The Legendary Stories Behind These Six 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.

Bug Tussle

One thing all of the legends regarding Bug Tussle agree on is that the name involves bugs...tussling. In one version of the story, a church ice cream social was taking place when a swarm of bugs invaded the gathering. The churchgoers were forced to fight off the invasion, and 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.

Nameless

According to legend, residents of Nameless had applied for a post office. Unfortunately, all of the town names they suggested were denied. In frustration residents supposedly mailed the postmaster a note saying "Let the post office be nameless and be damned!"

The postmaster did just that.

Quitaque

The story behind this town's name resembles many of the stories that sorority sisters share about their kanji tattoos. You think it means one thing, when it probably just means chicken soup.

Supposedly this town was named by Charles Goodnight. He thought it was an Indian word for "end of the trail." 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. Insert a shrug emoji here.

Tarzan

Beggars can't be choosers. 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, this is one that got approved.

Cut and Shoot

Here's another case of a town name that comes from an argument. This one almost got violent, supposedly. According to the TSHA there was a disagreement between churchgoers over the design of a new steeple, who should be preacher, or land ownership rights. 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!" Eventually those words would be used to rename the town.

Frognot

We all remember that one teacher that always seemed to rain on our parade and ruin our good time. According to legend, that's how Frognot got its name. There was a very strict schoolmaster who didn't appreciate their students bringing frogs to school with them.