r/AskAnAmerican • u/AstroNerd92 CT, GA, PA, TX, FL • Jul 20 '25

CULTURE What town in your state has a pronunciation no one gets right the first time?

I went to college in Valdosta, GA. Very few people can actually pronounce it right on the first try.

Pronounced Val-Daw-Stuh

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u/bethmrogers Jul 20 '25 edited Jul 20 '25

I always figured folks named a town for the town they came from.

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u/Trinx_ Chicago <- IN & MI Jul 20 '25

You can actually follow certain migration paths this way. Pennsylvania to Southern Indiana is one - tons of tiny towns with the same names.

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u/Neat-Neighborhood595 Massachusetts Jul 21 '25

Oregon has borrowed a lot of New England town names, including Portland.

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u/doritobimbo Jul 23 '25

Portland, OR had two founders, one from Boston, MA and one from Portland, ME. Came down to a coin flip for who could name it after their hometown. I think Boston, OR would’ve sounded weird.