Tennessee is notorious for place names that fool outsiders. Here are 11 towns and counties that are tough to pronounce correctly on the first try—locals know best!
Tennessee Place Names That Trip People Up
Milan – Pronounced “MY-lin,” not like the Italian city.
Santa Fe – Local pronunciation is “Santa Fee”.
Maury County – Say “Murry,” not “Maw-ree”.
Lebanon – Locals say “Leb-nun”.
Lafayette – In Tennessee, it’s “Luh-FAY-it” or “Luh-fayette”.
Ooltewah – Pronounced “Oo-da-wah”.
Maryville – Say it quick: “Murvul” or “Murrivul”.
Shelbyville – It’s “Shebbyvul” or just “Shovel” to locals.
Finger – Not obvious—it’s “Fanger”.
Sevierville – Locals say “Seh-VEER-vull” or “Severe-vul,” not “Severe-ville”.
Obion – It’s “oh-BYE-un,” not “OH-bee-ahn”.
Table: The Tennessee Pronunciation Challenge
Tennesseans take pride in these tricky names—they’re a badge of true local status!
SOURCES
(https://tnhomeandfarm.com/tn-living/tn-towns-most-mispronounced/)(https://www.reddit.com/r/Tennessee/comments/1e3z7pc/mispronounced_citycounty_names/)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3-csAjjl0)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CzROBXhBWg)
(https://www.southernthing.com/we-try-to-pronounce-tennessee-town-names-2627960869.html)
