# Exotic street names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494 "2014-04-19T17:37:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/41 "2014-04-20T06:28:01Z")
Two of the oddest street names I’ve found are Psomas Way in Venice, CA, and Moyamensing Avenue in Philadelphia. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/42 "2014-04-20T07:54:04Z")
More about New Orleans: they pronounce “Calliope” as “CAL-ee-ope.” “Burgundy” is “bur-GUN-dee.” “Esplanade” is “ESS-pluh-nade.” They’ve even been known to pronouce “Clio” as “see ell TEN.” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/43 "2014-04-20T13:26:45Z")
This is interesting to me. We just re-wrote our street naming regulations for our county. Developers choose the names for their new streets and condos/subdivisions. The biggest problem we have is duplicate street names. We try to nip that in the bud, but it can be a problem. Duplicate subdivision and condominium names are also a problem. We have a LOT of tourists that will know the name of the complex they are staying at, but not the street. It’s a 911/emergency services issue. Often, developers will do a marketing campaigns before the planning process and approval is finished. “Beautiful Blue River Condominiums” Um… no, we already have three Blue River Condos. Or Lakeview or Elk Run or whatever. They can be VERY upset when the name isn’t approved. And that’s why we have a small development called FUS. I work for Summit County. FU S. Anywho, I think the most interesting road name is ‘Barking Dog Lane’. A side note, I don’t work in the same county as I live in. The county I live in was doing a road re-naming project to get rid of duplicates. My area was to get bird names as a theme. We are allowed to make suggestions for new names. There is only one other full time resident on our road so I might get my suggestion to go through. “Chicken Crossing Road” We’ll see if that flies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/44 "2014-04-20T13:32:34Z")
[Butt Hole Road](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt_Hole_Road) was renamed recently. A sad loss. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/45 "2014-04-20T14:47:54Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [Butt Hole Road](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt_Hole_Road) was renamed recently. A sad loss. In New England, there are a lot of “butt” roads, usually referring to the original path to the community water tank or butt. Locally, there is a “Cathole Road,” the meaning of which has been completely lost. In modern parlance, a cathole is what a hiker digs in the woods to emulate a bear. The local wit pronunciation is “kath-oly.” My favorite in this respect is the New England Butt Company, which started off making butt hinges and diversified in its later (ca. 1900) years. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/46 "2014-04-20T14:49:46Z")
Punsters abound, yes: The Sacramento region has Little Ol Court, Any Way and Rong Way. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/47 "2014-04-20T15:36:58Z")
A good candidate for the most exotic name in London must be Naoroji Street near Finsbury. Baffled me for years until I finally looked it up; he was the first asian chap to be a British MP [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadabhai\_Naoroji](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadabhai_Naoroji) ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/48 "2014-04-20T15:41:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > In New England, there are a lot of “butt” roads, usually referring to the original path to the community water tank or butt. No, no. The butts were where you practised your archery. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery\_butts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery_butts) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/49 "2014-04-20T15:54:12Z")
> [@Bert\_Nobbins](#): > > No, no. The butts were where you practised your archery. But “butt” does mean a water or wine cask, and the sense originated at about the same time as the archery one. It seems to me that in towns water butts would be much more common than places to practice archery. In any case, your link itself says that the word may refer to yet a third sense: > [@](#): > > Several English towns have districts called “The Butts”, but they may not always take their names from archery. The Middle English word “butt” referred to an abutting strip of land, and is often associated with medieval field systems.[1] An example is Newington Butts in south London where contrary to popular belief, the 1955 Survey of London published by London County Council could find no historical reference to archery butts.[2] It concluded that the name probably derived from the triangle of land between the roads, as the word “butts” is used elsewhere in Surrey to refer to odd corners or ends of land. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/50 "2014-04-20T16:05:46Z")
I lived in Columbia, MD when I worked at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory back in the 1980s. Many of the street names lack the word ‘road’ or ‘street’ in them. So you get road names like ‘Charles Dickens’ and ‘Dasher Green’. I think Hobbit’s Glen was my favorite, but Lamplighter was rather odd to a young man who grew up in the South. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/51 "2014-04-20T16:23:34Z")
> [@Bert\_Nobbins](#): > > No, no. The butts were where you practised your archery.[URL=“[Archery butt - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery_butts)”] Not on this side of the pond. A “butt” pretty much invariably refers to a very large cask - larger than a hogshead, often custom made for purposes like what we’d now use a premade metal or plastic watering pond. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/52 "2014-04-20T16:29:40Z")
Around here, there’s a “Nobottom road”. Seriously, the potholes aren’t _that_ bad. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/53 "2014-04-20T16:59:19Z")
Honolulu has three consecutive ‘political’ streets: Republican, Democrat and Home Rule. Milwaukie, OR has Else Where Place next to Where Else Place. Our island (and others in the county) has some twee and fanciful names: Yellow Brick Road, Dirt Road, Baroque N’Glass Lane, Loon Song Lane and What’s The Point (since renamed). Seattle has an unofficial one. Allen Place off of Westlake has the second ‘l’ strategically scratched on the sign to make it ‘Alien Place’. Gotta love it. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/54 "2014-04-20T17:33:33Z")
> [@TrappedSouls](#): > > In Lake Havasu City, AZ there is a street called “Broomrape” It’s a [plant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broomrape). ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/55 "2014-04-20T18:38:25Z")
> [@yearofglad](#): > > Portland, OR, has a Couch Street downtown, except it’s apparently pronounced “kooch” (rhymes with “hooch”) rather than couch (as in a sofa). Portland, OR, also has a street named Failing Street … named after Henry Failing. When the Interstate cut through, it was decided to put a foot bridge over … … and the sign on it says “Failing Pedestrian Bridge”. A little off-topic, but funny anyway. [All time classic signage](http://m7.i.pbase.com/u15/harpeggio/upload/41992857.pbDSC_5675eboringOregonCity.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/56 "2014-04-20T18:44:34Z")
Nothing anywhere will ever match the street name found in many English towns in the Middle Ages. [Gropecunt Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/57 "2014-04-20T18:53:49Z")
Off the top of my head, some weird street names around where I live: Dye Krest Green Cars Lane Romeo Plank Knickerbocker Avenue ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/58 "2014-04-20T19:08:24Z")
Portland has Couch St., pronounced “cooch”. The street was named after General Darius Couch. Many of the streets in Portland are named after Union Generals. Peters Creek, Alaska has a street called Four Wheel Drive. My brother used to live on it, and actually named it. Back in the day, it was aptly named. Oops, I see Couch has already been mentioned. Guess I should read the entire thread first. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/59 "2014-04-20T19:12:05Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > There’s one in La Jolla, CA called North Torrey Pines Road. > > I don’t know what a North Torrey Pine is supposed to be. I wonder if they have South Torrey Pines, too? In my next life, I’m gonna be a botany major. The roads were probably named after the [golf course](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrey_Pines_Golf_Course). eta: I just noticed you’re in La Jolla. It’s definitely the golf courses. That’s where they’re located. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/60 "2014-04-20T19:52:45Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Nothing anywhere will ever match the street name found in many English towns in the Middle Ages. > > [Gropecunt Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane) Why do I hear a Mel Brooks character insisting it’s pronounced “gropy-koont”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494.md?page=4)