Massachusetts Wonders: Why So Many Town Names End in ‘Ham’?
Massachusetts town and city names are definitely some of the most unique in any state. In fact, there's a good chance that as soon as Bay State residents hear and/or read the name of any of those towns or cities, we already know that's a city/town in Massachusetts, even if we're not sure where it is. As it turns out, if you were to mention any town that ends in 'ham', there's a really good chance that town actually does exist somewhere in Massachusetts due to the fact that there is a certifiably crazy amount of towns here that end as such.
Some states have lots of towns that end in 'ville', or 'City', or 'town'. But in Massachusetts, we have a bunch of towns that end in 'ham'. Can you name them or locate them on a map? Have you been to any of these? Maybe you live there!
As someone that's lived in the Bay State for about a year and a half, I had no idea that towns that end in 'ham' here were even such a thing here. But every state has its inner quirks. Apparently, in Massachusetts, ending them in 'ham' is a thing. In fact, as a joke, on a recent list of fake towns in Massachusetts that was released, several of them ended that same way. One was even named 'Hamham'. If another one should ever be added to the list, that just might end up becoming the name of such town.
So, how many of these 19 Massachusetts towns that end in 'ham' are you familiar with? Or how many have you visited? What's the town like? Let's find out about these towns ending in 'ham'. Maybe you've been to more than you realize. Or maybe make it your mission to visit each one...
19 Massachusetts Towns That End In 'ham'
Gallery Credit: Google Maps
10 MA Towns That Don't Sound Like They're in Massachusetts
Gallery Credit: Google Maps