Victoria is famous for its beautiful landscapes, coastal escapes and charming country towns. But it also has a collection of place names guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows.
Leading the cheeky collection is Tittybong, which has scored an impressive 9 out of 10 on a global Blush Rating measuring how much place names make English speakers snigger.
It’s joined by Mount Buggery, Mount Little Dick and Poowong in a list of Victoria’s rudest-sounding locations. The names feature in a global research project that uncovered 451 real places across 91 countries with names that might make English speakers blush.
From Tittybong to Mount Buggery: Victoria’s cheekiest locations
With a Blush Rating of 9/10, Tittybong is Australia’s highest-scoring location in the supplied rankings. But despite its suggestive name, its origins remain unclear.
In his 2016 book Mount Buggery to Nowhere Else, author Eamon Evans notes that the origin of Tittybong is unknown.
Next up is Mount Buggery, which scored 8/10. Its history reportedly dates back to a 1934 hike involving a Melbourne Walking Club member, who is believed to have named the mountain. Other club members adopted the name, it eventually appeared on maps, and official acceptance followed.
Mount Little Dick also scored 8/10, although its origins remain unclear. Then there’s Poowong, which received a more modest 4/10. Despite its amusing sound, William Bunce’s 1859 word list records Poowong as an Aboriginal word meaning carrion.
Australia’s other cheeky place names
The rest of Australia has its fair share of cheeky place names, too. Among the highest-scoring are:
- Yorkeys Knob, Queensland: 8/10
- Iron Knob, South Australia: 8/10
- Cockburn, Western Australia: 7.3/10
- Fannie Bay, Northern Territory: 7/10
- Balls Head, New South Wales: 7/10
- Burrumbuttock, New South Wales: 6.3/10
- Dicky Beach, Queensland: 6/10
- Booby Island, Queensland: 5/10
- Intercourse Island, Western Australia: 4/10
Researchers searched published lists, local news, national gazetteers and GeoNames, an open database containing 13 million place names. Streets, pubs, businesses and slurs were excluded, and every location and its name’s origin was checked against at least one official or encyclopaedic source.
How did the rudest names rank nationally
The project identified 451 places across 91 countries, plus four locations that have since changed their names. Each received a Blush Rating out of 10, with the public also invited to vote.
Brenda Jensen, Head of Data & Research at Erobell, puts it perfectly: “Almost all of these names are centuries old and perfectly innocent in their own language: Twatt was just a Viking word for a clearing. Our advice to anyone who lives in one is simple. Keep a spare road sign in the shed.”
Australia recorded 15 cheeky locations among 19,205 settlements, or 7.8 per 10,000. That’s level with the United States, while the United Kingdom leads the English-speaking country rankings with 18.8 per 10,000.
While Australia shares the rankings with the United States, Victoria has certainly contributed some memorable contenders, with Tittybong, Mount Buggery and Mount Little Dick making the list.
