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As a native New Jersyian, I’ve heard about the unusual sounding names our great state offers. In my early years I grew up in Whippany and learned that the name came from the Whippanong Native Americans who lived there. Mention the name Succasunna to anyone outside of the state and they’re like “What? Who?!” Many of our town, city names in the state are derived from the language of the Lenape Native Americans. A few months back, in the NJ Herald there was an article detailing the various town names derived from the Lenapes and what they mean. Here’s the list.

· Pequannock – land cleared for farming

· Passaic – where the water goes over the falls (makes sense)

· Hackensack – hook shaped winding river

· Hoboken – tobacco pipe (Frank Sinatra was often pictured with a pipe)

· Ho-Ho-Kus – red cedar

· Mahwah – meeting place, smiling faces

· Moonachie – possibly named for Chief Monachie

· Paramus – turkey river

Just for fun in writing this blog I decided to search for unusual NJ town names. Ever heard of Wickatunk or Manunka Chunk? Me either? In fact, the latter sounds like a new ice cream flavor from Ben and Jerry’s! They exist though with many others. What unusual sounding NJ towns do you know about? Tell us in the comment section below.