# Are there US towns with non-Western European names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627 "2004-06-16T08:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/21 "2004-06-16T16:25:58Z")
> [@Cub Mistress](#): > > **Peter Morris** why do you want to disallow exonyms? Well, Bombay wouldn’t be an exonym, would it? I thought the city in India was named Bombay when it was founded. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/22 "2004-06-16T16:29:37Z")
Indiana is peppered with town names from all over the globe. Africa, Algiers, Antioch, Big Bottom, Brazil, Cairo, Canton, Carmel, Ceylon, Chili, China, Cuba, Cuzco, Goshen, Hindustan, Honduras, Joppa, Macedonia, Manilla (2 ells,) Mecca, Medina, Modoc, Mongo, Mexico, Montezuma, Morocco, Moscow, Mt. Olive, Mt. Sinai, New Palestine, Nineveh, Peru, Poland, Pulaski, Russiaville (the first part rhymes with whoosh), Sevastapol, Shanghai, Siberia, Smyrna, Syria, (Several Turkey-based towns were probably named for the bird.) Vera Cruz, Vigo, Vilas, Volga, Warsaw, and Zulu. Warsaw is in Kosciusko County. There’s a lot of Polish-Hoosiers. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/23 "2004-06-16T16:35:41Z")
I live in **Macedonia** Ohio. Been here 25 years, no idea why we’re named for that place in Eastern Europe. I had to destroy my Yahoo public profile because I started getting 3 or 4 Serb/Croation/Middle Eastern fellas a week chatting with me wanting to marry a girl from Macedonia (Europe). ---
**Author:** ![Nuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea666f/32.png) [@Nuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/24 "2004-06-16T16:55:47Z")
Omaha ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/25 "2004-06-16T18:03:23Z")
Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. Zion, Illinois. New Salem, Illinois (originally New Jerusalem). Belgrade, Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/26 "2004-06-16T18:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Lots of towns with Native-American names. Piscataway comes to mind. Damn hamsters lost my last post. Small world time. I read the OP and thought" there are lots of Indian names, My home town Piscataway comes to mind." Whats the odds that my not so famous town would be mentioned in the first post? Especially weird since I am so far from home right now. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/27 "2004-06-16T18:12:13Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I live in **Macedonia** Ohio. > > Been here 25 years, no idea why we’re named for that place in Eastern Europe. I don’t know the Bible that well, but could it be that Macedonia is mentioned, perhaps as a place where one of the Apostles went and preached? It seems anyplace mentioned in the Bible is fair game. Speaking of which, I’m told that every state has an Antioch. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/28 "2004-06-16T18:15:17Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > For example, Bombay ( the one in India) is a Western European name - the Indians call it Mumbai. And Moscow is called Moscva by the Muscovites. Not true. The vast majority of Indians, especially residents of the city, always have and still do refer to the city as “Bombay.” “Mumbai” has always been the Marathi version of the name. Although Bombay is located in Maharashtra, the Marathi language is not the dominant language of Bombay – Hindi, English, and Gujrati are much more prevalent. Until the official name change from Bombay to Mumbai a few years ago, the name “Mumbai” was almost always used by Marathis speaking Marathi to each other. In almost all other cases (except when trying for a particular effect), people used the term “Bombay.” (The name comes from the Portuguese “Bom Bahia.”) These days, “Mumbai” is used in official contexts, but in colloquial speech, “Bombay” is still more common. As to the larger question, I understood the OP to include English names for non-Western-European places as well as Anglicized versions of names of such places. To that effect, not including Native American-origin names (and classifying Greek names as western European), Ohio has places named – Alexandria, Cadiz, Cairo, Calcutta, Canton, Cuba, Damascus, Delhi, East Canton, East Palestine, Hebron, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Lima, Macedonia, Malta, Medina, Mesopotamia, Moscow, Nankin, New Lebanon, Palestine, Poland, Russia, Sardis, South Lebanon, Warsaw, ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/29 "2004-06-16T18:51:22Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Indiana is peppered with town names from all over the globe. > Africa, Algiers, Antioch, Big Bottom, Brazil, Cairo, Canton, Carmel, Ceylon, Chili, China, Cuba, Cuzco, Goshen, Hindustan, Honduras, Joppa, Macedonia, Manilla (2 ells,) Mecca, Medina, Modoc, Mongo, Mexico, Montezuma, Morocco, Moscow, Mt. Olive, Mt. Sinai, New Palestine, Nineveh, Peru, Poland, Pulaski, Russiaville (the first part rhymes with whoosh), Sevastapol, Shanghai, Siberia, Smyrna, Syria, (Several Turkey-based towns were probably named for the bird.) Vera Cruz, Vigo, Vilas, Volga, Warsaw, and Zulu. > > Warsaw is in Kosciusko County. There’s a lot of Polish-Hoosiers. Not to mention Lebanon and Versailles (pronounced ver-SAYLES). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/30 "2004-06-16T19:00:07Z")
> [@Engywook](#): > > Not to mention Lebanon and Versailles (pronounced ver-SAYLES). Oh, yeah, there are a ton of places like this in Ohio – Lima = LIE muh Medina = Muh DINE uh Versailles = Ver SALES Delhi = DELL high ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/31 "2004-06-16T19:12:21Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Well, Bombay wouldn’t be an exonym, would it? I thought the city in India was named Bombay when it was founded. It was. It was also founded by the British and given a partly translated Portuguese name. The name Mumbai probably postdates the founding of the city, since it comes from the name of a temple within the city. Whether to call it Mumbai or Bombay has more to do with ethnic politics than anti-colonialism. Recently, I saw a good website on this topic, but I can’t find it now. As for the general question, there were lots of ways that US placenames originated and thus a variety of names from all over the world. Or for that matter, from just about anything. Fictional characters, for example (Tarzana CA). It should also be noted that the presence of an exotic name does not necessarily mean that someone from that location was in that town when it was named. People often took names from an atlas or one that was in the news. Or consider Madras OR. It seems that name was taken from a bolt of cloth in the general store. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/32 "2004-06-16T19:24:27Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Speaking of which, I’m told that every state has an Antioch. Well, you were told wrong. There’s no placename found in every state. The closest is Riverside, which is found in 46 states. The four states without a Riverside are AK, HI, LA, and OK. There used to be a Riverside OK which appeared in atlases up until about the 1930 or 40s. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/33 "2004-06-17T02:35:51Z")
Speaking of Indiana, I’ll mention the best hometown in the state: Valparaiso, named, of course after the one in Chile, not the one in Florida. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/34 "2004-06-17T02:58:33Z")
> [@hermann](#): > > Speaking of Indiana, I’ll mention the best hometown in the state: Valparaiso, named, of course after the one in Chile, not the one in Florida. 😛 Home of Valparaiso U. I’m from CP, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/35 "2004-06-17T03:10:27Z")
How about [this placename?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg) (No, I’m not going to type it out. You’ll have to look at the link.) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/36 "2004-06-17T05:53:38Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Well, you were told wrong. There’s no placename found in every state. Not even “Springfield”? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/37 "2004-06-17T07:22:06Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Not even “Springfield”? No. Search the boards, and you’ll find posts about that. It comes close, by the time you include all the hills, fields and drainage ditches which are called Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/38 "2004-06-17T17:40:04Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > No. Search the boards, and you’ll find posts about that. It comes close, by the time you include all the hills, fields and drainage ditches which are called Springfield. Well, if you’re going get that liberal, you’ll find (via [GNIS](http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form)) there’s some geographic thing called Washington in every state. But some states will only have Washington schools, parks, mountains, or other things that are not normally considered populated places. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/39 "2004-06-17T23:53:29Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Then there’s Kosciusko, Mississippi, which was named after a Polish immigrant who was a Revolutionary War Hero. Why, exactly, his name was chosen for this town is a mystery, but every year a Polish Day festival is held there, despite the fact that a poll taken in Kosciusko found _not a single person in the town_ who was actually of Polish descent. Kosciusko makes a mighty fine spicy mustard. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627/40 "2004-06-18T00:20:46Z")
I am currently living in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The largest community in this state is Albuquerque. Other communities include Sanostee, Toadlina, Chamizal. In my home state of Colorado, one would find places like, Arickeree, Ouray, Teluride and Olathe (I’m not certain of the linguistic history of those last two). TV [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-us-towns-with-non-western-european-names/250627.md?page=1)