# Georgia & Georgia: Any other places with such similar names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986 "2008-08-14T15:26:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/41 "2008-08-14T22:28:22Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] The original name of Amman, capital of the Kingdom of Jordan? Philadelphia. [/QUOTE] Actually, the original name was…Amman. More or less - Rabat Ammon, after the Ammonites. It was changed to Philadelphia by the Lagid Greeks, then changed back by the Ghassanid Arabs ( it’s pretty likely the old name had lingered among the non-Greek speaking people of the region anyway ). There were several other Philadelphias around beyond that. The one in western Anatolia had its name changed slightly later ( by the Greek Attalid dynasty of Pergamum ), but lasted longer, until the early Ottoman period. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/42 "2008-08-14T22:38:18Z")
Western Samoa and American Samoa; the former has taken to calling itself just “Samoa”, which has triggered a protest from American Samoa. Wikipedia, [American Samoa - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Official_protest_to_neighboring_Samoa) > [@](#): > > In 1997 a protest was issued against Samoa, formerly named Western Samoa, for changing its official name to the shorter form. The official view in American Samoa is that such a form detracts from the Samoan identity of American Samoa, and public officials and documents from American Samoa still refer to Samoa as Western Samoa. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/43 "2008-08-14T22:50:27Z")
> [@](#): > > In 1997 a protest was issued against Samoa, formerly named Western Samoa, for changing its official name to the shorter form. The official view in American Samoa is that such a form detracts from the Samoan identity of American Samoa, and public officials and documents from American Samoa still refer to Samoa as Western Samoa. THIS complaint, indirectly from a country calling itself “America”? Oh, the irony! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/44 "2008-08-14T23:04:43Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] Macedonia, which is why Greece wants (demands, really) everyone to use FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia) when they’re talking about the country as opposed to the region of Greece. Names are Serious Business. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] I think that’s a little bit different because it’s not two different regions with the same name, it’s all really one region that has two modern countries on top of it. Actually, three, because the southwestern part of Bulgaria is also part of Macedonia. (Bulgarians don’t care about this specifically, because it’s just a minor part of their belief that Macedonia is actually part of Bulgaria, Macedonian is actually Bulgarian, and Macedonians are Bulgarians in denial. Ah, the Balkans.) The Greek argument is that Macedonia is “inherently” Greek in culture and therefore it’s wrong for a bunch of Slavs to usurp the name. Obviously this is a pretty complex issue or it would have been resolved a long time ago. The same thing would happen if some breakaway region in southeastern Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, or northeastern Greece decided to call itself “Thrace” - all three countries would pitch a fit because they each claim to be the inheritors of ancient Thrace. > [@](#): > > In the San Francisco bay area, there are: > > 1. Richmond, a city in the East Bay. > 2. Richmond, a district in San Francisco. Yeah, but the district is always _the_ Richmond. It’s never occurred to me that someone could get them mixed up. Still, there are innumerable examples here in California of cities having the same names as cities in Spain or Latin America. Monterey v. Monterrey, for example. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/45 "2008-08-14T23:32:32Z")
I know the OP said no cities, but every other reply has a city in it. Besides, the matching side to my city references should trump mere provinces, nations, or even continents…! [Mars, PA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=mars,+PA&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&z=15&iwloc=addr) / [Mars the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html) [Jupiter, FL](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Jupiter,+FL&ie=UTF8&z=12&iwloc=addr) / [Jupiter the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html) [Uranus, Antarctica](http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/89264.html) / [Uranus, the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/uranus.html) [Neptune City, NJ](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Neptune+City,+NJ&ie=UTF8&z=14&iwloc=addr) / [Neptune Beach, FL](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Neptune+Beach,+FL&ie=UTF8&z=13&iwloc=addr) / [Neptune the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/neptune.html) [Venus, TX](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=venus,+tx&ie=UTF8&z=12&iwloc=addr) / [Venus the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/venus.html) er… [Mercury City Tower, Moscow, Russia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_City_Tower) / [Mercury the planet](http://www.nineplanets.org/mercury.html) [Europa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) (the old name for Europe) / [Europa the moon of Jupiter](http://www.nineplanets.org/europa.html) I’m sure there are other moons and celestial bodies with city/province/state/country names on Earth. Just wanted to add something cool 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/46 "2008-08-14T23:40:44Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] There aree plenty of towns in the US with the same name, of course, but when a city shares a name with a state, it throws you. Like the case of **Indiana, Pennsylvania** : [Indiana, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana,_Pennsylvania) [/QUOTE] There’s also a [Wyoming, Pennsylvania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming,_Pennsylvania), and a [Washington, Pennsylvania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_Pennsylvania). Also, a [Lebanon, PA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon,_Pennsylvania). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986/47 "2008-08-15T01:32:06Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] [li] **Albania** 1. The English and other western name for Shqiperia, on the Adriatic Balkan coast between Montenegro and the Epirus region of Greece. 2. The Latin form for “Albany”, an old name for the Scottish kingdom (not Scotland as we know it today, but the area centered on the Lowlands.[/li][/QUOTE] Really? You picked Albania as “Lowland Scotland” over ancient [Albania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Albania) in the Caucusus? I didn’t even know that the name was used for islands in the Atlantic… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-georgia-any-other-places-with-such-similar-names/459986.md?page=2)