h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Talking of differing names for places in different languages, Aachen has now become Aachen to most people, as far as I know, although the English name was Aix-la-Chappelle before that (How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix and all that)

The Belgians (excuse me) are the greatest for giving a town two names - seeings as they speak 2 languages in that country. (The Swiss - even though they have four languages, aren't half as bad.)

Off the top of my head.

Gent = Gand
Liège = Leuk (the most confusing of all if you've never heard the Flemish name and are driving from Germany. The German name is Lüttich)
Antwerpen = Anvers

and a search gave such disparate names as

Anseroeul = Mont-de-l'Enclus

Genua is Genès in French, and Genoa in Italian, which can cause you to take some wrong turns if you're not prepared.

I used to live in Mons/Bergen in Belgium.

Which name comes first depends on whether you're in Wallonia (French-speaking, with some sensible variations), or Flan-diddly-anders (couldn't resist ), the Flemish-speaking bit.

Re: the fifth category of silly names - the 'recycled' ones. I wish I could remember who wrote something to the effect that he was constantly amazed by the British ability to take a swamp 1000 miles from anywhere and call it Piccadilly... (It might have been Gerald Durrell.)

There are lots of recycled names in Australia - Adelaide and Melbourne both have suburbs called Croydon, Malvern, Richmond, Hawthorn... There's probably a few others. Just about everywhere has a suburb called Kensington.

Canberra avoids this by naming suburbs after dead-and-d*mned politicians. This leads to a place being called Downer - which isn't that far from the truth.

But here's a couple of purely silly names, a propos of nothing:
Koo-Wee-Rup
Mt Coot-tha
And the imponderable Kippa-Ring, somewhere in Queensland.

Woolfcub.

Yeah, but that's cause they were named after the places in England.

Moorooduc is still a favourite of mine.

From an earlier post:



Thank you AgProv for making me laugh out loud this morning.



F

Lets face it folks. Language and place names can be inherently silly at times by virtue of being literal.

Sutton under Whitestonecliffe is a good example.

turvy

Is that like Sutton on the dock of the bay?

I'll get me coat

There's a "Dolphin's Barn" in Dublin. Do dolphins live in barns...?

I've liked the name Dublin ever since I learned it was derived from the Viking ( I think?) for 'Black Pool'.

There's a road that goes from "Ballsbridge" to "Stillorgan"...it is presumably hairy

If I remember correctly , there is a place in Yorkshire called Wetwang!!!

There is a city in the Cayman Islands called Hell.

Hey Bilbobilbo There is a place called Wetwang. I've been there! Go look at post 44 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F19585?thread=326507&skip=40&show=20) turvy

Cow down picket piece always makes me smile

Theres a place in scotland called Crazy corner

really?
wow no1s posted on here for weeks! i honestly thort this thread was dead and buried but hey resurrection happens!

i dont know ne silly place names with the exception of Snodland but i think its already been done.

Also two villages near Brighton, obviously out of the Kama Sutra, called Upper Dicker and Lower Dicker.

hehe thats funny

i always liked Ipplepen (its in devon sumwhere)

One of my less serious aims in life is to buy a house in the Nottinghamshire place called 'Bunny' (it's near Gotham!) and name my house 'Fluffy'

There is a place in northumberland called 'once brewed' between hexham and carlisle.