Unique City Names – Part 1

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Its not unusual to stumble across fun or interesting signage on travels.  I’m thinking specifically of the time that I giggled like an immature teenager upon discovering that the elevators in Copenhagen have buttons saying “i fart” on them…which is merely the Danish way of saying “in motion.”  Funny translations aside, I’ve also seen some really interesting and unique city names in my travels and have decided to share some with you, along with a few others I’ve found online along the way.  And no, I’m not making these up.  Enjoy!

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales

Photo credit: Rob Gale

The longest officially recognised place name in the United Kingdom, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch or “Llanfairpwll” for short is a coastal Welsh city with a population of about 3,000 people.  Literally meaning “St. Mary’s Church in a hollow of white hazel near the swirling whirlpool of the church of St. Tysilio with a red cave,” this town was named in the 19th century in an attempt to distinguish it from other villages.  And distinguished, it most certainly is.  I don’t even want to attempt to pronounce the name.

What Cheer, Iowa, United States

Photo credit: k_hargrav

The United States has no shortage of funny and interesting town names.  What Cheer in central Iowa is definitely one of them.  A town of 678 people, the name makes you wonder if it’s a terribly unhappy place to live.  Apparently an ancient English greeting dating back to the 15th century, many believe that “What Cheer” was named after this expression, though there is not one officially held belief as to the origins of the name.  Guess I should visit to find out for myself!

Batman, Turkey

Photo credit: Bryce Edwards

Talk about lost in translation.  The eastern Turkish city of Batman is named after the Bati Raman Mountains that are located in the area.  Home to the Batman River and the capital of the Batman Province, this city is rather large with over 300,000 inhabitants.  In 2008, Batman mayor Kalkan looked into suing the Batman movie franchise and Warner Brothers for the use of the name “Batman” without permission from the city.  No word from the caped crusader himself on this one, though who’s to say he doesn’t have a bat cave located here in the town with which he shares his name?

Saint-Louis du Ha! Ha! – Quebec, Canada

Photo credit: scazon

Yes, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is really the name of this Quebec municipality – exclamation marks and all!  Taken from the ancient French word haha, meaning an unexpected obstacle or end to a path, it is supposed that the parish’s name refers to the nearby lake, and refers to one of a number of famous men named “Louis” who had an influence on the region in its early days.  The exclamation marks were added later and have now become an accepted part of the area’s name.  It makes me wonder if people would be more excited to live in London!! or Los Angeles!!?! than they are currently without the excess punctuation?

Why, Arizona, United States

Photo credit: Venturist

All of these unique and funny names lead us to the last in today’s post – Why, Arizona.  Why? A small community in southern Arizona in the United States, Why gets its name from the fact that its located just at the intersection of two major highways.  These highways originally intersected in a “Y” shape and town founders named it after this unique roadside feature, but spelled it “Why” to comply with regulations requiring all town names to be at least three letters.

This post has been so much fun to write, that I’ll be preparing another one soon with some more funny and interesting names that I’ve found.  Feel free to share ideas if there’s a place you’d like to see featured!

Tags: Canada, Europe, Fun, funny, Photos, Turkey, unique, United States, Wales

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