthought. Think Rachel or Patrick - the second syllable falls right off.
posted by Cormac in America :: 5 years ago | report
My name is Cormac and I live in Southern Ireland - its pronounced Cormoc....and its softly pronounced. In northern ireland - in Donegal Irish its pronounced Cor-mack, it is much more pronounced there. It's a bit like Grainne or Roisin - they prounced in a very different way in Northen and Southern ireland, it's all to do with the Gailic dialect.
posted by Cormac :: 4 years ago | report
Gaelic
posted by Cormac :: 4 years ago | report
My name is Cormac. People in America pronounce it cor- MACK or Cor-MICK. In Ireland it is correctly pronounced cor-Muck.
posted by Fellow cormac :: 2 years ago | report

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