Denzel Washington says his name has been mispronounced for decades
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actor clarified the pronunciation and credited his mother for the confusion
Denzel Washington told viewers on Jimmy Kimmel Live that his first name has been mispronounced for decades and offered what he said is the correct pronunciation: "DEN-zel." The actor made the remark while discussing how many professional athletes now share his name.
Washington, 70, who was born Denzel Hayes Washington Jr., said people have mispronounced his name throughout his life and blamed the confusion on his mother, Lennis Washington. The exchange began after host Jimmy Kimmel noted that there were several current NFL players named Denzel.
"Did you know that there are currently four players named Denzel in the NFL?" Kimmel asked. He added, "There weren’t that many before your first Oscar. There were zero in 1987." Washington responded by saying the proliferation of the name is evidence that people named themselves after him, then corrected the common pronunciation. "My name is pronounced DEN-zel," he said, using a clipped vowel in the second syllable and distinguishing it from the variant pronounced "Den-ZELL."
The clarification came during a broader conversation on the late-night program about names and cultural influence. Washington, a two-time Academy Award winner and longtime figure in American film and theater, has been a frequent subject of public attention and media coverage since the 1980s.
Fans and commentators have long varied in how they say his name, and Washington attributed some of the longstanding inconsistency to family practice. He pointed to his mother as the source of the habit that led others to adopt an alternate pronunciation.
Washington's remarks were part of a lighthearted segment rather than a formal statement. The exchange drew attention on social media and in subsequent news coverage as viewers repeated his preferred pronunciation.
Washington did not link his clarification to any new projects during the segment. The conversation centered on names and identity, and the actor used the opportunity to offer a simple correction about how he said he prefers to be called.