# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/81 "2014-04-21T17:19:10Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > A tangent, but that must be one of the shortest real first+last name combinations of any well-known figure. > > Can anyone think of any four- or three-letter celebrity names - real name or a variation, first+last? Or even other five-letter ones? Tennis player [Li Na](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Na). ---
**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 21, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/82 "2014-04-21T17:35:42Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Cher. First plus last - I could beat you with Che. šŸ™‚ Itā€™s going to be tough to beat Li Na. Might be some other Asian names with a single letter - Iā€™m sure thereā€™s an ā€œI Oā€ out there somewhere, but it needs to be someone at least moderately famous to qualify, cuz I say so. ---
**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 21, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/83 "2014-04-21T17:41:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > First plus last - I could beat you with Che. šŸ™‚ > > Itā€™s going to be tough to beat Li Na. Might be some other Asian names with a single letter - Iā€™m sure thereā€™s an ā€œI Oā€ out there somewhere, but it needs to be someone at least moderately famous to qualify, cuz I say so. [U Nu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Nu) [Ba U](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_U) ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/84 "2014-04-21T17:48:01Z")
In Bangalore, India, MG Road (Mahatma Gandhi) goes straight into Kasturba Road. Kasturba was Gandhiā€™s wife. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/85 "2014-04-21T18:09:33Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > A little off-topic, but funny anyway. > > [All time classic signage](http://m7.i.pbase.com/u15/harpeggio/upload/41992857.pbDSC_5675eboringOregonCity.jpg). Interesting trivia: The town of Boring, Oregon recently twinned with the tiny hamlet of Dull, Scotland and declared August 9, 2013 to be [ā€œDull & Boring Dayā€](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2388552/Happy-Boring-Dull-Day-Boring-Oregon-Dull-Scotland-mark-new-holiday-bring-excitement-towns.html). Both towns are currently in negotiations with Bland, Australia to join them in next yearā€™s festivities. I swear, you canā€™t make this stuff up. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/86 "2014-04-21T21:07:05Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > And letā€™s not forget the late, great Israel KaŹ»anoŹ»i KamakawiwoŹ»ole (his real name). > > As for Don Ho, that was his real name. His full name was [Donald Tai Loy Ho](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_ho), and he was of Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. Nor the late, great surfing champ Duke Kahanamoku. Hawaiian names are marvelous. You missed my post #68. If this thread is morphing into exotic peoplesā€™ names (is it?), we had a brief thread a while back about a family of the surname [Everybodytalksabout](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693312). ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/87 "2014-04-21T21:23:26Z")
I havenā€™t read this whole thread so I donā€™t know if this has been posted yet but I read in a book (ā€œThe Mother Tongueā€ by Bill Bryson) several years ago that there once was a street in England (I forget which town/city) called ā€œGrapcunt Laneā€ (it was in a seedy part of town and I think the name is something else, now). That nameā€™s nothing if not honesty about the goings-on in its area! ---
**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 21, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/88 "2014-04-21T21:37:17Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [U Nu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Nu) > > [Ba U](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_U) I guess. I figured Burmese names would come up in this context, but U is not a name, precisely, any more than Gandhiā€™s name was Mahatma. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/89 "2014-04-21T21:40:12Z")
Thereā€™s a subdivision in San Antonio Texas that has street names of an odd collection of classic-era Hollywood folks, must have been the favorites of the developer. George Burns, Danny Kaye, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, and also characters: Charlie Chan (!), and my personal favorite [Gomer Pyle](https://www.google.com/maps/place/5803+Gomer+Pyle+Dr/@29.505268,-98.600858,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x865c5d894872e577:0xef62f243a0abb466). ---
**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 21, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/90 "2014-04-21T21:58:03Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I guess. I figured Burmese names would come up in this context, but U is not a name, precisely, any more than Gandhiā€™s name was Mahatma. True, but itā€™s pretty much the only names they have. Burmese donā€™t really have surnames. Unlike Cher, which is not her birth name, their actual names are just Nu and Ba. ---
**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 21, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/91 "2014-04-21T22:34:35Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Thereā€™s a subdivision in San Antonio Texas that has street names of an odd collection of classic-era Hollywood folks, must have been the favorites of the developer. George Burns, Danny Kaye, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, and also characters: Charlie Chan (!), and my personal favorite [URL="[Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/place/5803+Gomer+Pyle+Dr/@29.505268,-98.600858,17z/d) Favorite TV blooper: station announcer saying: "See _Gomerā€™s Pilesā€¦"_ šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/92 "2014-04-21T23:00:43Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I guess. I figured Burmese names would come up in this context, but U is not a name, precisely, any more than Gandhiā€™s name was Mahatma. U is some kind of title or honorific, isnā€™t it? \< pause \> Okay, I looked up **U Thant** , third Secretary-General of the United Nations. [Wiki sez](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Thant): > [@](#): > > ā€œUā€ is an honorific in Burmese, roughly equal to ā€œMrā€. ā€œThantā€ was his only name, per Burmese convention. In Burmese, he was known as Pantanaw U Thant, given that his home town was Pantanaw. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/93 "2014-04-22T00:55:52Z")
In SF, somewhere around the Castro, there is a little side alley named Continuum. At the end of it is a sign that says, End Continuum. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/94 "2014-04-22T01:21:12Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > I sometimes cycle past a road called Azimghur Close. Presumably named after some great exploit of the Raj. It was the location of a battle during the Indian Mutiny/Sepoy Rebellion/Whatever theyā€™re calling it now, in case you were wondering. šŸ™‚ In Enfield Lock, UK the site of the former Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield has been redeveloped into a housing estate. Some of the roads youā€™ll find there include Thorneycroft Drive, Metford Crescent, Sten Close, Martini Drive and Brunswick Road - all named after British guns, most of them manufactured at RSAF Enfield. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/95 "2014-04-22T04:03:16Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > There is a street in Long Beach, CA, named Ximeno (SIMM-uh-no) Avenue. > Less dramatic is Voorhees (VORE-hace) Avenue in north Redondo Beach. > I know there is a street in San Francisco named Gough (Gawf) Street. > > Any other streets with unusual spellings or pronunciations? Iā€™d been wondering how they pronounce Gough for years, now I know! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/96 "2014-04-22T04:17:02Z")
> [@TrappedSouls](#): > > In Lake Havasu City, AZ there is a street called ā€œBroomrapeā€ ā€œBroomā€ and ā€œrape(seed)ā€ are both field plants. From the former people once made brooms for sweeping, and rapeseed = canola, apparently. Whittier, California has a Lashburn Drive. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/97 "2014-04-22T04:26:11Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Why is ā€œGoughā€ exotic? Itā€™s a common surname in the UK and Ireland, so I canā€™t imagine it would be that rare in the USA, given the history of immigration. I donā€™t personally find it exotic as such, but until I saw this thread I had no idea how to pronounce it. Go, Gooh, Guff, and Gowe were among the possibilities I imagined, but I never thought of Gawf or Goff. As a personal or place name in the U.K. is there just one way itā€™s pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/98 "2014-04-22T10:36:55Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I donā€™t personally find it exotic as such, but until I saw this thread I had no idea how to pronounce it. Go, Gooh, Guff, and Gowe were among the possibilities I imagined, but I never thought of Gawf or Goff. > > As a personal or place name in the U.K. is there just one way itā€™s pronounced? Goff, as in Darren Gough, Roger McGough. Those are th eonly ones I can think of. A street name from the UK: [Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate) in York. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/99 "2014-04-22T10:43:03Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Goff, as in Darren Gough, Roger McGough. Those are th eonly ones I can think of. Also [Gough Whitlam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494/100 "2014-04-22T11:18:15Z")
[Shades of Death Road.](http://weirdnj.com/stories/shades-of-death-road/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exotic-street-names/686494.md?page=6)