Small Maine Town Named ‘Hardest to Spell’ in the Entire State

There are plenty of challenging towns and cities to pronounce—let alone spell—in our Pine Tree State, but one publication is calling this one the hardest!

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This is also the case across our country. This challenge reflects our nation's diversity, as place names often come from a mix of cultures and languages. If you picked 15 random towns across the U.S., chances are you’d stumble over and struggle to spell more than half of them.

So, with that in mind, who exactly is making the call for this Maine town to be the hardest to spell, and how did they reach this decision?

24/7 Wall St.’s report, ‘Most Americans Will Struggle to Pronounce These 50 Town Names,’ identifies one challenging-to-pronounce town name for each U.S. state. They reviewed over 29,000 town names from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey. Using editorial judgment, they selected towns they found most likely to trip people up. This approach aimed to spotlight lesser-known places with unusual or complex pronunciations and spellings.

With all that in place, which small Maine town is 24/7 Wall St. referring to in their report?

According to 24/7 Wall St., their special report, 'Most Americans Will Struggle to Pronounce These 50 Town Names,' includes the town of Damariscotta. They note that Damariscotta has 12 characters and 5 vowels, a combination they believe would be difficult for most Americans to pronounce. Here’s what 24/7 Wall St. had to say about their selection:

Damariscotta reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning “river of little fish.” It is pronounced “dam-ahr-ihs-KOTTA,” although locals sometimes add an extra r to the first syllable.

So there you have it—Damariscotta has been named not only one of the hardest towns to spell but also one of the hardest to pronounce in our state.

Do you agree? What are your thoughts on 24/7 Wall St.'s pick? We'd love to hear from you! Feel free to join the conversation by messaging us on the app.