# Do New Yorkers still use names in their phone numbers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-yorkers-still-use-names-in-their-phone-numbers/29455>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 15, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-yorkers-still-use-names-in-their-phone-numbers/29455 "2000-08-15T16:45:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-yorkers-still-use-names-in-their-phone-numbers/29455/21 "2000-08-17T21:16:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eve \*  
> \*\*Ah, they still do that in parts of Philadelphia—my mother’s number is LAfayette 5-XXXX (like I’m really going to post my mother’s phone number!). I grew up at MOhawk 4-6742, and I still have friends back home with ROsemont and RIttenhouse exchanges.
> 
> One of the gracious things of my childhood I miss . . . \*\*

I’m from Philly and can confirm this. I still can’t hear a number with a 482 (or 483) exchange without translating it in my head to IVy Ridge 2-xxxx…Eve, you may recognize this as a Roxborough/Manayunk exchange (a far cry from Rittenhouse Square, but pretty close to Lafayette Hills, if that’s where you’re Mom is)…

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**Author:** ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-yorkers-still-use-names-in-their-phone-numbers/29455/22 "2000-08-17T23:03:36Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JCHeckler \*  
> What I’d like to know is: Is there a master list of these names that AT&T or Bell (when they were only one big old company) used? I know from growing up in CA that 45 was GLenwood and 76 was POrter. Anybody else know of different 45’s or 76’s?

Well, the web site I linked to in my post above, and which I will magically reproduce [here](http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html), includes a list of AT&T/Bell’s [Officially Recommended Exchange Names](http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/Recommended.html). It also includes a [database of reader submitted exchange names](http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html#BigList) used in the different parts of the country. From this, we can see that GLenwood was also used in Rochester, NY, Scranton, PA, and Tullahoma, TN. POrter appeared in Wilmington, DE, Presque Isle, MI, and Lubbock, TX.

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**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-yorkers-still-use-names-in-their-phone-numbers/29455/23 "2000-08-18T04:03:55Z")

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The phone number to the Hotel Pennsylvania on 7th Av across from Madison Sq. Garden is still PEnnsylvania 6-5000. I don’t think they advertise it that way, but I think it’s cool that the number is the same.

I guess this was kind of a useless post, sort of hijackish.  
sorry.

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