Weird Texas town names

Weird Texas town names

• Bigfoot
• Blanket
• Buda
• Bug Tussle
• Balmorhea
• Cool
• Cut and Shoot
• Dime Box
• DISH
• Early
• Earth
• Edge
• Fate
• Fair Play
• Frognot
• Goodnight
• Gun Barrel City
• Happy
• Hogeye
• Industry
• Iraan
• Italy
• Jot ‘Em Down
• Lazbuddie
• Levelland
• Lovelady
• Loco
• Marfa
• Munday
• Nada
• Nameless
• Noodle
• Notrees
• Oatmeal
• Pflugerville
• Palestine
• Point Blank
• Quitaque
• Rainbow
• Reklaw
• Sour Lake
• Spur
• Sweetwater
• Tarzan
• Telegraph
• Telephone
• Twitty
• Uncertain
• West
• Zephyr

Texas is home to numerous uniquely named towns, each with its own fascinating story behind its unusual moniker. Here’s a comprehensive collection of Texas’s weirdest town names and their origins:

Nature-Inspired Names

• Bug Tussle – Named after a church picnic ruined by swarming insects
• Bigfoot – Honors Texas Ranger William A. “Bigfoot” Wallace
• Notrees – Originally had just one tree before construction forced its removal
• Rainbow – Named after a rainbow that appeared during a thunderstorm when townspeople gathered to choose a name

Humorous & Whimsical Names

• Cut and Shoot – Originated from a heated church dispute; a young boy yelled he’d “cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes”
• Happy – Known as “The Town Without A Frown,” named after Happy Draw creek that provided water for passing cowboys
• Cool – Ironically named despite being hot most of the year
• Ding Dong – Named from a joke involving two bells labeled “Ding” and “Dong” for founders Bert and Zulis Bell

Unique Historical Names

• Nameless – Created when residents told the post office department to “Let the post office be nameless and be damned!” after multiple suggested names were rejected
• Uncertain – Possibly named due to either steamboat captains’ difficulty mooring vessels there or uncertainty about citizenship during Texas Republic days
• Telephone – Named by a frustrated merchant whose post office applications kept getting denied until he submitted this name
• Reklaw – Actually “Walker” spelled backwards; chosen when officials said “Walker” was already taken by another town

Geographic & Topographic Names

• Earth – Named for its fertile soil, originally proposed as “Good Earth” before being shortened
• Edge – Located fourteen miles north of Bryan, named after founder Dr. John Edge
• Point Blank – Originally “Blanc Point” named by French governess Florence Dissiway in the 1850s
• Sweetwater – Named “Mobeetie” by Kiowa Indians, meaning “sweet water”

International-Inspired Names

• Italy – Named because its climate reminded residents of Europe
• Marfa – Suggested by a railroad executive’s wife who was reading Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”
• Palestine – Named after Palestine, Illinois, where early settlers had previously lived

Modern & Corporate Names

• DISH – Formerly Clark, renamed in 2005 as part of a publicity stunt with Dish Network
• Gun Barrel City – Named from its motto “We shoot straight with you” and rifle symbol
• Zephyr – Named ironically by surveyors trapped during a fierce blue norther windstorm

Each of these unusual town names reflects Texas’s diverse cultural heritage, ranging from natural features to historical events, personal characteristics, and even corporate branding. Many of these towns remain small communities today, but their unique names have become part of Texas folklore and continue to fascinate visitors and locals alike.