We Try to Pronounce Tennessee Town Names

In the South, never judge a town name by the way it's spelled. These town names in Tennessee are no exception.
#itsasouthernthing

[@nighttime5585]

Who else is from Tennessee? Edit: Wow I literally know and have been to all these towns y'all are saying you're from lol

[@Ghostwalker2061]

Yo.

[@jws2589]

Eastern Arkansas here AKA West Tennessee 😂🤣

[@nathanfrazier8525]

Knoxville!

[@matthewwilliams6962]

Chattanooga

[@Banapis]

Yep. Near Portland.

[@arwenpike295]

I literally live in tennessee and I didn't know all of these😂😂😂

[@abby_grace76]

Arwyn Pike dame!

[@thestarlightforge6568]

Lmao I lived in Nashville my entire life, 17 years, and I don’t know 90% of these lmao

[@brendanoutdoors8145]

Same

[@elliot6605]

I got 3. And I'm not from there.

[@lyndsey5183]

sameee

[@olyvia2292]

As a Tennessee Native, I am super excited to watch this! I live near Surgoinsville and Unicoi! Love y’all!

[@DS-rt1ed]

I'm from Texas, so OF COURSE I love Tennessee - Tennessee boys at the Alamo, need I say more? Anyway, I got all but two...not bad for a Texan, I think. :)

[@morgandawn6413]

Me too Brooke! I live in the Tri Cities!!!

[@bradsilvers5793]

unicoi here near Lamar school

[@TheStevenstatzer]

I live in Bristol, and have been pronouncing Surgoinsville wrong my entire life....

[@Mandyn8868]

Olyvia Fleming me too! I live in Johnson City

[@jonathantate8103]

As a Tennessean, this was painful to watch 😂

[@Rhiannon.]

Ikr

[@harpeee2354]

Agreed

[@annraines1684]

Yeah, I can relate, I'm from Georgia. I watched them do Georgia town names 🤦

[@naowright9308]

@Abigail Shaull Do you pronounce it the way they did?

[@andrewjoyner2100]

I know right

[@stoner_pinky]

Y’all misspelled Sevierville. How ya gonna do Dolly Parton like that?!

[@mango4583]

If that ain't true :(

[@michaelkillerrominesdragon5080]

It's Sevierville get it right

[@bunnymusic2353]

DOLLY PARTON IS GONNA GET SOO MAD

[@haydenfrase7661]

Exactly what I thought

[@kentonfields1435]

Facts tho

[@morbius109]

I’m Tennessee born and raised, and have lived just outside Chattanooga my entire life. My mom is from Grundy County, where Beersheba Springs and Gruetli-Laager are both located, so we got a good laugh out of this, haha.

[@donnaobrien6455]

My mom is from Grundy too. Had some lady ask me how to get to "Duh-shared" one time. Finally asked her how to spell the town she was looking for - turned out to be Decherd (Deck-erd) :)

[@jamesreynolds5776]

I'm from Chattanooga myself! You're from Ooltewah?

[@tangofett4065]

As someone from Lafayette, Ga, I can attest things are not always pronounced how they’re supposed to be…. But y’all definitely have some weird names up there. Like Soddy Daisy… we just call it Soddy… or “that place we’d rather not go to”. 😎

[@chrissargent7513]

So much for trying to sound it out. Bless y’all’s heart for taking on this nerve racking endeavor and educating us on our ancestor’s creative, perhaps drunk, choices for naming towns throughout the South. ❤️

[@doughesson]

You realize that you know far too much for us to risk letting you leave the South now.

[@JerilynM]

17 years ago when I moved to Sevierville the pronunciation was explained like this. "We don't generally get weather, but when we do it's sevier." Made me laugh, then and now, but I never forgot it!

[@rachelhaylea19]

I’m from Tennessee and this warmed and broke my heart

[@Ghostwalker2061]

Don't feel ashamed. I'm from Tennessee and I got barely any of those right. Except for Sevierville, because of COURSE! Everyone knows that one. Surprised you didn't put up Maryville too. Because it's not pronounced how you spell it. I once heard someone out of state call it Mary-ville, and I'm like..."that's not how you pronounce that." It's "Mur-ville".

[@wilhard45]

As a youngster i thought Maryville was spelled Mare-ville. An older cousin would load all us kids up into his car, run down Alcoa Trail and then over to the "lionses" food store (Food Lion) and get some coca-colas out of the vending machine outside the store. Each bottle set you back a whole nickle. Sigh, them were the good ole days.

[@dirttrackart]

Maryville would be harder than Sevierville. I'm surprised they didn't use it.

[@ohgoditspilgrims]

I can’t believe they didn’t put Maryville in there. No one would get that right! (That’s how you tell if someone is from out of town)

[@bananacreampie28]

When I moved to Tennessee I was told to pronounce it like Murvle, when you say it out loud it sounds like there’s three syllables that you’re saying really fast 😂

[@tylerraffety7168]

That and Blount County. Blount is pronounced "blunt", but a lot of people call it "bloughnt" or "blot". Those people are out of state

[@kaylenj6166]

I love yall, like if you are a Tennesian!!!🤗

[@BarredCoast0]

Tennessean, just sayin'

[@gamingwitheve_h2o]

Daisy Lafollette Me 👋

[@miranda5618]

im from tennessee

[@regretz4276]

@Rose dowling bruh I live in Nashville

[@LandNfan]

Nashville born and raised and in my whole 72 years I’ve never even heard of about half those towns.

[@DS-rt1ed]

Bless your heart. ;)

[@YeshuaKingMessiah]

You’ve never been to East TN lol

[@justarandomf-4gphantom170]

@@YeshuaKingMessiah East Tennessee has the most bullshit names possible. This has been my home for my entire life, and I still don't know how to pronounce certain town names.

[@awesomeglitterunicornag]

I LIVE IN TENNESSEE AND YESTERDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! This was the perfect late birthday present!!!!! 😂

[@angiedyer4065]

Happy Birthday Blessings! ❤

[@anonymousbub3410]

I love this KZbin channel!

[@maddiecawthon2219]

Second comment

[@jp.wamble]

Got most, but I am in Tennessee.. Would have liked to have seen Lebanon. Not Leb-uh-non but Lebnin as we say it here

[@astrofist]

or Demonbruen...for some reason pronounced Denumbreun...lol... LOVE IT!

[@brendanoutdoors8145]

I live there

[@duffymarie3322]

Yeah I almost moved there and crammed the pronunciation in my brain. Now I can’t say the country right 😂 also Mount Juliet.

[@bryanapaige]

i live near a Lebanon in Illinois and we pronounce it lebnin as well

[@shaelasalim7080]

Like the country

[@patrickstar6367]

You guys are so funny! Your skits are the best!❤️😊

[@maddiecawthon2219]

Ninth comment

[@danicastewart8622]

who doesn’t know sevierville?😂😂❤️

[@sallyphillips9175]

They misspelled it, so that probably threw all the guessers off. They spelled it "Seviereville."

[@sallyphillips9175]

@oliver dreyer It's just outside Pigeon Forge.

[@sallyphillips9175]

@oliver dreyer Ah OK. Yes you do. Yeah, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are all towns surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You should visit! Most attractions in the towns are tourist traps, but the park itself is GORGEOUS if you like mountains. I recommend renting a cabin or chalet.

[@lmahx]

I don’t.

[@jansen5495]

Dolly Parton is from near there

[@YodaMan-420]

ooltewah is a cherokee word -- means owls nest.

[@TerminalSports45]

well now, that just makes the Ooltewah Owls middle and highshool team names more clever than it already was, nice.

[@strawb3rrybunnie789]

EVERYTHING IS OWL THEMED!! IT NEVER ENDS!!

[@donaldtrump5410]

Are you sure I don't know bit the language of the Muskogee is tricky

[@rickdarula6072]

Yea I went to ooltewah high school but lived in Chattanooga 😏

[@rickdarula6072]

Only someone who went to the school should kno that

[@CyprusHartford]

Brentwood Spoiled Rich

[@bumblebeeizzy]

Chatty Matty Um I lived there lol, true.

[@warriorpatriot1290]

There and Thompson station, the Hollywood of Tennessee

[@samandcompany4400]

Chatty Matty I live by their

[@geegergwisley7977]

Can’t forget about franklin

[@sweetsouthernaemt5936]

😂😂 so true! I work there and this is so true.

[@delia5737]

I actually live near Ooltewah so I was cracking up when they tried pronouncing it.

[@sallyphillips9175]

I'm in Dalton, Ga and I always thought the "l" was pronounced! However, I HAVE heard the locals say it the way they said the correct pronunciation is, so I don't know. Then you have the REALLY country people pronounce it "Oo-dee-waw!"

[@sandmtnirishred]

I'm from Henagar, AL. I worked in Ooltewah at a stable when I was a teenager. HEN-uh-gr(soft g), btw.

[@Sideshowbrooke]

yo same I’m in Cleveland 😂

[@ragnarwolfson450]

@@sallyphillips9175 I lived in ooltewah and I always pronounced ool-ta-wah

[@AlmostMystery]

I work in Sevierville and grew up in Gatlinburg. I've heard the pronunciations all of those ways for Sevierville from tourists and seen all kinds of spellings for both towns.

[@jacktribble5253]

I'm from Tennessee and I missed a lot of these. I did get all the ones from East Tennessee...

[@jamesreynolds5776]

I'm from Chattanooga! Where are you living? East TN is the best!

[@jacktribble5253]

@@jamesreynolds5776 Tri-Cities, pretty close to Virginia. I've been to Chattanooga many times, usually on my way to Atlanta. Great town. There's just something awesome about state border towns, there's always a lot more to do.

[@nionhaason924]

A Tennessean here 👋!!!!!

[@maddiecawthon2219]

A Texan here 👋!!!!!

[@nionhaason924]

I only got a quarter of these right XD

[@fish9736]

Yee tenneseans

[@mithrandirsilvertongue1406]

Nion Haason I literally didn’t know any of them, except Sevierville, I was as confused as they were 😂

[@mithrandirsilvertongue1406]

Nion Haason also from Tennessee if I didn’t mention that lol

[@rhymershouse8730]

I’m geeking out so hard right now! I was born and raised in Celina, TN. I live in CA now but some love for my hometown is nice! Yep. You pronounced it right at the end. XD

[@MD-vm8tc]

Nope on Frankewing. =) I live close by, and we use the Bank of Frankewing. "Frank-you-ing"

[@lcr7574]

I'm so glad you made this observation! I live near Fayetteville (Fet-vul) and I've always said "Frank-you-ing". I thought I had been wrong all these years!

[@FirsdTeaNorthAmerica]

Ditto. As a native Lincoln Countian, we do not say "Frank-ee-wing"

[@65roro]

I live down the road from Frankewing and we say it Frank Ewing...I think it is really more where you are from as to how you pronounce these names

[@delia5737]

I'm from Tennessee, so yay!

[@canuhbl]

delia omg sane and army! What part if you could say!

[@delia5737]

@@canuhbl Chattanooga

[@TM-wd3vo]

Literally same!!

[@hannahaustin2432]

I love y'all so much! I am a Tennesee girl born and raised. Not to brag, but I knew all of them, but it took me years to get them down. What surprised me the most was the way y'all were saying the pronunciation of Sevierville and Santa Fe! This made my night! Have a blessed day or night! 😂😂😂❤❤❤

[@churchmusicguy]

I live right Near sevierville and I was dying at that one and Surgoinsville!

[@katielizzy123]

i am happy they finally got it out there how to say Sevierville it annoys the locals here when people say it wrong

[@CerealWIthIce]

I always said Celina like ce-line-a

[@VintageCharms]

Lived in Murfreesboro for 7 years, and that's how I heard it pronounced as well haha. Se line ah

[@maceyw505]

i’m was so excited to watch this video! love y’all

[@starryyuri5392]

I was watching this and I was wondering why I didn’t see this before. Just realized it came out a half an hour ago!

[@HeritageWaysKatie]

Fun video. Lived right near Frankewing most of my life. It is actually “frank-ewing” not “frank-ee-wing”. And while you’re over that way, stop in at Sarge’s and order the dirty rice with your fried fish🙌🏽❤️🤩

[@HawkinsWX]

Hallelujah. GO KINGSPORT. BTW: Baileyton is how it sounds. Bailey-ton. Not Bellton

[@maddiecawthon2219]

Sixth comment

[@swvafarmer]

I thought it was Bayling-ton, the way Ive always heard it lol

[@mandolinman2006]

Yeah. Some of the pronunciations I've heard my whole life isn't what they were saying.

[@aili03]

Bristol here 👋 but Kingsport is pretty awesome

[@OperUponADream]

Johnson City here, and yeah it's just like it looks. Bay-lee-tun

[@alexwilkinson4896]

God i love that accent. Went to Memphis from the uk last year and loved it. Cant wait to see nashville!! Although everyone kept saying i had an australian accent? :)

[@senorbailey5496]

As a Tennessean I got Half and I think that's the most anyone's going to get

[@pdbiv]

Y’all are so creative and funny! Luuuve y’all!

[@mattg3884]

You did not put Lafayette Tennessee in this? I don't even know how to type out the pronouctiation that we say.

[@sallyphillips9175]

Is it La-FAY-ette like the one in Georgia outside Chattanooga? If so, the F is capitalized.

[@dirttrackart]

La-Fall-it is what I said when I first read it, but I may have it confused with somewhere else. Because I answered Etowah when Ooltewah came on screen xD

[@Banapis]

I live the next county over from Lafayette! lol The weather people on TV pronounce it "La - FEY - et." Everyone around here pronounces it like we're discussing a certain Star Wars character: "La'fette."

[@MTCason]

Luh-FAY-et

[@fancyllamma7821]

Save

[@themedia1271]

When I have kids I want to give birth to at least one of them in Bucksnort just so I can see people get really confused when I tell them that my kid was born in Bucksnort.

[@bennettmorton5372]

isn't that in east tn?

[@themedia1271]

@@bennettmorton5372 yeah.

[@jmannii]

Bucksnort is in West Tennessee

[@FriedShrimpPoBoy]

I always chuckle when I pass the Bucksnort exit on I 40

[@tearosy]

@@jmannii Bucksnort is just west of Nashville.

[@audreybragg8821]

I was shocked they didn't have Lafayette on that list! I live near Santa Fe though and pretty much everyone from out of state gets outraged at how we pronounce it 😂

[@pochaccocino]

watching people try to say ooltewah was very funny lol

[@annagraceburr9002]

Y’all should do South Carolina next!!!!! 💜

[@bumblebeeizzy]

I live in Nashville, TN and I only knew like 1 of these, lol.

[@trmdude5738]

I actually live in Gruetli-Laager...

[@marlamitchell4348]

Go to Tennessee from Georgia all the time with friends! Loved this!! ☺️💙

[@YuckyMama]

Y’all should try to do a video on how Northerners butcher names (ie Houston Street in Manhattan-hint: it’s not pronounced like the city in Texas).

[@brazenserpent7]

I used to live in Gruetli-Laager. It's on a plateau between Monteagle and Dunlap. We used to attend church in Beersheba Springs, too. This was a neat video! May I suggest Arkansas next?

[@caroldede7154]

Please do Virginia next!!😀

[@jawjagrrl]

With places like Buena Vista, Staunton that throw people off, some of the native place names are real mouthful!

[@alliej.9423]

I got to church in Ooltewah! I got really excited because normally these videos only talk about the main cities. Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, etc.

[@emmawasham208]

From Tennessee and I only knew about half 😂

[@naowright9308]

I wish they had Lafayette or Lebanon. I know those really well😁

[@whyareweall_here1543]

Can y'all do Kentucky names next please

[@heyitsmet333]

Whootwhoot! Reppin the blue here too!!!

[@annawilliams9092]

It would be interesting to hear them try Gamaliel.

[@whyareweall_here1543]

@@annawilliams9092 hahah it would

[@TheKyPerson]

Oh yes. I bet no one gets Chalybeate right.

[@whyareweall_here1543]

@@TheKyPerson yeah

[@deleteduser4881]

i failed worse than you guys! hahaha! also, WHY ARENT YOU MORE POPULAR?!? you are so relatable!

[@honda197056]

You can't forget Lafayette in Macon county. They definitely don't pronounce it in its proper French way. 7th generation Tennessee native here. Thumbs up if you love living in the south.

[@Banapis]

That's for sure. I went to school in Westmoreland and we pronounce it "La'fette."

[@naowright9308]

Hey! I have gone through Celina many, many times and talked about it to others. I never and and nobody I ever talked to about it ever pronounced it like that! We always pronounced it Se-li-nah!

[@lillysarver6487]

Do Louisiana next

[@rickdarula6072]

Ooltewah high school is where I went and it’s really renounce ooh duh wah that was on point that should have put Chattanooga on here 😂😂

[@jasolynacampbell6280]

could y’all do a pronouncing town names in kentucky

[@jerryc2709]

Lived in Ooltewah (just NE of Chattanooga) for years. My kids graduated from the high school there. The team mascot is an owl. Hence, the locals call it Hooterville.

[@gamestosi9260]

Yall should do NC even though most of the cities you can pronounce

[@tradssalesone6334]

Yeah like my cousins live in Fayetteville, but they call it Fedvull.

[@gamestosi9260]

@@tradssalesone6334 wait really thats to funny i dont think ive ever heard someone call Fayetteville fedvull

[@tradssalesone6334]

@@gamestosi9260 All my moms side of the family that are from Fayetteville to Wilmington all say it that way. But her families only been there for 250 years or so !

[@gamestosi9260]

@@tradssalesone6334 yalls family goes back to colonial north carolina if its 250 years which that might be the way you actually say it... the english langauge is weird not to mention it would be weird/kinda funny for that to be the actual way to say it and all along were saying it all wrong

[@tradssalesone6334]

@@gamestosi9260 My grammaw would say " hit" instead of "it" , and "caint" instead of "cant". And her and mom always saying " I reckon "☺

[@beepbeep6407]

I love your videos! Amazing!,(even though I live in the mid west)

[@brookewood9744]

I ❤️❤️❤️❤️ it

[@brookewood9744]

First comment 👌

[@maddiecawthon2219]

Fourth comment

[@amapparatistkwabena]

I can't believe I knew Ooltewah! That Adventist connection got me 1 point! (Here's looking at you, Southern!)

[@katiplaia3945]

Please do Alabama next

[@Whisperingwebsasmr]

I'm shocked to see no Lebanon, Lafayette, Murfreesboro, or Mt. Juliet 😂

[@safraberries4962]

Okay, I am from right around Frankewing, no one calls it Frank-ee-wing, at least not where I live. We say Fran-kew-in.

[@angiechasingsunshine]

Yes, it's pronounced Fran-kew-in

[@wetsprocket625]

Pa lass kee(Pulaski) and yes Frank u-win is what I've always heard.

[@ashlynnobles6924]

Do more of these! They're so funny!

[@themedia1271]

I got all the pronunciations right. Do I get a prize?

[@gus473]

👍Free trip to Mississippi?! 😉

[@violetoverman]

y’all are awesome!

[@slycdragonps499]

I’m from Tennessee and I can’t pronounce half of this

[@tysonl.taylor-gerstner1558]

Tennessee is Cherokee named after the town of a similar name (different spelling clearly) and towns in Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky as well as Western Georgia and the Carolinas tend to have Cherokee names some are even built on or near sites of old Cherokee towns of the same name. Part part of the problem is the rendering of Cherokee and other Native American names by the English settlers, sometimes after having previously being rendered by the French, Spanish and Portuguese. The Dutch and Germans were also there as well as Scottish and Irish.

[@gavindies7271]

You missed Lafayette pronounced La-fette. And yes the F is lowercase because they literally passed a bill to change the name of the town from what the actual name of a man was.

[@shadypalmtree2989]

Wonder why. Lafayette helped us win the Revolutionary War.

[@gavindies7271]

@@shadypalmtree2989 Because no one in that town, and I mean not a single person, pronounces it right, if you do, you will be chased out of town.

[@myranda888]

I live in Sevierville and I get tourists all the time saying sever-ville and it makes me cringe every time. Bless their hearts ❤️😂

[@adityanigam659]

Do North Carolina!

[@frillyflower123]

Yes! We've got some good ones.

[@moist__owlette]

Heyyy I'm from Ooltewah! Though I don't quite remember people pronouncing it oodewah

[@charlesjessie1733]

They forgot Mosheim. Pronounced (maw-sime).

[@andrewlangellier6104]

Love these videos

[@bearoutdoors1605]

I love these videos, but I grew up with a Grandma who was raised in Celina, great aunts and great uncles who also were. We spent countless weekends in the small town, I used to go to Church there, I still visit often, I have camped and fished there, been boating there, worked near there, and even lived there briefly. No one has ever pronounced it Suh-Luh-Nuh. Its Suh-LIE-Nuh... or if you have that particularly type or TN accent that turns your ‘ie’ sounds into an ‘ah’ kinda sound, then its Suh-LAH-Nuh. Y’all got this one wrong, but I still love ya!

[@brittanybozarth7293]

Omg yesssss. I grew up in Tennessee in the Flynns Lick (Gainesboro) area when they gave the wrong pronunciation of our neighbor Celina as correct I was a little irritated 😂 I was like whoa! Its Suh-lie-nuh or if your talking real fast or excited Sly-nuh.

[@erixtheangel9546]

This is the funniest thing I've ever seen imagine all of them trying to find these places and pronouncing it like they do to someone from Tennessee they gonna be confused😂😂😆😆

[@melaniemaultsby1973]

I live in Tennessee and haven’t heard most of these so y’all did pretty good

[@anastasiacarter4085]

Love your channel!! 😁❤

[@Moonlitmusingstarot]

I live in Surgoinsville and was very excited that one person got it 😂😂

[@brokenroses9893]

Do Louisiana next!!!!!!!! Please it’s so funny to see people try to pronounce French names!

[@BOLANAREDE321]

I"m so looking forward to when y'all do this for Florida. We have some real interesting places. :)

[@MickeyDs14]

I’m from TN and I haven’t heard of any of these except Sevierville & Santa Fe...🤣🤣🤣

[@lucyk2371]

I live right next to Ooltewah. We pronounce it ool-te-wah. I too am from a small town next to Chattanooga and did not know a lot of these....lol

[@mangotango9374]

These Videos are my favorite

[@maggierust165]

Can't wait to see you tackle a Kentucky video! Ask how they say Versailles, Yosemite, Athens, and the ever favorite Louisville ;)

[@Porter5habazz]

I'm from Ooltewah 😂😂😂 it's always funny hearing people pronounce it.

[@elijahmorgan7620]

I'm so glad the Tennessean got the Sevierville one right lol I about died😂😂

[@mikeconner3684]

The normal looking names get the weirdest pronunciations. I live in Lebanon, LEHbuhnun. A lot of people say Leb ah NON, like the middle eastern country its named for. I've even heard Leh BAN on. That's weird.

[@danuschild]

I used to work in Puryear. I now live in Prescott (pronounced pres-kitt like a biscuit) AZ.

[@lanebritten2334]

Best Super-Bowl-Sunday ever!!!

[@Ad.morrison]

OMG I'm from Gruetli-Laager 😆😆😆😆😆 Also Beersheba Springs is on the same mountain as Gruetli... Dang LOL

[@jodom9093]

Do you have a KY town video? I moved from TN to KY, and was astonished at some of the pronunciations.

[@2Blessed]

Any TN town ending in -ville must be pronounced as -vul. That will help you out with a lot of names! And I don't know why, but Ooltewah always cracks me up! We drive through there a lot, and I always have to shout "Ootawah!"

[@collinbutler6427]

Having lived in Maryville in Blount County, neither of which are pronounced how you'd think, I was able to guess quite a few of these.

[@ktma21blogger]

Loving these!!! Please do more

[@mattw.9743]

Thats funny! I live right near alot of those in NE TN!