How do you pronounce "Bowie"?

[JEB77]

Hmm. Good luck with that. When you're done, you can head north and get folks in Charm City to say "Bal-ti-more" rather than "Bawlmer." Better yet, head up to Havre de Grace and teach the locals about the correct French pronunciation.

When in Rome....

[ptsum]

Originally Posted by slclady

Title pretty much says it all.

We're thinking about moving there so I took my kids and drove over the other day to spend the day and just get a "feel". Some moms I talked to at the library told me the city's name is pronounced not like David Bowie's name, but like boo-ey.

Seriously?

I just can't make myself say that.

slclady, I am a native of Prince Georges County and lived in Bowie for a little over 20 years, I watched William Levitt build Belair at Bowie back in the early 60s. The history of Bowie is that the city of Bowie was named after Oden Bowie who was the Governor of Maryland and the President of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. Oden Bowie's father was Colonel William Duckett Bowie who had obtained a charter from the Maryland legislature to construct a rail line into Southern Maryland in 1869. The town was originally named Huntington City. Bowie originally started out as a railroad town back an 1853 and now it is the largest city in Prince George's County with a population of a little over 55,000 people and still growing. The pronunciation of Bowie is the same as the knife and the gentleman whom the knife is named after and that would be Jim Bowie ( boo-ie )....

[Barli]

I'm with you slclady! I've lived in MD for 20 years and I only recently found out it wasn't pronounced bow-ee.

Boo-e sounds funny to me too, especially since the spelling is that of a bow tie, not a boo tie.

I think it goes along with hon v. hun too. I mean seriously, I'd never call my husband honny or ask him to do things on his honny-do list

[boreatwork]

Originally Posted by Barli

I'm with you slclady! I've lived in MD for 20 years and I only recently found out it wasn't pronounced bow-ee.

Boo-e sounds funny to me too, especially since the spelling is that of a bow tie, not a boo tie.

I think it goes along with hon v. hun too. I mean seriously, I'd never call my husband honny or ask him to do things on his honny-do list

...............................boo-ey

[jmking]

Originally Posted by boreatwork

...............................boo-ey

Geez, I hear you. What part of "it's pronounced the same as the Bowie knife" they don't get?

Now, shoot those out of towners down to Mt. Rainier, MD, especially those from Washington State, and ask them how they pronounce Mt. Rainier.

[slclady]

Wait, what? How do you prounounce Mt. Rainier.

[boreatwork]

Originally Posted by slclady

Wait, what? How do you prounounce Mt. Rainier.

The saga continues

[westsideboy]

I am not sure on that one either, but I think the one in Maryland is

Mount Rainy-er.

[ptsum]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

I am not sure on that one either, but I think the one in Maryland is

Mount Rainy-er.

Well you're close, it's pronounced Mount Rain-yer....... This from a native Prince Georgian who grew up in the Riverdale, Hyattsville,Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, College Park, Greenbelt, Lanham, Seabrook, and Mount Rainier area and lived in Bowie for over 20 years......