A guide to pronouncing 2020 candidates' names

As a parade of White House hopefuls enter the 2020 fray, they'll bring with them names that are easily -- and frequently -- flubbed. Here's a helpful pronunciation guide to help you better enunciate the Democratic roster.

Pete Buttigieg

This young mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who launched an exploratory committee Wednesday says he doesn't mind going by "Mayor Pete."

But if you want to know how to pronounce his last name, it's "boot-edge-edge," "boot-tuh-judge" or even "Buddha Judge."

The origin of Buttigieg is Maltese and roughly translates to "lord of the poultry."

Kamala Harris

This California Democratic senator's last name is easy enough, but her first name has been mispronounced many, many times.

Kamala is pronounced like "comma-la."

While on her book tour in early January, Harris, whose mother is an Indian immigrant, told the audience that her first name is a traditional Indian name derived from Sanskrit meaning lotus flower.

Kirsten Gillibrand

When Gillibrand was first appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in New York back in 2009, one of Gillibrand's aides told The New York Times that her name is pronounced "KEER-sten JILL-uh-brand."

Gillibrand is her husband's surname, which traces back to medieval England, the Times noted.

Julián Castro

The former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Castro, of Mexican-American heritage, says his first name with the Spanish "j."

As in, "hoo-lee-AHN," not "JOO-lee-in."

The 2020 candidate wrote in his memoir that growing up he heard the English-sounding "Julian" up until college.

"From then on, I always referred to myself as Julián, never Julian," he wrote.

Amy Klobuchar

The Minnesota Democratic senator hasn't stepped into the 2020 race yet, but since she's eyed as a potential contender, it'd be good to get familiar.

It's "KLOW-buh-shar" -- a Slovenian surname.

Sherrod Brown

The Ohio senator's first name is pronounced like "Sher-uhd."

Brown is "seriously thinking" about a 2020 run and has begun a listening tour of early primary states.

His wife told CNN that they'll know "within the next two months" whether he'll throw his name into the hat.

Eric Garcetti

The mayor of Los Angeles, who's eyeing a 2020 bid, likes to introduce himself as "just your average Mexican-American-Jewish-Italian."

He is the grandson of a Mexican immigrant with an Italian last name that's pronounced "Gar-set-ee."

Richard Ojeda

West Virginia Democrat Ojeda lost his 2018 bid for a House seat, but moved on to being a 2020 candidate.

Ojeda says his last name with a hard 'j" -- "oh-JED-ah" -- not to be confused with the "oh-HEED-ah" of New York Mets fame.

In his concession speech, he took aim at President Donald Trump for mispronouncing his name and calling him "stone-cold crazy."

"But make no mistake about it, you're going to know my name." he vowed. "I'm Richard Ojeda! I am Richard Ojeda! I am Richard Ojeda and I'm not done fighting!"

Beto O'Rourke

The former Texas congressman who lost his Senate race to Ted Cruz may have 2020 aspirations, but for now he's traveling the country trying to find himself, Jack Kerouac (Care-ooo-ack) style.

Born Robert Francis O'Rourke in El Paso, he explained that Beto -- "BEH-toe" -- is a nickname that's he's gone by his entire life.

"From day one, in El Paso ... If you are born Robert ... your community calls you 'Beto,'" he said during a CNN town hall last year.

And if you're tripped up over his Irish name, it's "oh-RORK."

Mitch Landrieu

The Democratic former New Orleans mayor, who was in the national spotlight as his city removed the last of its Confederate monuments in 2017, has been raised as a 2020 prospect.

Landrieu is pronounced like "lan-droo."

"When I decide to, I'll let you know. But right now, I'm not planning to do that," he told CNN's Jake Tapper last July.

CNN's Katie Bernard contributed to this report.

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