When a City Name Becomes a Meme: 10 Funny Examples From Around the World

The world is vast, as are the number of peoples and cultures that inhabit it. Most of these groups have their own language, and their total number is not limited by the number of countries. At present, 2676 languages ​​and three times more dialects are known to exist.

At the same time, the human speech apparatus is limited: we can only pronounce a certain number of sounds. Because of this, the same combinations of letters and sounds can be found in completely different languages ​​and mean completely different things. In the era of globalization, this is especially noticeable in the names of cities that other people find funny and amusing. We have collected ten striking examples of such cities whose names make foreign guests smile involuntarily — regardless of their native language.

Batman, Türkiye

The large Turkish city of Batman has 400,000 inhabitants and is known as a center for oil refining. However, it gained widespread popularity after the English-speaking audience noticed its name “Batman” — identical to the comic book hero of the same name.

But the main funny thing, which made everyone know about this city, happened in 2008, when the city’s mayor sued the creators of the Batman movie, claiming that the name belonged to the city and Hollywood “stole” it. Of course, it was a PR stunt, but it worked successfully, and fans of Batman often come to the city and especially like to take pictures against the backdrop of the copper bridge “Batman Köprüsü” and the cafe “Batman Café.” Locals also sell souvenirs that play on the “superhero” popularity of the city, offering magnets in the shape of a Batman kebab.

In general, the name of the city comes from the river of the same name. That, in turn, translates as “to dive” and “immersion.” There is no Gotham magic here; the local city also has an important superpower — money from oil refining.

Dildo, Canada

In the east of Canada, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, there is a small coastal settlement called Dildo. The entrance to the city is guarded by a colorful wooden figure of a bearded sailor with a pipe named Captain Dildo. 

Although the name of the city has little in common with the intimate object of the same name, local residents actively support the legend, telling various tales. For example, fishermen like to tell tourists that a certain pirate hid a chest with “treasures” on Dildo Island, but no one dared to look for it, since the contents of the chest are too “personal”. 

According to another story, the name appeared when a random ship got stuck in a local bay, and its captain shouted: “This place is a real dildo!”, without specifying exactly where. But if you visit the local Dildo and Area Interpretation Centre, they will tell you that the name Dildo has nothing to do with intimate objects. It comes from an Old English nautical term that referred to a wooden pin used to secure sails to boats. There is also a theory that it is a corruption of some exotic plant or local curiosity spotted by sailors, but the pin explanation is more widely accepted.

Llanfair PG, Wales

At first glance, there is nothing interesting in the name of the city, until you learn that it is a shortened name for everyday use: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It is very difficult to pronounce, as it is in Welsh, which is one of the direct descendants of Celtic. Literally, the phrase means “St. Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel by the Raging Whirlpool and St. Tysilio’s Church by the Red Cave.”

The main local attraction is the Llanfairpwll railway station. There is a huge sign with the full name and its phonetic transcription. Tourists come to take pictures with it, often trying to pronounce the name on camera. In the 1960s, tickets from this station were the longest in the world (15 cm). The name of the city got into the Guinness Book of Records not only as the longest toponym in Europe, but also for the longest active Internet domain llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. co. uk (58 characters). 

But this was not enough, and later, when the character limit for domains was increased to 63, an even longer version appeared: llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochuchaf. com. The city gained its greatest popularity after a video of TV news anchor Liam Dutton went viral in 2015. In it, he said the city’s full name without hesitation while commenting on the weather. Locals recognized Dutton as their man, and the TV channel released limited edition T-shirts with the inscription “I Survived Saying Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”.

Condom, France

In the southwest of France, in the heart of Gascony, there is a picturesque town called Condom. And yes, that’s how it’s spelled and pronounced. For the French themselves, this is nothing special, because in their language there is a name for a contraceptive called “préservatif.” The word “condom” is rarely used, if at all — it is relevant to the English language.

The French sources of the name are quite innocent and come from the Latin Condatomagus — “market at the confluence of rivers.” But the locals did not try to convince tourists otherwise and turned everything into a joke. For example, in 2017, they appointed a local winemaker “chief condom officer” (Chief Condom Officer). This was a marketing ploy to emphasize that the locals are not embarrassed by their name and are ready to laugh along with the tourists. 

The main Condom himself joked, “In Condom, we will protect you from everything — from a bad mood to bad wine!” The city has a bronze statue of the Three Musketeers from Dumas’ novel of the same name, and locals play on this in souvenirs, releasing postcards with the musketeers and the caption “Condom — Safe Adventures.”

Cockburn, Australia

There are places in the world where it is really hot, so hot that some parts of the body literally burn. For people familiar with the English language, this is one of the first thoughts when they learn about the existence of the city of Cockburn in Western Australia. And yes, it is really hot there, but not that hot. The city is named after the English admiral George Cockburn, and this is not the first such case. Similar toponyms can be found in Antarctica, the Caribbean (Cockburn Town in Turks and Caicos), and Canada (Cockburn Island in Ontario). 

The surname has nothing to do with the vulgar meaning of the word cock (male genital organ), and burn has nothing to do with burning. The admiral’s ancestors are also unlikely to have set fire to roosters, since cock is translated as “rooster” only in modern English. In the time of his family, Old English and Gaelic were in use, and in these languages, ​​cock meant “stream” or “hill,” and burn (translated as “to burn”) is an old Scottish word denoting a small river.

But this doesn’t stop tourists from reacting to the town’s name with jokes, which is encouraged by the names of town services, such as Marine Rescue Cockburn or the local Cockburn Sound public alert service.

Locals prefer the town’s name to be pronounced “Coburn” to avoid jokes and regular sign theft.

Fakfak, Papua New Guinea

In the eastern part of Indonesia, in West Papua, there is a city called Fakfak. Judging by the name, it may seem that the locals are not very happy with their situation, but this is only from the point of view of a person who understands English a little.

In fact, Fakfak is a small city with a population of about 20,000 people, with a well-developed infrastructure. It has its own Fakfak Airport and the popular Hotel Grand Papua Fakfak among tourists.

The real meaning of the name is now difficult to understand, but linguists note that in general, in Papuan languages, words are often doubled in toponymy as an intensification or plurality: for example, it is well known that the city of Wagga Wagga in Australia is translated as “many sparrows.”

At one time, the city was the world center of nutmeg production, but lost ground. Now Fakfak is gaining popularity as a diving spot due to its rich coral thickets with unique endemic fish species. The popularity among tourists is largely dictated by the bold name: local authorities even install anti-vandal signs, because foreigners often take them. So, after strong earthquakes, bars sell a special “Fakfak Shake”, as if to emphasize that such shaking is not very pleasant for them.

Chicken, Alaska

A settlement in the state of Alaska, which proudly bears the name “chicken” by pure chance. During the “gold rush” years, gold prospectors poured into the state. The conditions were difficult, especially the lack of provisions. People were saved from starvation by a local variety of partridge, “ptarmigan,” and the locals wanted to name the settlement in its honor. But due to the complex spelling, they chose a simpler one. 

In general, the settlement is very small, with a population of less than 200 people. But now more and more tourists are visiting it, attracted by the unusual name. Thanks to this, the service sector is developing. The most popular entertainment for visitors is gold panning, but without modern equipment, but in the same way as gold prospectors did in the late 19th century. Such fun costs only $20 per hour.

Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Intercourse is an example of how the meanings of words change over time. The town’s name originally meant “communication,” “interaction,” and “relationships” between people, but now it’s a colloquial version of sexual intercourse. This is especially ironic given that most of the residents are Amish and Mennonites, deeply religious and very conservative people. The town itself is a center of Amish culture, where you can ride Amish wagons around local farms and try Amish cuisine. Tourists are most interested in trying shoofly pie, handmade pretzels, and lemonade, as well as locally made sausages and cheeses. Also of interest is Intercourse Harvest Days, where the Amish demonstrate crafts and tourists try pumpkin pies and cider. In 2024, the festival attracted 5,000 people.

Middelfart, Denmark

On the Danish island of Funen is the city of Middelfart. For the Danes, there is nothing unusual in the name, but those who know English immediately notice that the local middel is very similar to the English middle (middle), and “fart” in English means gas emission. Putting these two together, tourists make up jokes about the ability of locals to release intestinal gas with medium force. However, in reality, everything is, of course, not so. Middelfart in old Danish means “middle way” and reflects the location of the city — on the shore of the Little Belt (one of the Danish straits).

The city itself is small and has only about 17,000 residents. In addition to photographs with signs and pointers, tourists come here for boat trips to watch whales and porpoises. The largest ceramics warehouse in Scandinavia is also located here — the CLAY Museum. For a modest fee, you can take a master class in clay modeling on a potter’s wheel.

In general, the Danes do not perceive such an interpretation as something strange — the same word “fart” is in common use, and you can find quite funny signs for foreigners like Fartkontrol, where there is control, but it concerns speed.

Hell (Norway)

When visiting a small Norwegian town, you might see a sign that says, “Welcome to Hell.” But, like other towns on the list, there is no hellish connotation in the name — in modern Norwegian, hell does not mean “hell,” but “luck.” Tourists often joke, “I’ve been to hell and back!” showing local souvenirs with the town’s name or road signs. The most popular place in this regard is the Hell Station railway station and especially its sign, “Hell Gods-Expedition.” This is not a gathering point for an expedition to the gods of hell but an outdated Norwegian “godsekspedisjon,” meaning a freight office.

The town’s residents jokingly say that there is blues playing in hell. This is how they advertise the annual Blues in Hell festival, which takes place in September at the Scandic Hell Hotel and has been gathering blues lovers from all over the world for over 30 years. They say that “in Hell, the blues sound like the devil himself is playing.” But the town’s greatest fame was brought by a native of a village located near Hell, who won the Miss Norway contest in 1990 and then Miss Universe. The media quickly figured out how to play on the name of the town and called the girl “Beauty Queen from Hell” and “Hell’s Angel.”

In Conclusion

City names are not only geographical landmarks but also sources of surprise, smiles, and even bewilderment, but most importantly, attention. All the cities mentioned monetize the popularity of their unusual names in one way or another and replenish local budgets from tourist revenues. Everyone benefits from this — tourists post photos of places where there is a gas check sign or their restrictions, and municipal authorities — income for the development of local infrastructure and the service sector. 

Perhaps this is why locals treat the situation with understanding, humor, and a pinch of irony. Of course, there are other cities in the world with no less curious names. For example, Tittybong in Australia or Truth or Consequences in New Mexico, USA. But in the first case, the village is almost abandoned, and only three people live in it, and in the second, the town of Hot Springs was quite deliberately renamed in honor of the popular radio show Truth or Consequences. We tried to show those cities where “fame” descended unexpectedly, because it is the accidents that are most interesting to observe.