Post Scripts: What’s in a name?

Missouri has some unusual names for its cities and towns. We have Tightwad (there are several of those, aren’t there?, Loose Creek (it’s probably the water) Grassy, Anabel, Arab, Reform, Napoleon, Buffalo, Chloride, Noel, Peculiar (I could name several) Saint Peters, Alley Spring, Climax Springs (I hadn’t better comment further) along with Ash Hill, Archie, Battlefield (should be near Wilson Creek) plus Braggadocio, Bourbon (probably a wild place) Triplett ( I better keep quiet) Fair Play (nice, if true) and Knob Noster.

I added Knob Noster just for the heck of it. I can’t imagine where that name came from, unless a guy named Noster sat atop a steep hill one afternoon. But, hey, how about the names of some towns in Texas?

Who would ever believe that Waco is called Waco because the word is an anagram of a cow.

Somehow I doubt it? Making things up is a sport and pastime here in Texas. Naming towns must have been a popular pastime here since Texas has more than 4,000 communities with thousands more long gone. Texas towns range from Happy to Loco, from Sweetwater to Sour Lake, from Early to Goodnight. They say Galveston was named because it was an early day site for beauty contests, thus Gal-with-a-vest-on.”

Many Texas towns are so-named because of their agricultural influence. Thus you have Cotton Center. Towns often were named for their localities, such as “Mesquite” or “Cactus.” Orange got its name from nearby citrus groves and Cotton Center because it was one. Some names were more hopeful than accurate such as “Eden” and “Eldorado,” elegant choices for scrubby little towns in West Texas. Missouri has some examples of that.

And, as befits a rootin’, tootin’ state ( I don’t say that, Texans say that) Texas has no shortage of town names worthy of a John Wayne western: “Gun Barrel City,” “Point Blank,” “Spur”, etc.

In the late nineteenth century Judge Roy Bean, who labeled himself the “Law West of the Pecos” was the big law wheel in tiny Langtry which is located on the Rio Grande. Bean boasted he had named the town after the gal he most admired, English Actress Littie Langtry. Many other Texas towns are named for various women, some good and a few not so good.

It is said that a motel in the Hill Country town of Comfort invoked the names of two other towns in order to create a risque billboard which read: “Sleep in Comfort between Alice and Sonara.”

This is quite interesting, thinking of the possibilities. A town between Loving and Winkler Counties could become “Lovewink” and between Washington and Brazos counties could become “Washbra.” I’d better not pursue this further or I’ll be in trouble with Kathy.

Spanish inspired hundreds of Texas Town names, with San Antonio being probably the best known.

I suppose, if I or a reader would work on it, we could come with some quite interesting items made up from names. Take Albert Gallatin, for example. He was noted as a tight wad (excuse me, I meant conservative) Secretary of the Treasury in U.S. history. As I note how Washington, D.C. is spending money these days, I sorta’ wish we had him back.