Eye-Opening Secret on How To Pronounce “Binghamton”

Whenever I hear someone say "Bing-HAMPTON" I cringe. It's like when someone adds an "s" to the end of a chain store when it doesn't belong there. Like, when people say "Aldis" when it's "Aldi." Or "Walmarts" when the name is simply "Walmart."

No matter how you slice it, there is no HAM in Binghamton. There are 23 places in the world named "Ham," but none of those places are located in the United States. Yes, it might look like there is "ham" in BingHAMton, but we promise that we don't say our town name with the word "ham."

There is also no HAMPTON in Binghamton. The Hamptons are located at the East End of Long Island and are famous for being the vacation spot for celebrities and the super-wealthy. Again, it might look like there is a HAMPTON but don't let that random "P" that people like to slide into our town name fool you. Look again - it's not there: B-i-n-g-h-a-m-t-o-n. See?

Did you know that two other places in the United States share the name "Binghamton" with Broome County? In Solano County, California, there is an unincorporated community named Binghamton. And in Wisconsin, Outagamie County to be exact, there is another unincorporated community also named Binghamton.

Our Binghamton was named after a gentleman named William Bingham. Bingham was named the richest man in the United States in 1780 and he gained his wealth, largely through the development of land.

Bingham was an impressive man who helped broker the Louisiana Purchase and even built the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike which was the first long-distance paved road in America. Bingham also purchased and developed two million acres of land in Maine and he bought a chunk of land in Upstate New York which would become his namesake - Binghamton.

All of this brings us right back to how to correctly pronounce the name "Binghamton." Remember, there is no HAM (even though it looks like there is) and there is no HAMPTON. The easiest way to remember how to pronounce Binghamton is to say "umm" almost like a stall tactic in conversation.

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If you can say "Bing-UMMMM-Ton" super fast without over-emphasizing the "umm" then you will have said the name of our little town properly and you won't make anyone cringe in the process.