Most Americans Will Struggle to Pronounce These 50 Town Names

Acequia is named after the Spanish word for irrigation ditch — the area has an extensive irrigation system — and is pronounced the same way: “uh-SEEK-we-uh.” If you don’t pronounce it correctly, don’t worry, as the town only has a population of 124.

Ahwatukee, an urban village in south Phoenix, is pronounced “ah-wuh-too-kee.”

Aiea gets its name from the Hawaiian language and is pronounced “ah-ee-ay-ah” or “eye-ay-ah.” It’s part of Honolulu and close to Pearl Harbor, so there’s lots to see nearby.

Arapahoe is situated within the Wind River Indian Reservation, which is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. It’s not as difficult to pronounce as it might seem — simply “a-RAP-a-hoe.”

This one’s a challenge: Auxier is named after a family who also used the spelling “Axer,” “Oxer,” and “Auxer.” They pronounced their name “ok-sur,” but some locals use “ox-yer.” Either way, it’s two syllables, not three.

This town is named after Edmond Basye, an early settler. It is pronounced “BAS-see,” with the accent on the first syllable. It was originally pronounced “bas-SAY,” with the accent on the second syllable.

Bayou Gauche is one of the most remote towns in Louisiana, surrounded by water. A bayou is a marshy lake or wetland, and gauche means left in French — meaning the town is on the left side of boats travelling downstream. It is pronounced “bi-YOU” or “bi-OH gosh.”

Beaulieu is named after brothers Henry and John Beaulieu, who served in the Civil War and later settled there. It is pronounced “bohl-yuu.” The English pronounce this “BEW-lee”.

Bucyrus was founded by Col. James Kilbourne in 1821. He may have come up with the name by combining “beautiful” and Cyrus, the Persian ruler, or he may have named the town after the ancient Egyptian city of Busiris. Whatever the case, it’s pronounced “bew-sy-rus.”

Cayuga is pronounced “kye-OO-gah.” It’s named after the Native American tribe that lived in New York State and was forced to migrate westward and northwest.

Sharing its name with the famous farm worker and activist, this town is pronounced “SEH-sahr CHAH-vess.”

Damariscotta reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning “river of little fish.” It is pronounced “dam-ahr-ihs-KOTTA,” although locals sometimes add an extra r to the first syllable.

Duryea was named in honor of Hiram Duryea, a Civil War general and landowner in the area. The name is of Irish origin and is pronounced “dur-ee-ay.”

Eufaula is named after a Native American tribe and is pronounced “you-fall-uh.”

The first two syllables of Eutawville are pronounced like Utah, and there is less stress on the third, so the result is “YOO-TAH-vil.”

Fontainebleau (also spelled Fountainebleau) is in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The word originated in French, where it is pronounced “fawn-ten-bloh.” In the United States, it can be pronounced “fon-tin-bloh,” although in Florida locals call the hotel of the same name the “Fountain Blue.”

Duchesne is pronounced “dushayne.” It is a common French name meaning “of the oak tree.”

Hahira (“hay-HI-ra”) has perhaps the most obscure origin of any town on this list. Some say the name was created by the town’s first postmaster, but it remains a mystery.

Take a trip to Iaeger (“YAY-ger”) and you might be lucky enough to run into one of the 302 people who live there. Named for Col. William G. W. Iaeger, this town has had some easier-to-pronounce names over the years, including “WIlliamsburg” and “Forks on the River.”

Igiugig is a tiny village with a population of only 69, consisting mainly of Yupik Eskimos, Aleuts, and Athabascan people. According to the Department of Community and Economic Development, it’s pronounced “ig-ee-UH-gig.”

Karlsruhe is one of the smallest towns on our list, with a population of less than a hundred. (Its German namesake is thousands of times bigger.) In North Dakota, it’s pronounced “karls-ROO.”

Keosauqua (“KEE-o-SAW-qua”) is the Native American word for “Big Bend.” The town indeed lies on the bend of the Des Moines River. The town’s website boasts that there is “virtually no crime (and literally not a traffic light in town)”!

Kiowa (pronounced like “Iowa” with a K) is a small town southeast of Denver. The town is named for the Native American people who lived in the region.

Leipsic (“LIP-sick”) is named for the German city of Leipzig (pronounced LYPE-zick). Situated on the banks of the Leipsic River, the town is known for its delicious oysters and crabs.

Leitersburg is pronounced like “lighters burg.” The early settlers in the area were almost exclusively German and used German pronunciation.

Lindisfarne (“LIN-dis-FARN”) is located on Flathead Lake near the Flathead Reservation and Glacier National Park. The town is named after Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a tidal island in England.

A farming community in the middle of the state, Moweaqua (“moh-WEEK-wuh’) is known for its corn and soybean production.

Neahkahnie (“NEE-uh-kah-nee”) is a small town located along the Oregon Coast, at the foot of Neahkahnie Mountain. Legend has it that Spanish sailors buried a treasure in the mountain in the 16th century.

Ohiowa is pronounced like Ohio with a “wa” added. When the town was established, settlers from Ohio wanted to name it after their state, while those from Iowa preferred theirs. The dispute was settled by combining the two state names.

This is another town name with an odd history — it’s an anglicization of Hawai’i and is pronounced the same way.

This town has an unusual history — it was named after the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, which the founder liked. It derives from a Spanish coin and is pronounced “pi-kuh-yoon.”

Ponshewaing (PON-she-wang) was a railroad stop before it was a town. Some say it means “peaceful waters,” others say “winter home.”

Port Hueneme (“wy-nee-mee”) is a seaside community in Ventura County. The name derives from a Chumash word (“wene’mu”) meaning “resting place.”

There isn’t just a town called Quechee (“kwee-chee”) in Vermont, there’s also Quechee State Park and the Quechee Gorge, and the equally hard-to-pronounce Ottauquechee River.

Qui-nai-elt is a variation of Quinault and is pronounced “kwi-nail.” The town in the southeastern part of the Quinault Indian Nation.

Quinebaug (“quinn-a-bog”) is a town in northeastern Connecticut. The name comes from a southern New England Native American term meaning “long pond.”

Quiogue is pronounced “kwi-og.” The first syllable rhymes with “why,” and the second rhymes with “bog.” To complicate things, it’s next to Quogue, which is simply pronounced “kwog.”

Quonochontaug, which means black fish, is pronounced “KWAHN-ah-kahn-tawg,” although even locals have difficulty with it. Rhode Island has many hard-to-pronounce names, legacies of five Indian tribes that lived there: the Narragansetts, Niantics, Nipmucks, Pequots, and Wampanoags.

Runnemede (pronounced “RUN-a-meade”) was most likely named after Runnymede in England, though there is a story, most likely apocryphal, that the name comes from the chant at a local tavern for: “Rum we need!”

Saxapahaw is named for the Sissipahaw tribe and is pronounced “sax-uh-puh-haw” (although some locals shorten it to “sax-p’haw”).

Sayre isn’t too much of a challenge — you flip the final letters and say “say-er.”

Scituate (“sit-choo-it”) derives from an Indian word, which the early settlers understood as satuit, meaning “cold brook.” It’s situated just south of Boston.

Seboyeta is a variation on the Spanish word cebolleta, which means spring onion or scallion and is pronounced “seb-oh-YET-oh.”

Sevierville is pronounced like “severe-ville.” It’s named after Gen. John Sevier, first governor of the state of Tennessee. Sevier was originally the French name “Xavier.”

Suissevale, pronounced “Swiss vale,” is on Lake Winnipesaukee, which deserves its own place on our list.

Tulare (“too-LAYR”) is in Spink County, South Dakota. This name derives from the Classical Nahuatl (a language spoken by the Aztec) word “tōllin” (“sedge” or “reeds”), by way of Spanish.

This is pronounced “WAH-bloh,” according to a Missouri pronunciation guide, although some maintain it is “we-bah-low” or “we-blow.”

Weir, pronounced “WEER,” is a coal- and zinc-mining town named after an early landowner, T.M. Weir.

Weyauwega means “here we rest” because the location was a stopping between two rivers where Native Americans had to portage their canoes. It’s pronounced “wy-a-WEE-ga,” but the locals just call it “Wega.”

Wiederkehr is the name of a winery as well as a village. Locals say it’s pronounced “witter-kur” or “wee-da-kuhur,” depending on how much you’ve had to drink.