I generally go with a native pronunciation unless told otherwise. So I would pronounce it John Dubwah, but I've learned that it's W.E.B. Du-boys. But the singl

I generally go with a native pronunciation unless told otherwise. So I would pronounce it John Dubwah, but I've learned that it's W.E.B. Du-boys. But the single most important thing to do is ask how to pronounce and keep trying to get it right. My wife's first name is a Mexican name with an ll in the middle that should be pronounced as j/y (most Spanish speakers don't really hear a difference between the two English phonemes so it's perfectly fine to use either in working towards the correct sound, but j is probably the better choice for most English speakers since y between vowels tends to disappear, at least in Midwestern pronunciation). It's really not a hard name to say, but it does take paying attention for one whole second and remembering something that's not in the standard repertoire of American first names so a huge number of people get it wrong and don't care or say things like, "can I call you — instead?" (the answer, of course, is NO, what the — is wrong with you, you lazy twit). Take the time to learn how people pronounce their names and give them the courtesy of getting it right. I doubt that most Croats, for example, will care if you don't pronounce č and ć differently, but if you insist on pretending that either makes a k or s sound, you will annoy them.