Weird West Texas: How these cities and towns got their unique names

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes its share of oddities. And West Texas is no anomaly with its large share of towns and cities with peculiar names.

Some whimsical, some downright bizarre, this topic is the very reason for the inception of the Weird West Texas project.

As part of the series, we explore some of the most odd, eccentric and just plain weird things in our region — from the state's northernmost town of Hitchland down into the Big Country, eastward to the Rolling Plains and all the way to El Paso.

This week, we’re exploring the history behind the unique names in our weird but wonderful West Texas.

More: Weird West Texas: Revisiting Amarillo Zoo's mystery creature a year later

Abilene

Founded in 1881 by the Texas and Pacific Railway Company, the 125,000 pop. town was named after Abilene, Kansas, which was the endpoint of the Chisholm Trail, according to the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The website for the city's counterpart in Kansas states the original "Abilene" was named after a Bible verse — Luke 3:1 — and means "city of the plains."

Amarillo

Many know that Amarillo is the Spanish word for "yellow," though the city does not use the same pronunciation. The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce says it believes the name was likely chosen because of the color in the sub-soil in the nearby Amarillo Creek. In its earliest days, many houses wore yellow to honor the town's name.

Big Spring

As its name says, both the city and the state park of the same title were named for a natural spring that drew residents and animals to the area, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

While Comanches and earlier Native American groups likely frequented the area centuries sooner — attracted to the permanent source of water — the first recorded mention of the big spring is from an Oct. 3, 1849, entry journal of Capt. R.B. Marcy of the U.S. Cavalry, the park's website states.

Brownfield

Although it sounds fairly explanatory, Brownfield was not actually named because of the brown fields.

KCBD reported in 2020 that the town got its name from A.M. Brownfield and his family, who initially owned the county's center lot and sold the property to founders W.G. Hardin and A.F. Small in 1903.

The city was then established as Brownfield in 1904 but became an officially organized city in 1921 when its first mayor, George Neill, was elected.

Earth

The city was originally named Fairlawn but renamed Earth in 1925 when townspeople learned there was an existing Fairlawn in Texas, according to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). There are three theories on how the new name was decided.

The first is that townspeople sent in suggestions that was acceptable to postal authorities in Washington and the agreed-upon best name was selected. The second is that the town's first postmaster C. H. Reeves described a sandstorm to Washington and received the reply: "The earth seems to move in your country. You will call the post office Earth." The third is that the town's founder, William E. Halsell, was impressed with the fertile soil and wanted the name Good Earth, but the post office shortened it.

El Paso

El Paso del Norte, or “Pass of the North,” was named by explorers for its valley that provided a route through the steep mountains, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Iraan

Pronounced Ira-Ann, the city's name is the collusion of the first names of Ira and Ann Yates, who owned the ranch that the town was built upon in the early 1900s.

Lamesa

The town's name comes from the Spanish word "mesa" meaning "table top," describing the town's location on the high plateau of the South Plains, according to the city's chamber of commerce. However, it doesn't use the Spanish pronunciation and is pronounced La-Meesa.

Levelland

Unlike Brownfield, the reason behind Levelland's name is fairly explanatory. The city was originally named Hockley City, but founding residents decided they wanted a woman to elect the official name, according to the city website.

Resident Nathan Tubbs said his mother stated: "Well, the town is level. Let's call it Levelland."

Midland

Similar to Levelland, Midland was named because of its identifying characteristics. In 1884, the city was founded as a depot on the Texas and Pacific Railway and named for its location midway between El Paso and Fort Worth.

New Deal

The small town was originally named Monroe after a local land agent and liaison to the Santa Fe railroad. But once more people began to settle there, and the town required more businesses and a post office, the city learned there was already a town called Monroe City in the state.

The U.S. Postal Service selected the name "New Deal" of those suggested because it matched the existing name of the consolidated school district, after Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, according to TSHA.

New Home

The community initially had an even weirder name — Deuce of Hearts (or Minor), for whatever reason — but when a church was built, a founding member suggested the name New Home because all the homes were new to their occupants, the TSHA website states.

Notrees

Again, this is another one that explains itself. According to TSHA, the town had one native tree before the construction of a large Shell gas plant forced its removal, leaving it with no trees. Grocer Charlie Brown, who became the first postmaster in 1946, provided the town's name as Notrees.

Plainview

Founders Z.T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe secured a post office in 1887 but had to come up with a name for the town. Suggestions Runningwater and Hackberry Grove were rejected in favor of Plainview since a treeless plain surrounded the post office. This concurrently placed the postal office in plain view, while giving the postal office a view of the plain.

Shallowater

Residents first named the town Ripley, but another town of the same name already existed. A town native told KCBD in 2009 that they settled on the name Shallowater, because, back then, they'd only have to dig about 90 feet to reach water from the below aquifer.

This also intended to attract settlers, according to the city website.

Tarzan

Originally called South Plains, like many other towns of weird names, the community faced an issue when the U.S. Postal Service informed townspeople that there was already an existing post office of the same name.

Tant Lindsay, who sought the post office, wrote several possible names on the application, and because he liked reading Tarzan books, his wife encouraged him to add the name to the list, according to the Longview News-Journal.

Heard a different tale about this topic or have other town names and cities to add? Send it our way — we'd love to hear all about it! Or if you're curious about one of our region's many oddities, submit your question via email to BAddison@gannett.com with "Weird West Texas" in the subject line or via text at 806.496.4073.

Listen: Weird West Texas: The Podcast talks Chiltons, underground tunnels & bootleggers

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Weird West Texas: How these cities and towns got their unique names