# American cities named after foreign cities **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2001, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873 "2001-05-29T10:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/41 "2001-05-31T14:21:50Z")
My husband is from Troy, MO. That’s the only one I can think of that hasn’t been mentioned already. Yay me! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/42 "2001-05-31T21:44:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by glee \* > Boston is in Lincolnshire, England. It’s a small town near the East Coast. > > Didn’t the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from there? > If so, I could look up a few nearby placenames, and you could tell me if they’re in use in the US. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > No, I think they set sail from **Plymouth** (sound familiar?). Yes indeed. I think I meant set out from Boston. (nervously) Am I right about that? If so, shall I get the Atlas? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/43 "2001-05-31T23:07:09Z")
Canton Ohio comes from Canton, China ((now commonly referred to as Guangzhou). ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/44 "2026-07-06T03:51:42Z")
Someone linked to this ancient thread, which I had been unaware of. Several years ago (apparently in 2017), I compiled an extensive list of such places, and having nothing better to do with it, converted it into a Wiki list. Other people have added to it. (I originally had only one place per name, so most of the additions have been more places with the same names.) > **[List of U.S. places named after non-U.S. places](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._places_named_after_non-U.S._places)** > > There are many places in the United States that are named after places in another country. By far, the majority of the names came from immigrants naming their new home after their former home. As such, they reflect the pattern of immigration to the United States. Immigrants did not just settle in random locations, but rather congregated with others who spoke the same language and had the same religion. Three examples: Less concentrated groupings of foreign place names are Norwegian names through... ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/45 "2026-07-06T04:57:53Z")
I’m very surprised to see the two Portlands that I know of (Maine and Oregon)\* not mentioned, at least not that I could find, either in this thread, nor in the Wikipedia link. True, it was apparently named for a piece of geography (Isle of Portland, UK) not a city, but there are other originals in the Wikipedia listings that are not cities. \*Portland, Oregon was named after Portland, Maine, so perhaps that one shouldn’t be included in you only want first order namings. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/46 "2026-07-06T05:09:46Z")
Just here in WA we’ve got Olympia, Aberdeen, Kent, Fife, and Portland just on the other side of the river in Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/47 "2026-07-06T05:22:43Z")
Lodi, CA (pronounced “LOH-dye”) may or may not have been named for Lodi in Lombardy Italy, where it’s pronounced “LO-dee”. The city’s website says it may also come from Lodi, IL, or even after a racehorse. It’s not so bad being stuck there, though. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/48 "2026-07-06T06:10:28Z")
I was brought up in Putney, a riverside village now a London suburb, and there’s a Putney in Vermont. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/49 "2026-07-06T07:00:45Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I’m very surprised to see the two Portlands that I know of (Maine and Oregon)\* not mentioned, at least not that I could find, either in this thread, nor in the Wikipedia link. True, it was apparently named for a piece of geography (Isle of Portland, UK) not a city, but there are other originals in the Wikipedia listings that are not cities. > > \*Portland, Oregon was named after Portland, Maine, so perhaps that one shouldn’t be included in you only want first order namings. In the original list, I mainly had only cities in other countries. But I also had American cities named for smaller structures like castles and country homes. Others have added places named for countries, which I didn’t have in the original list. However, I did not have geographic features and I don’t think any have been added by others. Could be wrong about that, though. As far as cities named for other American cities, there’s another list on Wikipedia that has those. I haven’t visited it in years, so I don’t know its current state, but it was very incomplete when I last saw it. I don’t feel any compulsion to update it, though. Feel free if you do have such a compulsion. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I was brought up in Putney, a riverside village now a London suburb, and there’s a Putney in Vermont It should be noted that just because there’s a city named X in the US and one named X in another country, that the former was named for the latter. There’s couple cases between the US and Canada where this is not true: Ottawa and Vancouver. There’s several Ottawas in the US and they were all named for the Indian tribe or maybe a river and mostly named before the Canadian city. Vancouver BC may be bigger than Vancouver WA, but the former was founded about half a century after the latter. There’s some others: many Florences in the US, but only the one in Alabama was named for the Italian city. A number of Bostons in the US, but only the one in Massachusetts was named for the English city. In the case of Putney, yeah, probably was, but it helps to find a documentation of that. I put in cites for almost all the entries in my original list, but additions have rarely had cites. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/50 "2026-07-06T07:22:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > However, I did not have geographic features and I don’t think any have been added by others. Could be wrong about that, though. While quickly scanning through the Wiki list, for example, there’s a town somewhere called Japan which, it says, may be named for the country. Not important, in fact what really surprised me was that there wasn’t a Portland city in the UK, I had always thought there was. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/51 "2026-07-06T11:38:33Z")
> [@kabbes](#): > > There’s a Washington in the UK but I’m not sure which version came first or even if there is a causal link. The one in the UK came first, derived from the Anglo-Saxon place name _Hwæsingatūn_ (probably). Which would mean “stockaded settlement of the family of Hwæsa”. George Washington’s forebears adopted it as a surname to ingratiate themselves with some posher relatives who had land there. So Washington DC is a place named after a person named after a place named after a person. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/52 "2026-07-06T15:40:22Z")
You know the old saying: All Romes lead to Roads. > \*New York State feels left out, though. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/53 "2026-07-06T16:02:56Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Pantellerite, how could you miss Paris, TX? I was going through this thread not realizing it was a 25-year-old zombie. In any case I was surprised how long it took before Paris, TX turned up. Apparently a lot of folks didn’t know **[there’s an excellent movie called _Paris, Texas_ (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087884/)** which won a whole bunch of awards including BAFTA and the Palme D’Or at Cannes. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/54 "2026-07-06T16:10:03Z")
I was surprised to see Durham, Connecticut was on that list, but not Durham, North Carolina, which I had always assumed was named after the city in England. But Durham, NC’s Wikipedia page says it was named after Dr. Bartlett Durham, the man who provided the land on which the train station was built. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/55 "2026-07-06T16:17:41Z")
There’s numerous US towns named after New Testament early church hotspots Antioch (21 towns) and Corinth (12 towns) Only one Ephesus, GA and one Philippi, WV though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/56 "2026-07-06T16:30:47Z")
Also in Ohio, Toledo, Parma, yet another Athens, and Canton. And a Wooster, presumably named after Worcestershire, except that we know how to spell. I have family in Athens, and once when I was a teenager, I told a friend that I’d be going to Athens for the weekend. He got wide-eyed and exclaimed “You’re going to Rome!?”. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/57 "2026-07-06T16:32:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Also in Ohio, Toledo, Parma, yet another Athens, and Canton. And a Wooster, presumably named after Worcestershire, except that we know how to spell. And Lima. (Pronounced “ly-mah”, because it’s not Peru.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/58 "2026-07-06T22:27:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Zyada](#): > > > > Pantellerite, how could you miss Paris, TX? > > I was going through this thread not realizing it was a 25-year-old zombie. In any case I was surprised how long it took before Paris, TX turned up. Paris, Kentucky is even more of a thriving metropolis than Versailles, KY (remember, that’s pronounced ver-SALES). ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/59 "2026-07-06T22:41:10Z")
Right around me are Ithaca, Utica, Syracuse, Athens, (another) Lodi, Naples, and Rome. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873/60 "2026-07-06T23:04:59Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Right around me are Ithaca, Utica, Syracuse, Athens, (another) Lodi, Naples, and Rome I’m going to guess that you live in the classical region of upstate NY: > **[Classical Place-Names and the American Frontier](https://antigonejournal.com/2021/10/classical-place-names-america/)** > > DANIEL KOCH Who lives in a town like Tully? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cities-named-after-foreign-cities/66873.md?page=4)