A state as huge as California is bound to have some weird town names, especially in those unincorporated communities, am I right? Being the third largest state in America means that somebody somewhere came up with a name that they knew would either be regarded as strange, wacky, or weird. I’ll let you be the judge!

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WEIRD CALIFORNIA TOWN NAME #1

HAPPY CAMP

Happy Camp, CA
Google Maps
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This town was given the name in 1851 after James Camp, gold miner and owner of a local grocery store, exclaimed to his buddy that moving to California was “the happiest day of my life!” He even named the store Happy Camp.

WEIRD THINGS TO DO IN HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA

You can take advantage of nearby shopping, dining, camping, hiking, rafting, and fishing, or you can just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet of Happy Town. (That doesn’t sound weird, it actually sounds like BLISS to me!)

WEIRD CALIFORNIA TOWN NAME #2

ZZYZX

Zzyzx, CA
Google Maps
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This sounds like a town named by Elon Musk and Grimes (how do you pronounce their child's name,X Æ A-12? Pardon the side conversation.

The neighborhood of Zzyzx was founded in the mid 1940s by the owner of a mineral hot springs health spa who gave it that name. Legend goes that the eccentric spa owner, Curtis Howe, liked the name Zzyzx, not only because it is the last word in the dictionary, but that  he always loved to have the last word in all his conversations with people. Okay, that’s just weird, man. And arrogant, too, ha!

via GIPHY

WEIRD CALIFORNIA TOWN NAME #3

BOHEMIAN GROVE

4 Weird Cali Town Neighborhood Names
Google Maps/Canva
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Bohemian Grove (part of the city of Monte Rio) is a weird name for a town, especially when you consider some very strange and secretive stuff allegedly happens there (at least once a year). This is the city where a bunch of the wealthiest dudes in the world (and Alex Jones???) gather together to perform secret rituals to the Illuminati, or so I’ve been told. Knowing exactly what happens in the secret woods of the Bohemian Grove enclave is above my pay-grade, it’s safe to say.

via GIPHY

WEIRD CALIFORNIA TOWN NAME #4

FROGTOWN

Frogtown, CA, also known as Elysian Fields
Frogtown Brewery via Google Maps
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Imagine living in a part of town that has so many loud a** frogs, it becomes the neighborhood nickname. Then one day somebody says, “Hey, we should name this place Frogtown, for real!” and that new name sticks. That’s what happened back in the early 1900s. What used to be a barren warehouse town of yesteryear has been taken over by the artsy-fartsy crowd and hipsters as of the year 2023.

 

So, what do you think? Are these some of the weirdest neighborhood names in California towns or what? 😊Either way, I can’t wait to visit each of them someday soon to mark it off my weird bucket list!

 

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