How Do You Pronounce Mnuchin?

Image by Getty Images

By Laura E. Adkins December 2, 2016

Steven Mnuchin, a longtime Trump acquaintance, Goldman Sachs executive, and Hollywood producer with no political experience, is expected to be tapped as Treasury Secretary by Donald Trump as early as Nov 30.

But the pronunciation of his name has been befuddling many in the media:

so here are a bunch of news anchors who don’t know how to pronounce Steven Mnuchin’s name pic.twitter.com/ATmsTASUaz

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— Matt Negrin (@MattNegrin) November 30, 2016

So, how exactly do you pronounce Mnuchin?

According to the nice lady who answered Goldman Sachs’s media line, it’s pretty simple: Men-oo-chin.

But how did a Jewish family get a last name like Mnuchin?

As reported in Haaretz, Mnuchin is actually a fairly common Russian-Jewish name and is probably derived from either Menachem (מנחם), a common name among many famous Jews both ancient and modern, or Menucha (מנוחה), meaning rest.

Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s contributing network editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins.

Laura E. Adkins is a senior director at Jewish Women International and the former opinion editor of the Forward. Email her or follow her on X.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO