List of interesting or unusual place names

List of interesting or unusual place names

The following international geographical names are either interesting or unusual. Place namess are often either meaningless or innocuous in the source language. This list is provided chiefly for its entertainment value. See the notes for information as to why certain names were included.

See also: list of unusual English words, list of placenames over 20 letters long, toponymy, and for a list of names derived from place names, list of toponyms.

Table of contents

1 A
2 B
3 C
4 D
5 E
6 F
7 G
8 H
9 I
10 J
11 K
12 L
13 M
14 N
15 O
16 P
17 Q
18 R
19 S
20 T
21 U
22 V
23 W
24 X
25 Y
26 Z
27 Notes

A

�, Norway ²
Adi�s, Navarre, Spain
Ae, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland ²
Ah Cut, Pitcairn Island
�l, Buskerud, Norway ²
Alphabet City, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
Amerika, Germany
Anting, China ⁷
Arsoli, Lazio, Italy
Asbestos, Quebec, Canada
Au, several towns in Austria, Germany and Switzerland ²

B

Bad Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany
Bald Knob, Arkansas, USA
Banana, Queensland, Australia ⁷
Bang Bang Jump Up, a rock formation in Australia
Beaver, Pennsylvania ^{1 & 7}
Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, USA
Bitey Bitey, Pitcairn Island
Blubberhouses, Yorkshire, England
Blow Me Down, Provincial Park in Newfoundland, Canada
Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA
Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, USA
B�, in Telemark and Nordland, Norway ²
Bob, Canada ⁹
Boca Grande, Florida, USA ("big mouth" in Spanish)
Boca Raton, Florida, USA ("Mouth of the mouse" in Spanish)
Boom, Belgium
Boring, Oregon, USA
Bottom, North Carolina, USA
Bra, Cuneo, Italy
Brown Willy, a tor in Cornwall, England
Bucksnort, Tennessee, USA
Burrumbuttock, New South Wales, Australia

C

Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, Massachusetts ²
Chinaman's Knob, Australia
Christmas Island, Australia ⁴
Christmaspie, Surrey, England
Chunky, Mississippi, USA
Climax, Colorado, USA
Climax, Michigan, USA
Clit, Arad, Romania¹
Come-by-Chance, Newfoundland, Canada
Condom, Gers, France ¹
Cunter, Graub�nden, Switzerland ¹
Cuntis, Pontevedra, Spain ¹

D

E

F

Fa, Aude, France
Five Corners (several), USA
Five Forks (several), USA
Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada
Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC, USA
Foul Mile, England
French Lick, Indiana, USA
Fresh Kills, Staten Island, New York, New York, USA
Frisby on the Wreake, Leicestershire, England
Fucking, Upper Austria, Austria ¹
Fuku, China ¹

G

George, Washington, USA
Gland, Aisne, France
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland
Gnaw Bone, Indiana, USA
Goodyear, Arizona, USA ⁴
Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddoll�npenrhynareurdraethceredigion, a train station in Gwynedd, Wales²
Grand Tetons, a mountain range in Wyoming, USA (meaning: "big tits" in French)
Grong Grong, New South Wales, Australia
Grosse Water Beach, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Gun Barrel City, Texas, USA
Gunbarrel Highway, Western Australia, Australia
Gunbarrel, Colorado, USA
Gy, Geneva, Switzerland ²

H

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a historic site in Alberta, Canada
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
Hell Gate, a portion of the East River in New York, New York, USA
Hell Hole Gorge National Park, Australia
Hell, Michigan, USA
Hell, Norway
Hells Gate Roadhouse, Australia
H�risson, Allier, France (meaning: "hedgehog")
Himmelspforte, Germany (meaning: "heaven's gate")
Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, USA
Homosassa, Florida, USA
How, Wisconsin, USA ⁶
Humpty Doo, Northern Territory, Australia
Hungry Mother State Park, Virginia, USA

I

Ii, Finland (two identical vowels) ²
Indian Queens, Cornwall, England
Innaloo (suburb of Perth, Australia)
Intercourse, Pennsylvania, USA
Isles of Scilly, England (pronounced "silly")

J

John Catch a Cow, Pitcairn Island

K

Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Kissimmee, Florida, USA (properly pronounced kis-SIMM-ee [SAMPA /k@"sImI/], but usually mispronounced KISS-a-me [SAMPA /"kIs@%mi/] by non-locals)
Knob Lick, Missouri, USA
Kokomo, Indiana, USA
"Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit", the poetic name of Bangkok, Thailand ²

L

La Hoz de la Vieja ("The Old Woman's Sickle"), Teruel, Spain
Lake Cadibarrawirracanna, South Australia, Australia
Lake Titicaca, in Peru and Bolivia
Lickey End, Worcestershire, England
Little George Coc'nuts, Pitcairn Island
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales ²
Lord Hereford's Knob, hill on the Welsh border
Los R�banos ("the radishes"), Soria, Spain
Lough Neagh (pronounced 'Lock Nay!'), Northern Ireland
Loveland, Ohio, USA
Loveland, Colorado, USA
Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire, England
L�, Graub�nden, Switzerland ²

M

Macgillicuddy's Reeks, mountains in Ireland
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Mianus, Connecticut, USA
Milton Keynes, England
Mockbeggar, England
Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky, USA
Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Mount Jerome, Ireland
Muck, island in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland
Muff, Northern Ireland
Mumbles, Wales
Mutters, Austria

N

Nar Nar Goon, Victoria, Australia
Natters, Austria
Ninety Six, South Carolina, USA ⁵
Ninety Six Corners, New York, USA ⁵
Ninetynine Oaks, California, USA
No Guts Captain, Pitcairn Island
No Name, Colorado, USA
Noone, New Hampshire, USA
Normal, Illinois, USA
Nyah and Nyah West, Victoria, Australia

O

�d, Lower Austria, Austria ² (also meaning "deserted" in German)
Old Harry Rocks, Dorset, England
Old Harry, Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada
Os, Hedmark, Norway ²
Os, Hordaland, Norway ²

P

Panthersville, Georgia, USA
Peckerwood Lake, a lake in Arkansas, USA
Peñíscola, Spain
Penistone, South Yorkshire, England
Petting, Bavaria, Germany
Phuket, Thailand
Piddle, river in Dorset, England
Pie Town, New Mexico, USA
Pis Pis River, Nicaragua
Pity Me, England
Pratt's Bottom, England
Prickwillow, England
Pussy, Savoie, France
Puzzletown, Pennsylvania, USA

Q

R

Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA ³
Re, Vestfold, Norway ²
Ronkonkoma, New York, USA (stress goes on the second syllable)
Rottenegg, Upper Austria, Austria
Rum, island in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland
Rum Jungle, Australia
Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire, England
Ryme Intrinseca, Somerset, England

S

Saddam Hussein, Sri Lanka
Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha, Quebec, Canada
Saint-Tite (pronounced St. Tit), Quebec, Canada
Salsipuedes, California, USA (meaning: "leave if you can" in Spanish)
Sexmoan, Pampanga, Philippines (now renamed to Sasmuan) ¹
Scunthorpe, England
Seldom Seen Roadhouse, Victoria, Australia
Semen, Indonesia
Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada
Shafter, California, USA
Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada
Shag Island, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indian Ocean (dependency of Australia)
Shag Island, Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada ¹
Shitlington Crags, Northumberland, England
Shittlehope, Durham, England
Siem Reab, Cambodia (meaning defeat Siam)
Silly, Belgium
Simmering, Vienna, Austria
Smackover, Arkansas, USA
Snapfinger, Georgia, USA
Snodland, England
Sommerloch, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany⁴ (meaning: "summer slump")
Spuzzum, British Columbia, Canada
Swastika, Ontario, in northeastern Ontario near Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Swords, outside Dublin in Ireland

T

Taintsville, Florida, USA
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu Hill, New Zealand ²
Thong, Kent, England
Tittybong, Victoria, Australia
Titz, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Toadsuck, Collinsville, Texas, USA
Toadsuck, Perry County, Arkansas, USA
Tombstone, Arizona
Town of Seventeen Seventy, Queensland, Australia ⁵
Treinta y Tres (Thirty-Three), Uruguay
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, USA
Twatt, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Twenty, Lincolnshire, England ⁵
Twentynine Palms, California, USA ⁵
Two Boars Roll, Pitcairn Island

U

Ugley, Essex, England
Up In Ti, Pitcairn Island
Upotipotpon, Victoria, Australia
Useless Loop, Western Australia, Australia

V

Venusberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Void, Meuse, France (Now merged with neighbouring place to form Void-Vacon)

W

Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Waikikamukau, New Zealand
Walla Walla, Washington, USA ³
Wank, mountain in Bavaria, Germany ¹
Wankdorf, train station in Bern, Switzerland ¹
Wankers Corner, Oregon, USA ¹
Wedding, Germany
Weed, California, USA
Westward Ho, England (The exclamation mark is part of the name. The town takes its name from the title of a book by Charles Kingsley)
Wetwang, East Riding of Yorkshire, England ¹
Where Freddy Fall, Pitcairn Island
Where Minnie Off, Pitcairn Island
Where Reynolds Cut The Firewood, Pitcairn Island
Whroo, Victoria, Australia
Why, Arizona, USA ⁶
Wigtwizzle, South Yorkshire, England
Wooloomooloo, Sydney, Australia
Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (home of the Diet of Worms) ⁷

X

Y

Y, Alaska, USA ²
Y, Somme, France ²

Z

Notes

On visual resemblance (intentional or not):

¹ sex related topic
² listed in/or candidate for shortest or longest word in English or other languages
³ listed on inherently funny word
⁴ calendar-related name
⁵ number
⁶ interrogative pronoun
⁷ a living organism's names
⁹ After Nunavut separated from the Northwest Territories, a poll was conducted as to what the remainder of the territory should be named. Retaining the name Northwest Territories won by a substantial margin, but a distant runner-up choice was Bob. [1]