Not Sure How to Pronounce Sen. Kamala Harris's Name? Here's a Helpful Hint

From Oprah Magazine

• On Tuesday, Sen. Kamala Harris became the first Black woman and Indian-American vice presidential candidate of any major party.

• Now that she's officially on the 2020 Biden-Harris ticket, here's how to correctly pronounce her name.

Ever since Sen. Kamala Harris was publicly announced as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate on August 11, the world has been dying to learn everything there is to know about the prospective vice president. Now that you've read up on her supportive husband Douglas Emhoff, her successful younger sister Maya Harris, her step-children Cole and Ella, her parents Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris, her all-time favorite books, and her touching friendship with Biden's late son Beau—you may be wondering, how exactly do I pronounce Harris's first name?

Not to worry. For those unsure of where to put the emphasis in "Kamala," Harris made a whole video back in 2016 when she was running for US Senate—complete with cute kids—to help you out. "People pronounce my name many different ways. Let #KidsForKamala show you how it’s done," Harris tweeted.

"It's not CAM-EL-UH. It's not KUH-MAHL-UH. It's not KARMEL-UH," the kids explained in the video below. It's comma-la, for the record.

In her 2018 autobiography, The Truths We Hold, Harris provided a helpful spelling of how to pronounce her name. In the preface she wrote: "my name is pronounced 'comma-la,' like the punctuation mark. 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."

Her advisors and supporters have also taken to social media to make sure everyone knows how to say her name right. Lily Adams, Harris's former communications director, tweeted: "It’s pronounced COMMA-LA. It ain’t that hard & she deserves to have it said correctly."

For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter.

You Might Also Like

• A Cleaning Expert Explains the Best Way to Clean Cloth Face Masks After You Wear Them — Good Housekeeping

• 35 Delicious Pantry Recipes That Use What's Already in Your Cabinets and Freezer — Good Housekeeping

• The Amish keep to themselves. And they’re hiding a horrifying secret. — Cosmopolitan