List of names in English with non-intuitive pronunciations
From Academic Kids
This is a list of personal and place names that are pronounced in a way not easily deducible from the spelling or in a way at variance with a better known name of the same spelling.
See International Phonetic Alphabet for English and IPA chart for English for guides to the IPA symbols used.
| Contents: | top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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A
- Alnwick — Template:IPA
- Arkansas — Template:IPA. Compare Kansas
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B
- Berlin, Connecticut and Berlin, New Hampshire — Template:IPA (stress on first syllable) Template:Audio
- Buccleuch — Template:IPA
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C
- Cairo, Illinois and Cairo, Ohio — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Caius (as in Caius College, Cambridge) — Template:IPA
- Calais, Maine Template:IPA Template:Audio (The town of Calais in France was formerly also pronounced Template:IPA in English; today Template:IPA, with initial stress in British English and final stress in American English, is the normal pronunciation.)
- Cholmondeley — Template:IPA
- Cirencester, now usually spelling pronunciation Template:IPA, but formerly and occasionally still pronounced Template:IPA *
- Cockburn — Template:IPA
- Cosham, Hampshire — Template:IPA
- Costessey, Norfolk — Template:IPA
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D
- Dalziel (as in the UK television series Dalziel and Pascoe) — Template:IPA or Template:IPA
- Des Moines, Iowa — Template:IPA
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E
- Edinburgh, Scotland — Template:IPA
- El Dorado, Kansas and Eldorado, Illinois — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Etobicoke, Ontario — Template:IPA
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F
- Featherstonehaugh — Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, or intuitively as Template:IPA *
- Frome, Somerset — Template:IPA
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G
- Gloucester (English city and Massachusetts city), both Template:IPA (RP and Boston accent) or Template:IPA (General American)
- Greenwich, Connecticut and Greenwich Village in New York City — Template:IPA
- Greenwich, Greater London — Template:IPA or Template:IPA
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H
- Happisburgh, Norfolk — Template:IPA
- Holborn, Greater London — Template:IPA
- Hurricane, West Virginia — Template:IPA
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I
- Illinois — Template:IPA
- Islay (island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland) — Template:IPA
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K
- Keighley, West Yorkshire) — Template:IPA
- Kingussie, Scotland — Template:IPA
- Kiribati (island nation in Pacific Ocean) — Template:IPA (spelling is regular in Gilbertese)
- Kirkby, Merseyside — Template:IPA
- Kirkcudbright, Scotland — Template:IPA
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L
- La Plata, Maryland — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Leicester, England and Leicester, Massachusetts — Template:IPA
- Leominster, Herefordshire — Template:IPA. Compare Leominster, Massachusetts which is more intuitively pronounced Template:IPA
- Lympne, Kent — Template:IPA
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M
- Mackinac Island, Michigan — Template:IPA
- Magdalen(e) (as in Magdalen College, Oxford and Magdalene College, Cambridge) — Template:IPA
- Manchaca, Texas — Template:IPA
- Marjoribanks — Template:IPA
- Menzies (as in Menzies Campbell) — Template:IPA
- Mexia, Texas — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Miami, Oklahoma — Template:IPA
- Milan, Indiana and Milan, New Hampshire — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Mousehole, Cornwall — Template:IPA
- Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire — Template:IPA
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N
- Naas, County Kildare, Ireland — Template:IPA
- Natchitoches, Louisiana — Template:IPA
- Neagh, Lough in Northern Ireland — Template:IPA
- Nevada, Iowa — Template:IPA Template:Audio
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P
- Pedernales River, Texas — Template:IPA
- Plaistow, Greater London — Template:IPA
- Puyallup, Washington — Template:IPA
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R
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S
- San Jose, Illinois — Template:IPA Template:Audio
- Sean (first name) — Template:IPA (spelling Seán is regular in Irish)
- Siobhan (first name) — Template:IPA or Template:IPA (spelling Siobhán is regular in Irish)
- Sioux (e.g. Sioux Falls, South Dakota) — Template:IPA
- Slough, Berkshire — Template:IPA
- Southwark, Greater London — Template:IPA
- Southwell, Nottinghamshire — Template:IPA (the more intuitive Template:IPA is also used locally)
- Spokane, Washington — Template:IPA
- Strachan — Template:IPA (although English TV presenters pronounce the name of new Celtic F.C. manager Gordon Strachan as Template:IPA)
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T
- Tal(l)iaferro (American place & family names) — Template:IPA
- Thames (river in England), Thames River in Ontario, and Thames River and eponymous town and firth in New Zealand — Template:IPA (the Thames River in Connecticut is pronounced Template:IPA)
- Torpenhow, Cumbria — Template:IPA (locally) or Template:IPA (non-locally)*
- Towcester, Northamptonshire — Template:IPA
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U
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V
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W
- Warwick, UK — Template:IPA
- Woolfardisworthy — Template:IPA or Template:IPA
- Worcester, England and Worcester, Massachusetts, both pronounced Template:IPA. Compare Wooster, Ohio
- Wymondham, Norfolk — Template:IPA (locally) or Template:IPA (non-locally) *
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Y
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References
Pronunciations marked with * are from:
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See also
- English spelling
- List of words of disputed pronunciation (includes names like Melbourne that are pronounced differently in different locations)
