Wisconsin has more than 190 cities, 400 villages, 1,000+ towns, and 1,000+ unincorporated places. Learn how to pronounce them all!

More than 5.7 million Wisconsinites live in this Great Lakes state known as America’s Dairyland. Wisconsin — also called the Badger State — became the 30th state of the union in 1848. Did you know Wisconsin has over 15,000 lakes, 33,000 miles of rivers and streams, and is bordered by two Great Lakes and the Mississippi River?

Wisconsin is the English spelling of Ouisconsin, which is the French rendering of Meskonsing, which is the Indian name for the river that runs through the center of the state. Wait, what? The Wisconsin Historical Society writes all about Wisconsin’s Name: Where it came from and what it means.

Wisconsin is home to all kinds of hard-to-pronounce places, from Antigo, Ahnapee, and Allouez to Weyauwega, Wyocena, and Wonewoc. Yes, it’s a challenge, and being bilingual won’t necessarily help.

As you know, Wisconsin is known as “America’s Dairyland,” but there are other major contributors to the state’s economy, including manufacturing, information technology (IT), cranberries, ginseng, and tourism. Fun fact: nearly 21 million gallons of ice cream are consumed by Wisconsinites each year. Are you doing your part? 😉

Lots of famous people from Wisconsin, including — but certainly not limited to — Chris Farley, Georgia O’Keeffe, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Les Paul, William Harley, Oscar Mayer, Mark Ruffalo, Tony Shalhoub, Gene Wilder, Liberace, Chris Noth, Deidre Hall, Bradley Whitford, Greta Van Susteren, and Stephen Ambrose. Oh, and Barbie, the doll, supposedly hails from our fine state!

On August 22, 2007, MissPronouncer is pronounced #1 by the governor!