The follow-up to that question is, “Which of us needs one more?”
I discovered this interesting street sign while helping a young man purchase his first home—which was located on Uneeda Drive in Greenville, SC.
I was intrigued by the name. I actually burst out laughing when I drove to the other end of the street and saw that Uneeda Drive ends when it meets Ineeda Drive, which is a dead end street.
Uneeda Drive and Ineeda Drive—who gives streets names like that? Apparently, it’s someone with a compulsion for driving or a unique sense of humor—or both. Imagine living on the corner of Uneeda Drive and Ineeda Drive. You’d always feel conflicted.
What makes for an intriguing street name? Is it popularity, uniqueness, trendiness, the message it conveys, or something else? The answer to that is probably as individual as you and I are. Here are some fun and interesting facts about intriguing street names you might encounter as you travel across America.
Popular--and intriguing--street names across the U.S.
Do you want a street name that will help you hide in plain sight anywhere in the United States? You have some very popular options to choose from, according to a BestLife article which calculated the most popular street names in each state. Here are the winners:
Rank | Street Name | # of States Where It Ranked 1st |
1 | Park | 15 |
2 | First | 7 |
3 | Second | 6 |
Park was the clear winner, but after that the results conjure up the old Abbott and Costello skit, since First is in 2nd, and Second is in 3rd, and Third barely made the list.
In 15 states the most popular street is named after a tree. Maple is the most common, but oak, dogwood, magnolia, aspen, holly, and cedar are all on the list.
Virginia’s top 2 streets are named after Civil War generals Lee and Jackson.
What other street names are at least one state’s #1 choice? Main, Apache, and Lehua (a flower native to Hawaii) make the short list.
Street names designed around a theme
You’ve seen subdivisions where all the street names fit a theme. One of my favorite themes in a greater Greenville subdivision is Revolutionary War battles, people, and places. Driving through the Canebrake subdivision lets you mentally relive U.S. history as you travel streets named Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Tarleton, Swamp Fox, Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Germantown, Dawes, Bennington, and a dozen others.
The streets in a subdivision of Madison, Wisconsin were apparently named by a big fan of the Beetles. Travel through it, and you’ll see Penny Lane, Yesterday Drive, and Hey Jude Drive. Imagine that.
Pinedale, WY, (population 1,999) doesn’t have a lot of streets. However, several inside the town limits are named after U.S. presidents. Stroll along and you’ll see streets named after Washington, Lincoln, Madison, Franklin, Jackson, Tyler, Wilson and Adams.
Intriguing street names that are fun, unusual, or tongue-in-cheek
To me, the most intriguing street names show imagination, wit or a play on words—like Uneeda Drive and Ineeda Drive. Here are some rather off-the-wall street names that I find interesting, although I can’t say I’d want to live on those streets. See this article to view a few dozen more.
Would you want to live on any of these?
· Toe Jam Hill Road (That one’s a hard "no" for me.)
· Rattlesnake Pike
· Leprechaun Street
· Squeezepenny Lane (I wonder how many neighbors you’d have named Scrooge?)
· Chicken Dinner Road
· Chicken Gristle Road (Just how old was that chicken you cooked?)
· Good Morning Drive
· Good Night Court (These intersect, so you could live on the corner of Good Morning and Good Night—and never know what time of day it is.
· Friendly Place
· Easy Street
· Zzyzx Road (Pronouncing that would be an adventure.)
· This Ain’t It Road
· Duh Drive (Is living there—or not living there—the no-brainer?)
· Tater Peel Road
· Frying Pan Road (I suspect these last 2 street names are first cousins, once removed.)
My favorite is Haviture Way. Say it out loud a time or 2 and then listen to this blast-from-the-past video by Burger King.
You may have wondered why I didn’t address the elephant-in-the-room question: “Do street names matter when it comes to buying or selling a home?” (They do, at least in some cases.) We’ll discuss how street names affect a home’s value in our next blog post.
Until then, feel free to leave a comment about the most intriguing street names you’ve seen. And, of course, contact us if you’re considering buying or selling a home. We would be honored to do the HOMEwork for you.
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