I once paid good money to join a tour group just because of a name I saw on the map. Doubtful Sound: What is it, why is it called this way, and how do I get there?
So I found myself, 24, by myself, on a 3-days kayak trip to Doubtful Sound, New Zealand. I would have liked to say that I saw the name, got on a plane to NZ, and was on my way there within 24 hours. Wouldn't that have been cool, the epitome of spontaneous travels?
But sadly, no, I was already in NZ. I think I was in Wanaka, or perhaps Te Anue already when I noticed the name on the map. I just had to go there.
I recently noticed the name Westward Ho when diving into the rabbit hole that is the South West Coastal Path in the UK. The UK is a treasure trove for strange and funny names, carrying a meaning that was lost over time. Dibden Purlieu is perhaps remnant of the Norman occupation. Stow-on-the-Wold is that age-old habit of naming villages after the river hey relay on. Mytholmroyd is, well, I don't know what language that is. Skelton-on-Ure is just funny. And if you are a nerd like me, reading maps of the UK and saying names of places out loud is hours, hours! of entertainment. No idea if i'm pronouncing them right, but it gives me strange, nerdy joy. And this is before a dive into London street names.
While the UK is a great source for strange, funny and interesting place names, little echos of a rich and varied past, the US is the place to go for place-names out of place. You can easily travel from Lima, Ohio to Angola, Indiana. Or perhaps a trip to Bismark North Dakota. Being Israeli, I find it funny that biblical place names found their way into the US map, but not in the correct geographical order. And there are dozens of Lebanon, USA (A fact I learnt from the excellent podcast episode "Lebanon, USA".
Moving north, Canada has Repulse bay. Who was repulsed and more importantly - by what? Those white christian males who went exploring the world for glory and other people's riches, had a way with place names (when they were not naming every single thing they saw after the queen or king of their time. Or after themselves.)
What are some of your favourite place names?
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