You're sitting in a job interview. Everything is going great. You’ve nailed the whiteboarding session, your resume is crisp, and then you say it. You mention how you used "S-Q-L" to manage a database at your last gig. The interviewer blinks. There’s a tiny, microscopic pause. In that moment, you wonder: Did I just out myself as a beginner?
The debate over how to pronounce SQL is basically the "GIF vs. Jif" of the data world. People get weirdly defensive about it. Some folks insist on spelling out the letters—S-Q-L—while others roll off "Sequel" like they were born in a data center. Honestly, both sides think they're right. But if you want to understand the friction, you have to look at a messy history involving IBM, trademark lawyers, and a bunch of engineers in the 1970s who probably didn't realize they were starting a decades-long linguistic war.
The Secret History of the Sequel
Back in 1974, Donald Chamberlin and Raymond Boyce were working at IBM’s San Jose Research Laboratory. They were trying to create a language to manipulate and retrieve data from IBM’s relational database, System R. They called it SEQUEL, which stood for Structured English Query Language. It was a catchy name. It sounded powerful. It felt like the next big thing.
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But then, the lawyers showed up.
IBM discovered that "SEQUEL" was already trademarked by the Hawker Siddeley aircraft company in the UK. To avoid a massive legal headache, they trimmed the name down to just SQL. Officially, the name became Structured Query Language. But here’s the kicker: the guys who actually invented the thing kept calling it "Sequel." They liked the original name. Old habits die hard, especially in tech.
Why S-Q-L is Technically the "Correct" Way
If you look at the official ISO standard (ISO/IEC 9075), it defines the language as SQL. It doesn't say "Sequel." It says "S-Q-L." In many formal academic settings or strictly regulated corporate environments, you'll hear people spell it out. It's the literal reading of the acronym.
Think about other tech terms. We say "H-T-M-L," not "Hit-mul." We say "C-S-S," not "Siss." So, logically, how to pronounce SQL should follow that same pattern of spelling out the initials. If you’re speaking at a formal conference or writing a technical manual, using the letters is the safest bet to avoid any ambiguity. It’s professional. It’s precise. It’s also kinda dry.
The "Sequel" Crowd and Why They’re Winning
Despite the ISO standards, "Sequel" is arguably the more common pronunciation in the trenches. If you walk into a startup in San Francisco or a dev shop in Austin, you’re going to hear "Sequel" about 80% of the time.
Why? Because it’s faster. Saying "Sequel" takes two syllables. Saying "S-Q-L" takes three. In the world of high-velocity coding, we love a good shortcut. Plus, there’s a certain "in-the-know" vibe to saying Sequel. It signals that you know the history—that you're aware of the IBM roots.
Interestingly, the pronunciation often changes depending on the specific database engine you’re talking about.
- Microsoft SQL Server: Almost everyone calls this "Sequel Server." If you say "S-Q-L Server," people might actually look at you funny.
- MySQL: This one is a toss-up. The official stance from the MySQL creators (now owned by Oracle) is that you should say "My-S-Q-L." But a massive chunk of the community says "My-Sequel." Even Monty Widenius, the co-founder, has acknowledged the "My-Sequel" pronunciation, though he prefers the letters.
- PostgreSQL: This is the final boss of pronunciation. Most people say "Post-gres." If you try to say the whole thing, it’s usually "Post-gres-S-Q-L." Hardly anyone says "Post-gres-sequel."
Does It Actually Matter for Your Career?
Here’s the truth: nobody is going to fire you for saying it "wrong."
However, there is a subtle social engineering aspect to it. If you’re interviewing at a place where the lead architect is a die-hard "S-Q-L" fan, and you keep saying "Sequel," they might subconsciously view you as less rigorous. Conversely, if you’re at a fast-moving web dev agency and you insist on "S-Q-L," you might come across as a bit stiff.
The best move? Listen first.
During the first five minutes of a meeting or interview, let the other person say it first. Then, just mirror them. It’s a classic rapport-building trick. If they say "Sequel," you say "Sequel." If they spell it out, you spell it out. It shows you’re adaptable.
Regional Quirks and the Global Divide
The way you talk about how to pronounce SQL also depends on where you live. In the UK and parts of Europe, there's a slightly higher tendency to spell out the letters. In North America, "Sequel" has a massive stronghold.
I once spoke with a developer from Stockholm who told me that in his office, saying "Sequel" was seen as an "Americanism" that some of the older engineers resisted. It’s fascinating how a three-letter acronym can become a proxy for cultural identity within the tech space.
Breaking Down the Phonetics
Let's get specific.
If you choose the "Sequel" route, the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription is /ˈsiːkwəl/.
If you choose "S-Q-L," it’s /ˌɛsˌkjuːˈɛl/.
Notice the stress. In "Sequel," the stress is on the first syllable. In "S-Q-L," the primary stress is usually on the "L." This makes "S-Q-L" sound more like a declarative statement, whereas "Sequel" sounds like a standard noun.
Common Mistakes Beginners Make
One of the biggest "tells" that someone is new to the field isn't necessarily which pronunciation they choose, but how they use it in a sentence.
Don't say: "I am learning a SQL."
Do say: "I am learning SQL."
It’s an uncountable noun in this context. Also, watch your articles.
If you say "an S-Q-L database," that’s correct because "S" starts with a vowel sound ("ess").
If you say "a Sequel database," that’s also correct because "Sequel" starts with a consonant sound.
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Switching these up—like saying "a S-Q-L database"—is a jarring grammatical error that will stand out way more than the "Sequel vs. S-Q-L" debate ever will.
The Verdict from the Experts
Donald Chamberlin himself has said in interviews that both are acceptable. He’s just happy people are using the language he helped build. When the creator of the language tells you it doesn't matter, you can probably stop stressing about it.
But if you want to be a true power user, you’ll learn to navigate both. Use "S-Q-L" when you’re being formal, writing documentation, or speaking to an academic crowd. Use "Sequel" when you’re grabbing a beer with coworkers or rushing through a stand-up meeting.
Actionable Next Steps
If you’re still feeling unsure about your SQL skills (or how to talk about them), here is how to handle it:
- Audit your environment: Spend the next week intentionally listening to how your senior devs or favorite tech YouTubers say it. Don't correct anyone; just observe the pattern.
- Pick a default, but stay flexible: Decide which one feels more natural to your tongue. For most, "Sequel" is easier to say repeatedly. Stick with it until the situation demands otherwise.
- Learn the specific "brand" pronunciations: Memorize that Microsoft is almost always "Sequel" and PostgreSQL is almost always "Post-gres." This saves you from the most common awkward silences.
- Focus on the syntax instead: At the end of the day, an employer cares more about whether you can write a complex JOIN or optimize a slow subquery than how you pronounce the name of the language. Spend 90% of your time on the code and 10% on the terminology.
The debate isn't going away. As long as we have legacy systems from the 70s living alongside modern cloud warehouses, we're going to have two names for the same thing. Just say it with confidence. Confidence is usually the difference between looking like a pro and looking like you just finished your first "Hello World" tutorial.