The 15 U.S. Place Names That Make Foreigners Snicker
A version of this article was previously published on Matador Network.
Americans abroad have encountered a great number of funny place names tailored to an English speaker’s amusement: Anus in France, Bastardo in Italy, or Shitterton in England, for example. What is seldom considered, however, is that visitors to the U.S. might also smirk at some of our towns and landmarks.
After the Ghanaian Parliament erupted in giggles at hearing a list of rudely named villages, we decided to bravely take up the cause of compiling a list of 15 funny place names in the U.S. — cities, towns and landmarks with names that might prove amusing to foreign visitors. Visitors to and inhabitants of the places on the list can receive a 33% discount on Babbel lasting for 6 months, by tweeting @BabbelUSA with a photo of themselves next to a sign showing the town or landmark.*
You might never look at your own country the same way again, but nine times out of 10, that’s probably a good thing.
15 Funny Place Names In The United States
1. Aho (ah-hoh), NC
This small town in Watauga County sounds exactly like the word for “idiot” (あほ) in Japanese.
2. Burdell (bur-dehl), CA
The name of this Marin County community translates to “brothel” (burdel) in Polish.
3. Cabot (kah-bot), AR
To an Indonesian speaker, this city’s name reads and sounds similar to cabo, meaning “whore.”
4. Cape Cod (codd), MA
The famous New England peninsula might make Norwegians laugh, to whom kødd is a vulgar slang word for “penis.”
5. Crotte Creek (krott), WI
French visitors might hesitate to drink from this river. In French, crotte means “poo.”
6. Fort Rucker (rukk-uhr), AL
This Army base town may make the Dutch snicker. In Dutch, a rukker is a “jerk-off.”
7. Gordo (gorr-doh), AL
There’s a town in Pickens County whose name means “fat” in Spanish.
8. Kaka (kah-kah), AZ
This village’s name is identical to the word for “crap” in Portuguese.
9. Kaltag (kahl-tagg), AK
This city’s name sounds a lot like the Turkish word for “bitch.”
10. Eier Lake (ay-err), MN
Germans may think twice before taking a dip in this lake; in German, Eier is slang for “testicles.”
11. Lolo (loh-loh), MT
The town of Lolo may amuse French people, in whose language lolo means “boob.”
12. Lort (lohrt), CA
The name of this settlement translates to “shit” in Danish.
13. Oat Valley (oht vah-lee), CA
A ravine that may offend Russians. To them, its name sounds very similar to “piss off.”
14. Pinto (pinn-toh), MD
A small community on the Potomac River — but also slang for “penis” in Brazilian Portuguese.
15. Skit (skiht), OH
This Green Township settlement’s name is the direct translation of “shit” in Swedish.
*The Babbel discount is available until December 31, 2018. Babbel is not bound to issue this discount and will review all entrants on a case-by-case basis. Offer available for new subscribers only.
