Looking for some interesting travel facts? Check out these 11 weird Louisiana city names and their origins. The stories behind these "Louisiana legends" are truly fascinating and they make for a great trivia game!

1. Bunkie

Bunkie was named for the daughter of Capt. Samuel Haas. According to the local legend, the daughter had a pet monkey as a child that she nicknamed Bunkie. Eventually the daughter herself took on the name, and her father named the town after her.

2. Dry Prong

Dry Prong was named by a sawmill owner who built a water wheel over a creek that went dry in the summers.

3. Cut Off

Cut Off got its name because of a short-cut canal that was proposed to connect the river to New Orleans, connecting Bayou Lafourche via Lake Salvador with New Orleans.

4. Natchitoches

The oldest town in Louisiana, the name Natchitoches in the tongue of the people indigenous to the area means "pawpaw eaters." This is actually distinct from the often confused town Nacogdoches, TX, which means "persimmon eaters."

5. Grosse Tete

Legend has it that the village’s name, which means "Big Head" in French, was derived from an indigenous Choctaw man who lived and hunted in the area when it was first settled by the Acadian people and was said to have a big head.

6. Jigger

It was named after a local man who would, upon request, dance a jig. It was his childhood nickname. When he grew up, his nickname got changed to Punchin. But the town name already stuck.

7. Mowata

This tiny place was named so because the trains used to run through there and this was a stop to top off the boilers. Hence, "More water!" became, "Mo'wata!"

8. Zwolle

Zwolle is named after the town of the same name in the Netherlands.

It was named by Mr. Jan De Goeijen, who was one of the K.C.S. invested. He named after his hometown Zwolle, Holland.

9. Almadane

The first postmaster of this town, submitted the name as a combination of the first names of the three men who first pioneered this area : Al Damereal, Mann Huddleston, and Dan Knight. It’s the only Almadane in the United States.

10. Krotz Springs

Krotz Springs was named after C.W. Krotz, a native of Defiance, Ohio that purchased land in the area and suspected oil might be present there. When he drilled down, however, he hit a huge artesian spring of water, which became the beginning of the town.

11. Waterproof

Back in the 1830s, one of the most popular spots for covered wagons to cross the Mississippi River was just north of present-day Natchez, and after crossing, they’d stop on the other side. Often this area was under water, and on one such occasion, Abner Smalley, one of the early settlers, stood high dry on a small strip of land waiting for a steamboat to make its stop. The boat captain cried out, "Well Abner, I see you're waterproof," and that's how the name of this town was born.

Have you ever been to any of these Louisiana towns? What did you think? Which ones were the most interesting? Did the names fit the personalities you met? We'd love to read about your experiences in the comments section below.

If you're looking for other "out-of-the-box" Louisiana fun facts, read all about these wacky Louisiana laws that will make you laugh out loud!