Place names considered unusual
The following international geographical names are either interesting or unusual. This list is provided chiefly for its entertainment value.
Exacly what is "interesting or unusual" is of course open to debate, but most of the names fall into three categories:
- Names suggesting matters sexual or scatalogical or insulting, usually unintentionally. For example Intercourse, Shitlington Crags, or Silly.
- Some sex-related names are marked 1 below
- Names of unorthodox spelling or sound. For example Å or Wooloomooloo.
- Candidates for the shortest or longest word in English or other languages are marked 2.
- Names that are also listed on inherently funny word are marked 3.
- Names that describe something that is in no apparent sense a geographical location. For example, Why, Old Harry, Mutters, Pity Me, and Die.
Many names Place names that appear odd to Englsh-speakers are from other languages. Often they are either meaningless or innocuous in their own tongue.
See also: List of unusual English words, toponymy, list of toponyms (with names derived from place names)
A
- Å, Norway 2
- Å, Sweden 2
- Adiós, Navarre, Spain
- Ae, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland 2
- Ah Cut, Pitcairn Island
- Ål, 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
- Bastardo, Italy
- Beaver, Pennsylvania 1 & 7
- Bidon 5, Sahara Desert, Africa 5
- Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, USA
- Bitey Bitey, Pitcairn Island
- Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, USA
- Blubberhouses, Yorkshire, England
- Blow Me Down, Provincial Park in Newfoundland, Canada
- Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA
- Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, USA (Nearby towns are Intercourse and Bird-in-Hand, both of which are on the way to Paradise1.)
- Bø, in Telemark and Nordland, Norway 2
- Bob, Canada (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])
- 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
- Coolville, Ohio, USA
- Coxsackie, New York, USA
- Cunter, Graubünden, Switzerland 1
- Cuntis, Pontevedra, Spain 1
D
E
- Easter Island, Chile 4
- Ed, Upper Austria, Austria 2
- Ed, Sweden 2
- Egg, Austria
- Egg, Zürich, Switzerland
- Eighty Eight, Kentucky, USA
- Elephant Butte, New Mexico, USA 7
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'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion, 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
- Hell, Grand Cayman, British West Indies
- Hells Gate Roadhouse, Australia
- Hérisson, 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 1
- Isles of Scilly, England (pronounced "silly")
J
- Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, USA (You'd think that would be in New Jersey.)
- 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 Rábanos ("the radishes"), Soria, Spain
- Lost, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- Lough Neagh (pronounced 'Lock Nay!'), Northern Ireland
- Loveland, Ohio, USA
- Loveland, Colorado, USA
- Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire, England
- Lü, Graubünden, Switzerland 2
M
- Macgillicuddy's Reeks, mountains in Ireland
- Mars, Pennsylvania, USA
- 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
- Öd, 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
- Paradise, Pennsylvania, 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
- Sexbierum, the Netherlands
- 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
- Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta, a train station on the Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu-Renigunta, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Venusberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Void, Meuse, France (Now merged with neighbouring place to form Void-Vacon)
- Virgin, Nevada, USA
- Virginville, Pennsylvania, USA
W
- Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
- Waikikamukau, New Zealand
- Walla Walla, Washington, USA 3
- Wank, mountain in Bavaria, Germany 1 (see List of British English words not used in American English)
- Wankdorf, train station in Bern, Switzerland 1
- Wankers Corner, Oregon, USA 1
- Wedding, Germany
- Weed, California, USA
- Westward Ho!, England (The punctuation 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
- Woon Gumpus Common, Cornwall, England
- Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (home of the Diet of Worms) 7
X
Y
==Z==
