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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Know Your Irregular Demonyms!

A demonym is the adjectival form of a place name used to describe the people from that place. For California, for example, the demonym is Californian. But be warned: Not all demonyms work the way you’d expect. To avoid insult to your foreign visitors, please consult this list of irregular and unusual demonyms.

The people of Monaco prefer to be called Monagasque.

The residents of the English town of Manchester are Mancunian.

Those from the island of Cyprus are called Cypriot.

Those from the island of Crete are, unfortunately, Cretans.

If you’re from the Seychelles, you are Seychellois.

If you’re from Madagascar, you’re Malagasy.

If you’re from Halifax, Nova Scotia, you’re Haligonian.

If you’re from Oxford, England, you’re Oxonian.

Technically speaking, people who live in the Vatican are Citizens of the Holy See.

Citizens of Barbados are Bajan.

Those living in Mexico City refer to themselves as Capitalinos.

If you’re from the Belgium region of Wallonia, you’re a Walloon.

While the world knows the people of Peru as the Peruvians, they actually prefer to be called the Pervs.

Similarly, the people of Bhutan are the Booties.

If you’re from St. Kitts, you’re a Kitty Cat.

The people who live in Budapest are Budapasta.

You’ve probably heard the joke about people from Albania being Albinos. In truth, however, they prefer to be called Abba-Zabbas.

The people of Saskatoon generally prefer to be called the Saskatoodles.

Residents of Chad like to be called by their full name, Chad Ethan Allen Hollingsworth III.

Natives of the German city of Munich prefer the term Munchers.

Those who live in Antarctica just like to be called.

And, finally, it’s very impolite to mention the fact that someone is from Fresno, so there is no word for that.

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