Locations in Maine: A Pronunciation Guide

If you’re looking for lobster in Harraseeket make sure to say Hare-uh-SEEK-it. Photo © Jill M, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.

Countless names for Maine cities, towns, villages, rivers, lakes, and streams have Native American origins; some are variations on French; and a few have German derivations. Below are some pronunciations to give you a leg up when requesting directions along the Maine coast.

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Pronunciation 101: How to Say It Like a Native

Arundel Uh-RUN-d’l Bangor BANG-gore Bremen BREE-m’n Calais CAL-us Castine Kass-TEEN Damariscotta dam-uh-riss-COTT-uh Harraseeket Hare-uh-SEEK-it Isle au Haut i’ll-a-HO, I’LL-a-ho (subject to plenty of dispute, depending on whether or not you live in the vicinity) Katahdin Kuh-TA-din Lubec Loo-BECK Machias Muh-CHIGH-us Matinicus Muh-TIN-i-cuss Medomak Muh-DOM-ick Megunticook Muh-GUN-tuh-cook Monhegan Mun-HE-gun Mount Desert Mount Duh-ZERT Narraguagus Nare-uh-GWAY-gus Naskeag NASS-keg Passagassawakeag Puh-sag-gus-uh-WAH-keg Passamaquoddy Pass-uh-muh-QUAD-dee Pemaquid PEM-a-kwid Saco SOCK-oh Schoodic SKOO-dick Steuben Stew-BEN Topsham TOPS-’m Wiscasset Wiss-CASS-it Woolwich WOOL-itch

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Excerpted from the Fifth Edition of Moon Coastal Maine.