List of names in English with non-intuitive pronunciations

Note: For purposes of this page, "non-intuitive pronunciation" means a pronunciation that is not easily deducible from the spelling. Included are placenames in English-speaking countries, surnames of British origin, and first names widely encountered in the English-speaking world.

See International Phonetic Alphabet for English and IPA chart for English for guides to the IPA symbols used.

• Alnwick — [ˈænɪk]
• Arkansas — [ˈɑrkənˌsɔ]. Compare Kansas
• Buccleuch — [bəˈkluː]
• Caius (as in Caius College, Cambridge) — [kiːz]
• Cholmondeley — [ˈtʃʌmli]
• Cirencester, now usually spelling pronunciation [ˈsaɪrənˌsɛstə], but formerly and occasionally still pronounced [ˈsɪsɪtə] *
• Cockburn — [ˈkoʊbɜːn]
• Cosham, Hampshire — [ˈkɒsəm]
• Costessey, Norfolk — [ˈkɒsi]
• Dalziel (as in the UK television series Dalziel and Pascoe) — [diːˈɛl] or [diːˈjɛl]
• Des Moines, Iowa — [dəˈmɔɪn]
• Edinburgh, Scotland — [ˈɛdn̩b(ə)rə]
• Etobicoke, Ontario — [əˈtoʊbɪˌkoʊ]
• Featherstonehaugh — [ˈfænʃɔː], [ˈfɛstənhɔː], [ˈfiːsn̩heɪ], [ˈfɪəstənhɔː], or intuitively as [ˈfɛðəstənhɔː] *
• Frome, Somerset — [fruːm]
• Gloucester (English city and Massachusetts city), both [ˈglɒstə] (RP and Boston accent) or [ˈglɔstɚ] (General American)
• Greenwich, Greater London, also Greenwich, Connecticut and Greenwich Village in New York City — [ˈgrɛnɪtʃ]
• Happisburgh, Norfolk — [ˈheɪzb(ə)rə]
• Holborn, Greater London — [ˈhoʊbɜːn]
• Illinois — [ˌɪləˈnɔɪ]
• Islay (island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland) — [ˈaɪlə]
• Keighley, West Yorkshire) — [ˈkiːθli]
• Kiribati (island nation in Pacific Ocean) — [ˈkɪribæs] (spelling is regular in Gilbertese)
• Kirkby, Merseyside — [ˈkɜːbi]
• Kirkcudbright, Scotland — [kɪrˈkuːbri]
• Leicester, England and Leicester, Massachusetts — [ˈlɛstə]
• Leominster, Herefordshire — [ˈlɛmstə]. Compare Leominster, Massachusetts which is more intuitively pronounced [ˈlɛmənstə].
• Mackinac Island, Michigan — [ˈmækɪˌnɔː]
• Magdalen(e) (as in Magdalen College, Oxford and Magdalene College, Cambridge) — [ˈmɔːdlɪn]
• Manchaca, Texas — [ˈmæntʃæk]
• Marjoribanks — [ˈmɑːtʃbæŋks]
• Menzies (as in Menzies Campbell) — [ˈmɪŋɪs]
• Mousehole, Cornwall — [ˈmaʊzəl]
• Naas, County Kildare, Ireland — [neɪs]
• Natchitoches, Louisiana — [ˈnækətəʃ]
• Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland — [neɪ]
• Pedernales River, Texas — [ˌpɝdəˈnæləs]
• Puyallup, Washington — [pjuˈæləp]
• Sean (first name) — [ʃɔːn] (spelling Seán is regular in Irish)
• Siobhan (first name) — [ʃəˈvɔːn] (spelling Siobhán is regular in Irish)
• Sioux (e.g. Sioux Falls, South Dakota) — [suː]
• Slough, Berkshire — [slaʊ]
• Southwark, Greater London — [ˈsʌðək]
• Spokane, Washington — [spoʊˈkæn]
• Strachan — [strɔːn]
• Tal(l)iaferro (American place & family names) — [ˈtɑlɪvɚ]
• River Thames — [tɛmz]
• Towcester, Northamptonshire — [ˈtəʊstə]
• Warwick, UK — [ˈwɒrɪk]
• Worcester, England and Worcester, Massachusetts, both pronounced [ˈwʊstə]. Compare Wooster, Ohio
• Woolfardisworthy — [ˈwʊlzi] or [ˈwʊlzəri]
• Wymondham, Norfolk — [ˈwɪndəm] (locally) or [ˈwɪməndəm] (non-locally) *
• Youghal, County Cork, Ireland — [jɔːl]

* Pronunciations from Longman Pronunciation Dictionary.

References

1. G. M. Miller (editor) (1971). BBC pronouncing dictionary of British names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0–19–431125–2.
2. Wells, John C. (1990). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Longman. ISBN 0–582–05383–8.

See also

• English spelling
• List of words of disputed pronunciation, the proper home for names frequently mispronounced by non-locals but whose "correct" pronunciation is still easily deducible from the spelling.
• List of place names with unexpected pronunciation, list of familiar-looking place names but whose pronunciations are unexpected.