How do you say ‘Kissimmee,’ ‘Dunedin’ and other Florida places? It may be all wrong
How do you pronounce Kissimmee, the city near Walt Disney World?
Kiss-SIM-ee? KISS-uh-mee?
What about Lutz? Havana? Matlacha? Dunedin?
And if you think the locals pronounce Havana, Florida, the same as Havana, Cuba, well...
Whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime Floridian, names of Florida cities sure can be confusing or exotic, with people pronouncing them all sorts of ways.
After all, just a generation or two ago, many residents of the Magic City pronounced the place My-AM-uh.
This all brings to mind an old joke: A traveler in Kissimmee didn’t know how to pronounce the name of the city he was passing through. So he walked into a local fast-food joint and asked the cashier to pronounce the place — and slowly.
“Sure,” said the worker. “It’s Buuuuuuuurger Kinnnnnnnng.”
On that note, here is a guide to frequently mispronounced places in Florida:
(Take note that the capital letters indicate where the stress is pronounced.)
Alachua
About: City and the home county of Gainesville and the University of Florida.
Say it: Uh-LACH-ooh-ahh (Bless you)
Dunedin
About: Quaint city in the Tampa Bay area where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis grew up.
Say it: DUH-nee-den (Then clean the dishes)
Havana
About: North of Tallahassee.
Say it: HEY-Vanna (Need a vowel on “Wheel of Fortune”)
Immokalee
About: Farming area in Collier County area near Naples.
Say it: ih-MAH-kuh-lee (The stress doesn’t rhyme with “poke”)
Kissimmee
About: City near Walt Disney World.
Say it: Kuh-SIM-ee (Pronounce it wrong and you may get a smooch)
Lutz
About: The Tampa-area city.
Say it: Loots (Face-palm: We have been rhyming it with “putts” our whole life)
Matlacha
About: Southwest Florida fishing village damaged by Hurricane Ian.
Say it: Mat- la- SHAY (Fancy ... Who knew?)
Micanopy
About: Antique shop city near Gainesville.
Say it: MIK-i-NOH-pee (There’s a third-grade joke in here somewhere)
Monticello
About: Town east of Tallahassee.
Say it: Montu-SELL-o (Not the Thomas Jefferson way)
Ocoee
About: Central Florida city.
Say it: Oh-KOH-ee (Oh)
Rio
About: Martin County community.
Say it: Rye-owe (Not Brazilian)
Steinhatchee
About: On the Gulf Coast of Taylor County.
Say it: STEEN-hatch-ee (You say po-tah-to)
Tamiami
About: Historic route from Tampa to Miami.
Say it: TAM-ee-am-ee (Breaks logic)
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 9:33 AM.
