Lady Dimitrescu's Name Pronunciation, Explained
Emma Horne Resident Evil Village's tall Lady Dimitrescu has become the internet's obsession, but fans may have been pronouncing her name wrong all along.
Lady Dimitrescu is Resident Evil Village's resident stalker figure, chasing players throughout its campaign like Resident Evil 2's Mr. X. Despite the 9-foot-tall antagonist's intimidating stature and disturbing behavior, the internet has developed a fascination with Lady Dimitrescu. She's become the subject of countless memes and fan art months ahead of Resident Evil Village's May 7 release. Yet, many of her newfound stans may have been mispronouncing her name.
Capcom has shared a fair amount of gameplay and cutscene footage featuring Lady Dimitrescu in the leadup to RE8's launch. None of these videos featured anyone saying the stalker's name, so most fans have been reading her name as it's spelled. It turns out the "u" at the end is actually silent, and it's pronounced "Lady Dee-mee-treesk."
This official pronunciation was revealed during the April Resident Evil Showcase livestream hosted by What's Good Games' Brittney Brombacher. The podcast co-founder surprised fans with the above pronunciation when speaking about an upcoming Resident Evil Village demo, saying, "Something is telling me it won't involve casual teatime with Lady Dimitrescu."
Resident Evil Village: How Do You Pronounce Lady Dimitrescu's Name?
I’ve received a few questions about the pronunciation of Lady Dimitrescu! Capcom briefed me on how to say it properly (believe me, I asked) and they approved the take, soooo take that for what you will. ;)
— Brittney Brombacher (@BlondeNerd) April 16, 2021
Twitter user _Reecieboy posted the interview clip and asked Brombacher to confirm the pronunciation. In a retweet, Brombacher said Capcom specifically told her how to pronounce it noted the company approved the take for the final RE Village video, indicating it was said correctly.
According to The Internet Surname Database, the name Dimitrescu originated in Eastern Europe and Russia. Other sources say it is a widespread family name in Romania, which is presumably where RE8 takes place. Many Twitter users replied to Brombacher, saying the correct Romanian pronunciation is closer to how it's written, like "Dee-mee-tress-coo," and many pronunciation videos on YouTube say the same thing.
While that might be the case in real-world Romania, Resident Evil has never followed the reality very closely and likely won't start anytime soon. Capcom drew inspiration from the folklore of the region, which led many fans to believe that Lady Dimitrescu could be a vampire, but the company has clearly put its own spin on things - apparently including the correct way to pronounce the name of Resident Evil Village's antagonist.
Next: Resident Evil Village: What You Need To Know From RE7 Before Playing
Source: Brittney Brombacher/Twitter