Do you know the meaning behind the name of the place you live? A good portion of Kansas’ many towns are named after the people who settled them, owned the land, or were significantly important in the area. However, these particular Kansas town names aren’t “someone from the local railroad” or “wherever the founder was from,” they’ve got unique origins that you might not expect. Come check ’em out!
- Argonia
Google Maps You might think Argonia’s name has something to do with agriculture or someone who helped found the town. Surprisingly enough, it was named after the ship Argo in Greek mythology.
- Bushong
Bhall87/Wikimedia Commons Bushong is a fun name, but doesn’t sound like anything Native American, like our usual town names. That’s because it’s named in 1886 after the St. Louis Browns catcher Albert J. “Doc” Bushong. It was originally named “Weeks,” but we don’t know why that changed.
- Iuka
Google Maps Iuka is a fun name, but it’s not necessarily named after a preexisting town somewhere else. It’s specifically named after the Battle of Iuka in Mississippi, instead of the town it happened in. The more you know!
- Tribune
WaltBren/Wikimedia Commons Tribune is unique in that it seems to be the only place in Kansas named after a newspaper. The New York Tribune was chosen because one of the editors, Horace Greeley, encouraged settlers with the motto, “Go west, young man.”
- Zenda
Google Maps Zenda sounds like something from a faraway place, and that’s because it’s named after a novel! The Prisoner of Zenda inspired the name of Zenda, Kansas. It’s an adventure story written in 1894, that’ll take you on a wild ride of politics and plenty more.
- Scandia
Google Maps Scandia first started as a town called “New Scandinavia” but changed officially to Scandia in 1876.
- Palco
Palbert01/Wikimedia Commons Palco is unique in that it’s not named after one railroad official, but two. Two men named Palmer and Cole had their names put together as Palco and immortalized as this little town of 277.
- Mahaska
Google Maps Mahaska is named after Chief Mahaska, a Native American Chief of the Iowa tribe. Another of his names was White Cloud, which is coincidentally another town in Kansas.
- Tyro
Google Maps Tyro isn’t named after a person or a place, but the word tyro itself. It’s an English word that means “beginner” or “novice.” The more you know!
- Grenola
Google Maps Grenola isn’t just a misspelling of granola, it’s actually a combination of two different town names that merged to form the Grenola we know today. Those two towns were Green Field and Canola, three miles apart but they came together for necessity.
- Munjor
Google Maps Munjor was originally settled by Volga Germans, and had quite a confusing name record. At different times, they were called Obermonchu, Over Muncha, Over Mancha, Offermancha, Obermonjour, and Monjor. Thank goodness they finally fixed the discrepancies and finalized the name as Munjor.
If you’re looking for small towns with unique foods instead of unique names, you should check out this one with chicken so good you’ll want to live here.
Google Maps
You might think Argonia’s name has something to do with agriculture or someone who helped found the town. Surprisingly enough, it was named after the ship Argo in Greek mythology.
Bhall87/Wikimedia Commons
Bushong is a fun name, but doesn’t sound like anything Native American, like our usual town names. That’s because it’s named in 1886 after the St. Louis Browns catcher Albert J. “Doc” Bushong. It was originally named “Weeks,” but we don’t know why that changed.
Iuka is a fun name, but it’s not necessarily named after a preexisting town somewhere else. It’s specifically named after the Battle of Iuka in Mississippi, instead of the town it happened in. The more you know!
WaltBren/Wikimedia Commons
Tribune is unique in that it seems to be the only place in Kansas named after a newspaper. The New York Tribune was chosen because one of the editors, Horace Greeley, encouraged settlers with the motto, “Go west, young man.”
Zenda sounds like something from a faraway place, and that’s because it’s named after a novel! The Prisoner of Zenda inspired the name of Zenda, Kansas. It’s an adventure story written in 1894, that’ll take you on a wild ride of politics and plenty more.
Scandia first started as a town called “New Scandinavia” but changed officially to Scandia in 1876.
Palbert01/Wikimedia Commons
Palco is unique in that it’s not named after one railroad official, but two. Two men named Palmer and Cole had their names put together as Palco and immortalized as this little town of 277.
Mahaska is named after Chief Mahaska, a Native American Chief of the Iowa tribe. Another of his names was White Cloud, which is coincidentally another town in Kansas.
Tyro isn’t named after a person or a place, but the word tyro itself. It’s an English word that means “beginner” or “novice.” The more you know!
Grenola isn’t just a misspelling of granola, it’s actually a combination of two different town names that merged to form the Grenola we know today. Those two towns were Green Field and Canola, three miles apart but they came together for necessity.
Munjor was originally settled by Volga Germans, and had quite a confusing name record. At different times, they were called Obermonchu, Over Muncha, Over Mancha, Offermancha, Obermonjour, and Monjor. Thank goodness they finally fixed the discrepancies and finalized the name as Munjor.
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