PronunciationHub Data Study
The Most Mispronounced Place Names in America & Abroad (2026)
Oaxaca, Edinburgh, Worcester, the Louvre — ranked by monthly searches.
Place names are where local pride and tourist anxiety collide. We ranked the cities, towns, and landmarks Americans most often search how to pronounce — the ones locals can clock you on in a single syllable.
| # | Word | Often said as | Actually | Monthly U.S. searchesfor help saying it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oaxaca | “oh-AX-ah-kah” | wah-HAH-kah | 12,100 |
| 2 | Louvre | “LOO-ver” | LOO-vruh | 12,100 |
| 3 | Edinburgh | “ED-in-burg” | ED-in-bruh | 6,600 |
| 4 | Reykjavik | “REYK-jav-ik” | RAY-kyuh-vik | 4,400 |
| 5 | Worcester | “wor-CHES-ter” | WUUS-ter | 4,400 |
| 6 | Versailles | “ver-SAILZ” | ver-SAYZ | 4,400 |
| 7 | Tucson | “too-SOAN” | TOO-sahn | 4,400 |
| 8 | Des Moines | “dez MOYNZ” | dih-MOINZ | 3,600 |
| 9 | Phuket | “foo-KET” | poo-KET | 2,900 |
| 10 | Marseille | “MAR-sell” | mahr-SAY | 2,900 |
| 11 | Ljubljana | “loo-BLAH-nah” | lyoo-BLYAH-nah | 2,900 |
| 12 | Phuket Thailand | “foo-KET” | puu-KET TIE-land | 2,900 |
| 13 | Gloucester | “GLOW-ches-ter” | GLOSS-ter | 2,400 |
| 14 | Marlborough | “MARL-bor-oh” | MAWL-bruh | 1,900 |
| 15 | Munich | “MOO-nik” | MYOO-nik | 1,900 |
| 16 | Sevilla | “seh-VIL-uh” | suh-VEE-yuh | 1,900 |
| 17 | Notre-Dame | “NO-tur DAM” | NAW-truh DAHM | 1,900 |
| 18 | Leicester | “lie-CES-ter” | LESS-ter | 1,600 |
| 19 | Bordeaux | “BOR-dohks” | bor-DOH | 1,600 |
| 20 | Nice | “NICE” | NEES | 1,600 |
| 21 | Albuquerque | “al-buh-KER-kee” | AL-buh-KER-kee | 1,600 |
| 22 | Spokane | “spoʊˈkeɪn” | spo-KAYN | 1,600 |
| 23 | Neuschwanstein | “NEW-shwan-stine” | NOYSH-fahn-shtine | 1,600 |
| 24 | Hagia Sophia | “HAY-gee-uh” | HAH-gee-uh soh-FEE-uh | 1,600 |
| 25 | Nice France | “NEECE FRANS” | NYCE FRANS | 1,600 |
| 26 | Xochimilco | “zoh-chee-MIL-koh” | soh-chee-MEEL-koh | 1,300 |
| 27 | Boise | “boy-ZEE” | BOY-see | 1,300 |
| 28 | Budapest | “bu-DA-pest” | BOO-duh-pest | 1,300 |
| 29 | Champs-Élysées | “CHAMP-sell-ee-zay” | shahz-eh-LEE-zay | 1,300 |
| 30 | Machu Picchu | “MAH-shee PEE-chee” | MAH-choo PEE-choo | 1,300 |
| 31 | Glasgow | “GLAS-gow” | GLAZ-goh | 1,000 |
| 32 | Lyon | “LIE-on” | lee-OHN | 1,000 |
| 33 | Barcelona | “bar-suh-LON-uh” | bar-suh-LOH-nuh | 1,000 |
| 34 | Krakow | “kuh-RAH-koh” | KRACK-ow | 1,000 |
| 35 | Mykonos | “my-KOH-noss” | MEE-koh-noss | 1,000 |
| 36 | Parthenon | “par-THEN-on” | PAR-thuh-non | 1,000 |
| 37 | Lyon France | “LIE-on” | lee-OHN | 1,000 |
| 38 | Mykonos Greece | “MY-koh-nos” | MEE-koh-nossGREES | 1,000 |
| 39 | Guanajuato | “gwah-nah-joo-AH-toh” | gwah-nah-WAH-toh | 880 |
| 40 | Ushuaia | “uh-SHOO-ay-uh” | oo-SWY-uh | 880 |
| 41 | Milwaukee | “mil-WAUK-ee” | mil-WAW-kee | 880 |
| 42 | Kyoto | “ky-OH-toe” | KYOH-toh | 880 |
| 43 | Fukuoka | “fuh-KOO-uh-kuh” | foo-KOO-oh-kuh | 880 |
| 44 | Colosseum | “kuh-LOH-see-um” | KOL-uh-SEE-um | 880 |
| 45 | Tijuana | “ti-JU-ah-nuh” | tee-HWAH-nuh | 720 |
| 46 | Cincinnati | “sin-sin-NAT-i” | sin-sin-AT-ee | 720 |
| 47 | San Jose | “san JO-zee” | san HO-zay | 720 |
| 48 | Eiffel Tower | “EF-ful TOW-er” | EYE-ful TOW-er | 720 |
| 49 | Burj Khalifa | “burz kal-EE-fuh” | BURJ kuh-LEE-fuh | 720 |
| 50 | Iguazu | “IG-wah-zoo” | ee-gwah-SOO | 590 |
How we ranked this
We took every entry in our city and landmark pronunciation guide and pulled its U.S. monthly search volume for the query “how to pronounce [word]” from Google's keyword-planner data (exact-match, United States). The more people search for help saying a word, the more reliably it trips people up — so search volume is our proxy for “most mispronounced.” Each word links to a page with native audio, IPA, and the specific sounds English speakers miss.
Search volume reflects demand for help, not a judgment about any “correct” regional pronunciation. Where a word has competing accepted pronunciations, we note that on its page.
Citing this study
Free to cite with a link. Suggested credit: “The Most Mispronounced Place Names in America & Abroad (2026)” — PronunciationHub (2026), pronunciationhub.com/study/most-mispronounced-place-names/.
Working on a related piece? We can pull custom pronunciation data for journalists on request — [email protected].