Arizona's Most Unusual Town Names
Why Is It Called That?
Arizona is full of places that sound like punchlines… until you realize they’re on real road signs, with real residents, and very real stories. Here are some of the best.
Why
If you’ve ever driven past the sign and immediately asked the obvious question - yes, that’s the point. The community got its name from a Y-shaped intersection between two highways that used to be there. The name became “Why” (instead of just “Y”) because town names needed at least three letters.

Nothing
“Nothing” was a tiny roadside stop along US 93, established in 1977 by Richard “Buddy” Kenworthy, complete with a bar, store, taco stand, and gas station in its heyday. Locals have told travelers it “got named by a bunch of drunks.” Today it’s widely described as a ghost settlement, proof that you really can stop for nothing in Arizona.

Surprise
Surprise started just one square mile of farmland back in 1938 when Flora Mae Statler founded it. So why did she call us Surprise? According to Statler's daughter Elizabeth Wusich Stoft, her mother once commented "she would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much."

Show Low
Show Low was named after a legendary marathon poker game between two early settlers who decided there wasn’t room for both of them and let the cards decide who kept a 100,000-acre ranch and who moved on. After hours with no end in sight, one said, “If you can show low, you win,” the other flipped the deuce of clubs and replied, “Show low it is.” In tribute, the town’s main street is called Deuce of Clubs.

Carefree
Carefree sounds like a vibe, but the name is actually a nod to the city’s development history. The name came from the Carefree Development Corp. and the founders’ vision for a community built around an easygoing desert lifestyle.

Snowflake
Yes, it snows there sometimes, but the name isn’t about weather. Snowflake was founded in 1878 by Mormon pioneers, and the name was created as a mash-up honoring early leaders Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake.

Tombstone
The story goes that when prospector Ed Schieffelin headed out to search for ore, skeptics warned “The only rock you will find out there will be your own tombstone”.  When he finally struck mining success, he named it Tombstone anyway.

Quartzsite
Founded by pioneer Charles Tyson, the settlement was originally called Tyson Wells. After the first post office closed, a later mining boom revived the area, and postal rules required a new name. Quartzite was suggested due to the abundance of that stone in the area. The Postal Service approved it but accidentally added an “s,” and it’s been Quartzsite ever since.

Happy Jack
Happy Jack sounds like a person you’d trust with a campfire story, and that’s fitting, because the name’s origins are a little murky. One account says it may have been named for a cheerful local lumberman; another suggests it was named after a place in Wyoming tied to a bandit called “Happy Jack.”

Two Guns
Two Guns was a small Route 66–era stop near Canyon Diablo that depended on passing travelers. To lure tourists, operator Harry E. Miller put up flashy signs and branded it “Fort Two Guns,” claiming it honored silent Western star William S. “Two Guns” Hart. As Route 66 traffic faded, Two Guns lost its lifeline and became a ghost town.

Bumble Bee
Bumble Bee is a tiny ghost-town stop in Yavapai County. Its name traces back to a local account that prospectors found beehives tucked along the creek banks while working in the area. The creek picked up the nickname first, and the small settlement that followed simply kept it.

Santa Claus
Founded in 1937, Santa Claus was an 80-acre, Santa-themed desert resort with “North Pole” style buildings meant to help sell nearby lots. Its post office became popular in December for letters addressed to Santa, but as tourism faded, the town eventually slipped into ghost-town status.

Christmas
If Santa Claus exists, Christmas can’t be far behind. Christmas, Arizona was a mining community named because the mine that sparked the settlement was staked on Christmas Day in 1902. Plus it became known for people chasing that “Christmas” postmark.