Who gets to name towns?

@xFiacre (14237)
Ireland
September 1, 2025 3:15am CST
Bweeng- the name of a village that we drove through yesterday that made us smirk. Who in their right mind calls their village Bweeng? Sounds ridiculous till you realise that the original Irish name was Na Boinn which means The Coins. Another village we traversed was called Dripsey. I would not want to live in a town called Dripsey. Not as bad as Slutsend or Termonfeckin or Ba$tardstown (oh yes), but still a bit silly-sounding.
6 people like this
7 responses
DE
@DaddyEvil (158456)
• United States
13h
Pretty and I drove through Gobbler once as well as Tightwad, named after a stingy shop keeper, Peculiar, and, of course, Uranus, where they make delicious fudge. (No joke on that last one. There's a huge fudge factory in Uranus. )
1 person likes this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (14237)
• Ireland
13h
@daddyevil Every school boy’s fantasy to be able to talk Uranus etc with feigned innocence.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (158456)
• United States
13h
@xFiacre I giggle every time I talk about the delicious fudge factory in Uranus.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (362158)
• Rockingham, Australia
10h
We went to Termonfeckin when we were there and have the coffee cups to prove it. I was always pleased I married an 'Evans' and not a Sidebottom or Beuglehole or something similarly farcical.
1 person likes this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (14237)
• Ireland
4h
@judyev Wookey Hole? Giant’s Ring? We lived beside Giant’s Ring in outskirts of Belfast and the name was roundly mocked on TV by Stephen Fry. My son-in-law always laughs at it.
Amber
@AmbiePam (102265)
• United States
10h
Wow, those are some names! Slaughterville is one here that catches my attention, as well as the state with the city of Hell. I think it’s in Michigan.
1 person likes this
luisadannointed
@luisadannointed (8530)
• Philippines
11h
I guess every street and city name has a meaning, and it's so cool to know the meaning behind those names. It was in college when I learned that the streets where I study are very heroic.
Anna
@LadyDuck (482738)
• Italy
12h
There are some weird names. I am sure that back in time towns were named mainly by founders, developers, and local communities. I do not know in our days. We have some weird town names also in Italy: Purgatorio, Belsedere, Villa Inferno, Sesso.
1 person likes this
LooeyVille
@LooeyVille (63)
• United States
9h
Oh please put me in charge of naming towns and streets! I would have so much fun with ridiculous names.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (199490)
• United States
12h
We drove through Boring, Oregon on our trip to the west coast!