Weird Montana Town Names You Need to Know About

If you're traveling through Big Sky Country, there are few towns with names that will make you do a double take. From spots that sound like they belong in a fairytale to others that could be straight out of a comedy sketch, Montana has no shortage of quirky town names.

Whether you’ve driven past towns like Pray, Wisdom, or Ekalaka and wondered how they got their names, or stumbled upon a road sign that made you laugh out loud, these are some of the weirdest and most wonderfully unique town names you’ll find in Montana.

Weird Montana Town Names You Need to Know About

World Atlas just released a list of 7 Bizarrely Named Towns in Montana, and the history behind them. Some of Montana’s strangest town names actually have pretty fascinating backstories. Many of them trace their roots back to early settlers, Native American words, or even sheer coincidence.

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Take Pray, for example. It might sound like a spiritual retreat, but the town was actually named after Congressman Charles Nelson Pray in the early 1900s. The town of Ekalaka was named after a Sioux woman who was the wife of a scout for General Custer.

Every one of these towns tell a small piece of Montana’s larger story. A mix of frontier grit, humor, and heritage that makes the state unlike anywhere else.

Montana’s town names reflect the state’s colorful history and sense of character. Each one tells a story of the people who settled here, the landscapes that shaped them, and the quirks that make small-town life in the Treasure State so memorable.

Whether you’re driving through Wisdom, stopping for gas in Pray, or snapping a selfie by the Two Dot sign, you’ll find that every name adds a little more charm to Montana’s wide-open beauty.