The Most Unusual Town Names in Texas

(Texas) When it comes to sheer size, Texas is the second-largest state in the United States. Texas covers more than 260,000 square miles. Only Alaska surpasses Texas in land area, with 586,000 square miles, according to USA Today. With all of that available space, more than 1,200 incorporated cities call the Lone Star State home.

How Many Cities Are in Texas?

The Texas Comptroller's Office reports that these cities range in size from Houston, with 2.3 million residents, to over 400 towns with populations of fewer than 1,000 residents. There are several of those small towns right here in East Texas. We drive through them every day without realizing it sometimes.

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Texas Town Names That Sound Made Up

Among those 1,200 town names, some leave you wondering if the town is actually real. Are there really people living in Turkey, Texas, or Bigfoot, Cut and Shoot, or Uncertain, Texas? The answer is yes! These names often leave people wondering if they’re addressing mail to a real place.

Where These Unique Names Come From

Many of these unique Texas town names come from local legends, early industries, and even historical confusion. While some town names have been the same, others have changed since they were created.

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How Grand Prairie Got Its Name

My hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas, wasn't always known as Grand Prairie. Thanks to the Texas and Pacific Railway, the town's name, now a city, was changed from Dechman to Grand Prairie in the 1860s. The railroad renamed the Dechman depot to reflect the landscape that was on the eastern edge of a vast, open, and treeless prairie between Dallas and Fort Worth.

So let's take a look at some of the Texas town names that will have you wondering if their town name is real or not! What other Texas town names do you find unbelievably real? Email them to me anytime, and I can add them to the gallery below.