2020 elections

Wait, Sorry, How Do You Pronounce Buttigieg?

Peter Boot-a-judge. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The 2020 election is still over 19 months away, and already, roughly 700 Democrats have announced their presidential campaigns. Among them, Peter “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Though there are still some significant holes in his platform, Buttigieg is becoming increasingly popular, and has already received the necessary number of donations to be able to participate in the June Democratic Committee debate. In other words, we will be talking about him for a while, so we should know how to pronounce his name.

Let’s start at the top. His first name IS PRONOUNCED:

• Pee-ter

Or, if you are using his nickname, Pete, it IS PRONOUNCED:

• Peet

As for his last name, Buttigieg, it IS NOT PRONOUNCED:

• Butt-ee-geeg

• Butt-i-geg

• Smith

• Butt-i-jeeg

It IS PRONOUNCED:

• Boot-a-judge

• Buddha-judge

It COULD BE PRONOUNCED:

• Boot-edge-edge. This is the pronunciation suggested by the candidate’s own Twitter bio, and the campaign is already selling shirts that say “Boot Edge Edge.” Personally, when I think of this pronunciation, I end up saying Buttigieg’s name as three separate words — “Boot. Edge. Edge.” — which is incorrect, but whatever works for you, I guess.

If you are still skeptical, here is Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg, confirming the pronunciation on Twitter:

If you would like to hear it said out loud, here is a video of some news anchors mispronouncing it, and some of them saying it correctly:

You can also watch the first ten seconds of his appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where Colbert says his name correctly (you can also watch the rest of the interview, if you’d like).

Or, you can watch this helpful video Late Show With Stephen Colbert writer Aaron Nemo made:

I hope this was helpful.

Wait, Sorry, How Do You Pronounce Buttigieg?