Support
Name Phonics for macOS · requires macOS 14 or later
Need a hand? Email support@liveoak.ws with what you expected and what happened instead (a screenshot helps). We're a small shop — you'll hear back, usually within a couple of days.
Quick start
- Launch Name Phonics. It lives in your menu bar (the waveform icon) — there's no Dock icon or main window.
- Copy any name with ⌘C.
- Press ⌃⌥P (Control + Option + P). The name is spoken by a voice native to its origin, and a floating panel shows the phonetic respelling with the stressed syllable highlighted.
Hotkeys
| Hotkey | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌃⌥P | Pronounce the name you copied |
| ⌃⌥G | Drag a box around on-screen text you can't select (images, PDFs, profile cards) — it's read with on-device text recognition, then spoken |
| ⌃⌥T | Open a box to type a name and hear it |
| ⌃⌥S | Speak the last name slowly, with pauses between name parts |
| ⌃⌥R | Repeat the last name |
All hotkeys can be changed in Settings, from the menu-bar icon.
Frequently asked questions
I pressed the hotkey and nothing happened.
Three usual causes, in order of likelihood:
- Nothing was copied. The Mac App Store edition speaks the name on your clipboard — press ⌘C on the name first, then ⌃⌥P.
- Another app owns the shortcut. If a different utility already uses ⌃⌥P, change the hotkey in Name Phonics' Settings.
- Volume/output device. Try ⌃⌥T, type a name, and check you hear it on your current output device.
Direct-download edition only: if hotkeys stopped working after an update, open the menu-bar icon → Fix Hotkey Permissions… and make sure “Name Phonics” is checked under both Accessibility and Input Monitoring (remove and re-add it if it looks stale).
Why do I have to copy the name first? Other apps read my selection.
Mac App Store apps run in Apple's App Sandbox, which doesn't allow an app to copy your selection for you. Pressing ⌘C yourself is the sandbox-safe equivalent — and it means Name Phonics never touches your clipboard except when you ask. For unselectable text, use the drag-a-box grab (⌃⌥G) instead.
The voice sounds robotic. Can I get better ones?
Yes — Apple ships higher-quality “Enhanced” and “Premium” voices as free downloads. Go to System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → System Voice → Manage Voices…, then download the languages you meet most. In Name Phonics, open Voices… from the menu-bar icon to pick a favorite voice per language and preview each one with a real name.
A name was pronounced with the wrong origin or accent.
The built-in offline analyzer is a heuristic, and genuinely ambiguous names (“Li”, “Ali”, “Jan”) can fool it. Two fixes:
- Connect an AI provider in Settings — accuracy on ambiguous names improves dramatically, and each name costs a fraction of a cent, once, with your own key.
- If a specific name keeps coming out wrong, email it to support@liveoak.ws — real-world corrections make the analyzer better for everyone.
How do I set up an AI provider?
Open Settings from the menu-bar icon, choose a provider (Claude, OpenAI, OpenRouter, or a custom endpoint like Ollama, LM Studio, Azure, or Bedrock), and paste your API key. Each provider row has a ? popover with a step-by-step recipe, and the Test Lookup button checks your key immediately so problems surface right away. No provider? The app keeps working with the free offline analyzer.
Why does the app ask for Screen Recording permission?
Only for the drag-a-box grab (⌃⌥G), which needs to see the region of screen you select so on-device text recognition can read it. The capture happens only when you trigger it, is processed entirely on your Mac, and is never stored or uploaded. If you never use ⌃⌥G, you can decline the permission and everything else still works. See the privacy policy.
Where is my history stored? Can I clear it?
On your Mac, and only there. Open History… from the menu-bar icon to search past names, replay them, or clear the list. Nothing is synced or uploaded.
How do I get a refund?
Purchases are handled by Apple, so refunds go through them: visit reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with the Apple ID you bought with, and choose Name Phonics. Apple typically responds within a day or two.
Is there a Windows version?
Not on the App Store, but the underlying engine is cross-platform and a Windows build is on the roadmap. Email support@liveoak.ws if you'd use it — interest genuinely moves it up the list.
Requirements
- macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, Apple silicon or Intel
- No account, no subscription, no internet required (the optional AI lookup needs a connection)
Contact
Email support@liveoak.ws for anything this page didn't cover — bug reports, feature ideas, or a name the app gets wrong. Please include your macOS version and which edition you're using (Mac App Store or direct download).