One small town in Canada officially uses two exclamation marks in its name

UPDATED: Sep 7, 2026 22:47 IST

Most town names are designed to tell you something about a place, but Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! in Quebec seems to be making a joke. The small municipality in Canada's Bas-Saint-Laurent region officially has two exclamation marks in its name, and Guinness World Records recognises it as the town with the most exclamation marks in a place name. The punctuation is not a recent publicity stunt; instead it has been part of the place name for generations.

SO, WHAT DOES 'HA! HA!' MEAN?

In modern French, “ha! ha!” naturally looks like laughter, but the expression in the Quebec place name comes from an older French term, “ha-ha”. A ha-ha was an unexpected obstacle or abrupt interruption in a path, and was also used for a landscape feature that could appear suddenly to travellers. Quebec's Commission de toponymie records this older meaning in connection with several local place names.

The name is generally linked to the geography around Lake Temiscouata, which created a major obstacle for travellers moving through the region. Historical accounts describe a grueling 80-kilometre overland trail used to bypass the unnavigable regional terrain, which served as a major bottleneck for travelers. While the ancient French word ha-ha defined this physical obstacle, the two exclamation marks were added much later as a graphic interpretation of the surprise implied by the landscape's sudden interruption.

THE TOWN HAS BEEN USING THE NAME SINCE 19TH CENTURY

The area was settled in the 19th century, and the first homes appeared around 1854. The parish was canonically established in 1873, which was followed by civil incorporation in 1874. The municipality sits in the Tmiscouata regional county municipality in Quebec, and its official municipal page lists a population of about 1,265 and an area of 114.45 square kilometres. These distinct exclamation marks are fully integrated into the municipality's legal registry.

HOW DID IT BECOME A WORLD RECORD?

In 2017, Guinness recognised Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! for having the most exclamation marks in a town name, and its record entry notes that other places have used a single exclamation mark, including Westward Ho! in England, but no other town has two.

The recognition also brought a little more attention to the municipality, with local officials telling Canadian media that visitors regularly stop to photograph the town's signs, particularly because the punctuation is so unusual.

AND THE NAME HAS A FEW MYSTERIES OF ITS OWN

The municipality's regional authority gives one explanation that links the name to Louis-Nicolas Bernier, who was a priest who served in the region. Other versions have connected it to early settlers or other religious figures.

The “Ha! Ha!” portion has attracted competing explanations over the years, which is why it is safer to say that the name is associated with the old French term ha-ha and the geography around Lake Tmiscouata, rather than claiming there is one certain story behind every part of the name.

What is certain is the punctuation, since the two exclamation marks are officially there, and they have been there long enough to earn the municipality a Guinness record. The explanation ultimately turns out to be rooted in French language history, geography and 19th-century settlement.

- Ends