Maps are full of surprises. Tucked between the familiar names of great cities and famous landmarks are places with names so strange, so unexpected, or so delightfully absurd that you can’t help but stop and wonder how they got there. The answers are almost always worth finding.
Intercourse, Pennsylvania
Few place names stop people mid-conversation quite like this one. Located in Lancaster County among Pennsylvania’s Amish communities, Intercourse was likely named in 1754, when the word carried its older meaning of communication, trade, and exchange between people — a perfectly sensible name for a busy crossroads community. The modern meaning arrived later, long after the name was already fixed to the map. The town has embraced its unusual distinction with characteristic good humor, and its tourist trade is entirely unsurprised.
Boring, Oregon
Boring, Oregon, was named for William H. Boring, an early settler who established himself there in the 1870s. There is nothing inherently boring about the man — he simply had an unfortunate surname that time attached permanently to a landscape. The town has since found a kindred spirit in Dull, Scotland, and the two communities formally twinned in 2012, celebrating their shared naming misfortune with remarkable enthusiasm. Bland, Australia later joined the partnership, completing a trio that is, ironically, anything but.
Batman, Turkey
The city of Batman in southeastern Turkey predates the fictional superhero by decades. Its name derives from the Batman River, which runs through the region, and the word itself likely traces back to an old unit of weight measurement used historically in the area. When the 1989 Batman film exploded globally, the city’s mayor briefly and quite seriously considered legal action against Warner Bros for using their name without permission. The lawsuit never materialized, but the story remains wonderfully real.
Wank, Bavaria
Rising nearly 1,800 meters above the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Wank mountain draws hikers and cable car tourists who appreciate both the spectacular views and the opportunity for photographs beside signs bearing its name. The word likely derives from an old German term for a hillside or slope. The mountain was called this long before English speakers arrived with cameras and laughter.
Zzyzx, California
Zzyzx earns its place on this list simply for existing. Located near the Mojave Desert, the name was invented in 1944 by a radio broadcaster named Curtis Howe Springer, who established a spa resort there and chose the name specifically to appear last in any alphabetical listing. The place itself has passed through several hands since Springer’s time and now operates as a research station, but the name — entirely made up, chosen for pure alphabetical advantage — remains fixed on official maps.
The Deeper Pattern
What unites these places is a reminder that naming has always been a profoundly human act — sometimes practical, sometimes accidental, sometimes stubborn, and occasionally just funny. Behind every unusual name is a settler, a surveyor, a river, or a moment of inspiration that nobody questioned firmly enough at the time.
And now those names belong to the map forever.
