# Interesting/Clever Street and Subdivision Names! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831 "2010-01-21T13:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/1 "2010-01-21T13:30:08Z")
I have a subdivision near where I live that has a name I really like: **Seldom Seen**. I like it because its fairly unique as far as subdivision names go, which are usually called something like “King’s Ridge” or “Martin’s Landing” or something like that. There’s also a street near me called “Easy Way”, which has awoken that juvenile temptation in me to steal the sign and hang it in my basement or something! 😃 What are some of your interesting street or subdivision names near where you live? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/2 "2010-01-21T13:51:20Z")
Not far from me are a **Drury Lane** (no muffin shops there, though) and a **Lois Lane**. It’s hard for me to believe that the street namers weren’t doing these on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/3 "2010-01-21T15:04:00Z")
Not “clever,” as such - but sorta interesting. There’s a small street in Burnaby that has been blocked off with a concrete abutment where it intersects with a major artery, because it’s sort of a blind corner and the frequent accidents there were getting monotonous. ([Street view here](http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/5586/haszard.jpg).) Haszard St – nominative determinism for roads. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/4 "2010-01-21T15:10:24Z")
There is an Easy St. here in my city … ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/5 "2010-01-21T15:12:20Z")
Some London streets: **Old Jewry** , **Petty France** , **London Wall** , **Little Britain** , **Cloth Fair**. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/6 "2010-01-21T15:36:26Z")
Those are great. And yeah Cal, the “street namers” had to know what they were doing. I think some roads are interesting how they get their names. Obviously some are just made-up names by developers and such, but others have a story behind them. I always liked to imagine the story behind Rolling Road in Fairfax County VA where I used to live, which got its name from: \*The early settlers grew tobacco as did the American Indians before them. Wooden hogsheads filled with tobacco were rolled and pushed by men, horses or oxen on “rolling roads” from inland plantations to the Potomac River. \* [http://www.westspringfieldvillage.org/VillageHistory/history.html](http://www.westspringfieldvillage.org/VillageHistory/history.html) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/7 "2010-01-21T15:41:23Z")
[Warp Drive.](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=warp+drive+turlock,+ca&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Warp+Dr,+Turlock,+CA+95380&gl=us&ei=XHVYS5TwJYTYsQOR4_DFBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA) ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/8 "2010-01-21T16:03:29Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [Warp Drive.](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=warp+drive+turlock,+ca&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Warp+Dr,+Turlock,+CA+95380&gl=us&ei=XHVYS5TwJYTYsQOR4_DFBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA) There must be Star Trek fans in the local street naming office. In addition to Warp Drive, there’s Impulse Lane, Picard Lane, Picard Court, Crusher Avenue and Ryker Court (Commander Riker must be pissed they misspelled his name…). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/9 "2010-01-21T16:20:25Z")
[Shed Road](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossier_City,_Louisiana#Shed_road) in Bossier City, LA (just outside of Shreveport) was, essentially, a nine mile long shed used when transporting cotton. It’s no longer covered, of course, but still a major artery in the city. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/10 "2010-01-21T16:28:38Z")
A street in a nearby subdivision is called Hemming Way. Makes my husband groan every time we drive past it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/11 "2010-01-21T16:37:45Z")
There’s a subdivision in Northern Virginia, called Camelot. As you can imagine, it’s got street names like “King Arthur”. Which is uninteresting enough… until you realize that Guinevere doesn’t intersect King Arthur, but DOES intersect Launcelot ;). [Cite](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=king+arthur+drive,+annandale+va&sll=38.750003,-77.164427&sspn=0.007882,0.022166&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=King+Arthur+Rd,+Annandale,+Fairfax,+Virginia+22003&ll=38.84402,-77.228951&spn=0.015743,0.044332&z=15). ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/12 "2010-01-21T17:01:42Z")
My favorite street name in my hometown: [+Rabbit+Run&zipcode=08724&country=US&latitude=40.12047&longitude=-74.11644&geocode=BLOCK"]Rabbit Run]([http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Brick&state=NJ&address=](http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Brick&state=NJ&address=)[700-799). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/13 "2010-01-21T17:31:49Z")
> [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](#): > > A street in a nearby subdivision is called Hemming Way. Makes my husband groan every time we drive past it. I think that’s awesome! > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > There’s a subdivision in Northern Virginia, called Camelot. As you can imagine, it’s got street names like “King Arthur”. > > Which is uninteresting enough… until you realize that Guinevere doesn’t intersect King Arthur, but DOES intersect Launcelot ;). > > [Cite](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=king+arthur+drive,+annandale+va&sll=38.750003,-77.164427&sspn=0.007882,0.022166&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=King+Arthur+Rd,+Annandale,+Fairfax,+Virginia+22003&ll=38.84402,-77.228951&spn=0.015743,0.044332&z=15). That’s not too far from Burke where I used to live. So its safe to say Lancelot had his WAY with her? **spins bowtie** > [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > My favorite street name in my hometown: [+Rabbit+Run&zipcode=08724&country=US&latitude=40.12047&longitude=-74.11644&geocode=BLOCK"]Rabbit Run]([Bricktown, NJ Map & Directions - MapQuest](http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Brick&state=NJ&address=)[700-799). Another one near where I work here on the west side of Cincinnati is called Devil’s Backbone. I imagine trick or treating there is quite popular! ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/14 "2010-01-21T17:55:12Z")
My brother lives in a subdivision where most of the street names are horse-related, in a division where the main roads are named after local mountains or valleys or such. The older roads nearby are named after long-forgotten civic folk or engineers or something, but one street – man, I just don’t know. There might be a perfectly rational alternate explanation, but – really… **Yah Way**??? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/15 "2010-01-21T18:07:54Z")
Somebody is being blasphemous. [Yahweh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) is the ancient Hebrew name of God. It’s considered sacred and is never written out fully to keep people from using it in vain. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/16 "2010-01-21T18:11:24Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > Somebody is being blasphemous. [Yahweh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) is the ancient Hebrew name of God. It’s considered sacred and is never written out fully to keep people from using it in vain. > > Enjoy, > Steven Noah Way! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/17 "2010-01-21T18:14:18Z")
The most interesting street name I can think of is no doubt unintentional. The street is Flicker. This doesn’t seem particularly interesting, except that in street sign font, if you only get a quick glance the L and the I can combine into one word. It’s just enough to cause a massive doubletake every time I see it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/18 "2010-01-21T18:25:27Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > My brother lives in a subdivision where most of the street names are horse-related, in a division where the main roads are named after local mountains or valleys or such. The older roads nearby are named after long-forgotten civic folk or engineers or something, but one street – man, I just don’t know. There might be a perfectly rational alternate explanation, but – really… > > **Yah Way**??? That’s a really good one! > [@runner pat](#): > > Noah Way! Bwah hahaahhahahahaha!!! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/19 "2010-01-21T18:32:09Z")
There is a Lords Way in my county. There are also three streets on one of our islands called, Damfiknow, Damficare and Damfiwill. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/20 "2010-01-21T20:36:43Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > There are also three streets on one of our islands called, Damfiknow, Damficare and Damfiwill. Really? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831.md?page=2)