We admit we do things a little differently down here in North Carolina. If you’re a newcomer, there are cultural differences you’ll adjust to. One is the various pronunciations of county, town, and street names. Use this article as your guide to Greensboro Orthoepy.
Why is correct pronunciation important?
Here in the Piedmont Triad, we’re set in our ways since many of our townships, counties, and streets are named to honor a person or group and have meanings associated with a last name, ethnicity, culture, or religion. Most NC locals want newcomers and visitors to feel included, so don’t be offended if someone corrects you on a mispronunciation.
Alleghany: AE-l-uh-g-AI-n-ee
This county name comes from either the Allegewi American Indian tribe or the Delaware tribe’s word “oolikhanna,” which means beautiful stream. The largest town in the county, Sparta, is 100 miles outside of Greensboro.
Bahama: bah-hay-ma
Bahama is 56 miles outside Greensboro and pronounced differently than The Bahamas in the Caribbean. In 1891 the town, then known as Hunkadora, was given the new name of Bahama, a portmanteau of three families in the area: (Ba)ll, (Ha)rris, and (Ma)ngum.
Fuquay-Varina: fyuu-kway vuh-ree-nah
Fuquay-Varina is 85 miles East of Greensboro. The hyphenated name attests to the town’s history as two separate towns. Fuquay Springs and Varina merged in 1963 to create the modern town.
Gibsonville: Gib-son-ville (not Jib-sonville)
Twenty-five miles from Greensboro is Gibonville, or the “City of Roses.” Most of Gibsonville is in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point Combined Statistical Area, and the eastern portion is in the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Joseph Gibson was a local farmer who provided grading services for the new N.C. Railroad Company in 1851. Shortly after the development of the N.C. Railroad Company, the area emerged as a commerce center, and the depot was named Gibson Station in Joseph Gibson’s honor. On February 18, 1871, the state legislature issued a charter officially establishing the Town of Gibsonville.
Mebane: meb-in
The town, named for Alexander Mebane, an American Revolutionary War general, and member of the U.S. Congress, is just 30 minutes East of Greensboro.
Norlina: nor-ly-nuh
Norlina is a portmanteau of the beginning of “North” and the ending of “Carolina.” It’s an hour and a half outside Greensboro, a little town you pass through on the way to Lake Gaston.
Robeson: robe-buh-sun
Robeson County is in southern North Carolina, two hours from Greensboro, and is the state’s largest county by land area. The town, named after Thomas Robeson, a colonel who had led Patriot forces during the Revolutionary War, ranks low on several statewide socioeconomic indicators.
Schley: Shly
Schley (pronounced Shly) is an unincorporated community 45 miles outside Greensboro. The town is known for having a very active farming community.
Uwharrie: you-wah-ree
The Uwharrie National Forest, less than an hour south of Greensboro, is a federally designated national forest region located primarily in Montgomery County, extending into Randolph and Davidson counties in south-central North Carolina. The forest derives its name from the Uwharrie Mountains, the ancient mountains where most of the forest sits.
Zebulon: zeb-yoo-lun
Zebulon is less than two hours East of Greensboro and was ranked North Carolina’s second-fastest-growing town in May 2022. The city got its name after Zebulon Baird Vance, the Governor of North Carolina, during the American Civil War.
