List of places in the United States with counterintuitive pronunciations: M–Z

This list is a sublist of List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations.

Place names in the United States of America

M

• Mackinac Island, Michigan –
• Madras, Oregon –
• Madrid, Alabama, Madrid, New Mexico, and New Madrid, Missouri –
• Malad City, Idaho and Malad River –
• Malheur County, Oregon and Malheur River –
• Manchaca, Texas –
• Manor, Texas –
• Mantua, Utah –
• Marquam, Oregon –
• Marseilles, Illinois –
• Martinez, Georgia –
• Maury County, Tennessee –
• McGaheysville, Virginia –
• Mebane, North Carolina -
• Medina, Ohio, WA and NY –
• Mesa, Washington –
• Methow, Washington –
• Mexia, Texas –
• Miami, Oklahoma – {{#tag:ref|c.f. the obvious final syllable of Miami, Florida|group= n}}
• Micanopy, Florida –
• Milan, Illinois, IN, MI, NH, OH, TN, and WA –
• Minam, Oregon –
• Minot, North Dakota –
• Missouri – or
• Mobile, Alabama –
• Monson, Massachusetts –
• Montague, Texas –
• Montpelier
  • Montpelier, Vermont and others {{#tag:ref|All derived from Montpellier, France |group= n}}
  • Montpelier, VA –
• Moscow, Idaho – {{#tag:ref|equivalent to the British English pronunciation of Moscow, Russia. Other Moscows in America are , the American English pronunciation of the Russian city.|group= n}}

• Mulino, Oregon –

N

• Nacogdoches, Texas –
• Nahant, Massachusetts –
• Naselle, Washington –
• Natchitoches, Louisiana –

• Nenana, Alaska and Nenana River –
• Neodesha, Kansas –
• Nespelem, Washington –
• Netarts, Oregon –
• Nevada – {{#tag:ref|The pronunciation , while fairly common (particularly in the eastern United States), is stigmatized locally.|group= n}}
• Nevada County, Arkansas; IA; IN and MO –
• Newark, Ohio – {{#tag:ref|cf. Newark, New Jersey and cf Newark, Delaware and Newark, New York GeneRally|group= n}}
• New Berlin, six locations in the United States – (see Berlin)
• New Orleans – or (locally){{#tag:ref|Traditionally locally with a very light w is used, i.e. between the local and national.|group= n}}
• New Madrid, Missouri – (see Madrid above)
• New Prague, Minnesota –
• Norfolk, Nebraska –
• Norfolk, Virginia – {{#tag:ref|Identical to the English county of Norfolk, and intuitive given the common word folk. Popular navy wordplay notwithstanding, the vowel in the last syllable is unstressed, very short, and closed, as in foot. Locals born in or after the last half of the 20th Century, who have partly or wholly adopted the American Broadcast Accent, often pronounce it with the r substituted for |group= n}}

O

• Ochelata, Oklahoma –
• Ojai, California –
• Olathe, Kansas –
• Ontonagon, Michigan –
• Orcas Island, Washington –
• Ouray, Colorado –
• Owyhee River and Owyhee County, Idaho –

P

• Palacios, Texas –
• Palermo, North Dakota –
• Palestine, Texas – {{#tag:ref|cf. Palestine: |group= n}}
• Palo Gaucho Bayou, Texas –
• Palouse, Washington –
• Pass Christian, Mississippi – or {{#tag:ref|cf. the regular American pronunciation of "Christian", |group= n}}
• Pawtucket, Rhode Island –
• Peabody, Massachusetts – {{#tag:ref|Not intuitive |group= n}}
• Pearrygin Lake, Washington –
• Pedernales River, Texas –
• Pend Oreille County, Washington and Pend Oreille (also Pend d'Oreille) River – , (see also Ponderay, Idaho).
• Peru, Indiana -
• Pfafftown, North Carolina –
• Picabo, Idaho and Picabo Street –
• Pierre, South Dakota –
• Piceance Creek & Basin, Colorado – or
• Placer County & Placerville, California –
• Plano, Texas – {{#tag:ref|cf. common and well-known Spanish appoximations elsewhere.|group= n}}
• Plymouth, Massachusetts as elsewhere –
• Point Mugu, California –
• Pojoaque Pueblo, New Mexico – {{#tag:ref|Or intuitively per Spanish among hispanics|group= n}}
• Port Hueneme, California –
• Pompeii, Michigan – {{#tag:ref|Italian ruined city pronounced )|group= n}}
• Poughkeepsie, New York –
• Poulsbo, Washington –
• Prague, Oklahoma –
• Puget Sound, Washington –
• Purgatoire River, Colorado – , also spelled Picketwire
• Puyallup, Washington –

Q

• Quincy, Massachusetts –
• Quitaque, Texas –
• Qulin, Missouri –

R

• Raleigh, North Carolina – {{#tag:ref|c.f. Raleigh surname and brands traditionally said like Wall|group= n}}
• Refugio, Texas –
• Rhea County, Tennessee –
• Riga, New York –
• Rio, Florida –
• Rio Grande, Ohio –
• Ruch, Oregon –
• Russia, Ohio –
• Rutherfordton, North Carolina – locally or variations of it

S

• Saline, Michigan and Saline County, Illinois –
• Samish Island, Washington –
• Sammamish, Washington –
• San Jose, Illinois –
• San Rafael, California –
• San Xavier, Arizona –
• Schaghticoke, New York – or
• Schuylkill in Pennsylvania –
• Sedro-Woolley, Washington –
• Sekiu, Washington –
• Semiahmoo Bay, Washington –
• Sequim, Washington –
• Shawangunk (Mountains, town, river and prison in Hudson Valley, NY) {{#tag:ref|Locally.|group= n}}
• Shoshone, Idaho –
• Siuslaw River, Oregon –
• Skagit (name of a Native American tribe and various locales in Washington) –
• Skamokawa, Washington –
• Skaneateles (Lake, village and Town, NY) -
• Sol Duc River, Washington – also spelled Soleduck
• Spokane, Washington –
• Staunton, Virginia – or {{#tag:ref|In everyday speech a glottal stop replaces the in the second syllable. In careful or formal speech, the /t/ is clearly pronounced, but the vowel is pronounced as a schwa.|group= n}}
• Stehekin, Washington –
• Steilacoom, Washington –
• Suisun City, California –
• Swansea, Massachusetts –

T

• Taliaferro County, Georgia –
• Tanana, Alaska and Tanana River –
• Tekoa, Washington –
• Telocaset, Oregon –
• Terre Haute, Indiana – (also )
• Tewksbury, Massachusetts – traditionally
• Thames River (Connecticut) - intuitive , rather than familiar , as in the River Thames
• The Dalles, Oregon –
• Thibodaux, Louisiana –
• Throop, Pennsylvania -
• Tieton, Washington –
• Tigard, Oregon –
• Tillamook County, Oregon – or locally
• Tok, Alaska –
• Tooele, Utah –
• Topsail Beach, North Carolina –
• Touchet River, Washington
• Toutle River, Washington
• Tripoli, Iowa –
• Tualatin, Oregon, Tualatin River –
• Tulare, California – or
• Tucson, Arizona –
• Tygh Valley, Oregon –

V

• Vacaville, California – {{#tag:ref|Not |group= n}}
• Valatie, New York –
• Valdez, Alaska –
• Vallejo, California – , locally
• Veneta, Oregon –
• Verdi, Nevada –
• Versailles, Illinois, IN, KY, MO, and OH –
• Vici, Oklahoma –
• Vienna, Georgia, IL, OH, and SD –

W

• Wahkiakum County, Washington –
• Wallowa, Oregon, Wallowa County, and the Wallowa Mountains –

• Waltham, Massachusetts – {{#tag:ref|Same as examples in England such as London Borough of Waltham Forest. cf. greatly US well-known comparators.|group= n}}
• Waukesha, Wisconsin -
• Wayzata, Minnesota -
• Weippe, Idaho –
• Weiser, Idaho –
• Whitemarsh Island –
• Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – , , or
• Willamette River, Oregon –
• Willapa River and Willapa Hills, Washington –
• Woburn, Massachusetts – {{#tag:ref|Woburn, Bedfordshire and Woburn, Toronto are simply |group= n}}
• Wooster, Ohio - {{#tag:ref|Mispronounced as |group= n}}
• Worcester, Massachusetts – {{#tag:ref|As per traditional English town, county and sauce|group= n}}

Y

• Yakima, Yakima County, and Yakima River, Washington – {{#tag:ref|Though the pronunciation is also heard. The Native American people for whom the river, city, and county are named now prefer the spelling Yakama.|group= n}}
• Yachats, Oregon –
• Yaquina Bay and related places in Oregon –
• Yocona River, Mississippi –
• Youghiogheny River, U.S. –
• Yountville, California - or
• Yreka, California –

Z

• Zzyzx, California –

See also

• List of places in the United States with counterintuitive pronunciations: A–L
• Grapheme
• English spelling
• Pronunciation of Chinese names in English - counterintuitive Q, X, C, Zh, etc. in words romanised in Pinyin.

Notes and References

Notes