Can You Correctly Spell These Tricky Celeb Names?

Matthew McConaughey has been around Hollywood for a minute, appearing in movies like "Dazed and Confused" and "A Time to Kill." You've probably also seen him in some TV commercials that will have you questioning all of your life choices.

Zooey Deschanel earned her name from a favorite book of her parents, titled "Franny and Zooey," written by J.D. Salinger. Deschanel played Jess on "New Girl" from 2011 to 2018, earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

Scarlett Johansson was born in the United States, but her family name has Nordic roots. Her father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, hails from Denmark, and the Johansson name is popular throughout the region.

Hollywood has a number of "Ferrells," but they don't all spell — or pronounce — their names in the same way. This guy, Will Ferrell, uses the more traditional pronunciation of "FARE-uhl."

Barbra, not Barbara, Streisand has had a career spanning multiple decades, working in film and music. Some call her by her nickname, "Babs," but she's another who changed her name — by removing an "a" — when she was younger.

Not only is Saoirse Ronan's name hard to spell, but it's also hard to pronounce! For the record, her first name follows a "SIR-sha" pronunciation, which rhymes with the word "inertia."

Ellen DeGeneres has been dancing her way into our hearts on her syndicated talk show since 2003 and, before that, on a show that shared her name. Ellen has won nearly three dozen Emmy Awards and is known worldwide for her contributions to charitable causes.

Milo Ventimiglia's challenging name derives from his Italian-Sicilian heritage. (See all of those vowels?) Before earning the role on NBC's "This Is Us," Ventimiglia was known for his role on "Gilmore Girls."

With a non-traditional spelling of Nicolas, we're not surprised Cage dropped the "Coppola" last name in favor of something — shall we say — easier to spell? Cage has been around the Hollywood block, starring in various films, including the "National Treasure" series.

Don't forget the "e"! Courteney Cox has an extra one in there that you don't typically see with most Courtneys. Of course, there's also a Kourtney out there, but she's a Kardashian.

Charlize Theron won an Academy Award for her role as Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" in 2003. The actress is of South African and American heritage; her last name comes from Occitan, a language spoken in parts of France and Italy.

Kaley Cuoco played Penny on "The Big Bang Theory" from 2007 to 2019, earning various awards for her portrayal of the waitress and aspiring actress. Cuoco herself has been an actress since a TV movie appearance in 1992.

Once upon a time, this actress was born Jennifer Goodwin. However, the actress took it upon herself to change her name's spelling to "Ginnifer," in part to differentiate herself from all those other Jennifers out there.

Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan is better known by the abbreviated version of his name than his given name, Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan. He changed it — officially — when he was in college.

Cara Delevingne is another one of those names that seems to have more letters than it should. The model/actress pronounces her last name "Day-la-VEEN." She has appeared in campaigns for Burberry, in addition to her acting roles.

Charlie Hunnam, who was born in the United Kingdom, is a hit with the ladies — and the TV shows. He was nominated for several awards for his role on "Sons of Anarchy," which ran for seven seasons.

You may know funny lady Kristen Wiig from her work on "Saturday Night Live," but Wiig has also had a successful film career, including in the movie "Bridesmaids," which she co-wrote and starred in.

Will Ferrell, meet Pharrell (pronounced fuh-REL). Pharrell Williams, a singer, songwriter and producer, has created numerous hits, including "Happy" from the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack.

Ralph Fiennes (pronounced "rafe fines") earned multiple award nominations for his role in "Schindler's List." He has a storied acting career outside of that, appearing in the "Harry Potter" and "James Bond" film series.

Joaquin Phoenix's parents did, in fact, name him Joaquin, but he was originally born a "Bottom." It wasn't until his parents fled from a cult that they changed the family's last name to Phoenix.

Quvenzhané Wallis has all of the letters of the alphabet that are used infrequently in names — "Q," "V," "Z" — all in her first name! Her Academy Award nomination came for her role in "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

Alexander Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden, which is where his interesting surname originates. He comes from a famous family, the son of another actor, Stellan Skarsgård.

Quentin Tarantino has developed quite a reputation as a filmmaker and director for his unconventional style of storytelling. Other films to his credit include "The Hateful Eight" and "Inglourious Basterds."

So many vowels! Gabourey Sidibe has at least one of each in her interesting name, which originates from the Senegalese language. Her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is from Senegal, while her mother is American.

We get it — you probably don't know who Jayne Mansfield was. Other than being Mariska Hargitay's mother, she was a celebrity in her own right as one of the first Playboy Playmates, a singer and an actress.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has one of the more challenging spellings and pronunciations in all of Hollywood, but that doesn't appear to have impacted his career. He has been a successful film star and even governor of his adopted state of California.

He's been People's "Sexiest Man Alive," but we might have to vote him one of the hardest names to spell. We can never get it right! Which vowel does his first name start with? Which one begins his last name? So confusing!

Taraji P. (the "P." is for Penda) Henson first starred as Cookie on the TV series "Empire" in 2015. We love her sassy personality on the hit show, but truth be told, Taraji carries that personality with her everywhere she goes!

Martin Scorsese is, simply put, Hollywood royalty. He's the director of many successful films, including the ones mentioned in the question, as well as "Raging Bull," "Casino" and "The Irishman."

Julianne Hough and her brother, Derek Hough, have both appeared on the televised dancing competition "Dancing With the Stars." Both have also pursued careers in singing and acting, in addition to dance.

Even though she had early acting jobs on daytime soap operas, Amanda Seyfried didn't make her official film debut until 2004's "Mean Girls." Checked your meme collection yet? You'll find her there in spades.

Dan Aykroyd got his start in acting, but that wasn't enough for him. He created the Blues Brothers as part of a skit on "Saturday Night Live," turning it into an actual band, a movie and then a business, cofounding House of Blues.

As a tyke, Zach Galifianakis probably took a while to learn how to spell his name. To help the rest of us learn, Stephen Colbert and Z. G. created a song on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Coming to fame in the reality show "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," Kristin Cavallari has continued with her reality roots. These days, she stars alongside her former NFL player husband Jay Cutler in "Very Cavallari."

British-Nigerian actor Chiwetel Ejiofor was a part of the 2019 blockbuster remake of "The Lion King," alongside Beyoncé and Donald Glover. Ejiofor was award-nominated for his role in "12 Years a Slave."