The small Austrian town of Fucking is set to change their unfortunate name after long-suffering residents have been the butt of a number of jokes and stolen road signs. Photo / Google Maps

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The small Austrian town of Fucking is set to change its unfortunate name after long-suffering residents have been the butt of a number of jokes and stolen road signs.

The village has seen brisk rises of tourism due to its name but it has also seen frequent thefts of the town sign.

Fucking's community of around 100 people has been pushing for a name change for years - and now it's happening.

Mayor Andrea Holzner told Austrian broadcaster Oe24 that the name would be changed to Fugging from January 1, 2021.

In 2018, Pornhub announced it was offering free premium access to residents of Fucking and towns with names such as Titz in Germany or Big Beaver in Pennsylvania.

The town, which is located 4km from the German border, was founded in the 6th century AD by Focko, a Bavarian nobleman.

The existence of the village was documented for the first time in 1070, and historical records show that some 20 years later, the name was recorded in Latin as Adalpertus de Fucingin.

The spelling of the name has evolved over the years. In 1303, it was spelt Fukching and by 1532 the spelling changed to Fugkhing.

In the 18th century, the spelling was changed to Fucking. It is pronounced with the vowel oo, sounding like Fooking.

The Austrian census of 2020 recorded that the village had a population of 106.

The village is especially popular with British tourists; as a local tour guide explained: "The Germans all want to see Mozart's house in Salzburg; the Americans want to see where The Sound of Music was filmed; the Japanese want Hitler's birthplace in Braunau; but for the British, it's all about Fucking."