# Are There Any White People Named 'Washington'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2006, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357 "2006-02-07T06:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357/61 "2011-02-21T19:47:51Z")
I was going to say this exact same question has been asked in the past. Sure enough it’s a zombie. Should we post a link to the past article? Recursion is cool. It’s sort of like the I’m my own grandpa song. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357/62 "2011-02-21T19:59:31Z")
in the entire world? yes ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357/63 "2011-02-21T21:38:10Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > At the time G. Washingtons forebears emigrated the town of [**Washington**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_Tyne_and_Wear) was very small (it’s been expanded a lot since the 1960’s)[.] That’s because it was taken over by the Chinese Laundry Mafia who developed a superior Tyne process for clothes. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357/64 "2011-02-23T05:58:44Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > [_nitpick_] If it’s a myth about slave culture and the Civil War, what is “urban” about it? Unless “urban” is a euphemism here, as it is in the white corporate music business, for “black,” can’t we just call it a myth? That is all. [/_nitpick_] It is urban because it is being spread in modern times, in the era of urban development. Myth by itself usually conjures up images of what people believe much longer ago that were mostly spread long ago (and are possibly just maintained today.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357/65 "2011-02-23T12:55:12Z")
There’s a common, standard definition for the term “urban legend”: > **[Urban legends and myths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_legend)** > > Reportedly haunted locations: > An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a subgenre of horror comprising claims or stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family member, often with horrifying, humorous, or cautionary elements. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects or entities. Urban legends may confirm ... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-white-people-named-washington/343357.md?page=3)