The girl I knew in college with that name pronounced it Ooooonah.
Like “uno” in Spanish. So many people took Spanish in TX that she didn’t understand why she had to explain it so often. :)
I think I say it both ways, the more I think about it. I know I say “You-nah-Antioch” but I was saying it “Ooo-nah Park.”
At least with “Buena Vista” you know it’s going to be “Bway-nah veestah” west of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio and “Byou-nah Vih-stah” south of there. That’s one place or street name I have just mentally make the pronunciation switch depending on where I am.
I’ve also noticed in the censuses that there was a spike in popularity in the early 1900s in the name “Juanita” but looking at census takers guesses on how to spell it, it’s clear some women were saying it “Juh-way-nita” or “Juh-wah-nita” and I just wonder where they were putting the stress.
This hurts my brain. Señora Hudson would appreciate that about me, I guess.
That said, there’s a road in north Knoxville called Dante. You know: “Dainty.”
This is why we get made fun of.
There’s a street in Chicago called Goethe, pronounced Go-e-thee. And don’t get me started on the pronunciation of (the many, many) French place-names in and around St. Louis.
Illinois–where your friend Orion is “Or-eee-un” and the constellation is “O’ryan.”
It is Yoo-nah. Dunno why (possibly named after a very nice Southern lady, because I know of other ladies by that name in area history), but there you go.
I need to carry you over to Versailles, missy, now that the weather’s breaking. Yes, Vur-sales.
Not far from Katie’s Crossing, Possum Trot and, of course, beautiful downtown Rover.
Ooooooh! I just remembered: Haint Hollow Road is part of that route. Oddly, though we pronounce “haint” right, no one says “holler” like you’d expect. Most everyone actually says “hollow” properly.
/regional words digression
Do not even tease! Is there really a Haint Hollow Road? Because I will have to go there immediately.
Yes. Yes we shall. And I shall tell you tales as they wre told unto me as to how it got its name. And then we can go over and change out the flowers on my dad’s grave before Decoration Day, because I haven’t been over there in an embarrassingly long time.
Tiny Cat Pants 
The girl I knew in college with that name pronounced it Ooooonah.
Like “uno” in Spanish. So many people took Spanish in TX that she didn’t understand why she had to explain it so often. :)
I think I say it both ways, the more I think about it. I know I say “You-nah-Antioch” but I was saying it “Ooo-nah Park.”
At least with “Buena Vista” you know it’s going to be “Bway-nah veestah” west of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio and “Byou-nah Vih-stah” south of there. That’s one place or street name I have just mentally make the pronunciation switch depending on where I am.
I’ve also noticed in the censuses that there was a spike in popularity in the early 1900s in the name “Juanita” but looking at census takers guesses on how to spell it, it’s clear some women were saying it “Juh-way-nita” or “Juh-wah-nita” and I just wonder where they were putting the stress.
This hurts my brain. Señora Hudson would appreciate that about me, I guess.
That said, there’s a road in north Knoxville called Dante. You know: “Dainty.”
This is why we get made fun of.
There’s a street in Chicago called Goethe, pronounced Go-e-thee. And don’t get me started on the pronunciation of (the many, many) French place-names in and around St. Louis.
Illinois–where your friend Orion is “Or-eee-un” and the constellation is “O’ryan.”
It is Yoo-nah. Dunno why (possibly named after a very nice Southern lady, because I know of other ladies by that name in area history), but there you go.
I need to carry you over to Versailles, missy, now that the weather’s breaking. Yes, Vur-sales.
Not far from Katie’s Crossing, Possum Trot and, of course, beautiful downtown Rover.
Ooooooh! I just remembered: Haint Hollow Road is part of that route. Oddly, though we pronounce “haint” right, no one says “holler” like you’d expect. Most everyone actually says “hollow” properly.
/regional words digression
Do not even tease! Is there really a Haint Hollow Road? Because I will have to go there immediately.
Yes. Yes we shall. And I shall tell you tales as they wre told unto me as to how it got its name. And then we can go over and change out the flowers on my dad’s grave before Decoration Day, because I haven’t been over there in an embarrassingly long time.