How do you pronounce Olney? It turns out the answer might depend on where in Montgomery County you grew up. During a recent NBC4 segment highlighting Olney as part of its “4 On Tour” series, our “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis spoke with hosts Melissa Mollet and Jummy Olabanji about a fun local debate on the pronunciation of the community’s name. The discussion can be seen below.
If you were born and raised in Olney, there’s a good chance you pronounce it “All-nee” or “Awl-nee,” with an A sound at the beginning. But if you grew up elsewhere in Montgomery County, you might be more likely to say “Ol’-nee.”
We decided to put the question to our followers, and the results weren’t particularly close. Of the 6,000+ who participated, approximately 75% of respondents to a MoCoShow poll said they pronounce it “Ol-nee.”
For what it’s worth, Tsironis shared that he grew up in Gaithersburg and has always pronounced it “Ol’-nee,” but has heard plenty of longtime Olney residents use the other pronunciation.
The community itself has an interesting naming history. It was once known as Fair Hill (the same name the shopping center has today) and was then known as Mechanicsville, a name associated with the blacksmiths and other tradespeople who worked near Georgia Avenue and Route 108. It was later renamed Olney in the mid-1800s, after the Olney House which took its name from Olney, England.
More than a century later, Montgomery County residents still haven’t reached a consensus on how to say it. So, which side are you on? Is it “All-nee” or “Ol’-nee”? And perhaps more importantly, did you grow up in Olney or somewhere else?
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