A quick Google search on some of the quirkiest place names does make you wonder why on earth they have never been changed. If you were the mayor of a town named ‘Swastika’, which is located on Ontario Canada, you would have thought that amending that name to something a little less evocative might have been a good idea,
However, whether the names have you sniggering like schoolboys at the back of a classroom (Big Butt Mountain, Brokenwind and Boogertown are two such candidates), or sitting in the back of a taxi in Snodland has you contemplating the etymological and historical events that led to such nomenclature, we take a deeper look on how strange and quirky location names can have an effect on both the place and those that live in them.
The Allure of Quirkiness
When you stumble across a quirky name, it can make you stop short. It makes you look twice, and you cannot help but to remember the name.
This is not a bad thing for the destination in question. For one thing, many towns with quirky names end up capitalising on them. For example, a small Colorado town known as ‘No Name’ was so named by the highway developers who were constructing the local highway. They put up a sign which was the exit to a yet unnamed area, temporarily writing ‘Na Name’ on the sign. The name stuck. And was soon joined by No Name Creek, No Name Canyon and the No Name Tunnel. Today the area is best known for its hiking and kayaking trails, and attracts thousand of visitors every year.
In Sweden, the inhabitants of Fjukeby in Uppsala were so enamoured by their name and the international interest it engendered, that they consciously made the decision to amend its spelling to Fjuckby and embrace the mirth and curiosity brought in by thousands of visitors every year. It is, as well, an outstandingly beautiful area.
Protecting historical context
Naturally, history plays a significant role in the naming of some of these destinations, and it is only the reinterpretation in modern day terms which makes it so funny for us today.
Swastika, for example, as mentioned earlier, is a small town on Ontario, Canada. Far from being Nazi stronghold, it actually existed long before Hitler was even a twinkle in his mother’s eye. The town was actually named after the original meaning of the swastika – an ancient Sanskrit good luck symbol. Unfortunately the meaning behind the swastika has long since been taken over and besmirched by the antics of the Nazi party from the Second World War.
Other places have references back to literary origins. Westward Ho!, situated on the North Devon coast in the UK, is the only British town which is officially ended with an exclamation mark! Allegedly the town is named after Charles Kingsley’s 1855 novel, Westward Ho! Which was situated in the nearby town of Bideford. Town planners openly named the town after the book in a blatant bid to attract more visitors.
Impact on the residents
Residents of these weird and wonderfully named places are rightly proud of their origins. While we may assume them to be a bit embarrassed, and possibly annoyed by the constant snickering by visitors arriving to have their photograph taken by the town sign, the interest and, thereby funding, that this adjacent interest brings more than makes up for any slight irritation. The biggest problem is when that interest turns into a crime – just ask the residents of Fucking in Austria, whose road sign is reportedly one of the most stolen in the world.
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