# Are any settlements in Europe named after settlements in North America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2021, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621 "2021-02-24T11:30:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/21 "2021-02-24T17:26:12Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > you’re asking for ‘new towns’ - towns that were founded after the US, of which there are vanishingly few (most towns have at least some roots as a village pre-USA). Well, there are scores of European settlements that got their present-day name post-USA, via getting city rights etc. Many of those were named not based on the existing local place names. Don’t know of any that were named after NA places, though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/22 "2021-02-24T18:19:54Z")
I know the OP excluded street names, but there’s a tiny street in Toledo, Spain called “Calle de Toledo de Ohio” (Toledo Ohio Street). Been there. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/23 "2021-02-24T19:18:15Z")
Edit: Deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/24 "2021-02-24T19:18:58Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I know the OP excluded street names, but there’s a tiny street in Toledo, Spain called “Calle de Toledo de Ohio” (Toledo Ohio Street). Been there. There’s probably town twinning, aka jumelage, behind this. Most towns or cities that are in such a twinning relationship will have, somewhere, a street named after the sister place. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/25 "2021-02-24T22:43:45Z")
Philadelphia is an ancient name. Amman, Jordan was called Philadelphia in Roman times. If you find a town name Philadelphia, it may not be named after the city in Pennsylvania. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/26 "2021-02-24T23:06:43Z")
According to [this article](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-03-24-1991083042-story.html), Germany’s Philadelphia was named for the U.S. city (though it could well be a folk etymology): > Several of the families lured to the area were disappointed because the soil was fine sand, not much good for farming. So they decided to do what many Germans had done before – head for Philadelphia in America. > The trouble was, the Prussian King Frederick, later dubbed “the Great,” wouldn’t let them. He needed all the able-bodied men for his army. So he told them: “What you want in America you can have right here. You can make your own Philadelphia.” > About a dozen families got land grants from the king’s own estate, and the area was called Neu, or New, Philadelphia. The “new” was later dropped; no one knows when or why. ETA: “The people here love to tell the story of their village, although some concede it may be as much legend as fact.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/27 "2021-02-24T23:15:52Z")
And just for fun, one of the “cities” on the outskirts of (US) Philadelphia is named “King of Prussia”, after an inn that used to be there. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/28 "2021-02-24T23:33:48Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > According to [this article](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-03-24-1991083042-story.html), Germany’s Philadelphia was named for the U.S. city (though it could well be a folk etymology): German sources tell similar stories. [An article from _Die Zeit_](https://web.archive.org/web/20030819105653/https://www.zeit.de/2003/33/Boston) about the German Philadelphia (and also nearby Boston) also says that the settlements were named after the American cities that the inhabitants wanted to but were unable to emigrate to (but doesn’t mention Frederick in particular as having prevented the emigration). Given that you’ve got a Philadelphia and a Boston right next to each other, I think it’s reasonable to accept that there is a legitimate connection to the American counterparts. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/29 "2021-02-25T00:13:11Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > There’s probably town twinning, aka jumelage, behind this. Most towns or cities that are in such a twinning relationship will have, somewhere, a street named after the sister place. Yes, Toledo, Ohio has a “Toledo Spain Plaza.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/30 "2021-02-25T05:06:34Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > North America has plenty of towns and cities named after towns and cities in Europe I compiled a list of them for wikipedia: [US places](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._places_named_for_non-U.S._places). I also compile the same list for Canada, but it got deleted for reasons I don’t entirely understand (but I suspect politics). If anyone feels like getting it undeleted, feel free. > [@Ludovic](#): > > I’ve been through Pennsylvania, Gloucestershire, but Wikipedia is unsure whether it is named after the US state Yes, it could be named after someone in the Penn family. After all, that’s how the US state got its name. Wikipedia lists no less than 8 California’s in various parts of Britain. I’ve never looked into how they got their names. > [@psychonaut](#): > > There is a [New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_Tyne_and_Wear) in the North East of England which was named after New York City, in commemoration of its capture by the British in 1776. Wikipedia lists three New York’s in Britain. I always assumed they were named after York, but apparently one was not. > [@FastDan1](#): > > Philadelphia is an ancient name. Amman, Jordan was called Philadelphia in Roman times. If you find a town name Philadelphia, it may not be named after the city in Pennsylvania There were actually three Philadelphia’s in the classic world. The other two, which includes the one mentioned in the Bible, were in Anatolia. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/31 "2021-02-25T08:31:32Z")
There’s a former coal mining village in central Scotland called [California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California,_Falkirk). No one seems sure of the reason, but the name seems to date from the time of the California Gold Rush. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/32 "2021-02-25T14:16:53Z")
Similarly a district of Ipswich has the same name, and for the same reason: > **[California, Ipswich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California,_Ipswich)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > California is an area of the town of Ipswich, in the Ipswich district, in the county of Suffolk, England, which was developed by the Ipswich and Suffolk Freehold Land Society (FLS) in the mid nineteenth century. The FLS was founded in 1849, the year of the California gold rush. This gave rise to the nickname of the area which was originally called the Cauldwell Hall Estate. > The Derby Road railway station is located in southern California. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/33 "2021-02-25T17:05:38Z")
There is a village near where a grew up in Berkshire England called [California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California,_Berkshire). According to Wikipedia it got its name from an old brickworks, but surely the name must of at least indirectly come from the American state. That’s the only area I can think of that I know which is named after a place in the US in South East England. I know Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Kent and London well enough to know most of the obscure place names. Obscure place names in England can be pretty ridiculous, but they’re usually ancient in origin. ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/34 "2021-02-25T21:08:19Z")
There is also [Texas, close to Hamelin](https://maps.app.goo.gl/385pK5dKqH4bQxX19) in Lower Saxony Germany. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/35 "2021-02-25T21:32:07Z")
According to [the German Wikipedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_%28Begriffskl%C3%A4rung%29), that’s one of four Texases (Texes?) in Germany. Two of these have their own Wikipedia articles; one says the place is definitely named after the American Texas, and the other says that it’s uncertain but probable that it’s named after the American Texas. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/36 "2021-02-26T03:30:50Z")
Were they? All the ones I can think of in the UK were based on existing place names. They’re nearly always named after previous settlements in the area, often names that had existed since before the second millennium - Telford was named after a person, though, so there might be other exceptions. There could be some outside the UK, of course. Though “getting city rights” sounds like a very American concept. Which places are you thinking of? It’s a good question, given how long the US has been established, but I guess all the places that could be settled and named in Europe were already settled by even a small population, and they clung on to the name. The only areas that might have got rid of residents wholesale, ignored history and imposed new names would have been in the former Soviet bloc. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/37 "2021-02-26T08:08:40Z")
I think the name “California” has been around longer than the 31st American state. It was the mythical name of a mythical island populated by Amazon-like female warriors. So, as with Philadelphia, non-American places named California may be named directly from earlier sources (as the state of California apparently was). > **[Etymology of California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_name_California)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Multiple theories regarding the origin of the name California, as well as the root language of the term, have been proposed, but most historians believe the name likely originated from a 16th-century novel, Las Sergas de Esplandián. The novel, popular at the time of the Spanish exploration of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula, describes a fictional island named California, ruled by Queen Calafia, east of the Indies.\[a\] The author of the nov... ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/38 "2021-02-26T08:26:32Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Though “getting city rights” sounds like a very American concept. The British equivalent to “getting city rights” is “getting city status”, which is performed by means of a royal charter or letters patent, i.e., a document issued by the monarch. Of course, under British constitutional conventions, the monarch would only issue such a document on the advice of cabinet ministers (the Home Secretary, in this case), so city status is effectively granted by the government. My understanding is that city status to a settlement that previously was a town is honorific in the UK; it does not give that place additional rights of self-administration compared to the previous town status, other than the right to style itself as a “city”. Quite generally, I think it’s fair to say that the system of local governance in the UK is a complete mess because it gets periodically reformed. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/39 "2021-02-26T08:49:33Z")
City status doesn’t confer any actual rights, though, and it’s only for long-established settlements - what, five of them this century? Less? It’s not like the way we change municipal boundaries to make a unitary authoritary or whatever. And there’s no renaming of the place except that Slough, bizarrely, thought that Slough-Upon-Thames would sound more classy rather than like a description of the way the water looks at a sewage outlet. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621/40 "2021-02-26T09:30:36Z")
Here in Melbourne Australia we have a suburb called [Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn,_Victoria) which I believe is named after the New York borough. We also have a suburb called Dallas but that’s named after [Dallas Brooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Brooks) who was neither a place nor an American. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621.md?page=3)