Good Question: What is the right way to pronounce Louisville?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Today’s Good Question comes from someone curious about how we say the name of the Derby City.

For today’s Good Question, Woodford asks, “Just curious, why do professional TV stations pronounce Louisville as Lou-ah-vull?”

The simple answer is - that’s how a lot of locals pronounce it.

If you search online, there are dozens of articles on the “correct” way to say Louisville. The Courier-Journal talked to the people at the visitor’s center, and they said as long as you don’t say Lewis-ville, you’re probably okay.

The other most popular option is Louie-ville. Louisville was named for King Louis of France, and there are those who will insist the proper pronunciation is Louie-ville.

They may be technically correct, but that doesn’t really matter if the majority of people don’t say it that way.

It’s not quite as bad as going to Versailles and calling it Ver-sigh, or Irvine and saying Ir-vine, but for some people, it signifies you aren’t a local.

So, when you hear us say Lou-ah-vull, it’s because that’s how we’ve always heard it. The good news is we don’t have to worry about that issue with Lexington.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to goodquestion@wkyt.com.