Most People Don’t Know The Meaning Behind These 14 Kentucky Towns

What's in a name? Well, if you're talking about town names, it turns out there's a whole lot of history! You see, back in the old days, people would name a town something simple, like Lick Skillet. Why? It was easy to remember and also functional -- it described the town's location or trades. Today, some of these town names seem downright strange through our 21st century perspective; that is, until you take a minute to discover the meaning behind the name. Today we're digging into the history behind 14 tiny towns in Kentucky with unique names, and some of the stories might surprise you!

1. Ape Yard

The local grocery has a small, yet welcoming, gorilla monument that is the last iconic figure of the once-busy little community. There use to be the Ape Yard Baptist Church, Ape Yard Farm Supply, Ape Yard Chamber of Commerce, and the Ape Yard Insurance. It is located Laurel County near East Bernstadt. As far as the locals know, there was never even a petting zoo in the town that had monkeys. One jokingly said it referenced children behaving badly in the yard decades ago. It's a mystery to this day.

2. Jugernot

At first glance, one thinks this town was named by someone who couldn’t spell Juggernaut. It's actually quite the opposite. The old timers simplified this town’s name by naming it after the phrase uttered when one townie asked another if he wanted a "jug or not." It's kind of genius!

3. Kettle Island

Kentucky's 221 West leading out of Pineville runs right through Kettle Island, which obviously isn’t an island. Locals aren’t sure how this tiny town got its name, but it is not hard to miss. It is easier to bypass then it is to see.

4. Gap in the Knob

This tiny town got its bizarre moniker due to a topographic feature in the local terrain.

5. Lola

None of the current locals are sure who Lola actually was, but she was obviously a woman worth naming an entire town after. Some jest the town is named after a showgirl.

6. Pactolus

This little town in Carter County is said to be the actual home community of Roy Roger’s grandparents. This is possibly one the most known aspects of the community. As for the origin of Pactolus, townies aren’t even sure what it is, other than their town's name!

7. Rugles

This town is an amusing mistake from another mistake. It is actually the spelling of an early landowner’s name, Rugals. Which, according to genealogy reports, was originally Ruggles. Talk about an autocorrect fail!

8. Tiny Town

If you think this town is anything like the 1937 western film, "Terror in Tiny Town," you will be sorely disappointed. The most logical explanation is the name Tiny was given due to its diminutive size as one of Kentucky's smallest towns.

9. Monkey's Eyebrow

Decades ago, townies stood atop the hill and gazed down at the town. It was in that moment they determined it looked like a monkey’s eyebrow. It is unclear whether or not the town folk were drinking at the time.

10. Tacky Town

This simple little community is located in the heart of Harlan, and there is actually nothing tacky about it. It is a traditional town filled with goodhearted people and magnificent views of Black Mountain.

11. Possum Trot

The name could be self-explanatory, were it not for the fact possums waddle -- not trot. We suppose if they run, it could be seen as a sort of trot, or at least it was to the folks that named the town. One doesn’t see anywhere near the number of possums you’d think it takes to get a town named after a marsupial, however, making this moniker one of the most bizarre of the bunch.

12. Bugtussle

This tiny town is the stuff of local lore and legends. It was written into a great rural trilogy in the vast libraries of television history. The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres all make mention of Bugtussle, which is located near the Tennessee border in Monroe County.

13. Beaverlick

No one is really sure exactly why this town is named Beaverlick (nor do we really want to know...), but the name stuck.

14. Rabbit Hash

This tiny little town has anywhere from 10 to 50 residents, depending on how you see the borders. It has a general store, and an adorable dog as a mayor. Tale has it that rabbit hash was a favorite of some of the original residents and it carried over to the town name. Nevertheless, it's one of the most charming tiny towns in Kentucky.

Now, everyone in Kentucky knows there were some good stories spun back in the day. So good, in fact, that some are still told today in our tiny towns, even those that don't show up on Google Maps. Getting the details of something that was named a century or so ago can be a tedious process; nearly impossible to do. We have to depend on the oral stories being passed down from generation to generation. We personally love to listen to older folks tell a tale of yesteryear, including how a town got its name. Do you know about any towns in Kentucky with unique names? We'd love to hear about them, so share your thoughts in the comments section below!

And for more tiny towns in Kentucky worth exploring, be sure to check out these 13 little gems.