The Naming of Places is a Difficult Matter. But Also, Funny.

Naming places – without constantly repeating myself - is one of the most hardest parts of what I do (more difficult than inking a map without trailing my sleeve in the wet ink, which, I assure you, is quite difficult). From the start, I’ve wanted to come up with my own names (so even if my imaginary places might have real-world equivalents, it’s unintentional), but coming up with new and interesting names isn't easy.

But I’m in a refill-the-creative-well phase right now, in need of fresh inspiration, and so I’ve been poring over atlases and books, Google Earth, web sites, every resource I can find, to get a better understanding of place names. I might go blind (have you ever noticed how small the print is in the index of an atlas?), but I’m having a fabulous time on the way, and I haven't even left the United States, yet (researchively speaking).

I was looking for inspiration, and oh, my, have I found it. In fact, no matter how creative I might get with my imaginary places (and I do my best), there are some place names I just cannot beat, just because they’re real. In fact, I’ve decided to incorporate a number of these real places into a new project, but in the meantime, some of them are just too good to keep to myself.


I could wake up every morning in Coffee City, Texas; Coffee Creek, Montana; or Hot Coffee, Mississippi, then head over to Pancake, Texas, for breakfast.

There are quite a few Sandwiches in this country, so if you don't like one kind, you can have another. You could join me in the afternoon for Tea, South Dakota, along with a snack in Cookietown, Oklahoma or on Rock Candy Mountain in Washington.

For dinner, maybe Cheeseville and Chili, both conveniently in Wisconsin. Finish your day with delicious Pie, West Virginia, and maybe some Eggnog, Utah, with a shot of Rum Center, Lousisiana, or Rum Branch, Missouri, which you could enjoy at Drinking Cove in Maine.

Yum Yum!

(Oh, Yum Yum? That’s in Tennessee).

I found a Dilly, Wisconsin, but no Dally. Topsy in Lousiana and Missouri, but no Turvy.

I think it's marvelous that Michigan has both Inkster and Parchment.

Welcome to Poetry, Tx
Originally uploaded by p2wy

There's Poetry, in Texas, and more than one Story, in Wyoming, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Mississippi (and of course, there's Fort Story, here in Virginia).

There are many towns named Welcome, but there's also Turnback, Missouri. I don't know about you, but I think I'd take their advice. And who lives in Cranky Corner, Louisiana?

Colorado has both Chance and Last Chance, just in case you need another one. Boost your chances in any one of a few Lucks and Good Lucks. Why not? I mean, Whynot, Mississippi.

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But your luck might not hold out in Swindleville, Lousisiana. Just be on your guard.

There’s more than one Okay. And Enough, Missouri, which I imagine was named by a spouse who was tired of moving around. And there’s a town in Alaska called Unalaska.

There are more body parts than... well, there's a lot of body parts. Various heads, elbows, cheeks, legs, and so on. But as far as I can tell, there's only one Monkey's Eyebrow, where, apparently, the town sign keeps getting stolen.

There are many Devil-ish towns, but also a few Angels. A few Heavens, including Cowboy Heaven and Horse Heaven (plus, you got it, Hog Heaven), and also a few Hells. My favorite is Merry Hell, Mississippi, because if you have to be in Hell, you might as well enjoy it.

And there are a lot of pessimists in this world, but I’m happy to say there must be a lot of optimists, too: there’s not just Mount Joy, Iowa, and Felicity, Ohio, but try a search for “happy” and you get a whole lot of happiness.

It goes on and on and on. Comical Turn, Idaho. Hijinks, Arizona. Spasticville, Kansas. Bugscuffle, Tennessee. Smuttynose Island, Maine. Social Circle, Georgia. There’s not just one Wahoo, but four that I can find.

Plus, there are sad names, haunted names (Woman Hollering Creek, for example, with my thanks to WhyIsTheRumGone), mysterious names and more.

And like I said, that’s just one country. But I have a map to make, so I will let you do some of your own exploring. Wishing you happy travels, as always. (And when you get tired, you can stop at Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina.)

The Guides

Disclaimer: I haven’t double-checked all of these names yet, so I do not guarantee their accuracy, although I have confirmed a few.

Here are my resources:

• Rand McNally 2009 Road Atlas (Mine is from 2007)
• The funniest and longest list is here: Unusual, bizarre and humorous names of towns in the United States
  
• There’s also this list at Listology.
• More place names here: What's in a Name? - Odd Places in America
  
• You can confirm the names at the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (I haven’t found this site to be easily browsable, but it is still a terrific resource.)
• If you want to find place names in a specific area, try the USA Place Names Gazetteer
• Funny place names at How Stuff Works
  

As for other books:

• I just finished Off the Map: The Curious Histories of Place-Names by Derek Nelson
• Have been browsing Why Do They Call It Topeka?: How Places Got Their Names by John W. Pursell. Fewer funny names, but intriguing etymologies of many places in the world
  
• And I haven’t finished Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (New York Review Books Classics) by George R. Stewart, but it's an entertaining read. The chapter "Of the Last Flourishing" deals specifically with offbeat names.