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SO HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE COVINGTON?

Since starting the project I have come across a few different variations of pronouncing our name. So, starting with my own way, I call myself Cov-ing-ton with the "Cov" pronounced as in "cough" or “coffin” and the "ton" as in "tunnel".

Another style is "Cov" as in "cover" or “cuv” and "ton" as in "tonto". A third variant is to change the 3 syllables to Co-ving-ton, so that the "Co-ving" is pronounced like "cove". Obviously, a mixture of the above variations are also possible. I haven't actually studied which is the most popular pronunciation, but most of the Covingtons that I have met, do seem to say it my way.

I did, however, receive the following e-mail from Michael Aaron Covington (ref 5558): "Greetings! I was delighted to discover your web site just now. As an academic and writer, I'm one of the better-known Covingtons in the United States, though not *the* best known. (The law firm of Covington & Burling, in Washington, is the most prominent entity named Covington that I know of.) Your notes on pronunciation interested me. The United States seems to be unanimous in pronouncing the first syllable as in "cover," which is almost the only pronunciation I had ever heard, although when I was at Cambridge, a few British friends wanted to call me "Co-vington." I had never heard "Cough-ington" at all."

So, if you are a Covington, please let me know how you pronounce your name.

Please send e-mails to: covingtonhistory@mhcovington.plus.com

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