Is there any good reason why the surname of the late NY mayor is prononuced "Kotch", while the surname of the Koch brothers (of the Koch Industries and Tea Party fame) is pronounced "coke"?
Because that is the way their family pronounced it?
BTW, there is a family here in SW MO which pronounces it 'cook'.
Personal preference. In recent decades, it's gotten more difficult to change the spelling of your surname, but if your name is Smith, and you want to pronounce it "Jones", that's entirely up to you.
Koch is an Ashkenazi Jewish name from Bavaria that traces back to the Latin term "coquu."Â Pronouncing it "coke" or "kotch" or "coach" may cause less blushing than "cock", but translating it to English, you'd get Cook.
EmmettRedd said
Because that is the way their family pronounced it?
Yes. The family determines the pronunciation.