How You're Pronouncing It: Joe-quin Fee-niks How It's Really Pronounced: Wah-keen Fee-niks Joaquin Phoenix, star of Walk The Line and The Master, really wishes people would pronounce his name correctly. I was born in Puerto Rico and Joaquin is a Spanish name. And when I came to the US, nobody could pronounce it. They would say, Whats your name? And I would say, Joaquin and they would go, Walk-ing? Walk what?'," he said in 2006. "I have been called Joe Wa-Keem a lot in Europe. I think theres maybe a German or French name like that.