Top 10 Most Unusual Town Names

Perhaps because of the diversity of American settlers, or perhaps because of frontier humor, towns with strange names abound in the United States. Some of the most entertaining names have equally intriguing origins (unlike the often-mentioned Intercourse, Pennsylvania, which was simply named after an old usage of the word, meaning “conversation”).

10. Hell, Michigan

The sign for the U.S. Weather Bureau at Hell, Michigan

Perhaps of no surprise to many, Hell, Michigan, may owe its name to the founder of a whiskey distillery. To be more specific, the town was founded by a man named George Reeves, who purchased a sawmill on a creek now called Hell Creek, subsequently building a gristmill and distillery, as well as a combined store and tavern. On top of that, he built a sulky racetrack (a lightweight cart pulled by dogs or horses). He was also rumored to have once sunk barrels of whiskey to the bottom of the millpond while under inspection from federal tax collectors. Drinking, gambling and tax evasion!
Competing theories exist as to the original source of the name. One is that German travelers were overheard exclaiming, “So schön hell!” (“So beautifully bright!”) while stepping out of a stagecoach on a sunny afternoon. The other is that, when Michigan became a state, Reeves was asked what he thought of the town he’d helped settle, and he declared, “I don’t care. You can name it Hell for all I care.” Another theory is that the early explorers gave it the name because of being plagued by mosquitoes and bogged down in wetlands. Whatever reason is true, whenever it’s below freezing in the small town, there are bound to be plenty of jokes about “Hell freezing over.”

9. Surprise, Arizona

The Rangers’ and Royals’ complex in Surprise, Arizona

When Flora Mae Statler founded Surprise, Arizona, in 1938, she gave it the name because she said she “would be surprised if the town every amounted to much. At that time, the town consisted of just a few houses and a gas station. A one-mile-square parcel was divided to make inexpensive housing for agricultural workers. Thanks to further development and the arrival of thousands of retirees in the 1990s and 2000s to the resort-like community of Sun City Grand, the city, which is close to Phoenix, is one of the most rapidly growing in the state. Surprise is the spring training home for both the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. If she saw the city today, Statler would definitely be surprised.

8. Tightwad, Missouri

The often-photographed Tightwad Bank sign

With a name like Tightwad, Missouri, there was bound to be a colorful origin story. Sure enough, the name is said to stem from an argument between a shopkeeper and a customer — who was also a postman — when the customer accused the shopkeeper of cheating him by charging an extra 50 cents for either a watermelon, or as some accounts say, a rooster. It’s interesting that the town would take its name from an argument over money involving a postman, since many towns only get official names when the necessity arises to deliver mail properly. Regardless of the truth of that story, the village (population 64) attracts plenty of visitors, who love to photograph the Tightwad Bank, which no doubt keeps careful track of customers’ money.

7. Burnt Corn, Alabama

The general store/post office in Burnt Corn, Alabama

A number of towns are named for food items. Just about any sort of fruit, vegetable and farm animal has probably had a town named after it somewhere in the U.S. What elevates this town to a place on this list is the addition of the unexpected adjective “burnt.” The town of Burnt Corn, Alabama, earned its name from one of several possible scenarios. One, from white settlers burning the corn planted by the Creek Indians to clear land for their homesteads. Two, from the Creek Indians burning the corn cribs of white settlers to drive them from the land. Three, from an ailing Creek Indian, who was left behind by his companions with enough corn to supply him and then, when he recovered enough to move on, burned the remaining corn in a bonfire, which other travelers then found. A fourth story involves, again, the Creek Indians burning the corn of a specific settler, James Cornells, who owned a trading house and later settled on the spring where the corn had burnt. Seems like, somehow or another, burnt corn had something to do with it.

6. Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

General store in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, with the former canine mayor.

According to local legend, the miniscule town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, was named after a dish the town was known for in the early 19th century. Steamboats navigating the Ohio River would stop there for a dish of the delicacy. The story goes that, in 1831, a pirate ship docked and entered the town, burning all the buildings and killing everyone. The next steamboat to stop saw only the sign “Rabbit Hash,” which was mistaken for the name of the town. In actuality, the town name was likely not adopted until required by the post office, in order to differentiate the hamlet’s initial name of Carlton from a town named Carrollton several miles down river. These days, regardless of the name’s true origin, the village (which boasts only a couple dozen residents) is better known for having elected two dog mayors, which was the subject of a documentary, “Rabbit Hash, Kentucky: Center of the Universe.”

5. Bad Axe, Michigan

A movie theater in Bad Axe, Michigan

Located in the “thumb” area of the state’s mitten shape, Bad Axe, Michigan, is much larger than many of the towns on this list, with approximately 3,500 residents. Established in 1905, its name dates back to 1865, when surveyors Rudolph Pabst and George Willis Pack were surveying the first state road through Huron County. They made camp at the future site of the city, discovering a very worn and damaged axe. They used the name “Bad Axe Camp” on both the minutes of the survey and a sign they placed on the main trail. A post office followed in 1870, retaining the name. Fittingly, the town’s symbol depicts an axe with a broken handle.

4. Rough and Ready, California

The Wayside Chapel in Rough and Ready, California

Though its countless abandoned historical buildings make Rough and Ready, California, look like a ghost town, it actually counted nearly 1,000 residents in the 2010 census, and the Rough and Ready Chamber of Commerce boasts that it is a popular location for entrepreneurs and home-based businesses. If so, that independent spirit would be in keeping with the town’s history. Founded by miners in 1849, the town took its name from the Rough and Ready Company, itself named after the 12th president of the U.S., General Zachary Taylor, whose nickname was Old Rough and Ready. The town’s history grows even more interesting a short while later, with the town seceding from the union in 1850, reportedly out of frustration with the U.S. justice system, which was unable to prosecute a con man who was preying on the miners. According to legend, the con man was hanged as soon as the town seceded! But only three months later, when the townsfolk were preparing for the Independence Day celebration and realized they could no longer celebrate the birth of a nation to which they didn’t belong, they voted to rescind the secession.

3. Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky

Road sign for Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky

If you imagine Ballard County in Kentucky as looking like a westward-facing monkey face, the teeny-tiny town of Monkey’s Eyebrow is located — you guessed it — about where the eyebrow would be. The best depiction of this image can be found on author Joe Culver’s website, which also features his stories about the town. Culver writes that, when people ask him about the origin of the town’s name, he jokes that there are far worse parts of a monkey’s anatomy to be named after.

2. Toad Suck, Arkansas

A Toad Suck Daze mural in Toad Suck, Arkansas

Voted the “most embarrassing or unfortunate U.S. town name or place name in a poll at FindMyPast.com in August 2012, Toad Suck, Arkansas, owes its colorful name to steamboat captains. Local legend states that the captains and their crew used to pause there to refresh themselves at a local tavern. The disapproving locals said of the captains: “They suck on the bottle ’til they swell up like toads.” The tavern is long gone, but the legend remains. The town’s history is celebrated at the annual scholarship fundraiser and fair, Toad Suck Daze.

1. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Originally saddled with the ho-hum name Hot Springs, this spa city earned a spot in history — and on many lists of odd town names — in 1950. Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show, “Truth or Consequences,” announced a challenge to towns: he would broadcast the anniversary episode of his show from the first town to rename itself after the show. Hot Springs jumped on the offer, and as a result, Edwards visited the town in the first weekend of May for fifty years. The event, called Fiesta, carries on even though Edwards died in 2005. Unlike Halfway, Oregon, which only changed its name to Half.com for a year as part of a promotion, T or C (as it’s known by locals) kept its moniker. And so the town stretched 15 minutes of fame into six decades’ worth!