On my walk today I listened to a newly released class from the Great Courses. The class is on the world’s great rivers and the episode I chose to listen to was about The Thames, which runs through London. One tidbit I learned, which I had never heard before, was that the famous university town of Oxford got its name because it was founded on a place along the river that was relatively shallow, where the oxen could ford the river. Pretty cool.

That reminded me of the story of how Portland got its name, which all Portlanders are familiar with, but is not widely known outside of the Pacific Northwest. The short version is that two early settlers, one from Portland, Maine and one from Boston, Massachusetts flipped a coin. It is worth noting that both Portland and Boston are named after English cities, which is not surprising considering who settled in that neck of the woods in the 1600s.

Those stories got me thinking of other cities with interesting name-origin stories. Here are a few more.

1. Nome, Alaska

This town supposedly got its name from a cartographer who had labeled the spot on the map “? Name” as a placeholder note on a map. That marking turned into ‘C. Nome’, or Cape Nome during the Alaska Gold Rush. Sounds plausible, but the veracity of this story is still under some debate.

2. Death Valley, California

Speaking of gold, the 1849 California gold rush helped lead to the name of one of the world’s hottest places. Migrants, on their way to the gold fields, got stuck there and even though only one died, they christened the place ‘Death Valley’ when they got out (as in ‘So long, Death Valley!'). The name stuck. And if you’ve been there, you know it is appropriately named!

3. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

This town was originally called Hot Springs, New Mexico. However, in the 1950s a radio show called Truth or Consequences said it would broadcast it’s big 10th anniversary show from the first town that changed its name to the name of the show. I’ve got to say I like the new name better.

4. Fugging, Austria

This town in Austria got its name just a few years ago, in 2021. Is it that new of a place? No. It was originally called Fucking, Austria. The small Austrian village was founded in the sixth century by a Bavarian nobleman named Focko (or something similar). The suffix “-ing” is an old Germanic marker meaning “the people of,” so the name originally just meant “the home of Focko’s people.” However, you can probably figure out for yourself why they decided to rebrand themselves. I’d say, good move.