How do you guys pronounce “Thoreau”?

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agate_@reddit

There was a New York Times article about this recently! Apparently everyone today gets it wrong, and he pronounced it "THO-row."

(Gifted article link below.) https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/books/review/thoreau-pronunciation-documentary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z1A.AUJL.TJDooHCw2-2M&smid=url-share

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spintool1995@reddit

Yeah, he pronounced his own name wrong. It's a French name and it's Thuh-ROW.

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kingkingla@reddit

Also says in the article the true french pronunciation is more like two-row

emphasis on the two

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splorng@reddit

That’s not the “true” pronunciation of Thoreau’s name, because Thoreau wasn’t a Frenchman.

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aflyingsquanch@reddit

That is correct and that's how we pronounced living in Concord, MA because that was a well known anecdote for locals there.

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The funny thing is that according to the article the "real" pronunciation, used by Thoreau and his contemporaries, was an Anglicized version of the French pronunciation (since he was descended from French people who moved to the US). That's why it's confusing. People unfamiliar with this history will read it as a French name and pronounce it the French way (or at least something closer to the French way). Whereas people "in the know" will pronounce it the "real" (incorrect from a French point of view) way.

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kierabs@reddit

Yep, this is what I was taught in graduate school, too.

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gibdimkoofchji@reddit

Yeah but that sounds stupid

It was either change the pronunciation or forget about his writings because no way were we going to say that stupid sounding shit

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SnooChipmunks2079@reddit

Apparently my high school literature teacher was brilliant because that’s how I say it and I assume she’s to blame.

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ubiquitous-joe@reddit

We put the emphasis on the last syllable: thuhROE. Because this is how the French do it. We do the same with “garage.” Saying GAREage or THUroe feels very British.

What’s confusing about British vs American is English is that they both keep or discard different things from French. The UK pronunciations of schedule and glacier are more French than the American ones, for instance.

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LecteurProfessionel@reddit

Well that’s not true. French has no syllabic stress, so all syllables are pronounced the same length.

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OsikFTW@reddit

Thor-oh

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DarrenEdwardsVR@reddit

My wife's high school teacher would refer to him as Henry David Catch.

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GrimSpirit42@reddit

Thur-row

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RedLegGI@reddit

The-row

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Acrock7@reddit

Town in New Mexico with a bunch of Navajos- they say "Thuh-roo."

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egnowit@reddit

Was going to post this.

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Engelgrafik@reddit

It is pronounced like you say "thorough". ie. THUR-oh.

Yes, this is fact. Pronouncing it "thu-ROH" is actually incorrect.

I live in the greater Boston area where they do stories on Thoreau at least once a year. Recently one of the park guides who has been portraying Thoreau's life for 27 years retired and a new park guide is taking over. They both were on the radio and explained one of the biggest misunderstandings is how to pronounce his name. Again, it is "THUR-oh", like you're saying "thorough". Not "thu-ROH'.

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Per_sephone_@reddit

thuh-ROE

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Engelgrafik@reddit

This is actually incorrect. I live near Walden Pond and the park guides who are experts in Thoreau's history will clearly explain that this is incorrect. It is "THUR-oh".

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Oenonaut@reddit

This is how I’ve always heard it said in the US. When discussing quickly it might get elided to “throw.”

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fortnacius@reddit

like “thorough?” 🤷‍♂️

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pmonichols@reddit

That's Thuh-roo. The name is Thuh-row (or ROE)

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

ThurrOHH

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tlamy@reddit

No, that's THUR-oh

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hugothebear@reddit

Wait. His name is Henry David thuh-ROE? I’ve been calling him Crandall. Why didn't someone tell me? Oh, I've been making an idiot out of myself!

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PepinoPicante@reddit

This is the answer

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Prestigious_Pack4680@reddit

Thor-O

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Lower_Neck_1432@reddit

Accent on the second sylLAble.

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FlyingCupcake68@reddit

My understanding is that contrary to popular practice, the stress goes on the FIRST syllable

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Impossible_Jury5483@reddit

Thew- row

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ShowdownValue@reddit

Though-ree-oh

Like Oreo

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Atlas7993@reddit

Thor-ee-oh. Like "Oreo," but with chest hair.

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yellowdogs-2@reddit

Having grown up in Concord, Massachusetts, and required to take a class called Concord authors in which we read Henry David Thoreau at his cabin ruins at Walden Pond, I can say with authority his name is pronounced thorough. The emphasis is never on the end of his name.

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gtjacket09@reddit

I grew up next door in Acton. Can confirm.

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aflyingsquanch@reddit

Hello, fellow Concordian.

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yellowdogs-2@reddit

Hello!!

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Radar1980@reddit

This.

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poopiebutt505@reddit

Generations away.

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DSudz@reddit

I believe according to letters his father started pronouncing it that way to sound more French.

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DharmaCub@reddit

Holy shit you're right. I've never heard it pronounced that way, but I googled it and you're absolutely right.

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Phoenix_Court@reddit

Thor-owe

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Library_IT_guy@reddit

"...and that's why they call it 'bein' thur-ROH."

Also,

"TRAINS-DENTALISM, you fuckin moron"

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Several_Celebration@reddit

The-Row

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MardawgNC@reddit

Thuh-Row

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Angsty_Potatos@reddit

Thur- OH

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StallOneHammer@reddit

Throw

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getElephantById@reddit

thir-OE

thir rhymes with stir, oe rhymes with no.

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GSilky@reddit

2nd.

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capsrock02@reddit

We don’t.

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silentknight111@reddit

Thor-oe

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Traditional_Entry183@reddit

Thoo- roh

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Remarkable_Toe_164@reddit

Ah, yes. The writer who went on and on about self-determinism and living off the grid.....

....on ralph waldo emerson's property, where his mom would bring him snacks and do his laundry, and was a 30 minute stroll from concord

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sleepygreendoor@reddit

Thor-ROE

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leoperidot16@reddit

The man himself reportedly pronounced it like the word “thorough”, but the consensus pronunciation today has the emphasis on the second syllable.

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Ok_Aardvark2195@reddit

We called him Hanky Panky Thoreau (rhymes with bureau)

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Weary_Capital_1379@reddit

Thor-O

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Horizontal_Bob@reddit

ThurROW

Or

ThuhROW

Depends on your regional accent honestly

People in Boston probably say it way differently than someone in Minneapolis

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RodeoBoss66@reddit

Thoreau is like Ralph Emerson, Ralph Emerson is what I read, whoa-oh-oh, check him out, he's like Ralph Emerson, there ain't a book that I can put down with ease.

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RogueMoonbow@reddit

It's like thrurough but the stress is on the second syllable

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TheOwlMarble@reddit

Thuh-ROW, but in American English, r is almost a vowel, so it's smoother than you might think.

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the-quibbler@reddit

Practically "th'row".

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worrymon@reddit

I tend to dismiss his works just so I don't have to pronounce his name.

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devilscabinet@reddit

Thor-row.

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Maronita2025@reddit

Thor Row

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dfelton912@reddit

The row

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YOLTLO@reddit

Soft th though

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14Rage@reddit

Iirc its unvoiced (voiceless?) vs voiced. When you vibrate your throat its called voiced I think. Like g and k are the same sound, the difference is vibrating your throat. V/f, th/th, s/z.

I could google it, but whatever. Enjoy half remembered school classes from 20 years ago.

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14Rage@reddit

Thuh ROW

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OhLookAnotherTankie@reddit

I say thur row

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14Rage@reddit

I think americans generally struggle with sylabic(?) Emphasis cause we dont wrítè with áccènts.

Im pretty confident the emphasis is on the end. But im also an idiot so who knows.

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Minute-Frame-8060@reddit

Like with bateau, gâteau, chapeau, chateau, emphasis is on the second syllable for me. Thor-EAU.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit

Depends on whether you mean the town in New Mexico or the author.

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paka96819@reddit

That guy

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YOLTLO@reddit

This reminds me of Dr. Seuss and his friend Alexander Laing’s poem:

You're wrong as the deuce

And you shouldn't rejoice

If you're calling him Seuss.

He pronounces it Soice.

In both Thoreau or Seuss’s cases, I would argue that the answer to what Americans call them is how most people say it, not the more technically correct version from the family’s perspective.

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DeathByPianos@reddit

Pronounce it like 'thorough"

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Current_Poster@reddit

Thor-oh.

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clairejv@reddit

I say "thuh-ROH," but my understanding is that the famous Thoreau pronounced it "THUH-roh."

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Silkies4life@reddit

Thuh-ROW

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Otherwise-OhWell@reddit

thooooRow.

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juan_humano@reddit

Please see him Jeffrey. He's a good man. And thu-RAH.

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Different_Cherry8326@reddit

I don’t.

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Jsmith2127@reddit

Thurrow

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EaglesFanGirl@reddit

Thuh-Roe is correct. it an Americanized French name.

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grrgrrtigergrr@reddit

Tha-row

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IconoclastExplosive@reddit

Thur-OWE

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PaulaNancyMillstoneJ@reddit

Mine kinda doubles the R to Thur-ROWE

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Laylasita@reddit

This is how i say it. Subtle difference but thank you for figuring it out.

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SideEmbarrassed1611@reddit

Thur-row.

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HotSteak@reddit

Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngAeVvBmL_c

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theegodmother1999@reddit

thuh-row (like row your boat)

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UmptyscopeInVegas@reddit

Thor-Oh.

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last-of-the-mohicans@reddit

Yes, this one

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AlmightySpoonman@reddit

Henry David Throw

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LastCookie3448@reddit

Tho-roh

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11B_35P_35F@reddit

Zorro but with a lisp

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BoxedWineBonnie@reddit

The New York Times recently ran an article on this topic! TL;DR: Thoreau himself pronounced it closer to "THUR-ow" but that so many Americans have put the accent on the second syllable over the years that it's become a perfectly cromulent pronunciation through use.

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