My dad went to college in West Virginia (Fairmont State) and he said that there were A LOT of things named after Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Streets, buildings, bridges, everything. Are there any other people who have a lot of things named after them?
George Washington.
Most Confederate leaders of course, particularly Jefferson Davis (inspiration for any number of counties, high schools, and people throughout the south in spite of the fact he was soundly hated by most southerners towards the end of the war).
And on the other end of an extreme, I think Rosa Parks is a bit overlauded when it comes to place names. I understand Detroit, Tuskegee and Montgomery (places where she lived) having streets named for her, but I think cities that she never lived in or had anything to do with should go for a civil rights hero who was more local.
Ellen Browning Scripps was a busy wee bee in this area: There are hospitals and clinics, a college, an institute, a whole area of town (Scripps Ranch), an acquarium, even a spelling bee.
Around these parts, you’ll find all sorts of things named for Edward Doheny, Leland Stanford, and Henry Huntington.
Christopher Columbus. Far too many Columbus’s and Columbia’s around.
Martin Luther King Jr. There are streets named for him in at least 730 cities in the US.
And that isn’t counting the hospitals, schools and such. Yes, he did a lot of good things but that is some serious saturation.
There are about a million Churches of Christ everywhere I go. For once I’d like to see a church of someone else!
Lenin had virtually everything named after him in the Soviet Union. I don’t know how much is still named after him since the Communists lost power.
I’ve always enjoyed seeing the Vince Lombardi rest stop on the NJ Turnpike. And I used to walk by Regis Philbin Avenue. I know, they don’t fit the OP, but it MPSIMS. Have mercy.
I even had a thread not so long ago about how many Franklin towns there are. But the same sort of thing applies to Jackson, Madison, and Lincoln. There seems to be a fair number of places bearing Reagan’s name, too.
I know a lot of states have towns named Columbus. Hardly any towns are named Vespucci.
The school district we live in names all of its elementary schools after honored district employees. I think that’s wonderful.
While the city of Leningrad reverted back to it’s original name of St. Petersburg it’s still located in the Leningrad oblast.
Lachlan Macquarie appears to be doing pretty well for himself in Australia. Bill Bryson noted that he had a fondness for naming things after himself, and upon investigation doesn’t seem to have been exaggerating.
Every damn town in Chile has an avenue called O’Higgins. Why would some Irish bloke be so famous? Bernardo O’Higgins was the Geroge Washington of Chile. He was one of the commanders to successfully lead Chile to victory over the Spanish in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the third Supreme Director of Chile (1817–23), O’Higgins was the first holder of this title to head a fully independent Chilean state.
Otto.
Ottomobiles
Ottomatic transmission.
Ottoerotica
There are a fair number of things named after some “Dawson” person in western Canada. I think he was a geographer or explorer or mapmaker or something.
Lots of it is. When I went to Russia I was surprised to find so much retaining of Soviet names and so much remaining Soviet art. While Stalin had basically vanished, Lenin was still very much present.
Jefferson Davis has got to be the no-brainer pick here. I mean, maybe Dawson and Macquarie shouldn’t be on as much crap as they are, maybe you’re sick of seeing a “Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. Avenue” in every city, but Jefferson Davis was a traitor and a war criminal.
It’s as if southeastern Norway were to start naming things after Vidkun Quisling.
To be fair, Macquarie was an *extremely * significant and influential person in the development of the colony of New South Wales.