Denzel Washington Reveals We’ve All Been Saying His Name Wrong

Denzel Washington is setting the record straight on the real pronunciation of his name and fans have been getting it wrong for decades.

During Tuesday’s (September 2) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Washington, 70, revealed that his name is actually pronounced Den-zil, not Den-zelle, shocking fans.

“My name is not pronounced Denzel. My name is pronounced Denzil,” Washington explained, emphasizing the shorter “i” sound.

Washington shared that the pronunciation shift came from his mom, Lennis, to avoid confusion at home. The actor, whose full name is Denzel Hayes Washington Jr., shares his name with his father. When Washington’s mom would call for “Denzel,” both the father and son would respond.

“So she said, ‘From now on, you’re Denzel (den-zelle),’” he recalled on the late-night show. “That’s how it got pronounced ‘Denzel.’”

Host Jimmy Kimmel noted how rare the name “Denzel” was before Washington rose to fame, especially among NFL players.

“There weren’t that many before your first Oscar,” the host said. “There was zero in 1987.”

“There’s a lot of Denzels now,” Washington replied with a smile. “There ought to be some kind of compensation for this, shouldn’t I?”

“You should get a small percentage of each jersey sale,” Kimmel joked.