# Places with funny names, with completely innocent origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654 "2023-09-05T16:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/1 "2023-09-05T16:46:39Z")
I’ll start with [Weed, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weed,_California), in far northern California near Mount Shasta. The town is named after a man named Abner Weed, but of course they play up the slang meaning of weed for the tourists. And speaking of weed, the Bong Bridge connects Superior, Wisconsin to Duluth, Minnesota. It’s named after WWII fighter pilot Richard I. Bong, who was born in Superior. There’s also a Richard I. Bong Memorial Airport in Superior, also named after Major Bong. Heh heh, “major bong”. On a different note, there’s a town called Hell in Norway. I’m sure it means something completely innocent in Norwegian, but it sounds funny to English speakers for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/2 "2023-09-05T16:52:40Z")
Intercourse, Pennsylvania (Note this is in Amish country): > Intercourse was founded in 1754.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania#cite_note-4) The community was originally named “Cross Keys”, after a local tavern. Intercourse became the name in 1814. The village website gives several theories for the origins of the name: > > > Another theory concerns two famous roads that crossed here. The Old King’s highway from [Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia) to [Pittsburgh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh) (now the Old Philadelphia Pike) ran east and west through the center of the town. The road from [Wilmington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington,_Delaware) to [Erie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie,_Pennsylvania) intersected in the middle. The joining of these two roads is claimed by some to be the basis for the town ‘Cross Keys’ or eventually ‘Intercourse’.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania#cite_note-autogenerated1-5) A final idea comes from the use of language during the early days of the village. The word ‘intercourse’ was commonly used to describe the ‘fellowship’ and ‘social interaction and support’ shared in the community of faith, which was much a part of a rural village like this one.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania#cite_note-autogenerated1-5) > > Another theory is that it is derived from a sign at an old racecourse on the edge of town which said “Enter course”.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania#cite_note-6) > **[Intercourse, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania)** > > Intercourse is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Leacock Township, Lancaster County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 10 miles (16 km) east of Lancaster on Pennsylvania Route 340. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,494, up from 1,274 at the previous census. > Intercourse is a popular site for tourists because of its location in Amish country and its sexually suggestive name. The movie Witness was filmed in Intercourse as well as other parts of the surrou... ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/3 "2023-09-05T16:55:40Z")
Licking, Missouri is named after a mineral lick in the area. One night while I was working in public safety communications, I heard a dispatcher ask on the air if another agency had an officer in the Licking area. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/4 "2023-09-05T17:00:24Z")
I like Blue eye, Arkansas. There’s a Blue eye, Mo as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/5 "2023-09-05T17:02:24Z")
Boring, Oregon is named after soldier and pioneer William Boring. It is it is twinned or rather “tripletted” with Dull in Scotland which is thought to be named after the Pictish for “water-meadow, haugh” and Bland, NSW named after surgeon William Bland. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/6 "2023-09-05T17:09:51Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > And speaking of weed, the Bong Bridge connects Superior, Wisconsin to Duluth, Minnesota. It’s named after WWII fighter pilot Richard I. Bong, who was born in Superior. There’s also a Richard I. Bong Memorial Airport in Superior, also named after Major Bong. Heh heh, “major bong”. And, the Bong State Recreation Area, in southeastern Wisconsin, also named for Richard Bong; the site was originally slated to be Bong Air Force Base. The signs for it are frequently stolen. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/8299/7763273990_67685bdc13_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/8299/7763273990_67685bdc13_b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/7 "2023-09-05T17:10:30Z")
Lake Titicaca? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/8 "2023-09-05T17:12:46Z")
Then there’s Ico, Ar I always thought they must’ve forgotten one letter. Could’ve been alot of different names. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/9 "2023-09-05T17:20:21Z")
Nobody _really_ knows the origin of Accident, Maryland’s name, but one popular story says that Brooke Beall and William Deakins, Jr., friends from Prince George’s County, were conducting separate surveys in the area at the time and “by accident” Deakins claimed land already surveyed by Beall. I’ve been there. There’s a nice creamery there but otherwise if the sign wasn’t there you’d never know it was a town, it’s that small. They don’t have a traffic light or even a stop sign on Main Street, which is really just the Garrett Highway. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/10 "2023-09-05T17:21:25Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > there’s a town called Hell in Norway. I’m sure it means something completely innocent in Norwegian, but it sounds funny to English speakers for obvious reasons. There’s also Hell, Michigan. I’ve been there. > **[Hell, Michigan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%2C_Michigan)** > > Hell is an unincorporated community in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As an unincorporated community, Hell has no defined boundaries or population statistics of its own. Located within Putnam Township, the community is centered along Patterson Lake Road about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Ann Arbor and three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Pinckney. The community is served by the Pinckney post office with the 48169 ZIP Code. > Hell developed around a sawmill, gristmill, distillery ... Which article explains some theories of the origin of the name. And there’s a wiki list of unusual place names: **[Place names considered unusual - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_names_considered_unusual)**. Of course there is. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/11 "2023-09-05T17:23:25Z")
[Pee Pee Creek](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee_Pee_Creek) “derives its name from Major Paul Paine, a pioneer settler who added his initials to a tree which stood along its banks.” ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/12 "2023-09-05T17:41:20Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > On a different note, there’s a town called Hell in Norway. I’m sure it means something completely innocent in Norwegian, but it sounds funny to English speakers for obvious reasons. Well, it’s cognate to “Hell” in English, but the connotation is more like “cold dark place of death” rather than “place of divine punishment”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/13 "2023-09-05T18:22:34Z")
Hel, hell, and helle all mean quite different things in Norwegian 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/14 "2023-09-05T18:30:52Z")
French Lick, Indiana, was originally a French trading post built near a spring and a salt lick. Twatt, Shetland, Scotland Twatt, Orkney, Scotland from their Wikipedia pages: > The settlement name originates from the [Old Norse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse_language) [_þveit_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thwaite_(placename_element)), meaning ‘small parcel of land’. The Norse word commonly produces in England the place name element [Thwaite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thwaite_(placename_element)). If I ever become a gazillionaire, I am going to visit both towns, find a worthy gentlemen with family roots in both communities, and ~~bribe~~ lobby the Crown to make him a Lord of Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/15 "2023-09-05T18:35:57Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Intercourse, Pennsylvania And, just a few miles away from Intercourse is [Blue Ball, PA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ball%2C_Pennsylvania); it gets its name from an inn which was located there, which had, as its sign, a blue ball on a post. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/16 "2023-09-05T18:42:32Z")
Speaking of Hell…. Near me is a town called Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. During prohibition the town was at a crossroads that made liquor running a big thing. Because of the stills and liquor transport that was going on, the town earned the nickname “Helltown”. When zip codes were distributed, Mount Pleasant was happy to be given 15666 even though it was suggested the number be skipped. Today, a local brewery named [Helltown](https://www.helltownbrewing.com/) produces great craft beer there. They name their beers with Hell associated names. They’ve done some collaborations with All Saints Brewing. Very cool stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/17 "2023-09-05T18:44:20Z")
There’s also Bird-In-Hand, Pa. Big Amish population. From the wiki page: “The town is home to the Bank of Bird-in-Hand, the first bank in the United States to open following the passage of the Dodd -Frank Act.” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/18 "2023-09-05T19:08:33Z")
Not too long ago I drove by Bucksnort Tennessee. Apparently, it comes from a merchant that would sell a “snort” of moonshine for a buck (dollar). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/19 "2023-09-05T19:48:34Z")
I drove past this town on a road trip a while back. > **[Boucheporn · 57220, France](https://maps.app.goo.gl/tuEnKdpKZbsAkhQw6)** > > 57220, France Given that “bouche” in French means “mouth,” I was briefly amused at potential interpretations of the name. And as long as I’m visiting France, I might as well swing through here: > **[Anus · 89560 Fouronnes, France](https://maps.app.goo.gl/HVRVscWdT3zcVVxM7)** > > 89560 Fouronnes, France ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/20 "2023-09-05T20:04:32Z")
Seems like nearly every name in Thailand sounds pornographic, given the frequency of the syllables bang, porn, and cock. Like “Bangkok.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654.md?page=2)