The Shocking And True Stories Behind 9 Weird Texas Town Names

It's no secret that Texas is home to some pretty strange town names. While the names of these places are strange enough on their own, sometimes the story behind the name is even stranger.

Rockledge

Sometimes you can't be bothered to go out on a limb when naming your town. You just have to go with what you've got, and supposedly Rockledge is the victim of that very mentality. Rockledge was named for the rock...ledges...on the surrounding canyon. Interestingly enough, this town would wind up being the site of a double murder and the disappearance of a lot of stolen loot left over from a bank robbery.

Bug Tussle

One thing all of the legends regarding Bug Tussle agree on is that the name involves bugs and a fight. The first version of the story involves a church ice cream social that was invaded by a swarm of, you guessed it, bugs. Those in attendance were forced to lay down their frosty treats and take up arms against the invading army of bugs. Thus, the name of the town was changed to Bug Tussle to commemorate the battle.

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Other versions of the story say that two men were arguing over what to call the town when one of them pointed out two bugs "tussling" nearby. The dueling creepy crawlies provided the inspiration for the town's name.

Babyhead

The legend of how Babyhead got its name is horrific. Supposedly, it was named in honor of a girl who was killed when a group of settlers were attacked by Native Americans. Supposedly, they put her head on a pike. When the settlers finally set up shop in the area, they named it after the girl who had been killed.

The town is now a ghost town and is supposedly terminally haunted.

Nameless

According to legend, residents of Nameless had applied for a post office and ran into some issues regarding the town name. Every name they suggested was denied. As you might expect, the townsfolk weren't too happy with the postmaster. In frustration, residents supposedly mailed the postmaster a note saying "Let the post office be nameless and be damned!"

The postmaster did just that, and in one of the most petty moves in Texas history named the town, Nameless.

DISH

This is quite possibly the best story on the list. There was a small town in Texas that was originally named Clark. Clark wound up being made an offer it couldn't refuse. According to legend, Dish Network came calling and a deal was made.

Clark would take on the name DISH. In return, the handful of residents would get ten years of free Dish satellite service. Well played DISH...both of you.

Quitaque

We all have that one friend who got a kanji tattoo on spring break one year, and later in life found it didn't mean "love". Instead, it means "Where is the restroom" or "pit stank". That's pretty much how the town of Quitaque got its name.

Legend has it that Charles Goodnight himself named the town. He decided to use what he thought was an Indian word for "end of the trail." As you might have already guessed, he supposedly got the meaning of the word wrong.

Other legends state that the name was inspired by two piles of horse manure. Oddly enough, that's supposedly the real meaning of the word Charles Goodnight used to name the town. Yikes.

Tarzan

When you're asked to come up with a massive list of names for your town, you can probably be forgiven for throwing in some oddball recommendations just to fill the thing out. According to legend a list of 14 possible names for the town was submitted to the U.S. Postal Service. Out of all the names submitted, it was the one that was probably suggested by a 12-year-old boy that got approved. The town has been called Tarzan ever since.

Sher-Han

It's one of the stranger names for a town. You look at it, and your mind begins to swirl with all kinds of strange theories as to how this name came to be, and why it would be given to a town in Texas. It's actually pretty simple.

Sher-Han was an industrial camp and it comes from the Phillips Hansford natural gas extraction plant, and the Sherman plant. Put the two together, and let them do-si-do and you've got Sher-Han.

Cut and Shoot

Here's another case of a town name that comes from an argument. This one almost got violent, supposedly. According to legend, there was a disagreement between churchgoers. What history isn't clear on, is what the argument was over exactly.

The congregants were having arguments over the design of a new steeple (the big pointy thing on top of a church, which shouldn't be difficult), who should be the preacher, or land ownership rights (probably closer to the truth). Either way, a kid pipes up and says something like "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" Somehow, someone heard that and decided the town should be called Cut and Shoot. I'm not sure how that works, but that's history for you.

Frognot

Supposedly, this town got its name thanks to a teacher who was a real stick in the mud. It was the kind of teacher that didn't mind raining on your parade, so to speak. The story goes that there was a very strict schoolmaster who didn't appreciate their students bringing frogs to school with them. Apparently this was culturally significant enough for those with some decision making power to name the town after the frog hating teacher.