NameShouts

Overview

NameShouts is an accessibility and communication tool that helps professionals learn how to pronounce names correctly. By providing a database of high-quality, native-speaker audio recordings across 22+ languages, it helps sales teams, recruiters, and educators build stronger connections and avoid embarrassing mispronunciations.

What it does

• Provides audio recordings of name pronunciations by native speakers.
• Translates phonetic spellings across 22+ different languages.
• Integrates seamlessly into CRM platforms via a Chrome Extension.
• Offers a 'Snail Mode' to play complex names slowly for better learning.
• Allows users to build custom lists of names to prepare for meetings or classes.

Who it's for

• Sales representatives
• HR professionals
• University educators
• Customer support agents.

Why it works

• First Impressions: Mispronouncing a prospect or client's name can instantly damage trust; NameShouts ensures professionals start every relationship with respect.
• Native Accuracy: Instead of relying on robotic text-to-speech AI, the platform uses actual human linguists and native speakers to ensure cultural accuracy.
• Workflow Integration: The Chrome extension hovers directly over tools like LinkedIn, Salesforce, and HubSpot, allowing sales reps to hear a name without breaking their workflow.
• Educational Focus: Widely adopted by universities and graduation planners to ensure every student's name is honored correctly when they walk across the stage.
• Custom Requests: If a name isn't in their 400,000+ database, premium users can submit priority requests to have it manually recorded by an expert.

Founder story

While working in client-facing positions, Naureen Anwar and the founding team experienced firsthand how a lack of accessible pronunciation tools hindered communication. Employees were terrified of burning bridges with international clients simply because they couldn't pronounce their names. Joining the Velocity incubator, they built NameShouts to solve this specific, highly awkward pain point. They grew the database to over 400,000 names, helping massive enterprises and universities foster a culture of respect and inclusion.

Alternatives

• Namecoach
• PronounceItRight
• Forvo
• HowToPronounce

Comparison overview

• Namecoach: A heavy enterprise and university-focused tool that allows individuals to record their *own* name and embed it in their email signature.
• Forvo: A massive, crowdsourced open database of word and name pronunciations, but it lacks the enterprise integrations and strict quality control of a B2B tool.
• HowToPronounce: A heavily ad-supported, consumer-facing website that relies largely on crowdsourced and AI-generated audio.
• PronounceItRight: A niche site mainly focused on the pronunciation of famous historical, artistic, and political figures.
• While Namecoach relies on users actively recording their own names to share with others, NameShouts acts as an on-demand, proactive database for the professional. By embedding directly into CRMs and LinkedIn, it gives sales reps the power to confidently pronounce a prospect's name *before* they ever speak to them.