11 Nebraska Town Names That’ll Make Your GPS Have an Existential Crisis

Here are 11 Nebraska town names that’ll make your GPS have an existential crisis due to their tricky, counterintuitive pronunciations:

1. Beatrice – Pronounced “BEE-uh-triss” (not “Bee-AH-treece”)
2. Norfolk – Pronounced “NOR-fork” (not “Nor-folk”)
3. Cairo – Pronounced “KAY-ro” (not like the Egyptian capital)
4. Omaha – Emphasize “OH-mah-ha,” careful not to overemphasize the first syllable
5. Papillion – Pronounced “puh-PEEL-yun”
6. Gibbon – Pronounced “GIB-bun” (not “Gib-bon”)
7. Chappell – Pronounced “Chap-ul”
8. Scottsbluff – Stress on first syllable; straightforward but tricky to say fast
9. Milan – Pronounced “MY-lin” (not like the Italian city)
10. Ponca – Pronounced “PON-ka”
11. Hastings – Emphasize the first syllable “HASS-tings”

These pronunciations reflect local customs and histories, and mixing them up marks you as an outsider quickly. Mastering them is a fun way to blend with Nebraska locals and avoid confusing your GPS navigator.

SOURCES

[1](https://wheninyourstate.com/nebraska/we-know-youre-not-from-nebraska-if-you-mispronounce-these-12-names/)
[2](https://www.mentalfloss.com/geography/maps/hardest-to-pronounce-town-name-in-every-state-map)
[3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nebraska/comments/1jd28za/without_saying_the_name_of_your_town_city_where/)
[4](https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/la/article/download/22468/26125/34020)
[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL2IRaxsJrc)