Real Place Names that Sound Like Namco Arcade Games

October 21st, 2015 by Benj Edwards

This is amusing. It turns out that a number of real, actual geographical place names in the world happen to sound a lot like 1980s Namco arcade video game titles. (If you try to pronounce them in English, anyway.)

I ran across this phenomenon a few years ago when I accidentally learned about Malaga, Spain (i.e. Galaga). After that, I decided to look for other cities and places that sound like (or at least are spelled like) various Namco games. Here is what I’ve found so far:

Galaga

  • Malaga, a state and a municipality, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain
  • Galaga, a Village in Devadurga Taluk in Raichur District of Karnataka State, India

Pac-Man

  • Packman Ave, a street in Mount Vernon, NY, USA
  • Pacman, Vrbas, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Serbia)

Bosconian

  • Bosconia, a town in the Columbian department of Cesar

Galaxian

  • Galaxiang, a region in Garze, Sichuan, China
  • Galax, a city in Virginia, USA

Dig Dug

  • Digdig, a village in Carranglan, Central Luzon, Philippines

Can you find any that I can add to this list?



3 Responses to “Real Place Names that Sound Like Namco Arcade Games”

  1. Aram Says:

    Moraga, a city near Oakland, CA, USA

  2. space harrier Says:

    Not places but some companies in England their Google Map links:

    Namco Automotive in Farnborough, Hampshire:

    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Namco+Automotive+Ltd/@51.3013582,-0.7452914,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4875d4d640d3d02d:0x88c6b6b25d8abcdf

    Gallagher Heath in Swindon, Wiltshire:

    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Gallagher+Heath/@51.5502399,-1.7887239,11z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sgalaga+street!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x057fb1da2ea838cf

    And not Namco, although they did create Donkey Konga-

    Kongs of King Street in Bristol:

    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Kongs+of+King+Street/@51.2905417,-1.8642549,8z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sgalaga+street!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x62f4041572327e6f

  3. Gorka L Martinez Mezo Says:

    As a native from Malaga, Spain, I never thought GALAGA may have been influenced by my hometown name…

    There are a few Malagas in the States too.

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