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How to Pronounce Massachusetts Town Names, Introduction
Click a county on either the map or the list to the right.
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This problem frequently comes up when dealing with someone from out of state.
The proper pronunciation of the name, Worcester. My own name, Grosvenor, is somewhat hard
to pronounce (there is a silent s in it) so I totally sympathize with the city of Worcester
when it comes to pronouncing the name. Do people from Worcester, New York
feel the same pain? Do they even pronounce it the same? Does it matter? We're from
Massachusetts, so I know we're right!
Worcester was originally the name of a city in jolly ole England (and still is),
which means it's an English name.
Worcester was known to the Hwiccii as Weogornceaster, the "Roman walled
town of the people called Weogora."Worcester (Woost'-er). A contraction of
Wicii-ware-ceaster (the camptown of the Wicii people). Ware means people, and
Wicii was a tribe name. In the year of our Lord's incarnation 879, which was
the thirty-first of king Alfred, the aforesaid army of pagans leaving
Chippenham, as they had promised, went to Cirencester, which is called in
British "Cair Cori", and is situate in the southern part of the Wiccii, (36)
and there they remained one year. (36) Inhabitants of Gloucester, Worcester,
and part of Warwickshire. Thanks go to Harry Staruk for finding the above two paragraphs.
The -cester part of the name relates to a castle or other fortified place
(in old English) This is similar to Chester (North west England)
and Cirencester (SIREN-CESS-TER)... Thanks Will Rolls for that bit of the puzzle.
Of course the Worcester in Massachusetts never really had much to do with castles,
unless you count Bancroft Towers, but since that came along about 200 years after
the name of the city, I doubt it was named for it.
I intentionally don't use the phonetic spellings you find in dictionaries,
since I don't think they're as obvious as the misspellings I used here. (I
always find myself looking up the little symbols to figure them out anyways).
On top of that, most of the symbols the dictionaries use aren't easily encoded
in HTML (some browsers barf on some codes, some don't).
Also check out the popular phrases of Central Mass
and the list of words that are unique to New England.
More Information on PROP-AH Pronunciation
A general rule of thumb is that most New Englanders pronounce a word
that ends with an a such as data (dater) and vise versa. A word which ends
with er such as Biker (bika). And did you know that the so called downeastern
accent which is so readily attributed to people from Maine and some other
shoreline parts of New England is alive and well in several southern coastal
areas. I've been told that the accent is not so much a regional entity but
rather one spoken in whaling communities.
Out of the 364 towns listed below, I only have pronunciations for about 80 or so of them, so don't get too excited by the size of this list.
Submit a Town
Towns Listed Alphabetically, with County Name |
A
- Abington, Plymouth County
- Acton, Middlesex County
- Acushnet, Bristol County
- Adams, Berkshire County
- Agawam, Hampden County
- Alandar, Berkshire County
- Alford, Berkshire County
- Allston, Suffolk County
- Amesbury, Essex County
- Amherst, Hampshire County
- Andover, Essex County
- Aquinnah aka Gay Head , Dukes County
- Arlington, Middlesex County
- Ashburnham, Worcester County
- Ashby, Middlesex County
- Ashfield, Franklin County
- Ashland, Middlesex County
- Ashley Pond, Hampden County
- Athol, Worcester County
- Attleboro, Bristol County
- Auburn, Worcester County
- Avon, Norfolk County
- Ayer, Middlesex County
B
- Baldwinsville, Worcester County
- Barnstable, Barnstable County
- Barre, Worcester County
- Becket, Berkshire County
- Bedford, Middlesex County
- Belchertown, Hampshire County
- Bellingham, Norfolk County
- Belmont, Middlesex County
- Berkley, Bristol County
- Berlin, Worcester County
- Bernardston, Franklin County
- Beverly, Essex County
- Billerica, Middlesex County
- Blackstone, Worcester County
- Blandford, Hampden County
- Bolton, Worcester County
- Boston, Suffolk County
- Bourne, Barnstable County
- Boxborough, Middlesex County
- Boxford, Essex County
- Boylston, Worcester County
- Braintree, Norfolk County
- Brewster, Barnstable County
- Bridgewater, Plymouth County
- Brighton, Suffolk County
- Brimfield, Hampden County
- Brockton, Plymouth County
- Brookfield, Worcester County
- Brookline, Norfolk County
- Buckland, Franklin County
- Burlington, Middlesex County
- Byfield, Essex County
C
- Cambridge, Middlesex County
- Canton, Norfolk County
- Carlisle, Middlesex County
- Carver, Plymouth County
- Charlemont, Franklin County
- Cedar, Norfolk County
- Charlestown, Middlesex County
- Charlton, Worcester County
- Chatham, Barnstable County
- Chelmsford, Middlesex County
- Chelsea, Suffolk County
- Cheshire, Berkshire County
- Chester, Hampden County
- Chesterfield, Hampshire County
- Chicopee, Hampden County
- Chilmark, Dukes County
- Clarksburg, Berkshire County
- Clinton, Worcester County
- Cohasset, Norfolk County
- Colrain, Franklin County
- Concord, Middlesex County
- Conway, Franklin County
- Cummington, Hampshire County
D
- Dalton, Berkshire County
- Danvers, Essex County
- Dartmouth, Bristol County
- Dedham, Norfolk County
- Deerfield, Franklin County
- Dennis, Barnstable County
- Dighton, Bristol County
- Dorchester, Suffolk County
- Douglas, Worcester County
- Dover, Norfolk County
- Dracut, Middlesex County
- Dudley, Worcester County
- Dunstable, Middlesex County
- Duxbury, Plymouth County
E
- East Bridgewater, Plymouth County
- East Brookfield, Worcester County
- East Longmeadow, Hampden County
- Eastham, Barnstable County
- Easthampton, Hampshire County
- Easton, Bristol County
- Edgartown, Dukes County
- Egremont, Berkshire County
- Erving, Franklin County
- Essex, Essex County
- Everett, Middlesex County
F
- Fairhaven, Bristol County
- Fall River, Bristol County
- Falmouth, Barnstable County
- Fitchburg, Worcester County
- Florida, Berkshire County
- Foxboro, Norfolk County
- Framingham, Middlesex County
- Franklin, Norfolk County
- Freetown, Bristol County
G
- Gardner, Worcester County
- Georgetown, Essex County
- Gill, Franklin County
- Gloucester, Essex County
- Goshen, Hampshire County
- Gosnold, Dukes County
- Grafton, Worcester County
- Granby, Hampshire County
- Granville, Hampden County
- Great Barrington, Berkshire County
- Greenfield, Franklin County
- Groton, Middlesex County
- Groveland, Essex County
H
- Hadley, Hampshire County
- Halifax, Plymouth County
- Hamilton, Essex County
- Hampden, Hampden County
- Hancock, Berkshire County
- Hanover, Plymouth County
- Hanson, Plymouth County
- Hardwick, Worcester County
- Harvard, Worcester County
- Harwich, Barnstable County
- Hatfield, Hampshire County
- Haverhill, Essex County
- Hawley, Franklin County
- Heath, Franklin County
- Hingham, Plymouth County
- Hinsdale, Berkshire County
- Holbrook, Norfolk County
- Holden, Worcester County
- Holland, Hampden County
- Holliston, Middlesex County
- Holyoke, Hampden County
- Hopedale, Worcester County
- Hopkinton, Middlesex County
- Hubbardston, Worcester County
- Hudson, Middlesex County
- Hull, Plymouth County
- Huntington, Hampshire County
I
- Ipswich, Essex County
K
- Kingston, Plymouth County
L
- Lakeville, Plymouth County
- Lancaster, Worcester County
- Lanesborough, Berkshire County
- Lawrence, Essex County
- Lee, Berkshire County
- Leicester, Worcester County
- Lenox, Berkshire County
- Leominster, Worcester County
- Leverett, Franklin County
- Lexington, Middlesex County
- Leyden, Franklin County
- Lincoln, Middlesex County
- Littleton, Middlesex County
- Longmeadow, Hampden County
- Lowell, Middlesex County
- Ludlow, Hampden County
- Lunenburg, Worcester County
- Lynn, Essex County
- Lynnfield, Essex County
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M
- Malden, Middlesex County
- Manchester, Essex County
- Mansfield, Bristol County
- Marblehead, Essex County
- Marion, Plymouth County
- Marlborough, Middlesex County
- Marshfield, Plymouth County
- Mashpee, Barnstable County
- Mattapan, Suffolk County
- Mattapoisett, Plymouth County
- Maynard, Middlesex County
- Medfield, Norfolk County
- Medford, Middlesex County
- Medway, Norfolk County
- Melrose, Middlesex County
- Mendon, Worcester County
- Merrimac, Essex County
- Methuen, Essex County
- Middleborough, Plymouth County
- Middlefield, Hampshire County
- Middleton, Essex County
- Milford, Worcester County
- Millbury, Worcester County
- Millis, Norfolk County
- Milton, Norfolk County
- Monroe, Franklin County
- Monson, Hampden County
- Montague, Franklin County
- Monterey, Berkshire County
- Montgomery, Hampden County
- Mount Washington, Berkshire County
N
- Nahant, Essex County
- Nantucket, Nantucket County
- Natick, Middlesex County
- Needham, Norfolk County
- New Ashford, Berkshire County
- New Bedford, Bristol County
- New Braintree, Worcester County
- New Marlborough, Berkshire County
- New Salem, Franklin County
- Newbury, Essex County
- Newburyport, Essex County
- Newton, Middlesex County
- Norfolk, Norfolk County
- North Adams, Berkshire County
- Northampton, Hampshire County
- North Andover, Essex County
- North Attleborough, Bristol County
- Northborough, Worcester County
- Northbridge, Worcester County
- North Brookfield, Worcester County
- Northfield, Franklin County
- North Reading, Middlesex County
- North Tisbury, Dukes County
- Norton, Bristol County
- Norwell, Plymouth County
- Norwood, Norfolk County
O
- Oak Bluffs, Dukes County
- Oakham, Worcester County
- Orange, Franklin County
- Orleans, Barnstable County
- Otis, Berkshire County
- Oxford, Worcester County
P
- Palmer, Hampden County
- Paxton, Worcester County
- Peabody, Essex County
- Pelham, Hampshire County
- Pembroke, Plymouth County
- Pepperell, Middlesex County
- Peru, Berkshire County
- Petersham, Worcester County
- Phillipston, Worcester County
- Pittsfield, Berkshire County
- Plainfield, Hampshire County
- Plainville, Norfolk County
- Plymouth, Plymouth County
- Plympton, Plymouth County
- Princeton, Worcester County
- Provincetown, Barnstable County
Q
- Quincy, Norfolk County
R
- Randolph, Norfolk County
- Raynham, Bristol County
- Reading, Middlesex County
- Rehoboth, Bristol County
- Revere, Suffolk County
- Richmond, Berkshire County
- Rochester, Plymouth County
- Rockland, Plymouth County
- Rockport, Essex County
- Roslindale, Suffolk County
- Rowe, Franklin County
- Rowley, Essex County
- Roxbury, Suffolk County
- Royalston, Worcester County
- Russell, Hampden County
- Rutland, Worcester County
S
- Salem , Essex County
- Salisbury, Essex County
- Sandisfield, Berkshire County
- Sandwich, Barnstable County
- Saugus, Essex County
- Savoy, Berkshire County
- Scituate, Plymouth County
- Seekonk, Bristol County
- Sharon, Norfolk County
- Sheffield, Berkshire County
- Shelburne, Franklin County
- Sherborn, Middlesex County
- Shirley, Middlesex County
- Shrewsbury, Worcester County
- Shutesbury, Franklin County
- Somerset, Bristol County
- Somerville, Middlesex County
- South Hadley, Hampshire County
- Southampton, Hampshire County
- Southborough, Middlesex County
- Southbridge, Worcester County
- Southwick, Hampden County
- Spencer, Worcester County
- Springfield, Hampden County
- Sterling, Worcester County
- Stockbridge, Berkshire County
- Stoneham, Middlesex County
- Stoughton, Norfolk County
- Stow, Middlesex County
- Sturbridge, Worcester County
- Sudbury, Middlesex County
- Sunderland, Franklin County
- Sutton, Worcester County
- Swampscott, Essex County
- Swansea, Bristol County
T
- Taunton, Bristol County
- Templeton, Worcester County
- Tewksbury, Middlesex County
- Tisbury, Dukes County
- Tolland, Hampden County
- Topsfield, Essex County
- Townsend, Middlesex County
- Truro, Barnstable County
- Tyngsborough, Middlesex County
- Tyringham, Berkshire County
U
- Upton, Worcester County
- Uxbridge, Worcester County
W
- Wakefield, Middlesex County
- Wales, Hampden County
- Walpole, Norfolk County
- Waltham, Middlesex County
- Ware, Hampshire County
- Wareham, Plymouth County
- Warren, Worcester County
- Warwick, Franklin County
- Washington, Berkshire County
- Watertown, Middlesex County
- Wayland, Middlesex County
- Webster, Worcester County
- Wellesley, Norfolk County
- Wellfleet, Barnstable County
- Wendell, Franklin County
- Wenham, Essex County
- West Boylston, Worcester County
- West Bridgewater, Plymouth County
- West Brookfield, Worcester County
- West Newbury, Essex County
- West Roxbury, Suffolk County
- West Springfield, Hampden County
- West Stockbridge, Berkshire County
- West Tisbury, Dukes County
- Westborough, Worcester County
- Westfield, Hampden County
- Westford, Middlesex County
- Westhampton, Hampshire County
- Westminster, Worcester County
- Weston, Middlesex County
- Westport, Bristol County
- Westwood, Norfolk County
- Weymouth, Norfolk County
- Whatley, Franklin County
- Whitman, Plymouth County
- Wilbraham, Hampden County
- Williamsburg, Hampshire County
- Williamstown, Berkshire County
- Wilmington, Middlesex County
- Winchendon, Worcester County
- Winchester, Middlesex County
- Windsor, Berkshire County
- Winthrop, Suffolk County
- Woburn, Middlesex County
- Worcester, Worcester County
- Worthington, Hampshire County
- Wrentham, Norfolk County
Y
- Yarmouth, Barnstable County
Z
- Zoar, Franklin County
- Zylonite, Berkshire County
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