# Place names with both first and last names

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 26, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639 "2016-12-26T07:36:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/1 "2016-12-26T07:36:38Z")

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Places are frequently named after people. Usually it’s just the last name (when named for men, that is, which are the bulk of such names; when named for women, it’s usually the first name). But occasionally, they’re named with both the first and last names. I’m looking for examples of this last category.

I already have a number of them, especially in the US. **Jim Thorpe** PA, **Jean Lafitte** LA, **Gene Autry** OK, and **Robert Lee** TX (named for the Confederate general) are several examples. I know of half a dozen or so others that are much more obscure. I’m also looking for counties named in this way, such as **Ann Arundel County** MD and some named for Jefferson Davis in various states.

Outside the US, I don’t have much. Chemnitz, Germany was named **Karl-Marx-Stadt** during the Cold War, but they voted to revert in 1990. There’s several named for [Simon Bolivar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar_(disambiguation)) in various countries, including some county equivalents. And then there’s **Ho Chi Minh City** , but that’s it.

So anyone know of any others? Or even any that on the surface look like they may qualify until you actually find out their origin. **Ann Arbor** MI for example.

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### Author: ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/2 "2016-12-26T07:42:20Z")

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San Juan Capistrano, California.

Ho Chi Minh City.

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### Author: ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/3 "2016-12-26T07:47:58Z")

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> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Or even any that on the surface look like they may qualify until you actually find out their origin. **Ann Arbor** MI for example.

In this category, Milton Keynes, England, I think would fit.

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### Author: ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/4 "2016-12-26T07:55:15Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> San Juan Capistrano, California.
> 
> Ho Chi Minh City.

Thank You.

> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> In this category, Milton Keynes, England, I think would fit.

Also thank you.

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### Author: ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/5 "2016-12-26T09:23:15Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam does a lot of naming of places (surburbs especially) and streets after people… there’s a million places to with the full name listed there. So Vietnam, China, Laos are probably extremely fertile ground … but pointless to mention again

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### Author: ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/6 "2016-12-26T09:26:48Z")

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In Argentina a “city” with population 88000 odd, is named  
“Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña” … So its got Title and full name… First , Middle and Surname.

Also in Argentina, there’s a part of Buenes Aires with population of 300,000 named Vicente Lopez .

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### Author: ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/7 "2016-12-26T09:29:57Z")

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> [@Isilder](#):
>
> Vietnam does a lot of naming of places (surburbs especially) and streets after people… there’s a million places to with the full name listed there. So Vietnam, China, Laos are probably extremely fertile ground … but pointless to mention again

I was wondering whether to exclude certain parts of the world, but didn’t know enough about the naming patterns everywhere. I did look on Wikipedia to see if certain high-level Chinese leaders had places named after them, but it didn’t show anything. Which doesn’t mean anything, of course.

So lets avoid those three countries and any others with similar naming patterns. I’m mostly interested in countries with westernized naming patterns anyway.

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### Author: ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/8 "2016-12-26T09:38:50Z")

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> [@Isilder](#):
>
> In Argentina a “city” with population 88000 odd, is named  
> “Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña” … So its got Title and full name… First , Middle and Surname.
> 
> Also in Argentina, there’s a part of Buenes Aires with population of 300,000 named Vicente Lopez .

Thank you. Looking it up, I find that Sáenz Peña is actually the family name, not a middle-last name.

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### Author: ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/9 "2016-12-26T09:42:33Z")

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Morgan Hill, California is NOT named after a hill named after a guy named Morgan. 🙂  
The name is shorthand for “Morgan Hill’s Ranch,” the name given to the community built around the holdings of Hiram Morgan Hill and his wife Diana née Murphy.

> [@septimus](#):
>
> Ho Chi Minh City.

My face is red. :o I raced to click for San Juan Capistrano so I could be first 😛 , did an ETA when I thought of Saigon’s new name; _then_ checked to see if OP had already mentioned it. I then clicked for re-edit/delete but the Five-Minute window had expired. (Would it really be that hard to change to a SIX-minute window? :rolleyes: )

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### Author: ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/10 "2016-12-26T10:58:09Z")

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Are we limited to cities, or would street names be allowed?

How about Marten Luther King Jr. Street or boulevard in Portland Oregon? I bet that there are many more streets named after him.

Parks? Amelia Earhart Park near Miami Florida? There are a few streets near airports named after her.

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### Author: ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/11 "2016-12-26T10:58:39Z")

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There’s [Peterlee,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterlee) in County Durham, England. Named after miners leader[Peter Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lee_(trade_unionist)).

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### Author: ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/12 "2016-12-26T11:22:49Z")

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> [@48Willys](#):
>
> There are a few streets near airports named after her.

And there’s a lot of airports with full names (JFK, John Lennon Airport, etc)

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### Author: ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/13 "2016-12-26T11:30:47Z")

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I think Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta in Andhra Pradesh, India, qualifies. Google shows it as “Venkata narasimha raju’s city” although it runs fore-, middle- and sur-names together.

A mountaintop in New Zealand has one of the longer place names: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. Google translates this Māori as “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one;” so it would qualify if “the man with the big knees,” or one of Tamatea’s other distinctions, qualifies as a surname.

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### Author: ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/14 "2016-12-26T11:35:03Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> In this category, Milton Keynes, England, I think would fit.

That’s right. Milton isn’t really a first name in this country.  
The village was originally known as Middelton Kaynes before the new town was built.

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### Author: ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/15 "2016-12-26T13:03:57Z")

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Texas has counties named Tom Green, Jim Wells, Jim Hogg, Deaf Smith and Jeff Davis.

In Mexico, there is a city named Felipe Carillo Puerto. (t is not a port (puerto), but Puerto was the namesake’s last name.

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### Author: ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/16 "2016-12-26T13:30:10Z")

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[Jeff Davis County, Georgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Davis_County,_Georgia)

Also [Texas, Mississippi and a Louisiana parish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Davis_County).

Also [Ben Hill County, Georgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hill_County,_Georgia).

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### Author: ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/17 "2016-12-26T13:46:20Z")

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More from the l[ist of US Counties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_counties_and_county_equivalents)

[Jo Daviess County, IL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hill_County,_Georgia)

[Roger Mills County, OK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Mills_County,_Oklahoma)

There could be others in that list that I missed in looking through it.

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### Author: ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/18 "2016-12-26T14:53:10Z")

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[John Day, Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Day,_Oregon). John Day was a fur trapper in Astoria, Oregon. While traveling down the Columbia River he was captured by local Indians near the mouth of what is now the John Day River, stripped naked and released, along with his partner Ramsay Crooks. While Day has the city, the river, and an entire recreational region named for him, Crooks has been forgotten.

Many military bases are named for people, such as Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.

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### Author: ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/19 "2016-12-26T14:56:38Z")

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The state of Washington has a natural, the town of George.

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### Author: ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [December 26, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-with-both-first-and-last-names/775639/20 "2016-12-26T15:01:15Z")

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Flin Flon, Manitoba is named after the fictional character Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin. So I guess that’s half a middle name and half a last name?

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