21 Commonly Mispronounced UK Place Names, Mapped

Mental Floss has recently taken deep dives into some of America’s hardest to pronounce place names, as well as the U.S. state names that people tend to find the trickiest—and now, it’s the UK’s turn.

To non-Brits, even the names of some of the UK’s biggest and best-known place can prove tricky. No, Edinburgh doesn’t rhyme with “burrow,” it’s “ED-in-buh-ruh.” London’s Marylebone station is either “MAR-lib-un” or “MARR-i-lib-un” to locals, so don’t try putting a “Mary” or a “bone” in there. And the less said about Americans trying to pronounce Worcestershire (“WUSS-tuh-shuh”) the better.

The UK’s towns and cities are just as unpredictable a mispronunciation minefield on the local level. Thanks to its islands’ long and complex history, the United Kingdom’s place names derive from a rich mixture of ancient Celtic, Norse, Norman French, and Germanic Old English roots (with a little bit of Roman Latin thrown in for good measure). In addition to English speakers, the UK is home to plenty of Welsh, Scots, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and Cornish speakers too, all of whose languages not only keep those ancient Celtic roots alive today, but provide plenty of local place names whose spellings might prove tricky to English monolinguals—whether from inside the UK or abroad.

From north to south, and covering all four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, here are 21 of the UK’s most troublesome place names—and a map of where you can find them. 

1. Map of Commonly Mispronounced UK Place Names
2. Acrefair, Wrexham
3. Auchtermuchty, Fife
4. Beaulieu, Hampshire
5. Clough, Co. Down
6. Cultra, Co. Down
7. Ecclefechan, Dumfries & Galloway
8. Findochty, Moray
9. Fowey, Cornwall
10. Frome, Somerset
11. Hessle, East Yorkshire
12. Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway
13. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey
14. Loughborough, Leicestershire
15. Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire
16. Quernmore, Lancashire
17. Rievaulx, North Yorkshire
18. Towcester, Northamptonshire
19. Ulgham, Northumberland
20. Wrotham, Kent
21. Wymondham, Norfolk
22. Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf

Map of Commonly Mispronounced UK Place Names

Acrefair, Wrexham

Given that Celtic-origin Welsh has relatively little in common with Germanic-origin English, the place names of Wales can prove particularly tricky to anyone unfamiliar with the Welsh language. Even some Welsh names that appear perfectly manageable at first glance can end up tripping us up—including that of Acrefair, a village in the far the northeast corner of Wales. Despite appearances, this isn’t pronounced “acre-fair,” but “ack-reh-VYE-uh”; the name literally means “Mary’s acres.” 

Auchtermuchty, Fife

Meaning “field of boards,” the village of Auchtermuchty in Fife is one of Scotland’s most infamously tricky place names (so much so that the historian William Cook Mackenzie once labeled it “worthy of being selected as the shibboleth of Scotland”). The knack here is to remember those troublesome ch’s should be pronounced in the same throaty way as they are in loch or Bach: Auchtermuchty is essentially “ockh-ter-MUCKH-tee,” with stress on the third syllable. 

Beaulieu, Hampshire

No prizes for guessing that this name is French in origin, but unlike its French roots beau (“beautiful”) and lieu (“place”), Beaulieu in Hampshire has come to be pronounced “BYOO-lee.” 

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Clough, Co. Down

There are a few places named Clough scattered across the UK, most of which are pronounced either “cluff” or “clow” (and come from an Old English word for a gorge or valley). The Clough in County Down, Northern Ireland, is something different: Derived from an Irish name meaning “stone castle,” it is pronounced almost like “clock,” but with the same throaty sound as loch. 

Cultra, Co. Down

Cultra is a coastal neighborhood on the outskirts of Belfast, Northern Ireland, on the shores of Belfast Lough. Thought to take its name from the Irish Baile Chúl Trá, meaning “back of the strand,” despite appearances it is often pronounced as if it has a w on the end: “cul-TRAW,” not “cul-trah.” 

Ecclefechan, Dumfries & Galloway

Another of Scotland’s most famously tricky names, the village of Ecclefechan lies just a few miles from the English border in Dumfries and Galloway. Its name—which is pronounced “eck-el-FECK-han”—is Celtic in origin, and is rooted in an old word for a church. 

Findochty, Moray

The d in the middle of the name of this tiny fishing village in Moray, in northern Scotland, is silent (and that ch is the same throaty one from Auchtermuchty): It’s pronounced “fin-ECK-tee.” 

Fowey, Cornwall

Cornwall is home to its own local Celtic language of Cornish, which is responsible for surely some of the most striking and tongue-twisting place names in England—from Amalebra to Zoar, by way of the likes of Mousehole, Perranzabuloe, and Quethiock. Even some of the county’s most straightforward-looking names can prove troublesome (Mousehole is pronounced “MAU-zel,” for example) and the coastal village of Fowey proves that point better than most: It is simply pronounced “foy,” as if that central w were not there at all. 

Frome, Somerset

Frome must rhyme with Rome, right? Nope. And nor does it rhyme with some. Actually, it’s pronounced “Froom.” 

Hessle, East Yorkshire

The town of Hessle, near Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is pronounced with z’s, not s’s, so it rhymes with embezzle, not vessel. 

Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway

Etymologically, Kirkcudbright is literally “the kirk (or church) of St. Cuthbert.” A few centuries later, and its pronunciation has been cut down to “cur-COO-bree.” 

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey

This village on the Isle of Anglesey in northwest Wales is both Britain and Europe’s longest place name, and it’s often shortened just to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or even Llanfairpwll. (The village is also the site of the world’s longest train station sign, and according to the Guinness Book of Records is officially the longest word ever included in a cryptic crossword.)

The name—which means “St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave”—is probably a little too complicated to replicate phonetically here, but you can listen along to this perfect rendition that was tackled live by Cardiff-born Channel 4 News weather forecaster Liam Dutton in 2015. As far as the short form of the name goes, though, note that the Welsh ll is pronounced by placing the lip of your tongue where you would to make an “l” sound, then passing air around the sides of the tongue and out of the mouth; contrary to popular belief, it’s not pronounced as a hard “cl” (and definitely isn’t just an English “l”). With that in mind, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll roughly breaks down as “llan-vyer-pull-gwin-gill,” with those three double l’ow s all pronounced that way.

Loughborough, Leicestershire

One of the largest towns on this list, neither of the “oughs” in Loughborough are pronounced the same: It’s “LUFF-buh-ruh.” 

Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire

Not only is the n silent in this one, so is the v. Milngavie, now a suburb of Glasgow, is pronounced “mull-GUY” [PDF]. 

Quernmore, Lancashire

The quern in Quernmore is thought to be the same as the quern stone you’ll find in a windmill. The two aren’t pronounced the same, however: This village in Lancashire is actually pronounced “QUOR-mah.” 

Rievaulx, North Yorkshire

The local river, Rye, has had the Old French word for a valley added to it in the name of this picturesque village in North Yorkshire (and its nearby ruined medieval monastery). The trick with this name is to ignore the l: Rievaulx is simply pronounced “REE-voh.” 

Towcester, Northamptonshire

Endings like –cester, –caster, and –chester (as well as the word castle) all come from the Latin word for a fortified town, which was once widely used of Roman settlements across ancient Britain. The Northamptonshire town of Towcester is no different; its name literally means “the fort on the river Tove”—even though it’s pronounced the same as “toaster.” 

Ulgham, Northumberland

England’s northernmost county is home to a number of tricky place names, including Cambois (which has a silent bo, “CAM-iss”) and Alnwick (which is “AN-ick,” with a silent l and w). Ulgham, though, takes things to another level: that initial ulg is actually pronounced “uff.” 

Wrotham, Kent

Wrotham is a picturesque English village on the famous Pilgrim’s Way—the ancient route linking the cathedral cities of Winchester and Canterbury. If you think that initial wroth should sound like “wrath,” though, you’re mistaken. Wrotham is actually pronounced “ROO-tum.” 

Wymondham, Norfolk

Complicated names often become curtailed over time, and this Norfolk town is no different. Wymondham is pronounced “WIN-dum.” 

Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf

This village in north Wales has been claimed to be Britain’s hardest. That being said, this name won’t cause any local Welsh speakers much of a problem (ynys is just the Welsh word for an island, though the second part of this name is more complicated), but to English speakers and outsiders Ynysybwl is all but impenetrable: It’s roughly pronounced “uhn-IS-uh-BUL.”