Mercedes fans are only just realising they've been pronouncing brand wrong all their lives

Mercedes, a name synonymous with prestige and innovation in the automotive industry, is one of the world's most legendary brands – yet, it turns out a significant number of people are mispronouncing its name.

The luxury car company, which dates back to its founding in 1926 by an illustrious quartet - Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach and Emil Jellinek - launched a product named after Jellinek’s daughter, Mercedes.

Boasting a rich history, the brand has grown to become a leading figure in premium automobiles internationally. Despite this acclaim, a recent Saga car insurance survey revealed many Britons struggle to pronounce the brand’s name correctly.

Participants were tasked with pronouncing the names of 30 top-selling automakers accurately, as well as trying to spell them correctly, and even sketch their logos from memory. As it transpired, merely 20% of Brits managed to hit the mark with Mercedes' authentic pronunciation.

The predominant error was articulating it as "Mer-say-deez". Nevertheless, the study acknowledged two pronunciations: the Spanish "Mer-th-eh-des Benz" and the more routine German enunciation, "Mer-say-dez Benz", as correct.

The question of how to correctly pronounce the iconic automobile brand has sparked a lively debate online, with one individual seeking advice on Reddit's Ireland forum. They posted: "Help me out here. I say Merseedays. I don't know where I picked it up. The F1 commentators say mersaydees on TV but they're not Irish. Has anyone any recordings of the former pronunciation? I found a post on boards.ie from 2010 saying that radio ads use this pronunciation but I can't find one anywhere!"

Responses varied widely, with one reply stating: "Mair-they-dayth", another advising: "Mur - Say - Deez" and a third offering: "The correct German way to pronounce it is Mertz-saydez". Yet another added: "Mer say dez. It could even be Mehr say dayth. It's Spanish. It means 'Mary of the Graces.' Now onto more important things: How do you say Peugeot?"

Another participant in the discussion said: "I've alway said Mercaydees. Though I generally just say 'Merc' (as in merk)."

Over on X, once known as Twitter, opinions about how to say Mercedes were no less divided. One user humorously recalled: "Snoop Dogg once said Mercedes has 3 E's and they're all pronounced differently. I think about this a lot".

Another user implored: "Stop saying Mercedes Benzzzzz [sobbing face emoji]. You may not know how to speak German, but you can learn to pronounce some German words correctly".

The widely-followed social media page Historic Vids shared a video unravelling the origins of the iconic Mercedes name and captioned it: "Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius shares how the name 'Mercedes' came about."

The video confirms that it was Jellinek's wish to immortalise his daughter's name by attaching it to an innovative car model. The logo of Mercedes has solidified its status, as evidenced by any confusions surrounding its pronunciation, because the brand still retains formidable recognition power.

The study by Saga pinpointed the Mercedes insignia as the second most identifiable among British people, with over half accurately recalling the three-pointed star from memory when prompted to sketch it. The emblem's straightforward design allowed 88% of those who endeavoured to draw it to produce faithful renderings.

Despite the occasional tripping over the pronunciation, residents in Britain showed greater confidence spelling 'Mercedes-Benz', with 83% getting it right.