Place names you got wrong

[Poiponen13]

What place names did you think that it is, until you realized that it it spelled differently? For example, I thought that Massachusetts has two Ss between U and E, not one.

[hotdogPi]

I thought Secaucus NJ was Seacaucus.

[MultiMillionMiler]

For a while I thought Weschester was Westchester.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I formerly often misspelled "Keweenaw" Peninsula as "Keewenaw" because the latter is what it sounds like when spoken.

[Roadgeekteen]

For a while I thought Weschester was Westchester.

That's because it is Westchester.

[Big John]

I thought Mackinac Island and Macinaw Island were 2 separate entities.

[MATraveler128]

I used to think Greenwich, Connecticut was pronounced "Green - Witch"  instead of Gren - itch" .

[US 89]

The cooler examples are the ones you hear first and guess a different spelling, not the ones you read on a map first and don't know whatever its weird local pronunciation is.

For lack of anything better coming to mind, when I moved to Tallahassee, people would talk about the "Ohclocknee River" every so often. Took me a bit to realize this was the same Ochlockonee River that formed the western boundary of Leon County. Yeah, I probably should have figured it out sooner, but this part of the country has a lot of similar-sounding native names - when I lived in Atlanta, I had Chattooga/Chattanooga/Chattahoochee all nearby referring to different things.

[Flint1979]

I remember when I was a kid I pronounced Sebewaing, Michigan as Swob-ing instead of See-buh-wing.

[flan]

As a young kid I thought the "Too-sahn"  in Arizona I kept hearing about was a different city from "Tucson"  on the map.

[Takumi]

I remember playing a video game and thinking Austria was Australia and Australia was Autostralia or something.

[hotdogPi]

Also from a game: I was quite young, and it was a Flash game. I thought Cartagena was Cargentina (Argentina with a C).



I also thought France was Françe in its native language.
I thought Bolingbrook IL was Boilingbrook.
I thought South Memphis was its own city in Mississippi across the state line from Memphis.
I thought Tbilisi was Tblisi with three consonants in a row at the beginning.

[Poiponen13]

I thought Secaucus NJ was Seacaucus.

I thought Seacucus.

[webny99]

Up until quite recently, I thought Manlius (man-ly-us), NY was Manilus (man-ill-us).

This was most likely by association with Skaneateles, and I never bothered to look at the spelling close enough to notice.

[Henry]

I always called Yosemite National Park "yoze-mite".

[Max Rockatansky]

I always called Yosemite National Park "yoze-mite".

I do that to get a stir out my wife since that's her favorite place. 

When I moved to Hanford, CA during 2016 I never heard anyone say the name of the city Visalia aloud.  I knew it was an older city and assumed it was a Spanish word.  Turns out the name comes from a family and town in Kentucky, it sounds pretty much how it is spelled. 

[roadman65]

Ponce de Leon I used to say as it's spelled, but omitting the e in Ponce.  Until I learned it was pronounced with the e and the Leon is not like Leon on NCIS but Lay own.

However GA residents do call it Ponc D Lee On, and will correct you if you say it the Spanish way.

[LilianaUwU]

Literally any French name in the US is butchered beyond belief.

[Rothman]

Literally any French name in the US is butchered beyond belief.

Zut alors!

[kirbykart]

Somehow I thought only the American Sault Ste. Marie was pronounced SOO-saint-muh-REE, and the Canadian one was pronounced "correctly" as SALT-saint-muh-REE.

[hotdogPi]

I knew it was an older city and assumed it was a Spanish word.

Same here, thought Amarillo TX was pronounced the Spanish way.

[roadman65]

Literally any French name in the US is butchered beyond belief.

Then there is the two ways Lafayette is spelled. La Fayette and Lafayette.

Don't ask me how to pronounce Opelousas, LA that I'm sure to butcher that one.

[1995hoo]

This thread reminds me of the joke about the kid who goes to California for the summer to visit his relatives. On the flight home, he starts talking to the old lady sitting next to him about what a good time he had in (what he pronounces as) San Joe's. She looks at him and says, "Young man, in California, the 'J' is pronounced like an 'H.' How long were you in San Ho-zay?" He thinks about it and responds, "For Hune and Huly."

[Flint1979]

Somehow I thought only the American Sault Ste. Marie was pronounced SOO-saint-muh-REE, and the Canadian one was pronounced "correctly" as SALT-saint-muh-REE.

It's a French word so it's pronounced that way. It means Rapids of the St. Mary's. Actually the word Sault is pronounced SO in French, the American way pronounces it SU.

[Big John]

Somehow I thought only the American Sault Ste. Marie was pronounced SOO-saint-muh-REE, and the Canadian one was pronounced "correctly" as SALT-saint-muh-REE.

It's a French word so it's pronounced that way. It means Rapids of the St. Mary's. Actually the word Sault is pronounced SO in French, the American way pronounces it SU.

There was a railroad based there called the Soo Line.