How to Pronounce "Kamala Harris," Once and for All
Her critics consistently—and often deliberately—mispronounce it.
From the moment Kamala Harris entered the U.S. Senate in 2017, she's been making headlines. Whether it was the former California prosecutor's 2020 presidential campaign, or her history-making rise to the White House as the first woman, Black person, and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, the 59-year-old has become a political powerhouse and a household name.
Unfortunately and as a result, Harris has also been the target of misogynistic and racist attacks, meant to demean her as a person, partner, step-mother, and politician. Now, after President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, leaving Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee, political rivals are talking about her more than ever—and some of them are either purposefully or accidentally mispronouncing her name. Again.
The former president and now-Republican nominee for president of the United States Donald Trump is a prime example of someone who has consistently mispronounced Harris' name on purpose. Back in 2019, Trump reportedly pronounced it as "Kameela" in a New York Times interview. And just days ago, at this year's Republican National Convention, several conservative speakers once again failed to say the vice president's name properly.
Harris—who in the wake of Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 election has vowed to "earn and win" the Democratic party's nomination for president—has gone out of her way to help the public, her political opponents, and the media pronounce her name correctly.
In 2016, when she was campaigning against Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) and other Senate candidates on the general election ballot in California, she created a video featuring children saying her name both incorrectly and correctly—a PSA of sorts.
The video featured children saying phrases like: "It's not 'CAM-EL-UH.'" "It's not 'KUH-MAL-UH.'" "It's not 'KARMEL-UH.'"
It's pronounced, "COMMA-LAH."
People pronounce my name many different ways. Let #KidsForKamala show you how it’s done. pic.twitter.com/7QoQGN0B4kMay 24, 2016
If you're still struggling, here's another video that explains where Harris' name is derived from and how not to pronounce it:
Harris' name is actually derived from the Sanskrit word for "lotus," and the explanation is both gorgeous and meaningful.
"The symbolism is that the lotus flower sits on water, but never really gets wet," she explained at a 2019 book event at George Washington University. "Its roots are in the mud, meaning it is grounded. One must always know where they come from."
The View host Whoopi Goldberg actually asks Harris how to pronounce her name at the beginning of this video, after initially mispronouncing it in her introduction. While Goldberg obviously misspoke, her effort to get the now-vice president of the United States' name right gave Harris another opportunity to discuss how to say her name correctly: Harris also used the handy "comma" plus "la" mnemonic to help people remember.
Mispronunciation and questions about Harris' first name are so common and consistent that she wrote an entire paragraph about it her 2019 memoir, The Truths We Hold.
"First, my name is pronounced 'comma-la,' like the punctuation mark," Harris wrote at the time. "It means 'lotus flower,' which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture. A lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom."
Harris went on to write that the book, which included a pronunciation and definition of her name, was "personal."
"This is the story of my family. It is the story of my childhood. It is the story of the life I have built since then. You’ll meet my family and my friends, my colleagues and my team," she continued. "I hope you will cherish them as I do and, through my telling, see that nothing I have ever accomplished could have been done on my own."
Going forward, prepare to see Harris a lot more in the lead-up to the November election. The vice president will certainly be speaking at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. She'll also soon announce her 2024 running mate, and, if elected, and stands to become the first woman, Black person, and person of Asian descent to become president of the United States.
