Kansas has a rich history full of Native American tribes and town names taken from other places. However, you have to live in Kansas for a good while before some of the names stick in your head. Some of these should be common sense, but others are truly a mystery until you’ve been taught by the locals. Here’s 12 places in Kansas you probably won’t pronounce correctly until you’ve been here long enough. What Kansas places give you a little trouble?
- Kiowa
City of Kiowa Facebook The Kiowa were a Native American tribe and great plains people, having migrated down from Montana. Kansas is full of tribe names, which happen to be something outsiders struggle to pronounce the most.
- Shoenchen
Google Maps Volga-Germans are responsible for the naming of Shoenchen, so it’s no wonder that states without a high German heritage have issues pronouncing it.
- Iuka
Google Maps Iuka was named after a battle in Mississippi, but the name isn’t very popular. Iuka, Mississippi is named after a Native American chief, so it’s no wonder non-locals struggle.
- Olathe
City of Olathe/Flickr Olathe is just one of those cities that should be well-known, but we sometimes catch people in Kansas City mispronouncing it as well.
- Arkansas River
eric wittman/Flickr Arkansas City and the Arkansas River are two places that are mispronounced by people from other states that only know “Arkan-saw” and not “Ar-Kansas” instead. I wonder when we started saying it our way.
- Chautauqua
Google Maps Charutauqua, Kansas (both city and county) were named after Chautauqua County, New York. However, the word itself is from the Iroquois language, and it has a few meanings
- Osawatomie
Vincent Parsons/Flickr Osawatomie is a merging of two Native American tribes from the area - the Osage and the Pottawatomie. If those names give you any trouble, Osawatomie probably does too.
- Neodesha
Google Maps Neodesha comes from an Osage Indian word pronounced “Ni-o-sho-de” which means “The water is smoky with mud.” Neodesha itself means “where waters meet”, and the town sits between the Verdigris and Fall Rivers.
- Salina
Richard Bauer/Flickr For some reason people can’t stop saying “sa-lee-na” when referring to Salina. We just don’t get it.
- El Dorado
DigitalMediaSeminole/Flickr El Dorado is a toughie only because of the popularity of the movie named The Road to El Dorado as well as the actual El Dorado legend and how that one is pronounced.
- Wichita
Declan McAleese/Flickr Wichita is the name of another plains tribe, but people who should have heard the pronunciation of Wichita before now still say “wich-ee-tuh” no matter what. Is the biggest city in Kansas really that little known?
- Kechi
Google Maps Kechi is a suburb of Wichita, and another Native name that people love to pronounce strangely. Everything from “kee-chi” to “ketch-ee” has been spoken, but the origin of the town is named after the Kichai tribe.
Speaking of great Kansas towns, here’s 11 towns surrounded by outdoor activities for you to enjoy while the weather’s perfect. Aren’t all the best road trips in Kansas?
City of Kiowa Facebook
The Kiowa were a Native American tribe and great plains people, having migrated down from Montana. Kansas is full of tribe names, which happen to be something outsiders struggle to pronounce the most.
Google Maps
Volga-Germans are responsible for the naming of Shoenchen, so it’s no wonder that states without a high German heritage have issues pronouncing it.
Iuka was named after a battle in Mississippi, but the name isn’t very popular. Iuka, Mississippi is named after a Native American chief, so it’s no wonder non-locals struggle.
City of Olathe/Flickr
Olathe is just one of those cities that should be well-known, but we sometimes catch people in Kansas City mispronouncing it as well.
eric wittman/Flickr
Arkansas City and the Arkansas River are two places that are mispronounced by people from other states that only know “Arkan-saw” and not “Ar-Kansas” instead. I wonder when we started saying it our way.
Charutauqua, Kansas (both city and county) were named after Chautauqua County, New York. However, the word itself is from the Iroquois language, and it has a few meanings
Vincent Parsons/Flickr
Osawatomie is a merging of two Native American tribes from the area - the Osage and the Pottawatomie. If those names give you any trouble, Osawatomie probably does too.
Neodesha comes from an Osage Indian word pronounced “Ni-o-sho-de” which means “The water is smoky with mud.” Neodesha itself means “where waters meet”, and the town sits between the Verdigris and Fall Rivers.
Richard Bauer/Flickr
For some reason people can’t stop saying “sa-lee-na” when referring to Salina. We just don’t get it.
DigitalMediaSeminole/Flickr
El Dorado is a toughie only because of the popularity of the movie named The Road to El Dorado as well as the actual El Dorado legend and how that one is pronounced.
Declan McAleese/Flickr
Wichita is the name of another plains tribe, but people who should have heard the pronunciation of Wichita before now still say “wich-ee-tuh” no matter what. Is the biggest city in Kansas really that little known?
Kechi is a suburb of Wichita, and another Native name that people love to pronounce strangely. Everything from “kee-chi” to “ketch-ee” has been spoken, but the origin of the town is named after the Kichai tribe.
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