Texas Name Game: the Fun, the Interesting, the Hard to Say City Names of the Lone Star State
The Land Up Country Living Series
If you’ve ever taken a road trip through Texas, then you may have found it hard to ignore the vast diversity of city names across the state. There are the overly obvious descriptive names, like Brownfield or Plainview. There are endearing names, like Happy or Tuxedo. And then there are the names that are plain hard to pronounce.
If you’re on a road trip or just looking for a way to pass the time, these Texas city names make for a great distraction. In fact, we made a little game for a few of them. It’s short. It’s fun. It’s all about Texas.
So stop what you’re doing (presumably something Texas-y), and explore fun Lonestar State city names with us!
Where did some of these unique names come from? Many stem from the multiple communities that inhabited Texas over the centuries, including the native Americans, the Germans, the French, and the Spanish; among others. There are also names that are just quirky and fun, like Cut and Shoot or Paris, Texas. Here are some lesser known - and just as fun - city names:
Cut and Shoot, Texas
This extremely unique name stems from a disagreement between the city’s church members that led to a young boy yelling “I’m going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!”
Wizard Wells, Texas
Most of the land the city sits on was owned by G.W. Vineyard, who said the water in the area cured his leg ulcers. Local residents are glad he didn’t name it Ulcer Wells instead.
Pecan Gap, Texas
Supposedly, this place was named after the gap between the town’s two pecan trees. Points for originality.
Warlock, Texas
We couldn’t find much on the history of the name, so we can only assume it was founded by the wizards that cast their magic over the water in Wizard Wells.
Uncertain, Texas
The origin of the name is a little, well, uncertain. It could have come from the difficulty ships had mooring up in the city, or the question of whether or not the settlement was within the boundaries of the United States or the Republic of Texas.
Fair Play, Texas
It’s rumored the city’s name comes from a visitor who said the town’s boardinghouse and general store had fair rates. That’s a name we definitely can get behind.
Goober Hill, Texas
This city is named after the peanuts that grew in the area, which in the 1900s were known as “goobers” by the locals. Goober butter and jelly sandwiches just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Wink, Texas
Wink is actually short for Winkler County, and while that isn’t very interesting, in the 1920’s the city became a center for gambling, prostitution, and general corruption. It makes the name seem sort of fitting.
Notrees, Texas
We’ll give you one guess. The town did have one tree, but it was knocked down to build a Shell plant. Whomp, whomp.
Canadian, Texas
No, it’s not the starting point of the secret Canadian invasion (though, bring on the gravy French fries). The city is named after the Canadian River running through town.
Lazbuddie, Texas
Ever buy a piece of land with a friend, smush your two names together, and call it that? Laz Green and Buddie Sherley sure did.
Needmore, Texas
Needmore was called Jernigan, Pecan, Pecan Branch, and Eureka. So maybe it should be called Needmorenames??
Turkey, Texas
The city was named after John Turkey who founded the city. Just kidding, that would be too obvious. It was named after the turkeys that lived by the creek.
Friendship, Texas
There are a few Friendships in the state of Texas, which is no surprise since the state motto is…wait for it…”Friendship”. Awww.
Jolly, Texas
Named after William Jolly, we’d like to imagine it’s the only town where even in scorching weather, everyone is always happy.
Name Some Land Whatever You Want
We may not have known much about some of these fun named places, but we do know Central Texas land. If you’re looking for the freedom and space that owning land offers, then we’ll find the right spot for you (and maybe come up with a cool name for it).
We even have land that is owner financed, which means you can skip all the hassle of getting bank financing. Selling your Central Texas land instead? Our agents will help you make the big bucks and sell your property fast. The proof is in the pudding: just see how quickly we sold these properties. Buying, selling, investing - call us and we’ll make it happen, every time.