The world's most difficult place names to pronounce

We analysed search data to discover the place names the public finds most challenging to say.

Key findings

• Two of the three most difficult-to-pronounce place names worldwide are British cities, Edinburgh and Worcester
• Ibiza, Ljubljana and Reykjavik are the three trickiest place names to pronounce outside the UK.
• Edinburgh, Worcester and Bicester top the list of UK place names outside London that internet users ask Google for help pronouncing.
• Within London, Marylebone, Leicester Square and River Thames are among the most confusing to say.

The most difficult-to-pronounce places globally

These are the 103 most phonetically-challenging place names globally. These place names span six continents and 66 countries and all accrue more than 1,000 searches for pronunciation help each year.

The Spanish island of Ibiza comes first in terms of the most difficult place names outside the UK. Also making the top five is Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík, Thailand’s biggest island, Phuket, and the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

The most difficult-to-pronounce places in the UK

The English language is famous for having some of the most nonsensical pronunciations on the planet. British place names, in particular, are often not spelt phonetically. This means they are not pronounced how they are spelt.

From the Scottish capital to the River Thames, these are the UK place names visitors are asking Google for help saying.

The most difficult-to-pronounce places in London

Visitors to London will tell you the city is a minefield of mispronunciations. The British capital is plagued with silent letters and dropped syllables.

From the river that weaves through the capital, the Thames, to station names you’ll recognise from the Tube map, these are the London place names global searches struggle with most.

We headed to the streets of the capital to see just how tough some of these London locations are for visitors to navigate.

How to pronounce London place names

Dr Jane Setter, Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading and author of Your Voice Speaks Volumes, shares guidance on pronouncing London’s most challenging place names.

Marylebone

“MAR-le-buhn”, “MA-ry-buhn”

“This one is quite complicated. While many people pronounce this “MA-ry-le-buhn", you may be surprised to hear announcements on the London Underground say “MAR-le-buhn". Even the pronunciation “MA-ry-buhn" can sometimes be heard.

“Historically, the place name derives from Mary and burn, as it was named after a church dedicated to St Mary and was near a stream (a burn).”

Leicester (Square)

“LESS-tuh”

“The -cester in British place names like Leicester, Worcester and Towcester is usually pronounced “-stuh”, probably for ease of pronunciation. It derives from the Roman word for a settlement with military connections, castrum.

“The beating heart of London’s West End, Leicester Square, is named after Robert Sidney, second Earl of Leicester, who purchased the land in 1630.”

(River) Thames

“TEMZ”

“Like the name Thomas, the “th” sound at the start of Thames is pronounced with the “h””.

“The name Thames is derived historically from the Brittonic Celtic, Tamesas, which means “river”.”

Southwark

“SUDH-uhk”

“The –wark in English place names is from Old English and indicates a fortified settlement. The beginning of the place name indicates that the settlement was inhabited by the people of a southern tribe in the region that is now Greater London.

“Over time, and probably for ease of pronunciation, the “w” was lost.”

Greenwich

“GREN-itch”, “GREN-idge”, “GRIN-itch”

“The –wich part in British place names derives from Latin vicus and means a rural settlement, often with trade associations. The name reflects an older pronunciation of the vowel in green, which would have sounded more like “GREN”.”

Gloucester (Road)

“GLOSS-tuh”

“This London street was named after the former home of George III’s sister-in-law, the Duchess of Gloucester. Gloucester itself means something like “bright fort”.”

Loughborough (Junction)

“LUFF-buh-ruh”, “LUFF-bruh"

“The place name suffix –borough is similar to –burgh and again means a town or a fortified place. It’s likely that the Lough- part derives from a personal name.

“This London station name derives from Henry Hastings, first Baron Loughborough, who owned property in the area in the 17th century.”

Holborn

“HOH-buhn” or “HOHL-buhn”

“The –born part of this means “river” or “stream”. Hol- is probably from hollow, although it could come from old and have had the h added as a hypercorrection.”

London

“LUN-duhn”

“The derivation of the place name London is debated. The Roman name for London was Londinium, so we can see the spelling does have an o in it at this time, perhaps explaining its modern-day spelling. In Old English, it is often given as Lunden, more similar to how we pronounce it today.”

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