River Mississippi or Mississippi River?

Question

I remember, when I was young, I watched an old movie called "The Bridge on the River Kwai".

In this case, the name of river is located after "River".
But I feel that "River Mississippi" seems to be an awkward expression.
Which is the correct one, "River XXX" or "XXX River"?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Welcome to English Forums, Sungmoon.
Thank you for registering with us.

Mississippi River is a proper name.
River Styx is a proper name.
River Thames and the River Severn are proper names.

Look up the names of rivers in a gazetteer.
The Bridge over the River Kwai is the name of a book by the French author, Pierre Boulle. The movie was based on the book.

GPY · Answer

It seems that rivers in the US (or North America generally) tend to have "River" first, while those in the UK (and elsewhere, though I haven't looked at all cases) tend to be the other way around. No doubt there are exceptions in both cases.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

GPYNo doubt there are exceptions

Is River Styx in the UK?

Sungmoon · Answer

Thank you guys!
The site below was useful for me to understand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_rivers

River Mississippi or Mississippi River?

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