Odd Colorado Town Names

Charlottesville

October 8, 2026

From the Denver Gazette:

Welcome to the Wild West, where town names tend to get spawned from jokes, misunderstandings, vague descriptions, and cultural melting pots. Colorado is no exception and given the many tiny towns dotting the state’s mountains and plains, encountering a name that results in a double take isn’t exactly a rare occurrence.

1. No Name: According to Glenwood Springs, this community’s name, or seeming lack thereof, comes from a questionnaire that was sent out to villagers long ago, asking locals what their community should be called. Most of those surveyed wrote ‘no name’ in response, resulting in the community actually adopting ‘No Name’ as its actual official name. Apparently attempts have been made to change the name of this community since, but none have come to fruition. Then there’s also a story about how the town was named after a nearby creek dubbed No Name Creek because early surveyors simply didn’t give it a name.

2. Stoner: Nowadays in Colorado, the term ‘stoner’ tends to have a different meaning, but in 1917 when this Montezuma County community got a post office, the area was named for the nearby Stoner Creek, which happens to be quite rocky.

3. Cripple Creek: This name is sure to turn some heads, and its origin is still debated today. According to a piece from the Gazette, its origin may stem from the first settler in the area breaking his leg, later seen walking up and down the creek with crutches on a daily basis. Others talk about how the creek was known for injuring cattle, causing a lot of broken legs. Meanwhile, some say it’s because the creek gets marshy in some areas, with a term used in Appalachia to describe these areas of creeks as ‘cripples’ being applied. It seems like the true origin remains a bit ambiguous.

4. Arriba: It’s well known that Colorado has heavy ties to people who speak the Spanish language – after all, Colorado is named Colorado due to how Spanish explorers noticed the Colorado River had red mud, with Colorado translating to ‘colored red’ or ‘reddish’ in the Spanish language. The Spanish nature of the town name Arriba isn’t what makes it bizarre, it’s that ‘arriba’ translates to “above” or “above others.” That would make a bit more sense if Arriba was a high-elevation mountain town, but it’s not, it sits below Colorado’s average elevation of about 6,800 feet at just 5,239 feet on the Eastern Plains.

5. Hygiene: Located in Boulder County, this town isn’t named for being exceptionally cleaner than other towns around the state, but its name is tied to health. In 1881, the Hygiene House was locally established as a tuberculosis treatment center, and that’s where the name comes from.

6. Parachute: There are a few stories behind this town’s name, stemming from the nearby Parachute Creek. Some believe it’s due to the shape of the creek when it’s viewed from up high, others think it’s because early hunters claimed they needed a parachute to reach the creek from above. That said, the Post Independent reports that this one actually might come from the Ute Indian word Pahchouc, meaning ‘twins’ or ‘the same,’ stemming from two mountains on each side of the creek, mispronounced by settlers to become Parachute over time.

7. Steamboat Springs: Anyone who’s been to Steamboat knows the Yampa probably isn’t big enough to support steam-powered travel by boat. So why is it called Steamboat Springs? According to legend, Steamboat Springs got its name in the early 1900s when trappers noticed that a spring along the Yampa River made a chugging noise as it spouted water, similar to that of a Steamboat.

8. Rico: Long before Napoleon Dynamite had an Uncle Rico, Dolores County’s Rico emerged around 1879 during a silver boom. The town was named with optimism – Rico translating to ‘rich’ in Spanish. The silver boom didn’t last forever though and the town has since shrunk to around 300 to 400 residents. With a per capita income of $55,883 that’s above Colorado’s statewide per capita income of $52,636, most locals aren’t exactly ‘rich,’ but they’re doing fine.

9. Bow Mar: In the midst of the Denver metro, this name seems odd at first glance, but it actually makes a lot of sense. It’s a combination of the first respective syllables of two nearby lakes – Bowles Lake and Marston Lake.

10. Breckenridge: The origin of this iconic Colorado mountain town gets debated, but most seem to believe it comes from the name of a local prospector from back in 1859 when the town was founded. That’s not the most interesting aspect though. It was actually renamed ‘Breckinridge’ – with a second ‘i’ – a year later in an attempt to pay homage to James Buchanan’s vice president, John Cabell Breckinridge. The goal was to bring political attention to the town in hopes of turning it into an economic hub. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t come to fruition when Vice President Breckinridge betrayed the country by joining the Confederate States in the Civil War. The town quickly went back to the original Breckenridge spelling.

11. Nederland: As might be expected, this town indeed has a tie to the Netherlands, but it’s not quite that simple. When Caribou Mine was sold to Mining Company Nederland in 1873, this town was located below the mine as a hub. As far as the country goes, the Nederland name comes from ‘neder’ meaning ‘low’ and ‘lands’ meaning ‘country.’ As this town was lower than the mine, thus the Nederland name applied here, too.

12. Del Norte: Perhaps one of the most mispronounced town names in Colorado, it’s not ‘Del Nort-aye,’ it’s ‘Del Nort.’ It’s named after the Rio Grande del Norte, which translates from Spanish to ‘large river of the north.’

13. Buena Vista: This name doesn’t seem too odd on the surface. After all, ‘Buena Vista’ translates from Spanish to mean ‘good view’ – and there are plenty of good views to be found here. What’s interesting is the way this name is pronounced – the ‘beau’ is pronounced like it is in the English word ‘beautiful.’ This is due to a vote that took place in 1879, meant to create a town name that paid homage to both European settlers and Spanish culture in the area. Today, the pronunciation tends to draw controversy, as some view it as something along the lines of ‘ignorant mispronunciation’ when in reality, its odd pronunciation is meant to be a symbol of unity by design.

My two cents — what about Rifle, Dinosaur, Paradox, Ouray (pronounced Uray), Rairplay and Tincup?