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Sequim, WA - “Skwim” - Sequim is a Native American word, which is why it’s not pronounced like the word “sequin.” It actually means “quiet water.”

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Van Nuys, CA - “Van nize” - This area was actually named after the realtor (Isaac Newton Van Nuys) who owned the land.

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Des Moines, IA - “Duh-moyn” - Originally from the French, the name means “from the monks.” It would make sense that the “s” at the end isn’t pronounced.

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Pflugerville, TX - “Flew-guhr-vil” - Who knew that there was a city in Texas with a similar pronunciation to the flugelhorn?

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Boerne, TX - “Ber-nee” - Though it looks like it should be pronounced like the last name of Jason Bourne, the town is actually pronounced like the name Bernie.

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Boise, ID - “Boy-see” - Though you may think you’ve got this one down pat, there is a slight difference. There is no ‘z’ sound in this word. Read it like a children’s picture book, “boy see.”

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Camarillo, CA - “Cam-ah-ree-oh” - Not shockingly, this town name in California comes from Spanish. Since double ‘l’ in Spanish makes a “y” sound (as in “yes”), it changes the pronunciation.

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Kissimmee, FL - “Ka-sim-mee” - As charming as it would be if this town was pronounced like “kiss me,” you’re out of luck. Though we’re sure a lot of tourists still name it so.

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Puyallup, WA - “Pew-al-lup” - Y’all pull on up to Puyallup!

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Cairo, IL - “Keh-ro” - Not to be confused with the Egyptian city or the other Cairo in Georgia, this Anglicized version is just the word “care” with an “o” at the end.

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La Jolla, CA - “La hoy-a” - Much like Camarillo, La Jolla has the same linguistic differentiation. Double “l” changes to “y,” and “j” turns to “h” in Spanish. Holla at us if you’ve previously heard this mispronunciation.

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Decatur, IL - “D-kay-ter” - Though it sounds like it would be a very classy name, similar to “decadent,” the Anglicized version went in a different direction.

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Patchogue, NY - “Patch-og” - Though you may want to pronounce “ogue” as you would in the word “Vogue,” it is actually much less complicated.

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Helena, MT - "Hell-en-a" - As in, “in a handbasket,” and not like the name Elena.

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Sault Ste. Marie, MI - “Soo saynt ma-ree” - This is one of the harder ones on the list. You could probably take a fairly good guess at the pronunciation of the last two words, however we reckon few that would get the “sault” right on the first try.

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Schenectady, NY - “Ski-nek-tuh-dee” - This name is just intimidating from the get-go. There are so many letters shoved together it’s no wonder that people often mispronounce it.

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Skaneateles, NY - “Skinnee-at-less” - Despite the fact that there are almost as many vowels as there are consonants in this verb, if you just think about a skinny atlas when pronouncing this town name, you should be fine.

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Terre Haute, IN - “Teh-ruh hoht” - If you know how to pronounce “haute couture,” you’re halfway there!

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Waukesha, WI - “Wah-kih-sha” - The name supposedly comes from the Anglicized version of a tribe leader’s name at the time, Wau-tsha.

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Versailles, KY - “Ver-say-ells” - Home to the Woodford Reserve Distillery, this town name is written exactly like the city in France. However, the pronunciation couldn’t be more different. We took a fairly literal approach to this one.

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Worcester, MA - “Wuss-ter” - Worcester is also a city name in England, which is pronounced the same way. This pronunciation also applies to worcestershire sauce.

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Wilkes-Barre, PA - “Wilks bar-ee” - Not to be confused with a barre class, this town name has two syllables instead of one.

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Raleigh, NC - “Raw-lee” - Despite the current political situation, not everything is a rally these days.

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Norfolk, VA - “Naw-fik” - Do folks from Norfolk say “no” or “naw?”

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Lafayette, LA - “Laff-ee-yet” - Despite a lot of these names originating from the French language, we have not actually maintained very much French pronunciation.

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Spokane, WA - “Spo-can” - Despite the fact that it looks like it should be pronounced “cane,” Spokane natives know that it’s pronounced with a hard and nasal “a.”

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Poughkeepsie, NY - “Poo-kip-see” - A commonly mispronounced town name, it seems like every sound in this name is contrary to what you would think.

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Waco, TX - “Way-co” - Not to be confused with a crazy person (whacko).

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Louisville, KY - “Loo-a-vul” - Though this looks like it would be an easy one to pronounce, it ends up being much more guttural than one might think.

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Bethesda, MD -

“Buh-thez-duh” - The only real surprise here is that it’s a “z” sound instead of an “s.”

See also: These US towns will pay you to move there

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