For some reason this comes up occasionally between me and Mr. Butrscotch. Right off the top of my head (and on my first cup of coffee this morning), I can think of:
Lima, Ohio (LIE-ma)
Bellfontaine, Ohio (Bell-FOUN-tain)
Berlin, New Hampshire (BER-lin)
I know there’s lots more. Help me out here.
Make that Bellefontaine. Can’t even spell this morning, let along think. :smack: need…more…coffee…
In Kentucky, we have Versailles, which is pronounced exactly as it’s spelled. 
(VER-sail-es)
Vienna, NJ (pronounced Vy-enna)
Cairo, IL (pronounced Kay-row)
I seem to have heard of a place called New Orleans.
[size]I could mention New York too – they certainly don’t pronounce that like they do in old York.[/size]
Bogota, New Jersey has nothing to do with BO-ga-da, Columbia. It’s pronouced ba-GO-da. Like “pagoda” but with a “B.”
Vienna, Illinois, pronounced “Vye-enna”
Canton Ohio, named after Canton China. Now romanized in pinyin as Guangzhou.
Calais (Callas), Maine
Technically, Paris, Texas, because the pronunciation of the French city it is named for is “Par-ee.”
There’s a Moscow in Idaho. Most people pronounce it “moss-co” instead of “moss cow.”
New Berlin (BURR-lin), Wisconsin
We have a Pompeii in Michigan, but the locals pronounce it “Pompy-eye”.
Also, I believe Cairo, IL is pronounced “Care-oh”
OMG. I’ve seen lots of these places on the map, but i never realized how bastardized the pronunciation was in many cases.
Sorry, Reality- forgot you mentioned Cairo.l
Brazil, Indiana - though not named for a city but a country -
pronounced by many locals as “Brayzil”
There’s an itty-bitty community close to my original home called “Monticello.” The “c” is pronounced as an “s” instead of the more familiar “ch.”
There’s also a “Beaufort” in my state that’s pronounced “BYOO-fert” instead of the more familiar “BO-fert.”
Although, I’m not familiar with another town of this name, there is a town in eastern NC named “New Bern,” pronounced “NOO-bern,” instead of what you’d assume “noo BERN.”
Madrid, Iowa – pronounced Mad-rid, with the “a” as in “bad”.
New Madrid, Missouri – pronounced as above.
Also in the same neck of the woods as “Vy-enna” Illinois is Beaucoup Creek, pronounced Buck-up.
Connecticut also has a Berlin, also pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable. I wonder why the standard American pronunciation is different?