The remote community of Chicken, Alaska, was named by its founding gold miners in the late 1800s. Legend has it, the settlers wanted to name their new home Ptarmigan, after the partridge-like bird that roamed the area and provided sustenance. But it wasn’t the easiest word to spell, so they decided on the much simpler — and, in retrospect, sillier — Chicken.

Goat Island lies in the Niagara River, separating the American and Canadian sides of Niagara Falls. The island is currently uninhabited, but was once home to a herd of goats kept by the early pioneer John Stedman, and the animals gave the island its name. Goat Island is part of Niagara Falls State Park, which is the oldest state park in the U.S.

Nags Head is a small beach town in North Carolina's Outer Banks with a long history of piracy. According to legend, local “shipwreckers” tied lanterns to the necks of horses and marched them along sand dunes to simulate the lights of anchored ships. This tricked ship captains into running their ships aground, making them easy targets. In old English, a "nag" or “nagge” was the word for a small horse or pony.

The white sandy beaches of Anguilla are located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, near the Virgin Islands. Although it's a British Overseas Territory today, the island’s name was derived from the French word "anguille" — meaning eel — after its long, thin shape. The island is 16 miles long, but only reaches 3.5 miles at its widest.

If you have ophidiophobia (a fear of snakes), then you should probably steer clear of Snake Island, about 90 miles off the coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Don’t worry: The island, otherwise known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, isn’t even open to tourists, because, well, it’s overflowing with venomous snakes. There are between one and five snakes per square meter on the island.

Kuching roughly translates to “cats” in the Malay language, but nobody really knows why the city is named after these cute creatures. One theory is that the British colonists who arrived in the 19th century had a misunderstanding with a local leader. Nonetheless, Kuching has embraced its namesake: You'll find adorable cat statues throughout the city, a cat cafe, and a cat-themed museum.

Like many of America’s strangely named small towns, Monkey’s Eyebrow has several competing theories about its etymology. The most widely accepted story is as nonsensical as the town’s name, suggesting that, when viewed from an overlook on a nearby hill, it resembles the shape of a monkey’s eyebrow. What kind of monkey — or what exactly a monkey’s eyebrow looks like — is unclear.

Maine’s Porcupine Islands are named because of their supposed resemblance to a group of the small, spiky critters from above — not because of any notable porcupine population. Though the islands aren’t known for their porcupines, they are important nesting areas for seabirds and bald eagles. They get their sloped shape from glaciers that retreated through the area millions of years ago.

The West African country of Mali took its name from the word “hippopotamus” in the local Bambara language, and the hippo plays an outsized role in the country’s history and folklore. The hippopotamus is said to represent strength, and the animal even appeared on the country’s independent currency, the Malian franc, before Mali adopted the West African CFA Franc in 1984.

Around 3000 BCE, Iberians from Africa moved into the area that is now Spain, which is how the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) gained its name. In the 6th century BCE, the Carthaginians (originally from North Africa) landed in the area. They called the peninsula "Span" or "Spania," which meant "land of rabbits." Researchers have found no substantial evidence as to why this name was chosen.

You might logically conclude that the cheerful yellow birds are the namesake for the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco. However, the etymology actually comes from the Latin phrase “Canariae Insulae,” which means "island of dogs." This is showcased in the islands’ flag, which features two dogs in the center.

The Chihuahua may be recognized as the smallest dog breed, but the spirited pups certainly command attention. The breed is named for the state in Mexico where it was first noted in the 1800s. Chihuahuas are believed to have come from the Toltec peoples’ small dogs, known as the Techichi, which originated during the ninth century.

In the early 16th century, the term “Caymanas” was introduced for the Caribbean archipelago, which actually includes three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The name comes from the Indigenous Carib word for a marine crocodile that once thrived on the islands. The moniker eventually morphed into “Cayman,” and has stayed that way ever since.

In the 15th century, Portuguese explorers named the Wouri River — one of Cameroon’s largest rivers — the Rio dos Camaroes, or “River of Prawns,” because of the abundance of shrimp in the water. Over time, the appellation became Cameroon, and after the Germans took over in 1884, the name Kamerun was applied to their entire protectorate, which became modern-day Cameroon.

When Spanish sailors arrived at the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador in 1535, tortoises were so abundant that they named the archipelago after the creatures. (The Spanish word for tortoise is galápago.) At one point, some 250,000 tortoises called the waters home, but today only 15,000 remain in the wild.

London's Isle of Dogs isn’t actually populated by canines — and it’s also not really an island. The large peninsula is bordered on three sides by the River Thames. It’s unclear exactly where the name comes from — some historians say that it’s a mispronunciation of "Isle of Ducks," while others claim that King Henry VIII used the lands to kennel his hunting dogs.

Though you may very well find orcas in the calm waters of Puget Sound, Orcas Island actually takes its name from a Spanish viceroy who explored the area in 1791. The largest of the San Juan Islands, located 90 miles north of Seattle, Orcas is popular for its natural beauty and laid-back lifestyle — it’s only reachable by ferry, seaplane, or small propeller plane.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the newest of the 10 provinces, joining the confederation in 1949. While the island of Labrador shares its name with the beloved dog breed, it was actually named for João Fernandes Lavrador, a Portuguese explorer who sailed through the area in the late 15th century. The Newfoundland working dog also hails from this province of Canada.

How did such a beautiful place get such an uninviting name? It all comes down to geography. Boca Raton is located on the southeastern coast of Florida, an area frequented by early Spanish settlers. Boca was originally named “boca de ratones” (rat’s mouth) on maps around 1895 due to its craggy coastline with hidden, sharp rocks that frequently fretted ships’ cables.

In the 14th century, Singapore was called Singapura, which is derived from the Sanskrit words “simha” (lion), and “pura” (city). According to legend, Prince Sang Nila Utama was hunting near the Singapore River when he saw an unfamiliar orange-bodied animal, which was later identified as a lion. He considered it a sign of good fortune, and so he built Singapore there.