7 Utah locations and how not to pronounce them
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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — From Nephi to Tooele, Utah has it’s fair share of unique names for cities. Some of these names can leave some non-native’s scratching their heads on how to say it out loud.
So, in case you’re new to Utah or just never learned the proper pronunciation, here is how to say seven unique Utah locations.
Tooele
Pronunciation: Too-wil-ah
Arguably the most common Utah location to mispronounce. Many non-natives will look at Tooele and pronounce just as it looks such as “too-ee-lee” or “too-lee.” According to Visit Utah, the origination of Tooele is still causing a bit of confusion.
Some believe it was taken by the native Goshute word for “bear,” while others believe it was inspired by a common weed that grows in the area known as “tule.” Either way, the name has confused non-natives since it was renamed from Tuilla to Tooele in 1852.
Oquirrh
Pronunciation: Oh-kerr
Overlooking the Tooele and Salt Lake Valleys are the Oquirrh Mountain ranges. Maybe not the hardest to pronounce, but the sight of the word can be a little intimidating for those who look at it. Some common mispronunciations may be to try and roll the “r”s or to pronounce the “i” with “Oh-kear” instead of “-kerr.”
According to Britannica Encyclopedia, Oquirrh is another Goshute word meaning “wooded mountain.”
Hurricane
Pronunciation: Her-ah-kun
No, this one is not pronounced like the tropical storms that bring high winds and heavy rains. For obvious reasons, the most common pronunciation of this southern Utah city is hurricane – pronounced the same as the storm.
According to Hurricane City, legend is the city got its name from a particularly windy day in the 1860s. Erastus Snow, a prominant leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had a whirlwind blow the top off a buggy he was driving. Those same legends say Snow proclaim, “Well, that was a Hurricane. We’ll name this the Hurricane Hill.”
Legends don’t say why there is a difference of pronunciation however…
Duchesne
Pronunciation: Doo-shane
Duchesne County and Duchesne City in north eastern Utah is up there with Tooele as one of the most commonly mispronounced locations in the Beehive State. Frequently pronounced as “Doo-chez-knee” or “Doo-kez-knee,” the name reportedly comes from the name of the river that runs through town.
According to the Utah History Encyclopedia, the river was likely named by fur trappers in the 1820s to honor Mother Treasa Duchesne, the founder of the School of the Sacred Heart near St. Louis, Missouri.
Mantua
Pronunciation: Man-a-way
Many non-native Utahns will likely want to pronunce this Box Elder County city as “Man-too-a” or “Man-twah,” but they would be wrong. The city, first known as “Little Valley” is actually pronounced like “Man-a-way.”
Box Elder County officials say the city was renamed to Mantua, meaning beautiful gown, by then-Church President Lorenzo Snow. Officials say the city reminded snow of his birth place in Ohio as the valley adorns a “beautiful gown” as the leaves change colors in the fall.
Scipio
Pronunciation: Sip-ee-oh
It’s not “Skip-ee-o” or “Psy-pee-oh,” the proper way to prounce this central Utah city is “sip-ee-oh.”
The city was originally known as “Round Valley,” according to the city’s history. The name was changed to Scipio to honor Scipio A. Kenner, who was a lawyer, telegraph operator, secretary and driver to Brigham Young.
Zion
Pronunciation: Zai-en
While the rest of the world may pronounce this biblical word as “zai-on” or even “zee-on,” Utahns have a different take on the word, pronouncing it as “zai-en.” The zion appears in many ways across Utah, but perhaps most notably, Utah’s most famous national park: Zion National Park.
The National Geographic said pioneers settling the area in the 1860s were “so overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the Zion Canyon and its surroundings, they named it after the Old Testament name for the city of Jeruselem.”
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