Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

karynnj

(61,223 posts)

2. I would go by what people with the name say

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Fri Jun 26, 2026, 07:15 PM

10 hrs ago

I know several people who have the family name of Epstein, all Jewish. All of them say Ep steen.

Asking Google how it is pronounced suggested this is the most common pronunciation on North America. They mention this could be rooted in Yiddish.

They mention your pronunciation and say it is closer to the German pronunciation.

I have not heard a single person who knew Epstein pronounce the name as anything other than Ep steen.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

3 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

mwf kcoates Emrys

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Am I the only person who says EP-STINE not EP-STEEN? [View all] FakeNoose 10 hrs ago OP

I'm sure you're right about the correct Germanic pronunciation senseandsensibility 10 hrs ago #1

I would go by what people with the name say karynnj 10 hrs ago #2

OK I'm not arguing with that, but I never knew the man Jeffrey Epstein FakeNoose 9 hrs ago #4

You are not the only one. DavidDvorkin 9 hrs ago #3

I pronounce it -STINE as well Gruenemann 9 hrs ago #5

Good point - Yiddish is a German dialect, not a separate language FakeNoose 9 hrs ago #6

The sculptor Jacob Epstein (born in the USA, spent most of his adult life in the UK) was Ep-stine muriel_volestrangler 52 min ago #7

When names are Americanized, the pronounciation sometimes changes. meadowlander 13 sec ago #8