The Hull accent is full of colloquialisms and unique sayings from tansads and croggies to maftin’ and cocklin’.

But it seems our unique way of naming things has filtered out into the city’s many place names.

With the likes of Belvoir Street being pronounced Beaver, Chance Avenue instead of Chants or Chanterlands, and the stray letter in Saltshouse Road that many people miss, visitors to Hull must really struggle when asking for directions.

Hull Live asked Facebook users to think of place names in Hull that are always mispronounced, and almost 200 people responded with their grievances – and the same areas kept cropping up.

Here are the names of just some of the areas people often mispronounce.

Can you think of anymore?

Anlaby/Anlaby Road

Anlaby Road and Rawling Way
Anlaby Road and Rawling Way

Anlaby is recorded in the Domesday Book as Unlouebi, with the Anlaby version we know today deriving from the Old Norse Anlaf, meaning farmstead.

While Anlaby is a seemingly easy name to get right, some people aren’t quite catching on to its proper spelling.


One commenter said: “Out of towners always seem to struggle with Anlaby for some reason. I've had Albnay, Albany and even Analby.”


Whitefriargate could soon be looking very different

Friars were monks who ventured out into the world to preach, and there were plenty in Hull during the Middle Ages.

Towards the end of the 13th century, Carmelite Friars arrived wearing white cassocks, and they lived on what is now Whitefriargate.

WATCH: Can you recognise these Hull places?

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It’s possibly one of the best known streets in Hull, but outsiders don’t stand a chance if they’re asking for directions.

One woman said: “Took me ages to figure out what Whitefriargate was when I first moved here! Couldn’t work out what people were saying at all!”


Princes Avenue/Quay

An empty Princes Dock in 1987 before building work started on Princes Quay

According to a Princes Avenue Conservation Area character statement, “the land on which Princes Avenue now stands, and the surrounding area, was originally known as Cottingham Marsh.

“Between 1170 and 1180 the waters of the marsh were drained into the River Hull via a complex of intersecting dykes, including a dyke laid out along the line of Princes Avenue (known as Hundolfgote).


“The dyke formed the boundary, in medieval times, between the ancient parishes of Sculcoates and Cottingham.

Princes Avenue
Princes Avenue

“A country lane subsequently developed along the bank of the dyke and had a succession of names over the years including the Kings Banks, Mucky Peg Lane and Newland Tofts Lane, while the area on either side remained largely rural until the mid-19th century.”

Princes Quay shopping centre, I assume, is named after the Princes Dock it was built upon, but that is by-the-by.

People seem to be more concerned about the mispronunciation, and giving the street and shopping centre a feminine title.

“Princes Avenue gets called Princess Avenue”, said one person. “Same with Princes Quay, it gets called Princess Quay.”


Withernsea's original pier in 1880
Withernsea's original pier in 1880

The original village of Withernsea recorded in the Domesday Book now forms part of the sea bed, but the seaside town we know today was formed further inland in the 1400s because of the coastal erosion.

Providing a cheap and convenient holiday for Victorian workers and their families, the popularity of Withernsea soared, but it seems people have never been able to grasp its proper name.

One person said: “Withernsea... always pronounced Wither-run-sea.”


Not far from Withernsea, Keyingham is recorded in the Domesday Book as having 31 households living there, opposed to the more than 2,000 people calling it home today.

But just how do you pronounce its name?


“I’d like to settle a long standing family argument if people can help,” said one person. “Is the village Keyingham pronounced KEY or KAY?”


Boyes on Holderness Road once had budgies.
Boyes on Holderness Road once had budgies.

Hull has been relying on Boyes for an assortment of products for decades, with the chain beginning in Scarborough in 1881, selling remnants from merchants.

There are four stores in the city, a couple of which have been part of Hull’s shopping scene since time began, but people still can’t pronounce it correctly.

Granted, it’s not a location as such, but several people have been left agitated by the use of “Boyses”.

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