Writing about TV is fun ... until you have to use one of these impossible-to-spell TV star names.

Does Steve Carell have one "r" and two "l"s or vice versa? Does a last name really need six syllables (ahem, Zach Galifianakis)? And what's the rule on Hollywood's many Vans -- Van Der Beek, VanCamp, Vanderpump? When do you capitalize, and when do you add a space? It's all very confusing.

In honor of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee (preliminaries air Wed., May 30, 8 a.m. ET on ESPN3, with semifinals on Thurs., May 31, 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and finals at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN), we've rounded up some of our favorite TV stars who have some of our least favorite names to spell -- 35 names that deserve their own pneumonic devices to make our lives easier.

We'd like to see those spelling champs try to spell the name of "Lost" and "Oz" alum Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

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  • Zooey Deschanel

    Shockingly, it's not the last name that gets us with this "New Girl" star -- maybe years of writing about her "Bones" star sister Emily have helped -- but the double-"o" in Zooey just loses us sometimes.

  • Matt Czuchry

    This "Good Wife" star's last name is pronounced "zoo-kree." Can we just spell it that way, too?

  • Kristin Chenoweth

    "GCB" might be canceled, but our mantra of "Kristin with an 'i,' Chenoweth with an 'e'" will never go away.

  • Zach Galifianakis

    We loved "Bored to Death" and are hoping for more "Between Two Ferns" TV specials ... just to get that name right.

  • Gabourey Sidibe

    "The Big C" star has a seriously confusing name spelling.

  • Matthew McConaughey

    He's coming to TV! So guess we better start remembering that it's only one "n."

  • Famke Janssen

    This "Nip/Tuck" lady's name is as exotic as her looks.

  • Alexander Skarsgard

    Not to be confused with movie man Peter Sarsgaard, this "True Blood" hottie is worth the extra effort.

  • Kristen Wiig

    Doesn't Wiig always look like it's missing a consonant? It's not, but Kristen got plenty of them with her former "SNL" gig.

  • Christina Aguilera

    "The Voice" coach leaves us speechless fairly often ... but her name stumps us every time.

  • Bruno Tonioli

    On a difficulty scale of 1-10, Bruno's last name ranks on the tougher side. Just like his "Dancing With the Stars" judging.

  • Mary Steenburgen

    This "30 Rock" guest star spells it exactly like it sounds ... even if we doubt ourselves every time.

  • James Van Der Beek

    "Don't Trust the B---- In Apt. 23" lets Van Der Beek spoof himself -- now we're ready for him to target his fellow Hollywood "Van" clan. Like ...

  • Lisa Vanderpump

    This "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" beauty isn't one for excess capitalization or spaces -- it's all one word, all fabulous.

  • Laura Vandervoort

    This "Smallville" and "V" alum is stunning, as is her last name. (Try saying that three times fast!)

  • Emily VanCamp

    We don't want to know what this "Revenge" star would do if we forgot her capital "C" or left her "Van" hanging.

  • Kyle MacLachlan

    "Portlandia" has the proud honor of having MacLachlan guest star ... and making sure they remember all those "a"s.

  • Mariska Hargitay

    We love watching people butcher Mariska's name when she collects all her awards for "Law & Order: SVU." We're guessing it doesn't thrill her, though.

  • Maksim Chmerkovskiy

    Are all Ukranian names this tricky? Also, did Maks have to bring his brother to "Dancing With the Stars" too? Now it's Chmerkovskiy x2.

  • Julianna Margulies

    Both of these names somehow stump us, and judging by a lot of comments from "Good Wife" fans, we know we're not alone.

  • Steve Carell

    "Office" alum Carell and movie star Will Ferrell always make our brains hurt -- we may never get it right without Googling.

  • Ali Fedotowsky

    We'd be fine going back to the days when the "Bachelors" and "Bachelorettes" were all just one-name wonders. Please?

  • Madchen Amick

    There's an umlaut over the "a" in Madchen -- we think -- and umlaut's get us every time.

  • Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

    This "Lost" alum's name still leaves us scratching our heads, much like the show itself.

  • Courteney Cox

    Cox has worked hard enough to deserve that extra "e" in Courteney (but it still bugs us).

  • Jason Segel

    One of "How I Met Your Mother's" biggest twists? That Jason Segel's name is always the hardest to spell! (Cobie Smulders thanks you, Jason.)

  • Yunjin Kim

    We adore this "Lost" alum, but we're already trying to train ourselves to spell her name correctly before she returns to ABC with "Mistresses."

  • Damian Lewis

    This man's "Homeland" is England, and that's probably why we always assume his first name is more complicated than it is. Damien or Damian? It always takes a second look.

  • Britney Spears

    It's Britney, b-tch! Now that this diva's on "X Factor," we're banning all urges to "Brittany" her.

  • David Boreanaz

    This "Bones" star's last name really is spelled just like it sounds ... sometimes the easiest ones are the hardest.

  • Madeleine Stowe

    "Revenge" is a dish best served cold, and spelling this star's name gives us a chill of uncertainty every time.

  • Sigourney Weaver

    This summer's "Political Animals" has us boning up on White House policy and this star's tricky first name.

  • Milo Ventimiglia

    This "Heroes" alum's last name is a mouthful ... and, if we're being honest, we're still not totally confident in our pronunciation of it either.

  • Megalyn Echikunwoke

    This lovely lady was pulling double-duty on "House of Lies" and "90210," which meant double the IMDb spell-checking.

  • Marg Helgenberger

    This "CSI" alum's name still stumps us -- anyone else feel an overwhelming need to drop the "er" when saying or spelling her last name?

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