I’m doublechecking for a coworker who is thinking of moving to the Old Dominion.
So, I believe that you pronounce Henrico County as
hen-RYE-koh.
Is that close? I figured she should know before she applies for a job there.
She keeps pronouncing it as if it were a Spanish name “En-ree-KO”
According to the nice lady who just answered the phone at the county library, yes, it is hen-RYE-koh.
(What else am I gonna do with all these free minutes?)
As a former resident, I second the hen-RYE-koh pronunciation. I never heard anyone say anything different unless they were a native Spanish speaker, but they simply tended to made it en-RYE-koh, not en-REE-koh.
I agree, but then I’m just a Yankee.
When I saw the thread title, I thought the subject county would be Botetourt.
Thanks, according to my research the county name has been around for a long time (as most county names in VA have been) and it is taken from the Latin “Henricus”.
henRYEko is correct. I worked at King’s Dominion in Doswell one summer.
During my time in the Old Dominion, it heard it pronounced either hen-RYE-co or HEN-ree-co
critter42
That’s correct, it’s hen-RYE-co.
An even better one is Fries.
We pronounce it Freeze in the winter and Frize in the summer.
No kidding.
What about Bumpass, Va?
I swear I am not making this up.
I have lived in VA most of my life but have never heard how to pronounce this unfortunate moniker.
Bumpass is pronounced ‘bon pass,’ sadly.
An even better Virginia pronounciation is Botetourt County, which is pronounced “bah-tah.”
Just to clarify, that’s Bah-tah-tot.
And right next to Botetourt is Buchanan, pronounced Buck-annon!
Reminds me of Mrs. Bucket, (pronounced “Bouquet”).
And now the real Virginian test: pronounce ‘Buena Vista.’
BOO-na Vis-ta. Once I was driving through Virgina, when something happened in the town that briefly made the national news. It was interesting to hear the various news reports, as you could tell which ones came from the locals, since they were the only ones to pronounce it “correctly”.
Nopenope…it’s BYOO-nah Vis-ta.
And I live in hen-RYE-co.
I have family in BUM-puhs.
How about “Powhite Parkway?” The people who live near it call it “POW-hite;” those who don’t call it “PO-white.”
Mwahahaha.
And I still don’t think any of these compare to “Worchester” - “WUSS-ter” - Massachussetts.
Well, Hamadryad beat me to the punch re: the “Powhite” debate.
Plnnr- a fellow Henrico resident.
Considering it is spelled Worcester…
Worcestershire Sauce— pronounced WUSS-ter-sheer, so take away the -shire… not that odd at all…
I thought the town in Massachusettes was pronounced more like WOO-ster.
I’m from the Commonwealth! and Staunton is pronounced Stanton dammit.
That’s a City in Ohio . Since my hometown is Worcester, I can safely tell you it is WUSS-ter. Or more accurately, WUSS-tah.