I love my home state, but I have to admit that there are some odd, interesting, and funny town names in Arkansas.
This is a list of some of my favorites along with the stories of how these particular towns in Arkansas got their funny names.
Let me know if your favorite funny town names in Arkansas aren’t on this list and I will try to add them!
Funny Town Names in Arkansas
Goobertown
Goobertown is an unincorporated community in Craighead County. It is located about 10 miles northeast of Jonesboro.
There isn’t much there in Goobertown except for a green highway sign. It is on the northbound side of US Hwy 49 about a quarter mile south of CR 960. People often stop to take a photo with the Goobertown sign.
Toad Suck
One of my favorite of the funny town names in Arkansas is Toad Suck. It is often on lists of unusual place names.
Toad Suck is located near the town of Conway, Arkansas. An annual festival is held in Conway that is called Toad Suck Daze.
The origin of the name is disputed but most people like to say that it is because the river men would often stop at the local tavern and proceed to “suck on the bottle ’til they swelled up like toads.”
Nail
Nail is located on a pretty Ozark mountain road. I don’t know how the tiny place got its name but it is in a gorgeous location.
Perhaps a fun road trip game would be to come up with a mascot for the local school. How about Nail, the home of the biters?
You might want to know about some of the interesting nicknames that the state of Arkansas has had over the years.
Here are some facts about Arkansas that you might find fun and we also have a list of the state symbols of Arkansas. There are more than you think!
Flippin
Flippin is in the Ozark Mountains near the White River and Gaston’s White River Resort. It is a cute little town with a population of about 1400. Besides having a funny name Flippin is known for being the home of Ranger Boats.
The town was originally named Goatville but eventually the name was changed to Flippin. It was named after a local farmer, Thomas H. Flippin.
Personally, I think Flippin was a step up from Goatville.
Smackover
Smackover is a town of about 1900 located in the southern part of Arkansas. It had an oil boom in the 1920’s. However, the name didn’t come from the oil boom.
Smackover is a transliteration of a French name. In 1686, the French settlers called this area “Sumac Couvert”, which translates to “covered in sumac bushes” This was changed over the years by the locals to Smackover.
Little Rock
I’m so used to my hometown of Little Rock that I rarely think of it as a funny or odd city name.
Apparently, others think that it is a bit unusual.
The capitol city of Little Rock, Arkansas was named after a rock formation that was used as a landmark when traveling the Arkansas River.
At the time it wasn’t actually that little – but was called the “little” rock in order to differentiate it from the “big” rock on the other side of the river.
Hope
Hope is most famous for being the hometown of ex-president Bill Clinton. The town has a population of 10,000.
Hope became a city when the railroad came through in 1873 and was named for Hope Loughborough, the daughter of a railroad executive.
Booger Hollow
There was once an Arkansas tourist attraction named Booger Hollow. It capitalized on the “hillbilly” stereotype of the state and was known for having a double decker outhouse. The sign at the entrance read, “population 7…countin’ one coon dog.”
You might be surprised to know that there actually is a real community named Booger Hollow. about 2 miles from the old attraction.
Nimrod
Nimrod is a small community in western Perry County. It is best known for its proximity to the Ouachita National Forest and Lake Nimrod.
The name Nimrod references a hunter from the Bible and some claim that name was selected by the first postmaster in the area. (Early cities were often named by or for the first postmaster of the town.)
Other people say that it was named by settlers who had migrated from Nimrod Hill, Tennessee.
Paris
Paris is known as the gateway to Mount Magazine because of the scenic highway that begins just outside of the town and leads to the Mount Magazine State Park.
The citizens of Paris, Arkansas have embraced their international name by building a small replica of the Eiffel tower on a corner of the town square.
It was named in the late 1800’s by a commissioner who greatly admired Paris, France.
Havana
Paris anchors one end of the Mount Magazine Scenic Byway and the small town of Havana anchors the other.
The town was originally named Greenville. After a train wreck occurred near the town, it was discovered that there were so many other Greenvilles that it caused confusion with the authorities.
The name of the town was changed to Havana in 1903 but no record keeping can be found to show why that name was selected. I sure would like to know!
Bald Knob
Bald Knob is a nice little town near Searcy, Arkansas. It is home of one of the best dairy bars in the state, the Bulldog Restaurant.
Bald Knob was named for a large outcropping of layered stone that was “bald.” This was a natural landmark that could be seen when one approached the town from either the White or the Little Red Rivers.
War Eagle
This funny town name in Arkansas is the stuff of legends.
War Eagle is a small community in northwestern Arkansas. Before the community there was War Eagle Creek and the famous (and beautiful) War Eagle Mill. The mill which was originally built in 1832 and is still a working and popular mill today.
Legend has it that the creek, then the mill, and then the town were named after a young Cherokee man named War Eagle.
War Eagle was killed while trying to rescue the woman he loved from a drunken, kidnapping trapper who had stolen her away and taken her deep in the Ozark wilderness.
Possum Grape
Possum Grape may be my very favorite of the funny town names in Arkansas.
One theory is that the community most likely received its unusual name from the wild grape that grew in the area. It was used by the local population to make jam and wine.
It is also said that Possum Grape was named in 1954 following a disagreement on whether to call it “Possum” or “Grape.” The compromise was to use both names.
I kind of like the second theory.
Weiner
Weiner is primarily known for rice farming and its unusual name. There was actually a “Bachelorette” from Weiner and the show definitely had fun with the name of the young woman’s home town.
Weiner was originally called West Prairie but a train depot was built and the station was called Weiner after a St. Louis, Missouri, railroad official.
Since everyone called the train stop Weiner, the town became known by that name. The Weiner post office was established in 1884.
Evening Shade
Is this one of the funny town names in Arkansas or the prettiest?
Evening Shade is in north central Arkansas. It was named in 1817 because of the shade that was cast by the tall pine timber on an adjacent hill.
The town had its 15 minutes of fame when it became the setting for a 1990’s sitcom of the same name starring Burt Reynolds.
Many of the exterior shots for the show, Evening Shade, were filmed in the town. Reynolds was even the school’s graduation commencement speaker in 1991.
Snowball
How strange is it to name a town in a southern state that rarely gets snowfall, Snowball?
Snowball was once known as Calf Creek. However, after the downtown area was almost completely destroyed by a steam engine explosion in 1879, the town purchased a newly built Masonic lodge that could also be used as a school and a church.
The lodge was named after a local sheriff Bill Snow. The name Snowball came from that and stuck.
Ben Hur
Ben Hur is in the gorgeous Ozark Mountains near several great Arkansas hikes. But how did Ben Hur get its name?
I can’t find out!
The book Ben-Hur was written in 1880 and was incredibly popular in its day. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the name came from the book.
Bull Shoals
Bull Shoals is the name currently given to a town, a lake, a dam, and a wonderful Arkansas State Park.
We have the French explorers to thank as this is another transliteration of a French word. The early French hunters and trappers used the word “Boill,” meaning a large spring, to describe the area.
Edmund Jennings, who as as far as we know was the first English-speaking person to visit the area, called this region the “country of the Six Boills” but he pronounced “boills” as “bull.”
It was these springs or “bulls” that fed the shoals.
Pioneers moving into the area continued using Jennings’s English pronunciation, and Bull Shoals has retained its name.
Oil Trough
Oil Trough is a teeny town with only about 200 people at the last census.
It is said that the town got its name in the early 1800’s from the large wooden oil troughs in the area that were used to hold rendered bear fat.
You see, this area was a favorite hideout for bears and therefore a favorite haunt of the bear hunters and traders.
The hunters would keep bear oil in wooden troughs that were then floated down river as far as New Orleans to be sold.
By the way there are still black bears in Arkansas!
Oark
No, I did not misspell the name of this town. Although it is located in the Ozark Mountains the name of the town is indeed, Oark.
The main draw here is the Oark General Store which is both a store and a delicious cafe. People drive for miles around to eat here.
This is another town that doesn’t have clear evidence of the origin of its name although many believe it was another French word changed by English speakers.
Greasy Corner
Greasy Corner is one of the best of the funny town names in Arkansas that started with a more “normal” name.
It is located at the junction of Arkansas Highways 50 and 149 and was originally known as Mack’s Corner because a local man, Mr. McCollum, owned a restaurant and store and auto repair shop there.
Yes, all three businesses were in the same building. But Mack’s Corner wasn’t a bad name right?
That all changed when a customer was given a plate with an auto grease stain on it. It was suggested that the entire community should be called Greasy Corner.
Somehow the name stuck.
Fifty-Six
The town of Fifty-Six is located near the popular Blanchard Springs Caverns.
Apparently the name that the town originally wanted, Newcomb, was rejected by the postal service and the name Fifty-Six was substituted because 56 was the number of the towns school district.
It seems that the people of Fifty-Six decided to just go with the unusual name rather than change it to something more typical.
Romance
Is this one of the funny town names in Arkansas or a sweet one?
Either way, Romance is well known for its name. The post office there will hand stamp your love letters!
Brides from around the state drive to the post office of this small town to mail their wedding invitations.
In 1990 the Romance post office was the first location to issue that year’s stamp in the USPS Love Stamp series.
The legend is that the town was named by a school teacher who thought the view from bluffs on the community’s eastern side was particularly romantic.
Gassville
Gassville is one of the funny town names in Arkansas and the story of how it got its name is even better.
This is a nice little community near the White River and they are actually quite proud of being the only town in the US with the name Gassville.
Gassville got its name from a postmaster in the 1800’s. His name was Mr. P.A. Cox. It seems that Mr. Cox was quite a talker, so much so that he was referred to by the locals as a “gasser.”
Yep, this led to the town’s name. I’ve mentioned before that early towns in Arkansas were often named by or for the first postmaster This is an extreme example of that premise!
I hope that you have enjoyed this list of funny town names in Arkansas!
We have another great post about the best songs that have been written about Arkansas.
Thanks for stopping by!