# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/121 "2023-09-15T20:47:46Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Athol. Google says it’s a town in Idaho, " first known as Colton, the town was renamed Athol by a settler who came from Athol, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Athol was named after a town in Scotland named for the Duke of Atholl." > > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athol,_Massachusetts) weighs in on the name origin for Athol, Massachusetts: " Originally called Pequoiag when settled by Native Americans, the area was subsequently settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. [John Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_(Massachusetts)), one of the proprietors of the land, chose the name which traditionally was believed to mean [“new Ireland”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atholl) although some, including historian [James E. Fraser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Fraser_(historian)), dispute this definition." > > The sniggering humor is obvious It’s not just a town in Scotland; Atholl is a large historic district in the Highlands, roughly coterminous with the modern Perthshire. In Scotland, it’s pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable: _ah-TH’LL_. [This](https://forvo.com/word/blair_atholl/) a recording of a Brit pronouncing the Duke of Atholl’s family castle, Blair Atholl. My own contribution to the thread: Cumming, Georgia. Had some friends looking for a home near there, and they ran into the Scunthorpe problem - the family filter on their Internet browser blocked any website with the town’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/122 "2023-09-16T12:11:14Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > My own contribution to the thread: Cumming, Georgia. Had some friends looking for a home near there, and they ran into the Scunthorpe problem - the family filter on their Internet browser blocked any website with the town’s name. This exact thing happened to me at work about 20 years ago. A software contractor was working on a project for us, but his emails to me kept getting flagged by our spam filter. I finally figured out that if he removed his contact information, the email would come through. He was located in Cumming, Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/123 "2023-09-21T10:22:59Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > [Mollie’s Nipple](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollie%27s_Nipple), a mountain peak (or a pair, or several) - it’s a butte! Don’t overlook the [Paps of Jura](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paps_of_Jura) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/124 "2023-09-22T09:35:51Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I know jokes rarely survive the explanation process, but still - can you tell me what makes that funny? I can’t see the humour myself either. The word ‘athol’ is apparently supposed to sound like ‘asshole’; but in the UK Atholl is pronounced ‘athul’, whereas the word ‘asshole’ is pronounced ‘arseole’, and there is very little overlap. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/125 "2023-09-22T10:50:11Z")
It’s only about an hour’s drive from my house to the hamlet of Humptulips, which comes from a Native name that has nothing to do with tulips or humping. > **[Humptulips, Washington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humptulips,_Washington)** > > Humptulips is a census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population of the CDP was 255 according to the 2010 census. > The name Humptulips was the name of a band of the Chehalis tribe who lived in the area. The name comes from a local Native American language, meaning 'hard to pole', referring to the difficulty local Native Americans had poling their canoes along the Humptulips River. According to other sources the word means 'chilly region'. It has f... ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/126 "2023-09-22T11:40:19Z")
Makes a change from tiptoeing, I suppose ---
**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:** [September 25, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/127 "2023-09-25T17:43:23Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > > [@snowthx](#): > > > > [Mollie’s Nipple](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollie%27s_Nipple), a mountain peak (or a pair, or several) - it’s a butte! > > Don’t overlook the [Paps of Jura](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paps_of_Jura) There’s also the Grand Tetons, but that name was not innocent when they were named. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654/128 "2023-09-25T19:13:38Z")
I have spent the last couple of weeks debating whether or not to mention that one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-with-funny-names-with-completely-innocent-origins/989654.md?page=6)