List of irregularly spelled English names

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.

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A

• Alnwick — /ˈænɪk/
• Arkansas — /ˈɑrkənˌsɔ/. Compare Kansas. However, the Arkansas River is pronounced differently in the two states.
• Assman (as in Dick Assman) — /'ɒsmən/

B

• Berlin, Connecticut, Berlin, New Hampshire, and Berlin, Ohio — /ˈbɝlɪn/ (stress on first syllable)
• Boise, Idaho — /ˈbɔɪ.si/ (this is the standard local pronunciation, but most Americans, especially those far removed from Idaho, pronounce it /ˈbɔɪ.zi/)
• Bozeat, Northamptonshire — /ˈbəʊʒət/
• Buccleuch — /bəˈkluː/

C

• Cahir, South Tipperary, Republic of Ireland — /ˈkeɪr/
• Cairo, Illinois and Cairo, Ohio — /ˈkeɪɹoʊ/
• Caius (as in Caius College, Cambridge) — /kiːz/
• Calais, Maine /ˈkælɪs/ (The town of Calais in France was formerly also pronounced /ˈkælɪs/ in English; today /kæleɪ/, with initial stress in British English and final stress in American English, is the normal pronunciation.)
• Canyon de Chelly, Arizona — Chelly pronounced /ʃeɪ/
• Chicago — /ʃɨ.ˈkɑː.ɡoʊ/
• Cholmondeley — /ˈtʃʌmli/
• Cirencester, now usually spelling pronunciation /ˈsaɪrənˌsɛstə/, but formerly and occasionally still pronounced /ˈsɪsɪtə/ *
• Cockburn — /ˈkoʊbɜːn/
• Cogenhoe, Northamptonshire — /ˈkʊknəʊ/
• Connecticut — /kəˈnɛtɪkət/
• Cosham, Hampshire — /ˈkɒsəm/
• Costessey, Norfolk — /ˈkɒsi/
• Crichton (as in Michael Crichton) — /ˈkraɪtn̩/

D

• Dalyell and Dalziel (as in the UK television series Dalziel and Pascoe) — /diˈɛl/ *
• Des Moines, Iowa — /dəˈmɔɪn/

E

• Edinburgh, Scotland — /ˈɛdn̩b(ə)rə/
• El Dorado, Kansas and Eldorado, Illinois — /ɛldəˈɹeɪdoʊ/
• Etobicoke, Ontario — /əˈtoʊbɪˌkoʊ/

F

• Featherstonehaugh — /ˈfænʃɔː/, /ˈfɛstənhɔː/, /ˈfiːsn̩heɪ/, /ˈfɪəstənhɔː/, or intuitively as /ˈfɛðəstənhɔː/ *
• Frome, Somerset — /fruːm/

G

• Geogehan (Irish surname) — /ˈgeɪgən/
• Gloucester (English city and Massachusetts city), both /ˈglɒstə/ (RP and Boston accent) or /ˈglɔstɚ/ (General American)
• Greenwich, Connecticut and Greenwich Village in New York City — /ˈgrɛnɪtʃ/
• Greenwich, Greater London — /ˈgrɛnɪtʃ/ or /ˈgrɪnɪtʃ/
• Greig (Scottish/English surname or forename) — /ˈgrɛg/

H

• Happisburgh, Norfolk — /ˈheɪzb(ə)rə/
• Holborn, Greater London — /ˈhoʊbɜːn/
• Hurricane, Utah and Hurricane, West Virginia — /ˈhɝɪkən/ (The /-ən/ ending is standard in the British pronunciation of hurricane, but not in American English)

I

• Illinois — /ˌɪləˈnɔɪ/
• Islay (island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland) — /ˈaɪlə/

J

• John — /dʒɒn/ (RP) /dʒɑn/ (GAm)

K

• Keighley, West Yorkshire) — /ˈkiːθli/
• Kingussie, Scotland — /kɪŋˈjuːsi/
• Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland — /ˌkɪltʃɪˈmɒk/
• Kiribati (island nation in Pacific Ocean) — /ˈkɪribæs/ (spelling is regular in Gilbertese)
• Kirkby, Merseyside — /ˈkɜːbi/
• Kirkcudbright, Scotland — /kɪrˈkuːbri/

L

• La Plata, Maryland — /ləˈpleɪtə/
• Launceston, Cornwall — /ˈlɔːns(t)ən/ or /ˈlɑːns(t)ən/ (but Launceston, Tasmania is /ˈlɒnsəstən/)
• Leap, County Cork, Republic of Ireland — /ˈlɛp/
• Leicester, England and Leicester, Massachusetts — /ˈlɛstə/
• Leintwardine, Shropshire —
• Leominster, Herefordshire — /ˈlɛmstə/. Compare Leominster, Massachusetts which is more intuitively pronounced /ˈlɛmənstə/
• Lympne, Kent — /lɪm/

M

• Mackinac Island, Michigan — /ˈmækɪˌnɔː/
• Magdalen(e) (as in Magdalen College, Oxford and Magdalene College, Cambridge) — /ˈmɔːdlɪn/
• Manchaca, Texas — /ˈmæntʃæk/
• Mantua, Utah — /ˈmæ.nə.ˌweɪ/
• Marjoribanks — /ˈmɑːtʃbæŋks/
• McCaughey (as in the McCaughey septuplets) — / məˈkɔɪ/ ("McCoy")
• Menzies (as in Menzies Campbell) — /ˈmɪŋɪs/
• Mexia, Texas — /məˈheɪə/
• Miami, Oklahoma — /maɪˈæmə/
• Milan, Indiana, Milan, Michigan and Milan, New Hampshire — /ˈmaɪlən/
• Moog (as in Bob Moog) — /ˈmoʊg/
• Mousehole, Cornwall — /ˈmaʊzəl/
• Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire — /ˈmaɪðəmrɔɪd/

N

• Naas, County Kildare, Ireland — /neɪs/
• Natchitoches, Louisiana — /ˈnækətəʃ/
• Neagh, Lough in Northern Ireland — /neɪ/
• Newfoundland — /ˈnuː.fən.ˌlænd/
• Nevada, Iowa — /nəˈveɪdə/

P

• Pedernales River, Texas — /ˌpɝdəˈnæləs/
• Pierre, South Dakota — /piːr/
• Plaistow, Greater London — /ˈplɑːstoʊ/
• Plymouth — /ˈplɪ.məθ/
• Proulx (as in Marcel Proulx and E. Annie Proulx) — /pruː/
• Puyallup, Washington — /pjuˈæləp/

R

• Refugio, Texas — /ɹəˈfjuɹioʊ/
• Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire, UK — /ˈɹi.vəʊ/

S

• San Jose, Illinois — /sæn ˈʤoʊz/
• Sault Ste. Marie — first word pronounced /suː/
• Sean (first name) — /ʃɔːn/ (spelling Seán is regular in Irish)
• Siobhan (first name) — /ʃɪˈvɔːn/ or /ʃəˈvɔːn/ (spelling Siobhán is regular in Irish)
• Sioux (e.g. Sioux Falls, South Dakota) — /suː/
• Slough, Berkshire — /slaʊ/
• Southwark, Greater London — /ˈsʌðək/
• Southwell, Nottinghamshire — /ˈsʌðəl/ (the more intuitive /ˈsaʊθwəl/ is also used locally)
• Spokane, Washington — /spoʊˈkæn/
• Strachan — /strɔːn/ (although English TV presenters pronounce the name of Celtic F.C. manager Gordon Strachan as /ˈstrækən/)
• Suir, River in Leinster, Ireland — /ʃuːr/

T

• Tal(l)iaferro (American place & family names) — /ˈtɑlɪvɚ/
• Thames (river in England), Thames River in Ontario, and Thames River and eponymous town and firth in New Zealand — /tɛmz/ (the Thames River in Connecticut is pronounced /θeɪmz/)
• Tooele, Utah — /ˌtu.ˈwɪ.ɫə/
• Torpenhow, Cumbria — /trəˈpɛnə/ (locally) or /ˈtɔːpənhaʊ/ (non-locally)*
• Towcester, Northamptonshire — /ˈtəʊstə/
• Tucson, Arizona — /ˈtuːsɑn/

U

• Unadilla, New York — /junəˈdɪlə/

V

• Versailles, Kentucky — /vɚˈseɪlz/
• Vienna, Illinois — /vaɪˈænə/

W

• Warwick, UK — /ˈwɒrɪk/
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire — /ˈwɪzbi:tʃ/
• Woolfardisworthy — /ˈwʊlzi/ or /ˈwʊlzəri/
• Worcester, England and Worcester, Massachusetts, both pronounced /ˈwʊstə/. Compare Wooster, Ohio
• Wymondham, Norfolk — /ˈwɪndəm/ (locally) or /ˈwɪməndəm/ (non-locally) *

Y

• Youghal, County Cork, Ireland — /jɔːl/

References

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Pronunciations marked with * are from:

• . ISBN 0-582-36468-X. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)

See also

• English spelling
• List of words of disputed pronunciation (includes names like Melbourne that are pronounced differently in different locations)