by Beth
I love to set my stories in small towns -- probably because that's all I've ever known (I still live in my small hometown). One thing I like to try and do is give my fictional towns names that are unique, funny, or somehow reflect the story's theme or the characters' conflicts. But as we all know, unique, funny, and/or sometimes downright weird town names don't just exist in fiction. Here are some REAL towns in my home state of Pennsylvania:
Mars
Apollo
Indiana
California
Washington
Ohiopyle
Houston
Denver
Berlin
Dublin
Belfast
Bagdad
Moscow
Bethlehem
Nazareth
Egypt
Jim Thorpe
King of Prussia
Intercourse (yes, for real)
Shickshinny
Eighty Four
Forty Fort
Bird-In-Hand
Bushkill
Paradise
Oil City
Slippery Rock
Jersey Shore
Blue Bell
Media
Plymouth Meeting
Burnt Cabins
Birdsboro
Three Springs
Yellow Springs
Boiling Springs
Sinking Spring
Roaring Spring
What about you? Any funny or unusual town names in your area? Or a memorable fictional town name from a book?
46 comments:
EVERY place name around here is, ahem, different. In Australia we use a lot of Aboriginal words as place names. Our colonial names aren’t any better!
Here are a few:
Tuggeranong
Goorooyarroo
Broke
Burrumbuttock
Come By Chance
Gooloogong
Orange
Wagga Wagga
Woolloomooloo
Wee Jasper
Beth, I grew up in Maryland where names seemed to be normal. Pennsylvania was another matter. But I have always loved Bird-in-Hand and yes, Intercourse. As kids those names made us giggle.
Now that I am in NC, we have names like:
Fuquay-Varina (FEW-kway vuh-REE-nuh) For years I thought they were talking a Marina in the town of Fuquay.
Spivey's Corner (home of the famous hollering contest)
Bahama (pronounced Baa HAY ma)
Apex (named because it is supposedly a high point in the area)
Contentnea (Con-TENT -nea)
Conetoe (kuh-NEE-tuh NOT Cone-tow)
Chalybeate Springs (Ka-LIB-be-ate)
Mebane (I got in trouble for pronouncing it ME-bane instead of Meb-in)
and Efland which I will forever mispronounce ELF-land because I want to do so.
Such fun. Looking forward to the contributions today.
And, Sonya, I LOVE Australian names ever since I saw the miniseries A Town Like Alice!
Julie - we certainly don't have boring names here! (Same with some US states it seems!).
I probably shouldn't admit I've never seen all of A Town like Alice - I should be ashamed of that...
Texas is full of strange and unique names....
Uncertain
Bug Tussle
Byespot
Black Ankle
MuleShoe
Farewell
Chickenfeather
Content
Great post, Beth. I searched for strange town names and was proud to find my own home town of Walla Walla, Washington on the list. Go Blue Devils!
Hey EllenToo, what about Needmore, Texas? What if someone moved from Intercourse, Pennsylvania to Needmore, Texas? LOL
Looking forward to hearing about other strange names.
Kristin Noel
Beth, great list! Although I live in Toronto, my family comes from Newfoundland. Some of the names there are wonderful.
Nfld has a name to match your Intercourse--Dildo! And there is also Conception Bay.
Also:
Jerry's Nose
Joe Batt's Arm, Luke's Arm, Robert's Arm
Little Seldom
Mosquito
Tickle Cove
Heart's:
Delight
Content
Desire
One of my favourites: Goobies
And when they ran out of ideas:
Nameless Cove
Sonya, Nfld has a Come by Chance, too.
We have a boatload of weird town names here in Kentucky. One of my favorites is Waddy-Peytona. We have Beaver Lick, Possum Trot, Bachelors Rest, Access, Awe, Bear Wallow, Gravel Switch, Grapevine, Cut-Shin, Eighty-eight, Hippo, Jetson, Nonesuch, Tyewhoppety, Sligo, Quicksand, Big Bone Lick, Rabbit Hash, Shoulderblade, and the list goes on.
We also have the usual assortment of names of other cities/countries, like Versailles (which is pronounced Ver-SAILS here), Cuba, California, Texas, Turkey, etc.
Ellen Too,
Bug Tussle brings back memories from The Beverly Hillbillies. It was the name of a town that Granny mentioned often, only I think hers was in Arkansas or somewhere.
Well one place I can this of is Petawawa, in Ontario. or Wawa.. or about Ear Falls..there are loads of unusal city and towns in Ontario for sure..
There are several around here but the one that stands out in my mind right is the one I travel through when going to see my son at college and that is Paint Lick.
Sonya, those are so great! I'm lol over Burrumbuttock, Wagga Wagga and Wee Jasper *g* Makes me realize I should have more fun when I name my fictional towns :-)
and Efland which I will forever mispronounce ELF-land because I want to do so.
LOL, Julie! I think I'd mispronounce it on purpose, too *g* Those names are great but a few are quite a mouthful, aren't they? I'd probably mangle them if I tried to say them!
Hey, Ellen Too!
Love Bug Tussle and Uncertain! I'm definitely going to have to set a future book in Texas *g*
What if someone moved from Intercourse, Pennsylvania to Needmore, Texas? LOL
LOL, Kristin! And I always smile when I hear Walla Walla, Washington ;-)
In researching names of towns in California, I found it hard to come up with something original.
In Gold Country we have Placerville, which used to be called Hangtown, but even in the 1800's that was too politically incorrect. Nearby are the towns of Rescue, Lotus and Cool.There's also Whiskeytown, Fiddletown and Rough and Ready. Up North you'll find Happy Camp, Hat Creek and Dorris (which isn't that unusual but it does boast the tallest flagpole west of the Mississippi).
I have actually been to Uncertain. It has a population of about 150 people and is on Caddo Lake and almost on the border to Texas and Louisiana.
There is a Bug Tussle in Oklahoma that may have been the one Granny referred to.
Then we have Cut and Shoot as well as Ding Dong and Dimple. And then there's Quicksand.
Kitsigukla is my fav name for BC small towns.
Well here in Alberta we have a few names you probably won't find anywhere else like Ponoka, Wetaskiwin, Ma-Me-O Beach. Namao, Michichi, and Kananaskis.
We also have a Meander River and Wandering River which I think can describe any river around.
We have a town called Vulcan and as a tourist attraction they built a Star ship Enterprise. Leonard Nemoy has been there for numerous of the Star Trek conventions. They hold one every year.
We also have Valhalla Centre, Sunnynook and Paradise Valley. Just in case you feel like it you can also live in Youngstown.
Nfld has a name to match your Intercourse--Dildo! And there is also Conception Bay.
ROFL, Mary! Hmm, not sure what to think of a town named Dildo (I'm sure it's a lovely place to live *g*) Love Conception Bay! I can imagine an entire series based in a town with that name *g*
Also love Tickle Cove and Goobies!
JV, it sounds as if Kentucky is a gold mine of great town names!! Love Possum Trot and Tyewhoppety! Tyewhoppety. That is just too much fun to say *ggg*
Hey, Kathleen! Thanks for the list! Wawa made me smile *g*
Well, I searched for a list because I couldn't really think of any... the list was kind of lame. The names listed were towns that had local Hawaiian names, were named for people (i.e. Captain Cook, Kurtistown, Ah Fook, etc.) or Village # 5 nothing strange or exotic about those names :)
Hi, Virginia! Paint Lick sound familiar to me, not sure why though *g* It's a fun name for a town, that's for sure!
OMG, some of these names are hilarious. The only funny ones from Minnesota that I can think of are Embarrass, Nimrod, Rice and Sleepy Eye. Never really thought how silly those last 2 are until now. Been to all of those towns!
Have always wanted to set a book in Castle Danger on Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior. There's nothing there except a motel and a restaurant, but LOVE the name of that town.
I'm from Germany and we have a small village just twenty miles away from where I live that is called Amerika (German spelling of America)! And I know of a village in Austria that is called Fucking. Yes, really, but in German there is no meaning to the word so no dirty thoughts for most of us. ;)
LOL. I like Shickshinny!
Ellen, I passed Uncertain, Texas this past weekend and thought, "Now there's a good town with a possibility of intrigue."
Okay, for Louisiana (some of ours are unpronoucable because they're French)
Dry Prong
Batchelor (another good town for a romance book)
Boutte
Convent (to balance out the Batchelors)
Cut Off
Enterprise (place for Star Trek fans)
Fort Necessity
Good Hope
Krotz Springs (bet you know what we call this one)
Pumpkin Center
Waterproof
Many of our cities are prefaced with St. and we have lots of French and Indian names for towns -like Natchitoches and Maringouin.
Fun topic, Beth!
Ha!
When I was in college at Carnegie Mellon, the quarterback was nicknamed The Man from Mars because he was, you know, from Mars (PA).
Beth,
I've hung on to a postcard of the US titled "Christmas Cities of the US" for years, thinking I'd like to write a Christmas story set in each one.
Alaska, Colorado and New York made the list for having a "North Pole." Although the list appears incomplete because they missed a couple Colorado towns that I know of with Christmas names.
Hi Beth, entertaining post and comments.
Wisconsin is full of lovely places with interesting names, Oconomowoc, Mukwanago, Waukesha, and more, and none of them is pronounced the way I thought it would be.
We have Sleepy Hollow and I remember when I first read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and learned that this town was in my home state.
In researching names of towns in California, I found it hard to come up with something original.
I have this problem, too, Kristina. LOL on Hangtown! That would make a great fictional town, wouldn't it?
Dorris (which isn't that unusual but it does boast the tallest flagpole west of the Mississippi).
Love little known facts about towns and this is a great one *g*
Kitsigukla is my fav name for BC small towns.
Hey, Linda! That reminds me of a local town, Kushequa. I always loved how it sounded *g*
We have a town called Vulcan and as a tourist attraction they built a Star ship Enterprise. Leonard Nemoy has been there for numerous of the Star Trek conventions. They hold one every year.
Kaelee, that is so cool! Have you ever attended the convention?
Thanks for listing some fun town names!
Thanks for trying, Snookie! I think Captain Cook is a fairly strange town name *g* Although Captain Hook might be better ;-)
Nimrod cracked me up, Helen! And a town called Castle Danger would make a great setting for a book!
ROFL, Claudia! Those are too funny! Thanks for sharing :-)
Krotz Springs (bet you know what we call this one)
Well, if your family is anything like mine, then yes, I could guess what you call it *g* Those are great! Love Good Hope and Dry Prong (don't know why with this one, I just do *g*)
When I was in college at Carnegie Mellon, the quarterback was nicknamed The Man from Mars because he was, you know, from Mars (PA).
*g* Ellen, those Mars-ians are every where! I have a good friend who lives in Mars and my husband works with a woman from there :-)
I've hung on to a postcard of the US titled "Christmas Cities of the US" for years, thinking I'd like to write a Christmas story set in each one.
Rogenna, that is a fabulous idea! I've heard of a couple of Christmas themed town but hadn't realized there were enough for a postcard *g* Very cool!
Wisconsin is full of lovely places with interesting names, Oconomowoc, Mukwanago, Waukesha
Mary, those are some interesting names! I like Mukwanago but I'm not sure I'm pronouncing it correctly :-)
Hey, Jane! We have a small housing development in town called Sleepy Hollow. One road is Van Tassel Way and the other is Ichabod Lane - both named after the characters *g*
Did some investigating for Snookie...
Chin Chuck
Elevenmile Homestead
Papa
Pepeekeo
Wharf
Cod Fish Village
We have some magnificent Aboriginal names all over Australia. They have a traditional meaning. I live in Toowoomba: Swampy Place. I once lived in a town called Pindi Pindi - Many Fleas - to make it plural the word is repeated you see. Such as in Wagga Wagga - Many Crows. Canberra (our Capital City)means Meeting Place.
Here are just a few more.
Adelong- River or Plain
Bonegilla - deep waterhole
Carrarragarmungee - Carrajarmongui, place of goannas
Dubbo- from native word Tubbo, possum fur head covering.
Echuca - the place of stones, gravel reefs in river bed
Gilgandra- long water hole
Jerilderie- reedy place
Kergunyah - silent place
Longerenong - split, the dividing of the waters
Merriang - plenty of native dogs
Nar Nar Goon - koala
Omeo - mountains
Puckapunyal - middle hill
Tangamgalanga - white clawed lobster, yabbie
Walla Walla- lots of rain
Yarrawonga - where the wonga, or cormorant, builds in the river gums
We can say them easily having grow up with them.
LOL Ellen, I'm sure Cod Fish Village was a Portuguese plantation camp. That's what Elevenmile Homestead and Chin Chuck are too. Not sure how they got to be towns, but I guess they are pretty funny :) Now if you want to get into the Hawaiian names I could give you plenty, since nearly all of our towns have Hawaiian names. And if you translate them, you get some interesting ones... like Kane'ohe (bamboo man)
Fun post.
I once got an angry letter from a reader who told me he'd looked in every atlas the library had and there was NO Gold Creek, California. (The setting for one of my trilogies.) Well...yeah...because I made it up, sir. LOL.
And speaking of pronunciations, as Kristina pointed out, there's a Placerville in CA's gold country, but it's pronounced "Plasser" not Placer" with a hard a. Interesting, no?
Deb
I know i am late - very funny cities, Beth. - Julie I am in NC too and you forget Middlesex, NC that one always cracked me up when I first moved here.
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