Funny Spanish Town Names

We all know that there are plenty of curiously-named towns out there dotting the world’s diverse landscapes, raising eyebrows, and often tickling amused observers. There are surprisingly offensive names for cute little towns, oddly good-humored town names (consider Saint Louis-du Ha! Ha!, Canada), names that force us to wonder about their toponymies  (Goose Pimple Junction, VA), and childishly funny town names; just mention the name Pee Pee Creek, Ohio and even the most somber of observers will at the very least crack a smile.

Top 5 Funny Place Names in Spain and Latin America

In Spain we find the unwelcoming Adiós, the flighty Avión (airplane), and the tempting Villaviciosa (vice town) which is just a day trip away from the attractive Rioja hamlet of Cenicero (ashtray). There are short zingers, like the straight forward Pepino, (cucumber) and long winded tongue twisters like Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja. Chihuahua, Mexico’s got an Agua Amarilla, recalling everyone’s favorite Buckeye State creek.

Venta de Pantalones, Jaen (Spain)

You won’t find many pants for sale in this southern Spanish rustic village, but you will find a nearby mini Roman bridge, rising in humble glory in the meadowy shadows of a grand 19^th century metal train bridge.  The fresh clear waters of the peaceful brook that babbles past town invites summertime visitors to take a refreshing dip, never mind its uninviting name; Río Víboras, or Viper River.

Arriving to Venta de Pantalones, Jaen

Isla del Malpelo, Colombia

The name of this deserted island belonging to Colombia seems to guarantee its visitors a bad hair day every day (you may want to learn photoshop before snapping a selfie on this curiously named Isle). There is no historical evidence of any human settlement ever on Badhair Island, but today it’s a popular destination for scientists and divers. 

Views of la Isla del Malpelo

El Pozo de las Mujeres Muertas, Asturias

In 2011, University of Oviedo Professor Fernando Álvarez presented a study that offered a reasonable and rather uncreepy explanation of how this hilltop got its horrifying name, and it didn’t involve any wells full of dead women. It seems the hill, originally named muyeres, took its name from the area’s soft soil, or its “tierras fofas” in the words of the study. It did not take its name after the local area’s “mujeres”, a word that is pronounced in the area more like “mucheres” according to the study. Popular legends of the town’s history however will likely carry on “well” into the future.

Up in the Pozo de las Mujeres Muertas

Salsipuedes, Baja California and Chile

There are at least two Salsipuedeses, one in the lengthy-named Chilean province of Region del Liberatador General Bernardo O’Higgins, and the other is an island off the coast of Baja California Norte. The “get out if you can” in Mexico is a haven for surfers, where killer waves breakes break on secluded beaches at the foot of scenic jagged-peaked seaside bluffs.  Salsipuedes, Chile shares a province with the equally ominous-named town of Peor es Nada.

Inspiring views in Salsipuedes, both in Baja California and Chile

Muelas de los Cabelleros, Zamora

In a first instance this town name appears to read as “molar teeth of the knights” or even “of the gentlemen”, but muela can also mean millstone, and it seems the name refers to the area’s windmills during the town’s early history. The noble title of “knights” was included because the town was founded in 1070 by descendents of the King of Asturias.

Muelas de los Caballeros in the Old Castilla