It may come as a surprise to visitors (and even many Minnesotans) that even the most simple sounding town names are pronounced differently by the locals. And while in the past I have written about great Minnesota town names, and the extremely uncreative ones, here are 6 towns in our great state that you are probably pronouncing wrong.
5. Winona, MN – A college town in the southeast region along the Mississippi River, Winona, MN is the namesake of the actress Winona Ryder who was born here in 1971. And while many think this one is pronounced “WHY-nona,” it actually is pronounced “WUH-nona.”
4. Faribault, MN – A very historic town south of Minneapolis about an hour, Faribault’s name comes from Alexander Faribault, was the son of Jean-Baptiste Faribault, a French-Canadian fur trader. Since the word Faribault is French in nature, what reads like “Fair-uh-balt,” this one is actually “FAIR-boh.”
3. New Prague, MN – Much like New Germany, New Ulm, or New London (all in Minnesota), New Prague was named after European immigrants who settled the area in the late 1800’s. However, locals will be quick to tell you that the “Prague” part rhymes with “bag,” not “bog,” like the capital city of the Czech Republic.
2. Gaylord, MN – Gaylord is a town of about 2300 people, and the county seat of Sibley County (southwest of the Twin Cities). And while it seems simple enough, folks ’round those parts commonly pronounce this one “GAIL-erd.”
1. Cosmos, MN – Cosmos is a cosmic-themed little town on the prairie, with streets named “Milky Way Street.” and “Gemini Ave,” and a galactic scene of spaceships and planets on its water tower. But puzzlingly enough, the locals pronounce it “COZ-mus.”
Honorable Mentions: Milan, MN (locals say MY-lin), Leroy, MN (Luh-ROY), and Miesville, MN (MEES-ville).
Bonus: 5 More Towns You’re Pronouncing Wrong!
**Editor’s Note: Many locals of Leroy, MN, pointed out that locals pronounce it LEE-roy, and the out-of-towners often say “Luh-ROY.”
Actually, New Prague rhymes with “beg,” more so than “bag.” New Pr-egg.
I’d have to disagree with you – Whenever I hear it pronounced by the locals, it always more closely represents a rhyme with “bag”.. the good news though, is that as a Minnesotan I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it like the city in the Czech Republic 😉
Well I have relatives that live and work there and every time I have heard it said, it rhymes with egg. Also, on occasion there some people there that pronounce it like the Czech city.
Well, it doesn’t rhyme with “bag” if you’re not using a Minnesotan accent. It’s the same “a” sound as in the beginning of “cake,” which some Minnesotans use for “flag,” “bag,” “tag,” et cetera. Most Americans would pronounce those words with the “a” in “apple.”
Prague rhymes with bag…not beg.. Faribault is accurate with Faribo…
Shakopee needs to be on the list…
Many readers have mentioned SHakopee should be on the list. I have lived in MN my whole life and have only heard it pronounced the correct way. How else have you heard it pronounced?
I would agree with Shakopee being on this list. My wife moved to Minnesota from elsewhere and thinks that it’s strange the way it’s pronounced.
SHACK-oh-pee
Most Minnesotas and even Wisconsin folks can get Wa-ba-sha right… but to everyone else we are known to live in Wa-BASH-a..
I disagree with Winona. I was born and raised there and I always heard local folks pronounce it “WIN” ona.
I have lived here for over 40 years. It is pronounced “Preg”.
It’s fair buLT
its fair bow. you don’t pronounce the LT. like most french words.
I’m from Gaylord and Gail-erd is 100% totally accurate! You can always tell when someone isn’t from town. Another good one is Glencoe. It’s not Glen-coe it’s Glenc-oe
Leroy is pronounced “Lee Roy” not ” luh Roy. I live here I would know
I have heard many people from southern MN pronounce it both ways…
I use to live in Leroy back in 1930-1960s and all the locals would pronounce it Luh-Roy, not Lee-Roy. I’m so mad that all these current citizens of Leroy are currently pronouncing the name of the town incorrectly. You should study the history of the town before claiming you know how it is propery pronounced just because you now live there. Hope everyone in Luh-Roy has a nice summer.
things change over time and my mother with her two brothers was born and raised there and my grandpa farmed there for 90 years and my great grandpa gave the land for the Lutheran church and they all pronounce it lee not luh even tho the Norwegian pronunciation is luh change is a occurring thing
It is ” Lee Roy” not “luh Roy”
I thought Winona was Win-Oh-Nuh and another one I’ve been hearing is Waseca… It’s not Wuh-see-cuh, it’s Wah-see-cuh
True, Waseca is another great contender for an upcoming list.
It is Wih-no-nah. Born and raised. We have a FB group for people born and raised there, and we are all confounded by how you came to you wrong conclusion!??
What is “confounding” is that you are splitting hairs over “Win-onah” vs. “Wuh-nonah” when the whole point of the article is that people often say ‘WHY-nona.”
You’re right, it is “Win-oh-nuh” (not “Why-no-nuh”)
I named the Milky Way in Cosmos when I was 19 years old and it is indeed Cosmus not Caus Mos.
Oh and by the way it’s just ‘Milky Way’ NOT Milky Way Street!
Not according to Google maps!
Another is Le Center. I’ve heard it both ways Lee Center and La Center
Le Center is pronounced almost like “Luh Center.” It’s not “lay” as in the Spanish “le.” Le Center rhymes with “the center.”
Add Delano, Montrose and Edina to the list.
How about Ceylon. ..it’s see lawn….not say lon
Biscay is another. It’s not Bis cay it’s Bis key.
As a born & raised Minnesotan, I can tell you the main reason these towns are not pronounced as you might think they would is because of our sexy Minnesotan accent, dontcha know!
Lol agreed
I’ve always heard people say Le-Roy, but there is a town few miles north of there called Ostrander, people not from around here say ah-strander as in ostrich but it’s oh–strander as in oh crap we’re stranded
And Montevideo is NOT pronounced “Monticello.” 😉
Amen!
Lol
Can’t believe Willmar (pronounced Will-mer) didn’t make the list.
then there is Waseca..ever heard it pronounced Wass sa ka? and Mankato, ma kot o, I did many times when calling in catalog orders for jcp
How about Santiago, MN. Pronounced san-DEE-ay-go
My maiden name is Ostrander and believe me our name has been missed pronounced just like your town. As you mentioned it’s O, with a long ‘O’ sound.
yep that one just kills me too, I can always tell when someone has not been around Santiago very long. Years ago a local DJ from WQPM radio was trying to get a phone number for some one in Santiago from directory assistance and she connected him to San Diego, CA. (That’s a true story!)
I have seen signs for Santiago but never been there and I didn’t know it was pronounced like San Diego. Might have to include that on the sequel!
I lived in “Sandy Eggo” as a kid. Interesting little town, that will always have a piece of my heart.
Another commonly mis-pronounced is Perham, Mn. I called it Per-Ham. Until I went to the chocolate factory and was informed its Pur-rum!
I worked in Perham for several years and people from out-state would never get it right. Might have to include Perham on the upcoming part 2 !
I wonder if the “pur-um” pronunciation has some English background. With towns and cities in England ending in “ham,” the “h” is silent (like in Nottingham).
Shakopee.. shock~o~pee needs to be on the list
SHACK-o-pee
How about shortend name for Alexandria (Alex)? Locals pronounce it “Alec”.
I have never understood why people from Alexandria pronounce it that way. Seems kinda odd. Must be something in the water up there. I don’t think I would ever date, marry or reproduce with someone from that area. They also pronounce Carlos as Car-Liss. Never understood that one either.
Alec! Is a great place to live!!! And yes! We can always tell who is not from here because they call Alec-Alex!! Be careful what you say, you may end up dating/marrying or end up living in this beautiful city that is easy to find & hard to leave!!
http://www.echopress.com/content/you-asked%E2%80%88why-do-locals-call-alexandria-alek
Just saw this on some reason why they might say “Alec”
I feel like Chokio and Shakopee are more pertinent to have on this list than Winona and Cosmos 😛
Both are great contenders for an upcoming volume!
Don’t forget Kanabec county. I hear that get mispronounced all of the time. It’s “kan AY beck”, not “CAN a beck”.
This former Minnesotan now lives in Maine, where we have Kennebec County and a river by the same name. Pronounced “KEN-uh-beck”, unlike the similar word in MN. They come from related indigenous languages, Ojibwe and Penobscot, both Algonquian in origin.
Ugh. Just schooled a bunch if people on that today.
Cloquet is KL (long O) K, Not KLOKWET or KLOKET
It’s all OK in Cloquet
Mahtomedi should definitely be on the list! Ma-toe-mee-dye
Don’t forget Osseo. It’s Os-ee-O not O-say-oh
New Prauge is New Prage with a long a. My wife and 2 children were born in the hospital and my wife’s parent lived in the area for 90 years.
SE Minnesota born & bred it’s Wi-no-nah, I never could understand where the “Y” came from!!
Waconia should have made the list as well. I have heard wuh-co-nee-uh, wah-co-nee-uh, and wah-cone-ya.
Geew up in Waconia and wah-cone-ya. is how we pronounced it back in the day.
Ely is pronounced “EE-lee,” not “EE-lie” or “EL-ee.” Fayal (a township south of Eveleth) is usually and comically pronounced like “fail.” Biwabik is “bye-WAH-bick” or “buh-WAH-bick.” Buyck, a tiny area east of Orr, is pronounced “bike.” They’ve even strapped a child’s bicycle to the welcome sign. Eveleth, crazy as it may sound, is not pronounced “eleventh.”
Eagan is another town that eludes non Minnesotan vocabulary
Delano should definitely be on the list. I hear lots of people say del-ah-no. The a is an a not an ah sound.
Pronunciation aside…It’s spelled “Le Roy” 😉
How about Soudan people think it’s Sue-dan but its Se-dan (like the car)
Elba.Mn. is not pronounced “Elbe” .it is a A at the end not a E!!! Learn English !!!
I spoke with a few folks in Elba who confirmed some of the older generations around there pronounce it L-B instead El-ba. Never understood that either.
Winona is definently NOT named after Winona Ryder… I can’t believe they wrote that on here without looking up the facts. The city is named after a native american princess.
I didn’t say the town was named after her… I said that she was named after the town as she was born nearby.
You might want to re-read the article. She was born in Winona, that is where her name came from…not “nearby”, as BS5544 states.
Actually according to her wikipedia bio, she was born “nearby Winona” in Olmsted County.
I have lived in MN for 74 years and it is all new to me. Very interesting.
Had not heard all the different pronunciations.
People pronounce willmar, will- maaaar. It’s will-mur.
Add Cokato to the list. It’s “coh-KAY-toh,” not “COCK-ah-too.”
The other problem that comes up when I say, “Cokato”: “Oh, sure…Mankato.” No, not Mankato. Two very different towns.
Re: Delano. People emphasize the wrong syllable. It’s DEL-a-no, not del-AH-no.
I love when out of state folks call my flower shop to deliver flowers to Osakis…it never fails they pronounce it Oh-SOCK-us.
You must be from the south side, you forgot Perham
Nope, I live ten minutes away from Perham! And yes, it is VERY commonly mispronounced.
I’ve got a few from here in south central. Granada. not pronounced like the island.. grah nah dah… we say Gruh NAY Duh. and Ceylon… not pronounced say lone… it’s SEE lon. I saw alex trebec mispronounce those on jeopardy and they don’t even make the list? haha
How about Wayzata…uffda, need I say more?
some can’t even say Minnesota correct
Then there is Lafayette, which is pronounced Lah-fyette’.
How about Onamia? That one’s been massacred a million different ways. Oh name ee ya.
How many people know that Mankato was actually supposed to be Mahkato… some Indian name, but the registrar mistook the “h” for an “n” and the rest is history.
I lived in Winona and cringed every time someone ( usually from Wisconsin ) would say: “WY- nona”. I would reply: “Do you say “WY-sconsin?”
The town in MN that is never pronounced correctly, even by main Network Radio & TV is Chokio. Another is Chisago City.
Agree, and that was precisely why I included Chokio on the sequel to this article!