France Has a Town Called Y (Just the Letter)

Imagine updating your address to just "Y, France." No cute nickname, no historical reference—literally the single letter Y. This tiny commune in the Somme department of northern France holds the distinction of having the shortest place name in the entire country, and one of the shortest in the world.

The name isn't some quirky modern branding exercise. Y got its name from the shape of its main street layout: three roads (the D15 and D615) converging to form a perfect Y-shaped intersection. When French bureaucrats needed to register the settlement, they apparently looked at the crossroads and thought, "Yeah, that'll do."

Population: Smaller Than Your High School Class

As of 2017, Y had a legal population of just 92 inhabitants. That's down significantly from its Revolutionary-era peak of 160 residents in the 1790s. The locals call themselves Ypsilonien(ne)s, a sophisticated nod to the Greek letter Upsilon (Υ), which resembles the Latin Y.

Located about 50 kilometers east of Amiens in the Hauts-de-France region, Y sits in the far eastern corner of the Somme department. It's the kind of place where everyone genuinely knows everyone—because mathematically, they have to.

A War Hero in Miniature

Don't let the size fool you. Y earned a Croix de guerre on December 15, 1920, a French military decoration awarded for heroism during World War I. The Western Front cut through this region, and the tiny village found itself in the crosshairs of one of history's deadliest conflicts.

The World's Shortest Place Names

Y isn't completely alone in the single-letter club. Other contenders include:

• Å in Norway (though there are several villages with this name)
• Ø in Denmark
• Y in Alaska, USA (population ~1,200)
• U in Panama

But in France, Y reigns supreme. The road sign marking the village entrance has become something of a tourist photo-op—probably the easiest town name you'll ever spell.

So yes, there really is a place called Y in France. It's small, it's shaped like its name, and its 92 residents have the easiest address to remember in the entire European Union.