Ah, Colorado. The Centennial State. Home of the Rocky Mountains. Birthplace of Dog the Bounty Hunter. But how the hell do you actually say it?!

Before you scoff at me for asking this question, let me provide you with some backstory: I am not a Colorado native. I moved here from North Dakota around 14 years ago and, perhaps in a feeble attempt to mask my Midwestern accent, began pronouncing our state like Colo - RAW - doh.

I never gave the pronunciation much thought again until yesterday, when I was introducing Milky Chance's latest song, "Colorado," on 94.3 The X. After hearing the band sing our state's name like Colo - RAD - oh, I decided to do some research before saying it on the radio again.

So, I turned to the Internet. And guess what? You guys don't seem to know either.

Colo - RAD - oh appears to be the winning answer, with around 70% of you pronouncing it that way. However, about 30% of you still pronounce it like Colo - RAW - doh — a significant amount if you ask me.

Plus, while the general consensus seemed to be that Colorado natives say it the first way and out-of-staters say it the second way, there were quite a few natives on both sides of the issue. Color me confused.

Chelsea W. in Loveland sent me a helpful link to a 9News segment on the debate. Kyle Clark's answer? The Centennial State's history has led to many different pronunciations, leaving no true right answer.

Long story short, it seems like you can say "Colorado" however you'd like. But, just for kicks, let's put it to a final vote:

Need more name news? Check out 39 unique nicknames of Colorado towns (and how they got them) in the gallery below.

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