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title: Have We Been Pronouncing Rihanna&#x27;s Name Wrong All Along?
description: Fans may have been mis-pronouncing Rihanna&#x27;s name for years. Here&#x27;s how she says it.
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author: Melissa Locker
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article:published_time: 2019-05-31T14:42:36.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:59:03.635Z
og:title: Have We Been Mispronouncing Rihanna&#x27;s Name This Whole Time?
og:description: &#x27;Ooh na na, What&#x27;s Her Name?&#x27;
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twitter:title: Have We Been Mispronouncing Rihanna&#x27;s Name This Whole Time?
twitter:description: &#x27;Ooh na na, What&#x27;s Her Name?&#x27;
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# 'Ooh na na, What's Her Name?' Has the Public Been Mispronouncing Rihanna's Name This Whole Time?

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by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


May 31, 2019 2:42 PM UTC

by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


May 31, 2019 2:42 PM UTC

If you were stunned to learned that [Rihanna](http://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217602/rihanna/) managed to [low-key move to London](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiCprqh%5FcXiAhXLJt8KHWonDVEQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F5593516%2Frihanna-london-reactions%2F&usg=AOvVaw2DcQrg%5Fx3CUbFo-JbYt945) without tipping off any fans to the transatlantic move, brace yourself for this next shock. It turns out that after all these years, people may have been mispronouncing the singer-turned-Fenty entrepreneur’s name.

Rihanna appeared in a video for British _Vogue_ and introduced herself not as “Ree-ah-na”, which is how most people pronounce the “Umbrella” singer’s name, and instead pronounced it as “Ree-anna.”

> [](https://twitter.com/BritishVogue/status/1131449577498923008)

For fans who have been following [RiRi](http://time.com/5403636/rihanna-barbados-ambassador/) since “Pon de Replay” hit the Billboard charts back in 2005, learning they have been mispronouncing her name for over a decade has come as a bit of a shock. Perhaps that is why she chose the track, “What’s My Name”

> [](https://twitter.com/boopyape/status/1133869448761417729)

> [](https://twitter.com/hollyarchibald/status/1134400089861054470)


> [](https://twitter.com/Rxpectations/status/1134097538062213120)

> [](https://twitter.com/%5F%5Fchaela%5F%5F/status/1134216049883340802)

> [](https://twitter.com/got%5Fandy/status/1134180511306457091)


> [](https://twitter.com/risha%5F0917/status/1134182232963330048)

> [](https://twitter.com/beyonceminaj2/status/1134063508537118720)

It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise, though. Back in 2012, Rihanna tried to set the record straight about the correct pronunciation of her name in [a red carpet interview](https://youtu.be/hJP6q7XzLrQ) and she tried to teach the world again in 2015 in a video that has re-[surfaced on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/1FE5MUhM2F/).

Maybe her song “[What’s My Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CGsw6h60k)” was not just a jam, but also a plea for fans to learn how to say her name correctly.

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