Orion's English-language pronunciation is generally stressed on the second syllable, but there are a few notable Orions who pronounce it OR-e-un:
- Orion Clemens, Mark Twain's brother
- Orion Samuelson, a broadcaster
- Lake Orion, a place in Michigan
Is there any information out there on how this pronunciation arose? It seems like it might be a regional error from a time when people were more isolated, since they're all from the Midwest USA and were all named before 1950. Other pronunciation variants sometimes have more specific explanations, though (i-REEN versus i-REE-ny), so if you know anything, I would be interested. Thanks for your help.