# Help with place name origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2017, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376 "2017-01-17T09:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/101 "2017-01-30T10:52:35Z")
I am surprised that no one has mentioned York - New York > [@](#): > > Melbourne, Florida. Can’t be too many named after Australian cities. Melbourne is a UK place name > **[Melbourne, East Riding of Yorkshire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne,_East_Riding_of_Yorkshire)** > > Melbourne is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of the market town of Market Weighton and 4.5 miles (7 km) south-west of the market town of Pocklington. The village lies just to the south of the Pocklington Canal. > According to the 2011 UK census, Melbourne parish had a population of 793, an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 755. > In 1823, Melbourne was in the civil parish of Thorton and the Wapentake of... Leeds - UK, Leeds Alabama Wakefield - UK, Wakefield Massachusetts Castleford UK - Castleford Idaho Actually you might find this useful > **[Locations in the United States with an English name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locations_in_the_United_States_with_an_English_name)** > > A large number of places in the U.S were named after places in England largely as a result of English settlers and explorers of the Thirteen Colonies. > Some names were carried over directly and are found throughout the country (such as Manchester, Birmingham and Rochester). Others carry the prefix "New"; for example, the largest city in the US, New York, was named after York because King Charles II gave the land to his brother, James, the Duke of York (later James II). Some places, such as Hart... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/102 "2017-01-30T11:40:02Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > I am surprised that no one has mentioned > > York - New York New York was actually named after a person, so it’s out. (Just like New Orleans.) York PA fills this slot, so there’s no problem. > [@](#): > > Melbourne is a UK place name Melbourne FL was named after the Australian city, so it’s in. Any more distant etymons (e.g. the British PM that Melbourne, Australia was named after) are irrelevant for purposes of this list. > [@](#): > > Leeds - UK, Leeds Alabama > > Wakefield - UK, Wakefield Massachusetts > > Castleford UK - Castleford Idaho > > Actually you might find this useful > > [Locations in the United States with an English name - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locations_in_the_United_States_with_an_English_name) Have all of them. I have seen that list, as well as similar lists for Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Spain, France, Czechia, and Sweden. But unfortunately, no other countries have such lists, or at least I couldn’t find them. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/103 "2017-01-30T11:51:28Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Melbourne FL was named after the Australian city, so it’s in. Any more distant etymons (e.g. the British PM that Melbourne, Australia was named after) are irrelevant for purposes of this list. > . Too late to edit: It occured to me that there may other US places named Melbourne, and indeed there are. But none on Wikipedia have etymologies. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/104 "2017-01-30T11:56:46Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > The Hannover in Germany is spelled with a double N, as I did there. Virtually all the Hanovers in the US are spelled with a single N. This is one of many cases where the spelling doesn’t quite match the foreign place name. The German town is traditionally spelled “Hanover” (with one n) in English. “Hannover” (with double-n) is the German language spelling. I understand that is becomes more and more common to adopt spellings for place names that are closer to the local variant (compare Peking/Beijing, Mumbai/Bombay). The same probably goes for the usage of double-n Hannover in English. The disputed origin of the name Hannover/Hanover is “at the high riverbank”. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/105 "2017-01-30T12:49:00Z")
Are you interested in names that have been changed? There is a Berlin, Maryland, but that seems to not be named after the city. There was another Berlin that was named after the city but later changed to [Brunswick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick,_Maryland). The name was changed in 1890. How small are you looking to go? There’s a Jerusalem in Frederick county Maryland that sometimes will show up on maps. Google doesn’t seem to have it listed though. I don’t know if you’ve come across the [Geographical Names Information System](https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:1:0:::::) by USGS, but that might help you at least locate some of them. I put together a motorcycle tour based upon Indiana Jones and places he’s been years ago. I had a nice list, not sure if I still have it or not. I did pretty much the same thing, looked for cities outside of the US that were also in the US, there were a lot of them, and not all of them have signs even saying the place name. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/106 "2017-01-30T19:55:51Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Are you interested in names that have been changed? Someone asked that a while back. I’ve thought about it and decided to accept in some cases. However, let me quote something I said in post #27: > [@](#): > > Thanks for the contributions, everyone. But please note that I have all the big cities in Europe already checked out. That includes all the capitals. I only need one US place per city since I’m not trying to catalog every city in America that’s named for somewhere else. So I don’t need to know there’s a Berlin here, a Warsaw there, and a Dublin over yonder. As for GNIS, it’s been around since the mid-90s, at least, and I’ve been using it for various purposes since then. Since it doesn’t have etymologies, it has limited use for this project. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/107 "2017-01-30T20:19:45Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As for GNIS, it’s been around since the mid-90s, at least, and I’ve been using it for various purposes since then. Since it doesn’t have etymologies, it has limited use for this project. I missed the other post about duplicates. I didn’t know if you knew about the GNIS, but you do. It might, however, make it easier to look up places that might be on some of the old USGS Quads. The Shanghai in WV I’ve been to before, it’s a crossroad. There could be a lot of really small places that do not have signs that are considered places and not listed on wiki. The Jerusalem near Frederick isn’t though I lived near there. There are probably thousands of places that are named after cities that would be impossible to find otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/108 "2017-01-30T23:55:20Z")
You probably have [Haverhill MA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haverhill,_Massachusetts#History) and [Heidelberg MN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg,_Minnesota), but I haven’t seen them mentioned. Will you take [Jeddo PA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeddo,_Pennsylvania) after the Japanese city of Edo? How are you fixed for [Joppa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joppa,_Maryland)? (there are several) I shall keep my eyes open for corroborating data about Patna, Bantam and Culloden. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/109 "2017-01-31T08:13:23Z")
Don’t have Joppa, yet, but that’s because I’ve been deliberately avoiding biblical places except for the biggies (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, etc.). I’ll get to them sooner or later. I’ve been trying to get this stuff into a Wiki page, and I now have it in some kind of order. I’m pretty sure you can see my sandbox page here: [User:Dtilque/sandbox - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dtilque/sandbox) It’s split up into lists by country, but you can see what cities I already have. There’s lots of work left before it’s ready for prime time, but I think I have almost all the typos fixed. Hmm… that page has a button for submitting the article. Not sure what happens if someone other than me does that, but I would hope it would reject everyone else. Anyway, don’t hit it; as I said, the page isn’t ready for submission. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/110 "2017-01-31T09:48:39Z")
There’s [Ontario, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario,_California) which is named after the Canadian province. Mag-Lite, the torch manufacturers, are based in the Californian one. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/111 "2017-01-31T11:01:54Z")
I’m only interested in cities, not regions such as provinces and countries or even counties. The list is long enough; I have to draw the line somewhere to keep it halfway managable. So regions are out as are places named for people, even if the people got their name directly from a city (e.g. titles of nobility). This is also why I only want one US place per foreign city. ETA: I make an exception if a county-sized place has the same name as its largest city/capital, but that’s because the people who named the US place usually didn’t worry about that level of nuance. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/113 "2017-01-31T18:10:42Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > [User:Dtilque/sandbox - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dtilque/sandbox) Thanks **dtilque** , that’s a beautiful thing! I gotcher [Delft, MN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delft,_Minnesota) and [Groningen, MN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groningen,_Minnesota) right here. Oh, and [Breda, IA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breda,_Iowa), apparently named after Dutch Breda by an actual native of Breda! This is gonna be fuuuuuun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/114 "2017-01-31T18:26:59Z")
[Boulogne, FL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulogne,_Florida) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/115 "2017-01-31T18:37:56Z")
[Luxor, PA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor,_Pennsylvania) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/116 "2017-01-31T20:55:15Z")
Thank Kimstu. They’ve been added. I’m not surprised there were some from Netherlands I didn’t have. Probably more Belgian ones out there I don’t have either. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/117 "2017-01-31T21:14:38Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’m only interested in cities, not regions such as provinces and countries or even counties. The list is long enough; I have to draw the line somewhere to keep it halfway managable. So regions are out as are places named for people, even if the people got their name directly from a city (e.g. titles of nobility). This is also why I only want one US place per foreign city. > > ETA: I make an exception if a county-sized place has the same name as its largest city/capital, but that’s because the people who named the US place usually didn’t worry about that level of nuance. So Baltimore is out, because it’s named for the Lords Baltimore, even though they got their title from the place in Ireland? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/118 "2017-01-31T21:17:43Z")
Brooklyn is named for Breuckelen, Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/119 "2017-01-31T21:24:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > So Baltimore is out, because it’s named for the Lords Baltimore, even though they got their title from the place in Ireland? right. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Brooklyn is named for Breuckelen, Netherlands. Have that one. If you look on the list I posted to my Wiki sandbox, you can see which ones I have. [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dtilque/sandbox). Found another one from Netherlands which I haven’t added yet: [Zwolle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwolle,_Louisiana) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/120 "2017-01-31T22:17:17Z")
Tarentum is Taranto. Think tarantella. Tarento is something Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376/121 "2017-02-01T00:50:13Z")
Thanks Johanna. Got fooled by the spelling of the old name/Pennsylvania town. Usually I catch those kinds of things. For instance, Montpelier VT vs Montpellier France and Upsala MN vs Uppsala Sweden. And of course the Hannover/Hanover thing discussed upthread. I’ll fix it in my next update. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-place-name-origins/777376.md?page=7)