Ten Place Names You’ve Been Mispronouncing Your Entire Life

You might think that city and town names you’ve been seeing on maps and street signs for your entire life are pronounced one way—but you’ve been wrong! While plenty of towns and cities have simple pronunciations (New York, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, the list goes on…), the United States is also chock-full of weird towns with strange names and funky spellings. Add to that a bunch of bizarre and highly unique regional accents, and you can get yourself into a quagmire very quickly!

In this list, we’ll take a look at ten places across America with weird names. But it’s not that the town names are strange in and of themselves—it’s that they’re pronounced completely differently than you might have assumed! Read on to have your mind blown about how you should actually say these town names. From big cities to small villages, you’ll want to learn all these names and get it right. After all, you don’t want to sound like an ignorant outsider, do you?

Related: Ten Hilariously Bizarre Small-Town Tourist Traps

10 Patchogue, New York

Patchogue, New York, is a quaint and beautiful little beach town out on Long Island, about sixty or so miles (96.5 km) east of Manhattan. It’s known for its sandy beaches, nice weather (well, sometimes… in the summer, off-the-ocean breezes, and fog. And now, it’s also known for how you are meant to say the town’s name because that’s not totally clear based on its spelling.

For one, it’s absolutely not pronounced like “Patch-o-GOO,” even though those last three letters might trick speakers for whom English isn’t a first language. More importantly, it’s also not pronounced “Patch-OHHgue,” either. Or “PATCH-ogue.” Neither one of those is correct! Which is sad because that was how we figured you were supposed to say it.

But nope! The town’s name, which comes from the name of a small band of the local Lenape tribe of indigenous people, is meant to be said in one of two slightly differing ways: either “pa-CHAAG,” or “patch-AWG.” That’s a small distinction, perhaps, but it’s an important one nonetheless. Say it right, and you can visit Patchogue next summer with the full confidence that the locals won’t shoo you out of town for getting it wrong!^[1]

9 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

You might not know it just by looking at the name itself, but did you have any idea that Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was actually named after two 18th-century British politicians? Both Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Barre were powerful supporters of the rights of American colonists—and the colonies in which they lived—to govern themselves. So, to honor those men and their beliefs about American self-determination, folks in central Pennsylvania named their town after the fellas. That’s a nice way to honor them, right? Well, sure. But pronouncing the town’s name is a whole different game altogether!

Now, “Wilkes” is honestly pronounced in a pretty straightforward manner. It’s simply “wilks.” No issues there. (We hope.) But “Barre” is quite a bit more complicated. See, the real Mr. Barre pronounced his name in the French manner, “ber-AY,” like the popular Parisian hat. But in America, that pronunciation has morphed for some unknown reason into “BEAR-ee.” So the town as a whole ought to be spoken of as “Wilkes BEAR-ee.” And not like a “beret.” And goodness, most certainly not like “bar.” Got it? Great!^[2]

8 Worcester, Massachusetts

People in Massachusetts say things in a weird way. The most infamous case of this would be how Bostonians tend to say stuff like “go pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd.” They are missing an “r” or two… or three or four… in there! And yet, if you live in Massachusetts, you think that’s a totally normal way to speak. That’s not the only strange word thrown around in Massachusetts, either. Can we talk about the city of Worcester? And how those in the state don’t say it nearly how it appears to be spelled.

You might think you would say “Wor-sess-ter” here. Or perhaps even use the “c” as a “ch” and call it “Wor-ches*ter.” But it’s neither one of those or anything even close! In reality, it’s pronounced as “WUSS-ter.”

For what it’s worth, the Massachusetts town was named after an English town that is pronounced the exact same way. So at least there is some consistency here regarding strangely-said town names on two continents. But you’d never have been made aware of it unless you had somebody tell it to you. And now you do know—so you won’t sound like an ignoramus if you ever go there and speak to a local.^[3]

7 Spokane, Washington

What’s in a name? If you see an “e” at the end of a word like “Spokane,” does that mean that you pronounce it like “Spoke-KANE”? You would think so, right? But, like every other assumption made with the city and town names on this list, you’d be wrong. The correct name of the city in eastern Washington is not “Spoke-KANE,” even with the “e” at the end, but “Spoke-KAN.” As in, you “can” pronounce it correctly if you just know what to look for and how to hit it just right.

That area of the state has grown quite a bit in recent years, too. So, even though Spokane was once a relatively lazy eastern Washington farm town that people mostly didn’t think about, that’s no longer a reality. As more and more people move to Spokane, the city is going to take on a higher profile. Inevitably, that means more people will learn to correctly pronounce the town’s name. (You would hope.) And now that you’ve learned how to do it, you can be at the forefront of a new trend!^[4]

6 Helena, Montana

Like a lot of the cities on this list, the capital of Montana looks like it could be pronounced in a couple different ways. You could say it like “HELL-uh-na.” Or maybe “hell-AYE-nuh.” Or perhaps even drop the “h” and call it “ELL-uh-nuh.” But there’s only one correct way that the locals actually call their city, which isn’t what you might think. It’s officially “HELL-uh-nuh,” with the first syllable being hit particularly hard and the rest being pulled back.

Now, you might be asking yourself: how on earth am I ever expected to remember this? There are so many towns, cities, and strange pronunciations! Thankfully, we have a tool for that—at least in the case of Helena. The locals like to say: “HELL-uh-nuh, Montana, is a HELL of a town.” See how that works? You get to swear a little bit, and you get to remind yourself how to properly say the city’s name. Seems doubly fun to us!^[5]

5 Kissimmee, Florida

In all fairness, this is a tough one. The name of the central Florida city of Kissimmee has indigenous roots. So we can’t fault you if you take one look at the word and get scared about how to possibly say it. There are three double letters, many syllables, and a few strange and daunting options when it comes to getting that long, difficult word out of your mouth. It’s so easy to get it wrong.

Take that from us, too: our first assumption was that it was meant to be pronounced “KISS-a-me.” But that’s wrong! You aren’t supposed to hit the first syllable the hardest in that city, but rather, you should hit the second syllable. To say it properly, then, you need to say, “Kiss-SIM-mee.” Hit the middle syllable hard, and rest easy knowing that you’ll be accepted by the locals the next time you find yourself down in central Florida. (Oh, and just for the record, it’s pronounced “FLOR-ida” and not “FLAHR-ida.”)^[6]

4 Beaufort (NC) and Beaufort (SC)

There are two different “Beaufort” cities in each of the Carolinas, North and South, and their names are each pronounced differently. So it’s best to fully understand which is pronounced in which way before standing on the street in either locale. After all, in both cases, we’re talking about the small-town South here. You don’t want to get hit with a “we don’t take too kindly to y’all big city folk around here” comment for mis-saying the city’s name, do you? We thought so!

Up in North Carolina, where that Beaufort sits on the very southern tip of the state’s famed Outer Banks just a couple hours north of Wilmington, you are supposed to say “BOE-fort.” And in South Carolina, where its Beaufort sits in a swampy, riverine area just north of Hilton Head Island, you are supposed to say “BYOU-fert.” See the difference? By the way, here’s a fact to make it even more maddening: they’re both named after the same guy! Each city was named for the second Duke of Beaufort, a British peer and politician who lived from 1684 to 1714. And yet, each state honors his name by saying it differently!^[7]

3 Norfolk, Virginia

Okay, fair warning: We are about to walk across a field full of landmines with this one. The major metropolis on the coast of far southeastern Virginia is spelled in a pretty simple way: Norfolk. But the way you spell it and say it are two entirely different things. In fact, in some jurisdictions, saying “Norfolk” in the proper manner that is spoken by Virginian locals would get you fined or arrested for public indecency!

Norfolk just so happens to be home to the largest U.S. Navy base in the entire world, so maybe it makes perfect sense that locals say it how they do. After all, sailors are known to swear quite a bit, aren’t they? And that way to say it is this: “NAW-fock.” Over-pronounce the “NAW” and be very quick (and light) on the “fock.” And if you are really brave—and trust us, we sure aren’t—you might slightly accentuate a “u” in the place of that “o” in “fock.” Just saying. That’s how the locals do it. Regardless, don’t ever say “NOR-foke.” You’ll be laughed right out of town and perhaps chased away with a few choice expletives, to boot.^[8]

2 Versailles, Kentucky

If you’ve ever heard of Versailles before, assuredly, it’s been Versailles, France. You know—the impeccable and incredible French royal palace. It’s undoubtedly one of the most stunning places you can visit in that country. Spend a few hours there, and forever after, those uncouth English royals over at Buckingham Palace won’t impress you that much any longer. (Sorry, Brits. Just saying!) Anyway, there’s another Versailles in the world, completely different from the one in France. In every way. And most notably for our purposes here, how it’s pronounced!

In rural Kentucky, just a little bit west of Lexington, a sleepy little town called Versailles sits in the central(ish) part of the state. But it’s not pronounced like the French version. In France, you’d properly say the palace’s name as “Ver-SIGH.” But in Kentucky, they don’t take too kindly to people not pronouncing every letter. So, if you’re ever in the Bluegrass State and get close to Versailles, say it the way it’s meant to be said: “Ver-SAILS.” Seriously. We wish we were kidding.^[9]

1 Boise, Idaho

Let’s finish with one that has a very subtle distinction. Unlike some of the other pronunciations on this list, the city of Boise, Idaho, seems like it’s meant to be said in a pretty straightforward manner, doesn’t it? There are only two syllables in that word, after all. Plus, we know the first syllable makes a “boi” sound. And we’re pretty certain that the second one makes a “see” sound. So that’s that, then. Call it a day!

Well… yes and no. See, if you’re not from Boise, it’s very highly likely that you may say “Boy-ZEE.” Not only do people tend to hit that second syllable harder than the first one, but many folks across the English-speaking world seem to want to turn it into a “z” sound rather than a regular old “s.” But that’s just the thing: it’s dead wrong on both counts. It isn’t “boy-zee,” but “boy-see.” And you’re not supposed to over-accentuate the second syllable at all! To say it like a local does, you have to say “BOY-see.” Hit the first syllable hard and make sure an “s” slithers out of your mouth rather than a “z.” Simple!^[10]