# Are any English/American place names funny to foreigners? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195 "2005-08-08T22:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/1 "2005-08-08T22:01:12Z")
Our family have just had lots of giggles driving past Condom and St Pee in the south of France (we are easily amused). It got me wondering - Do say ukrainian tourists photograph themselves in front of any of our road signs because it means Donkey Sex in their language? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/2 "2005-08-08T22:31:48Z")
There are some names and parts of names that are slightly amusing to Germans (nothing naughty, I’m afraid), but that amusement doesn’t last long (IOW it’s a funny-once, small-schoolkid thing). [ul] [li] **Loch** (as in, part of the name of a Scottish body of water) means _hole_ in German. The words are pronounced the same.[/li][li] **Pennsylvania** sounds to a German unfamiliar with the name, like a very sleepy state (low colloquial _pennen_ = to sleep)[/li][li] **Eagle** something sounds, when first heard, like hedgehog something (_Igel_ = hedgehog, pronounced like the English word eagle. Another kid in my 5th form English class mistakenly translated “eagle’s eyes” to mean “hedgehog’s balls”.)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/3 "2005-08-08T22:37:14Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > There are some names and parts of names that are slightly amusing to Germans (nothing naughty, I’m afraid), but that amusement doesn’t last long (IOW it’s a funny-once, small-schoolkid thing). > > [ul] > [li] **Loch** (as in, part of the name of a Scottish body of water) means _hole_ in German. The words are pronounced the same.[/li][li] **Pennsylvania** sounds to a German unfamiliar with the name, like a very sleepy state (low colloquial _pennen_ = to sleep)[/li][li] **Eagle** something sounds, when first heard, like hedgehog something (_Igel_ = hedgehog, pronounced like the English word eagle. Another kid in my 5th form English class mistakenly translated “eagle’s eyes” to mean “hedgehog’s balls”.)[/li][/ul] HEH! 😃 Thanks for the insight. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/4 "2005-08-08T22:50:49Z")
I’d imagine many folks would find place names in PA amusing, what with Intercourse and Blue Ball down the road from Paradise and Bird-In-Hand. Out in western PA there’s Shy Beaver and Big Lick-those are two towns that need to merge. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/5 "2005-08-08T22:58:18Z")
A friend from Argentina was appalled that there is a city in California named Palo Alto. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/6 "2005-08-08T23:14:36Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > A friend from Argentina was appalled that there is a city in California named Palo Alto. So what does Palo Alto mean to your friend? I thought it meant “high tree”. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/7 "2005-08-08T23:16:21Z")
The Wisconsin city of [La Crosse](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm) generates no small amount of humor among French Canadians. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/8 "2005-08-09T00:11:42Z")
Don’t forget French Lick, Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/9 "2005-08-09T00:22:39Z")
> [@lno](#): > > The Wisconsin city of [La Crosse](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm) generates no small amount of humor among French Canadians. Interesting! The quebecois must have a lot of fun at lacrosse games then! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/10 "2005-08-09T00:27:13Z")
> [@](#): > > The quebecois must have a lot of fun at lacrosse games then! That’s where the slang meaning originated. Due to the constant arctic snowfall in Canada, the visiting team is often unable to make it to the game and the home team has to play with itself. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/11 "2005-08-09T00:44:11Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > So what does Palo Alto mean to your friend? I thought it meant “high tree”. In certain LA countries, _palo_ refers to the penis. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/12 "2005-08-09T00:49:40Z")
And then there’s Boca Raton, FL, the posh, wealthy suburb named after a rat’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/13 "2005-08-09T01:16:56Z")
I know of two: [ul] [li] **Des Moines** means “of the monks” (or maybe “Monkland”) in French — which if not outright funny, is at least kind of odd.[/li] [li] **Ohio** sounds like the Japanese phrase for “good morning”.[/li][/ul] And to nitpick on other posters: although names like Intercourse and French Lick sound funny _to us_, I think the OP is after place names that sound funny _to foreigners_, in their own language. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/14 "2005-08-09T01:25:51Z")
Some years ago I had foreign visitors who couldn’t stop giggling at the name of a local neighborhood: Foggy Bottom. Even days after the encounter, they’d all start giggling seemingly for no reason. When I asked what was so funny, they all say “Foggy Bottom! HAHAHAHA”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/15 "2005-08-09T02:26:50Z")
The French would get a laugh out of the Grand Tetons. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/16 "2005-08-09T02:39:00Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > That’s where the slang meaning originated. Due to the constant arctic snowfall in Canada, the visiting team is often unable to make it to the game and the home team has to play with itself. You made me laugh out loud with this one! 😃 I don’t think it’s really where this meaning comes from, though. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > The French would get a laugh out of the Grand Tetons. This was mentioned in a [recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6361508&highlight=Grand+Teton#post6361508). It appears that these mountains were intentionally named this way by French explorers. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/17 "2005-08-09T20:39:43Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > A friend from Argentina was appalled that there is a city in California named Palo Alto. I also have a friend from Argentina who was amazed that there is a city in California called Delano. I guess Del Ano means “From the Anus”. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/18 "2005-08-09T20:53:53Z")
> [@Jpeg Jones](#): > > I also have a friend from Argentina who was amazed that there is a city in California called Delano. I guess Del Ano means “From the Anus”. They must have had a field day back when FDR was in office. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/19 "2005-08-09T20:56:00Z")
Yeah there it is. Actually I think _palo_ means “stick”. I’ve heard chopsticks referred to as _palos chinos_. Funny thing is that my friend is half Argentine and half Thai and grew up in Thailand. So of course I had the perfect comeback: Friend: Dude, I can’t believe you have a city there named Palo Alto!!! Me: I wouldn’t talk, dude, you grew up in **Bangkok**! ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195/20 "2005-08-09T21:08:21Z")
Speaking of Bangkok, when I was there last winter, we stayed in a place called the Atlanta Hotel. The cab driver asked us where we were going, and looked at us in total confusion when we said “The Atlanta Hotel,” pronouncing “Atlanta” the way normal Americans do, with a schwa for the last syllable–“at-LAN-tuh.” When he continued to look blank, we pulled out the business card to show him. He thought this was completely hilarious. “Oh, you mean At-lan-TAH, not At-lan-TUH!” He drove us there and kept chuckling to himself and repeating “At-lan-TUH!” I still don’t know if the pronunciation “At-lan-tuh” means something dirty in Thai, or what, but the driver seemed to think it was the funniest thing ever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-english-american-place-names-funny-to-foreigners/316195.md?page=2)