Great Britain has some of the craziest pronunciations for place names on the planet! It’s especially maddening for Americans, Canadians and other English speakers… since we supposedly speak the same language and all. But remember: England is the country where “Featherstonehaugh” is pronounced Fanshaw, and even though the city of Cirencester has existed since at least 70 A.D., it wasn’t until the 1980s that British people agreed on a single pronunciation.
The list below is not exhaustive. Although place names from all over England and parts of Scotland are included, I decided to emphasize on places in the London area, as that’s where first-time tourists are likely to go. Keep in mind that the English language is fluid and that pronunciations may change over time. Remember that not everyone might pronounce the same place the same way; although most Americans pronounce the 50th state as “Huh-why-yee”, many older Americans call it “High-why-ya” instead.
Since Welsh place names are next to impossible for anyone but the Welsh to figure out, I’ve left them off the list.
| Place | Pronunciation |
Notes |
| Belgravia | Bel-grave-ee-ya | |
| Berkeley (Square) | Bark-lee | |
| Barugh | Bark | |
| Bethnal Green | Beth-null | |
| Bicester | Bister | Like “blister” without the L. |
| Birmingham | Buhr-ming-um | Some Londoners say “Bir-min-um”; this is neither official nor common. |
| Bloomsbury | Blooms-bree | |
| Brixton | Bricks-ton | |
| Bury | Boory | Subtle difference: the ending is pronounced -oorey and not the American -erry |
| Charing Cross (Road) | see notes | Rhymes with sharing; the -ch sound at the beginning is soft, as in church |
| Chippenham | see notes | Chipnam (locally) or Chipenum |
| Chiswick | Chizzik | |
| Cholmondley | Chum-lee | |
| Cirencester | Syren-sester | May also be pronounced as Sis-etter or Sis-sester, especially by locals. |
| Clerkenwell | Clarken-well | |
| Coulsdon | Cools-don | Some locals apparently pronounce it Coals-den |
| Derby | Dar-by | |
| Ealing | Eee-ling | |
| Edinburgh | Edin-burrah | |
| Euston | Ewston | Like Houston, Texas without the “h”. |
| Finsbury | Fins-bree | |
| Gloucester | Gloster | Same as the city in Massachusetts; in Gloucestershire (Gloster-sheer) |
| Greenwich | Gren-itch | |
| Grosvenor (Square) | Grove-na | |
| Hampstead | Ham-stead | |
| Happisburgh | Hayes-bruh | Unlike Edinburgh, the second half of the word is pronounced bruh, not burrah |
| Holborn | Ho-bun | |
| Horsmonden | Horms-dun | |
| Islington | Iz-ling-ton | |
| Keswick | Kez-ick | |
| Keynsham | Kane-shum | |
| Launceston | Lawns-ton | |
| Leicester | Lester | Applies to the city (Leicester) as well as London’s Leicester Square |
| Leominster | Lems-ter | |
| Marylebone | Marley-bun | May also be pronounced as Marrybun or Marleybone |
| Mousehole | Mowze-ul | |
| Norwich | Norr-idge | |
| Plaistow | Plars-toe | |
| Putney | see notes | The first syllable is similar to putt (as in golf); it’s not “pootney” |
| Reading | Redding | |
| Ruislip | Ryeslip | |
| Salisbury | Sawls-bree | |
| Shoreditch | see notes | Sounds like shortage when spoken by a Londoner. |
| Shrewsbury | see notes | Either Shrowsbree or Shrewsbree is correct. |
| Slough | see notes | Rhymes with cow. |
| Southwark | Suth-uk | Pronounced as if it were one syllable: suthuk, not suth-uk. |
| St. Paul’s (Cathedral) | San Paul’s | Correct to pronounce it as it’s spelled; Londoners slur it slightly so that the first word is San |
| Thame (City) | Tame | |
| Thames (River) | Temz | |
| Torquay | Tor-key | |
| Tottenham | Tot-nam | |
| Uxbridge | Ucks-bridge | |
| Vauxhall | Vocks-hall | Originally “Falkes’ Hall”, which is why it sounds like two words instead of “Vocks-ul”. |
| Wapping | Whopping | NOT pronounced like “wrapping” without the “r”. |
| Wemyss | Weems | |
| Willesden | Wills-den | |
| Woolwich | Woolitch | |
| Worcester | Woo-ster | Just like the town in Massachusetts; rhymes with rooster. |
| Wrotham | Root-um | |
| Wymondham | Windum | Like the American hotel chain. |
| Yiewsley | Youz-lee |
