I 've always heard that below the James it's Jerr-den and north of the James
it's Jor-den.
>
>> Samuel would have pronounced his name "JERR-den." His ancestors probably
>> came to England from France after the Hundred Years war. This distinct
>> pronounciation survived in Virginia for many years, and is
>> distinguishable
>> from the ancient family of English Jordans who pronounce it more as we
>> would expect: "JOR-den".
>
> When I was growing up in Richmond, there were no JOR-dens. My mother's
> grandmother was a JER-den, and the grocery store at the corner of Forest
> Hill and Westover Hills Blvd. was JER-den's. JER-den has fallen by
> the wayside, a victim of radio and TV, just like the real pronunciation of
> Henrico, which is Hen-REC-oh, not Hen-RIKE-oh.
>
> ---
> Ann Avery Hunter
> Winston-Salem, NC
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