# Interesting Subdivision Street Name Themes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256 "2009-11-28T17:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![gloriye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gloriye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gloriye)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/101 "2009-12-02T23:44:47Z")
In Knoxville, Tennessee there is a subdivision with street names based on different forms of movement or locomotion: Rambling, Drifting, Strolling, Roaming, Walking, Wandering, Curving, and Climbing. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/102 "2009-12-02T23:54:17Z")
I was a door-to-door canvaser and I worked with a guy who had done a "Gunsmoke’ inspired neighborhood, Miss Kitty Drive and Festus Way. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/103 "2009-12-03T18:39:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Someone posted a link to an area where all of the streets were named almost the same thing - it was something like (but not exactly) Almond road, Almond close, Almond hill, Almond Rise, Almond Tree Road, Almond Blossom Road, etc. - a real postal misdelivery nightmare. The Dutch can be very… systematic about street names, so that in one area of Amsterdam there’s Lange Leidsedwaarstraat, Korte Leidsedwaarstraat, Leidseplein, Leidsekruistraat, Leidsestraat, and Leidsegracht. Elsewhere there’s Lauriergracht, Laurierstraat, Laurierhof, Eerste Laurierdwaarstraat, and Tweede Laurierdwaarstraat; and Bloemgracht, Bloemstraat, Eerste Bloemdwaarstraat, and Tweede Bloemdwaarstraat. > [@ThePylon](#): > > I grew up in a neighborhood who’s feeder street is “Vineyard” and who’s streets are all French wines. In a subdivision of Ottawa, Canada. Where no french wine grapes would dare tread past November. There’s another one in Kirkland, a suburb of Montreal. Another subdivision in Laval has all the streets named after titles, such as Rue de la Duchesse, Rue de la Princesse, Rue du Monarque, Avenue des Ambassadeurs, Rue du Colonel, Avenue des Généraux, Rue du Sénateur, and Avenue des Aristocrates. (Yes, the houses are horrendously large and fancy.) ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/104 "2009-12-03T20:15:36Z")
Columbus has infinite humor possibility, as Gay street crosses High. One friend, noting he stood at the intersection of Young and Gay quipped “I’m not that young.” This was funny the first time. Gay,sadly, does not intersect Long, nor, perhaps fittingly, broad. We have a neighborhood in which the developer named three streets after himself. McVey Blvd, which runs N/S. McVey Blvd West, which runs every direction, but is west of McVey. And McVey court. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/105 "2009-12-03T20:38:41Z")
In the US and Canada, it’s relatively common to see subdivisions with street name themes that are either based on foreign languages (e.g. a subdivision with fanciful French street names in suburban Cleveland), or non-local places (e.g. a subdivision in Iowa with a series of streets named after British cities). Does this practice exist in other countries? When I look at foreign cities in Google Maps, it seems like all the street names are in the native language, and none have themes reflecting far-away places. A suburb of London will have street names that are all … well, very, very British. I won’t find a suburb of Paris that has a subdivision with streets named after cities in Florida. Even in other countries that have suburban built environments similar to the United States and Canada (Australia, New Zealand, and to some extent Ireland), the street names are all … well, generic or local, with no themes based on foreign places. I found [a subdivision outside of Johannesburg with streets named after North American tree species](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=johannesburg,+south+africa&sll=-33.938144,150.836298&sspn=0.00842,0.019891&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Johannesburg,+South+Africa&ll=-25.983046,28.003528&spn=0.004562,0.009946&z=17), [and another with streets named after US states and cities](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=johannesburg,+south+africa&sll=-33.938144,150.836298&sspn=0.00842,0.019891&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Johannesburg,+South+Africa&ll=-26.020151,27.937009&spn=0.009121,0.019891&z=16) (looks like a township area, based on the aerial), but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/106 "2009-12-03T21:52:09Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Even in other countries that have suburban built environments similar to the United States and Canada (Australia, New Zealand, and to some extent Ireland), the street names are all … well, generic or local, with no themes based on foreign places. Off the top of my head I can think of several examples of Sydney suburbs where the streets are named after foreign places (European battlefields; English cathedral cities). My mother lives in an area of a NSW country town where the streets are named after Queen Victoria’s nine children. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/107 "2009-12-04T03:43:58Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > other countries that have suburban built environments similar to the United States and Canada (Australia, New Zealand, and to some extent Ireland), the street names are all … well, generic or local, with no themes based on foreign places. Just upthread I posted about a Sydney suburb whose streets are all named after parts of Edinburgh Castle. There’s another suburb with road names themes around English battles and generals (Waterloo, Talavera, Khartoum, Blenheim, Wolfe). There’s a suburb called Waterloo. I can’t imagine where you got this impression, but it’s not generally true for Australia. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/108 "2009-12-04T03:51:15Z")
It depends when the part of Australia was built. In North Ryde, to which you’d referred and I’d made reference further upthread, I think the area was developed in a single, controlled land release post-WWII and so you get the thematic naming. In Newtown, where I’m living now, the place was developed more organically in the mid-late 19th Century, and there’s no consistent naming conventions. The later the development, the more likely you are to run into something like this. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/109 "2009-12-04T11:42:36Z")
Sydney CBD has George (king) as the main street, with the politicians (Pitt and Castlereagh) to the east and the dukes (York, Clarence, Kent and Sussex) to the west. Probably intended more as flattery than quirkiness, at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/110 "2009-12-04T14:29:58Z")
The courts in a development in my hometown are almost all named after girl’s names – but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Esmeralda Ct., Sabrina Ct., Samantha Ct. and Tabitha Ct. are all next to one another. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/111 "2009-12-04T14:53:04Z")
This is a trailer park within walking distance of where I grew up, outside Marquette, MI. [Bureaucrats Cause Expense](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.490759,-87.358196&spn=0.003409,0.006528&z=18) ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/112 "2009-12-04T15:30:31Z")
There’s a subdivision in Mississauga, ON, [named for baseball players.](http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Mississauga&state=ON&address=700+Clemens+Crescent&zipcode=L5V&country=CA&latitude=43.61573&longitude=-79.70485&geocode=ADDRESS) Another one, in Barrie, ON, [named for authors.](http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Barrie&state=ON&address=54+Shakespeare+Crescent&zipcode=L4N&country=CA&latitude=44.388082&longitude=-79.724728&geocode=ADDRESS) ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/113 "2009-12-04T16:12:23Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Would any of you let street name dictate where you will or won’t buy a house? When I was helping my parents buy a vacation home, I steadfastly refused to help them with one of their favorites, on **Golden Shower Lane** Try explaining THAT one to your mother.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/114 "2009-12-04T16:42:39Z")
The bigger side streets in Mission Beach, San Diego, CA, are loosely based on the California Missions. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/115 "2009-12-04T16:46:44Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Anybody for the Robin Hood legend? > > There’s a subdivision in Indianapolis named “Sherwood forest” with streets named Robin, Marian, Friar, Nottingham, etc. > And the main entrance to the neighborhood has a gateway with fake castle turrets . There is one in Shawnee, KS, too, but without the fake castle turrets. We wanted to move there, but no homes came up for sale when we were in the market. ---
**Author:** ![wiredog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/35a633/32.png) [@wiredog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wiredog)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/116 "2011-03-28T18:56:24Z")
There are several interesting themed subdivisions here in Clarksville, TN. The “normal” Presidents, States, Camelot, etc. But we also have a subdivision called “Plantation Estates” with Gone With the Wind street names ( [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=36.629809%2C-87.374911&biw=1366&bih=616&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il) ). We also have a tonge-in-cheek named access road. Along a main road (Needmore) the entrance to one subdivision is called “Needless”. There are no houses on this road, tough. ( [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=36.629809%2C-87.374911&biw=1366&bih=616&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il) ). ---
**Author:** ![Pops1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@Pops1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pops1963)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/117 "2011-03-28T19:19:36Z")
There is one in Durant OK. that are all gun names. Colt Winchester etc. ---
**Author:** ![wiredog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/35a633/32.png) [@wiredog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wiredog)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/118 "2011-03-28T20:05:10Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#): > > Cottage Grove, MN had the bright idea to name streets in subdivisions based on the nearest county road, which is named for a letter. So between County Roads I and J, you have all I names (I remember Inskip as particularly ridiculous), then you start in on the Js. This has the really unfortunate consequence of all the street names sounding very similar. Pinellas County, Florida (St Petersburg, Clearwater, etc.) originally laid out the grid by numbers then any added streets were to be A-Z based on their place in the alphabet beginning over after 26th. (i.e. a road added between central and 1st would begin with A, 1st & 2nd - B, etc.) It worked for a while as you can see here: [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.754611,-82.642531&sll=27.754494,-82.642765&sspn=0.009286,0.021136&gl=us&ie=UTF8&ll=27.754494,-82.646842&spn=0.009286,0.029311&z=16) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/119 "2011-03-29T18:15:54Z")
The streets around where my friends’ parents live are all named after US presidents. Nothing odd there, except it’s in England. I did find one little town in NZ with the same name as a village I used to live in in England, and loads of the street names were the same as well, or named after nearby villages. I wonder how much the guy who named it missed his old home… ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256/120 "2011-03-29T18:52:16Z")
On [Pender Island](http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=pender+island&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Pender+Island,+BC&gl=ca&ei=4imSTYOzJo3SsAOl8_mnDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ8gEwAA)in BC the streets are all nautical. I have a picture of the corner of Pirate and Schooner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-subdivision-street-name-themes/519256.md?page=7)