11 Hilarious Place Names
Because of differences in word meanings in other languages, there are certain places that have names that looking very funny to English speakers. Here are some of the funniest!
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- 9 years ago by NathanHutchcraft
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1 - Hell, Norway
The town name, Hell, comes from the old Norse word 'hellir', meaning 'overhang'.
Source2 - Fucking, Austria
Fucking (rhymes with booking), is a community of about 100 people in central Austria, about 4 miles from the German boarder. Needless to say, their sign is frequently stolen.
Source3 - Condom, France
Although the name means nothing in French (the word for condom is 'préservatif'), in 1995 the mayor took advantage of the accidental relationship between the towns name and the English word by opening a museum of 'population control' devises. It stayed open for 10 years before closing in 2005.
Source4 - Gropecunt Lane
Gropecunt Lane was a name commonly used during the Middle Ages in England for city streets that were common prostitution-filled areas. Many of these names have held and are still commonly found in back alley streets in large cities.
Source5 - Sexmoan, Pampanga
Sasmuan is a town in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. However, it was known as Sexmoan until 1991. The name came from Spanish settlers trying to transcribe the name, Sasmaun, the original name.
Source6 - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales
In the 1860s, the town changed its name from the shorter version, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, in an attempt to increase the towns publicity. It has the longest name of any place in the United Kingdom, with 58 letters. In English, the name directly translates to “St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel Near to the Rapid Whirlpool of Llantysilio of the Red Cave”.
Source7 - Å, Åfjord
In contrast with the last place, there are several towns and settlements in Scandinavia named Å. The name comes from an old Norse word, År, meaning small river. Here is an example in Åfjord.
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9 - Bwlchgwyn, Wales
Some names look weird to English speakers because of their spelling, such as the town of Bwlchgwyn. The name is odd because it does not appear to contain any vowels, however, 'y' and 'w' represent vowels in Welsh.
Source10 - Aiea, Hawaii
Conversely, there are places whose names are composed of only vowels, such as Aiea, which overlooks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Source11 - Shitterton, England
The town of Shitterton in Dorset, England, has received worldwide attention for its name. The sign for the town is even carved into stone, so that people can't steal or vandalize it. The name dates back at least a thousand years and means “farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer”. So yeah, the name actually means what it sounds like it means.
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NathanHutchcraft
Nathan Hutchcraft is the creator and co-host of the YouTube web series, NathanAndRose. He also writes for several online sources, as well as having a nearly insatiable love for jalapeno pizza.
