Gerrymandering was named after Elbridge Gerry, but his name is pronounced Gary: https://youtu.be/Rp0Qz19nlG4

Popularity of pronunciation does actually matter, regardless of origin.

There are plenty of pronunciations that have changed from the original and are now generally accepted as correct. Here are some examples

https://linguisticus.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/10-words-whose-pronunciation-has-changed-over-time/

Anywho, if you have any recommendations for birthday jifts for kids, lemme know