# Names of merged cities **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571 "2007-10-13T11:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/1 "2007-10-13T11:28:11Z")
In the US, when two incorporated cities merge, there seems to be three ways the resulting combined city is named. 1. Most common by far is that the merged city keeps the name of one of the two predecessors. One of the cities is usually significantly larger than the other and its name is virtually always the winner. I estimate this happens in about 80 to 90 % of all mergers. 2. The two names are combined into one name. Usually they are hyphenated, but not always. So far I’ve found only eight instances of this type (the year in parens is when they merged): [ul] [li]Batesburg-Leesville SC (1993)[/li][li]Dover-Foxcroft ME (1922)[/li][li]Fleming-Neon KY (1978)[/li][li]Milton-Freewater OR (1951)[/li][li]Norwood Young America MN (1997)[/li][li]Sedro-Woolley WA (1898)[/li][li]Soddy-Daisy TN (1969)[/li][li]Winston-Salem NC (1913)[/li][/ul] There’s probably a fair number of others around; I’ve mostly just gotten the larger ones. Also note that just because a name is hyphenated doesn’t mean it’s the result of a merger. Wilkes-Barre PA, for example, is not the result of a merger. It’s always been named that (except for losing the accent mark on the final letter). 1. The rarest type appears to be when the new city gets a completely new name, unrelated to any of the predecessors. I’ve only found two examples so far: [Lincoln City OR](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_City%2C_Oregon) and [Park Hills MO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hills%2C_Missouri). Both are the result of merging more than two cities at once. Hyphenating 4 or 5 names together would obviously produce too big a mouthful, so they were essentially forced to come up with new names. My question is: Does anyone know of any more examples of type 3? Or even of type 2? Are there any examples that don’t fall into one of these categories? Please note that I’m interested in US places, although I wouldn’t mind hearing of any unusual examples from other countries. I already know about Budapest and Garnish-Parkinsons… er Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. I also understand that merged villages are fairly common in Germany and that both type 2 and type 3 are fairly common. Furthermore, some places there blend the former names together to create a new name. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/2 "2007-10-13T12:03:36Z")
The City of Greater New York? > **[City of Greater New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Greater_New_York)** > > The City of Greater New York was the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City of New York created on January 1, 1898, by consolidating the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island. The section of the Bronx west of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1874 and was known as the Annexed District. The section of the Bronx east of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of Ne In the y... ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/3 "2007-10-13T12:10:29Z")
[Fairborn, Ohio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairborn) > [@](#): > > Fairborn was formed from the union of the two villages of Fairfield and Osborn. Fairfield was originally founded in 1816 and Osborn in 1851. ---
**Author:** ![Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Public_Animal_No.9)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/4 "2007-10-13T12:31:56Z")
Around here there’s Fuquay-Varina, NC. It’s got an [interesting story](http://www.fuquay-varina.com/resources-history.htm) behind it - which I never new before this question came up - involving a Civil War romance sparked by war-time letters to the troops (on the Southern side). The merger took place relatively late - 1963. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/5 "2007-10-13T12:51:56Z")
**Sauk Prairie Wisconsin** formed by the merger of **Sauk City** and **Prairie du Sac**. Both were one of the earliest settled cities in Wisconsin, and each one was settled by a different nationality. They fought against the each other for years. August Derleth used the name **Sac Prairie** in some of his books, having merged the two towns to write about them. August Derleth is a famous writer from Sauk City you need to read if you have no idea who he is. I see the home page lists the two separate cities for achievements even though they are merged. I guess they are more in a transitional limbo. > **[Home - Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce, WI](https://www.saukprairie.com/)** > > The Sauk Prairie Area Chamber offers company-wide benefits to businesses of all sizes. Any member employee may take advantage of the access, pricing, programs and services offered by the Chamber. Benefits are plentiful and include Business... ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/6 "2007-10-13T14:41:59Z")
“In 1968, four small beach towns - Windy Hill Beach - Crescent Beach - Ocean Drive Beach and Cherry Grove Beach… joined forces to form the [City of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina](http://www.milebymile.com/main/United_States/South_Carolina/photo_25727.html)”. (A fifth town, Atlantic Beach, remains independent from the rest). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/7 "2007-10-13T14:47:56Z")
In the year 1970-71, I moved into an apartment in the Swiss town of Marly-le-Petit in the canton of Fribourg (aka Freiburg in German). A km or so down the road, was the town of Marly-le-Grand. Sometime during the spring of '71, they merged to produce the town of–surprise–Marly. I don’t know where the original names came from but there is a French town called Marly-le-Roi. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/8 "2007-10-13T14:52:38Z")
[Fremont, California](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont%2C_California) was formed in 1956 by the merger of five cities. None of their names resembled “Fremont” in whole or in part. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/9 "2007-10-13T15:26:54Z")
La Canada Flintridge, California Chmpaign-Urbana, Illinois (formerly merged, now separated) Another name that implies a merger that never happened - Warner Robbins, Georgia ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/10 "2007-10-13T15:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Union City was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 1, 1925, replacing both Union Hill and West Hoboken Township.[6] > **[Union City, New Jersey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_City,_New_Jersey)** > > Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 18th-most-populous municipality, with a population of 68,589, an increase of 2,134 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 66,455, which in turn had reflected a decline of 633 (−0.9%) from the 67,088 counted in the 2000 census. As of the 2010 Census, among cities with a population of more than 50,000, it was the most dense Union City was incorp... ---
**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:** [October 13, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/11 "2007-10-13T15:46:15Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] My question is: Does anyone know of any more examples of type 3? Or even of type 2? Are there any examples that don’t fall into one of these categories? Please note that I’m interested in US places, although I wouldn’t mind hearing of any unusual examples from other countries. I already know about Budapest and Garnish-Parkinsons… er Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. I also understand that merged villages are fairly common in Germany and that both type 2 and type 3 are fairly common. Furthermore, some places there blend the former names together to create a new name. [/QUOTE] Two oddball examples from Quebec: 1. Hull, Gatineau, Aylmer, and a number of other municipalities were merged to create the city of Gatineau. Hull was the largest of these cities, and the most famous, as it’s immediately across the river from Ottawa (it was commonplace to speak of “Ottawa-Hull”). However, the name Gatineau designated the region in general. 2. Chicoutimi, Jonquière, La Baie and several other municipalities were merged to form the city of Saguenay. Similarly, the region had been known as the Saguenay, after the Saguenay River. So they didn’t just make up a name, but they chose one that hadn’t been that of any of the previous municipalities. 3. In 1965, the towns of Auteuil, Chomedey, Duvernay, Fabreville,Laval-des-Rapides, Laval-Ouest, Laval-sur-le-Lac, Les Îles-Laval, Pont-Viau, Saint-François, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Sainte-Dorothée, Sainte-Rose, and Vimont were merged into the city of Laval. Again, a name in common use in the area (Île Jésus, which makes up the territory of the new city, had belonged to Monseigneur de Laval), but not the name of any of the earlier municipalities. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/12 "2007-10-13T15:48:16Z")
In Utah the unincorporated communities of Hunter and Granger (suburbs of Salt Lake City) decided to merge in 1980, and adopted the name of West Valley City. Apparently they thought that this sounded better than either Grunter or Hunger. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/13 "2007-10-13T16:09:20Z")
Wasn’t Budapest formerly Buda and Pest? Just throwing that out there; I’m not really sure. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/14 "2007-10-13T16:13:55Z")
SeaTac, WA (1990) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/15 "2007-10-13T16:28:55Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] SeaTac, WA (1990) [/QUOTE] This is a new city, not a union of existing cities. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/16 "2007-10-13T16:58:40Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] 1. Hull, Gatineau, Aylmer, and a number of other municipalities were merged to create the city of Gatineau. Hull was the largest of these cities, and the most famous, as it’s immediately across the river from Ottawa (it was commonplace to speak of “Ottawa-Hull”). [/QUOTE] Actually, Gatineau was the largest of the incorporated cities, with a population of more than 100,000 (compared with [66,246](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull,_Quebec) for Hull). This, of course, was probably the result of the previous municipal amalgamations that had created Gatineau during the 70s, and that had given the city a large potential for growth. Hull, on the other hand, was much more limited in its potential expansion. It is true that Hull was more well-known, and was arguably the “central” city of the region, although I would say that Ottawa fits this role better, despite being in another province. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/17 "2007-10-13T17:24:11Z")
[QUOTE=whitetho] … joined forces to form the [City of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina](http://www.milebymile.com/main/United_States/South_Carolina/photo_25727.html)" [/QUOTE] and then came the outlet malls … ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/18 "2007-10-13T17:42:27Z")
Chesapeake City, Virginia, was formed from the merger of the city of South Norfolk and the county of Norfolk. Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, is a special case. It was the original name of the place, before it split into Old Fort Mitchell and South Fort Mitchell. When they were reunited, it was under the original name. A Canadian example: Thunder Bay, Ontario, was formed from Fort William, Port Arthur, and a couple of smaller towns, none of which was called Thunder Bay. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/19 "2007-10-13T17:49:12Z")
These pages from Wikipedia may be of interest: [Category:Amalgamated placenames](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Amalgamated_placenames) and [List of double placenames](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_placenames) ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571/20 "2007-10-13T20:47:31Z")
When the Pennsylvania boroughs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk merged, the new community took the name [Jim Thorpe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe%2C_Pennsylvania) both to honor the great athlete who had died in 1953 and to try to attract attention from people who might thus be inspired to learn about the area’s potential appeal as a tourist destination. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-merged-cities/422571.md?page=2)