# Placename acronyms, anagrams and acrostics **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410 "2017-10-21T04:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/21 "2017-10-23T13:51:43Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > One of the Colorado narrow gauge railroads began at a point they called Dot Zero on the map. This was later modified to Dotsero, which I guess sounded more Hispanic and romantic. The other end of the line became Orestod (Dotsero backward). Yes, I knew about these. They were in the arcticle about reversed place names I wrote about 20 years ago. There’s a similar pair of towns in Pennsylvania that were company towns – I forget their names off-hand. Oh, I remember, Revloc and Colver. Technically, a reversal is an anagram, just one that has more stringent restrictions. So I’m thinking now I’ll break out the anagram list and put it in a second list with the reversals and leave the acronyms and acrostics together. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Are you only interested in names of municipalities? Because a bunch of NYC neighborhoods seem to qualify, such as Tribeca, Soho, DUMBO, Nolita and so forth. Some are just the inventions of real estate agents and developers while others are more well-established. Ah, of course. Forgot all about those (although actually I only knew about the first two). Yes, those are good. As for the street names suggested above, right now I’m thinking that’s too low a level of geographic location. I’ll keep them in mind if I decide to expand the category. Or maybe someone else will add them once this goes prime-time (i.e. gets made into a regular wiki page). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/22 "2017-10-23T14:31:09Z")
There are other city neighborhoods that have names that might qualify, even if most of them are marketing creations. Like SoBe for the South Beach neighborhood of Miami, or SoMa for the South of Market area of San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/23 "2017-10-23T14:49:19Z")
Grenora, North Dakota, from Great Northern Railway. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/24 "2017-10-23T14:58:26Z")
In the Kansas City area, there is the town of Claycomo, which is in CLAY COunty MO. Lake Jacomo is in JAckson COunty MO. Down south Missouri, there’s Lake Taneycomo. Guess we here it is? Seems like there’s another one I’m forgetting. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/25 "2017-10-23T16:38:19Z")
> [@Mona\_Lott](#): > > Grenora, North Dakota, from Great Northern Railway. > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > In the Kansas City area, there is the town of Claycomo, which is in CLAY COunty MO. > > Lake Jacomo is in JAckson COunty MO. > > Down south Missouri, there’s Lake Taneycomo. Guess we here it is? > > Seems like there’s another one I’m forgetting. These are all good and I’ve added them. Appreciate the additions. Also added some of the neighborhood ones. I’'ll get around to the others soon. Probably want to put a note about how many of them are not in common use but were mainly coined for real estate marketing purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/26 "2017-10-23T16:39:38Z")
My hometown, [Reston, Virginia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston,_Virginia), gets its name from the initials of the founder, Robert E. Simon. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/27 "2017-10-23T17:05:50Z")
Norco, one in Louisiana ( **N** ew **O** rleans **R** efining **Co** mpany) and one in California ( **Nor** th **Co** rona Land Company). ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/28 "2017-10-24T00:28:30Z")
Not a place name but a region - when I lived in Aw Benny, Georgia, the locals referred to the area as SOWEGA for SOuth WEst GA and when I lived in Wilmington, NC, they referred to the area as SENCLAND for SouthEast North Carolina Land before they gave up on that. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/29 "2017-10-24T00:37:50Z")
When former Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke had his new stadium built in Landover, MD, the complex was big enough to warrant its own zip code. This being the case, they allowed Cooke to come up with a city name to match the zip code. Cooke came up with the unbelievably stupid “Raljon” to commemorate his two sons, Ralph and John. Say what you want about current owner Dan Snyder but he at least had the good sense to get rid of the name and allow Landover some modicum of credit. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/30 "2017-10-24T01:38:50Z")
Across the river from St. Louis, there’s a municipality originally called Alcoa, then incorporated as Alorton (Aluminum Ore Town.) Mokane, Mo. was a stop for the Missouri Kansas & Eastern Railway. The folks in Oklahoma seem to like this a lot. There’s Lake Texoma, Arkoma, Texola (which had been called both Texokla and Texoma), not to be confused with Texhoma. And Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas (and LouisiANA) as well as the tiny state line village of Arkana, Louisiana. Mexicali is just across the U.S.-Mexico border from Calexico. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/31 "2017-10-24T02:10:14Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Across the river from St. Louis, there’s a municipality originally called Alcoa, then incorporated as Alorton (Aluminum Ore Town.) > > Mokane, Mo. was a stop for the Missouri Kansas & Eastern Railway. > > The folks in Oklahoma seem to like this a lot. There’s Lake Texoma, Arkoma, Texola (which had been called both Texokla and Texoma), not to be confused with Texhoma. > > And Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas (and LouisiANA) as well as the tiny state line village of Arkana, Louisiana. > > Mexicali is just across the U.S.-Mexico border from Calexico. I grew up not far from Mokane, and had no idea! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/32 "2017-10-24T02:44:24Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > My hometown, [Reston, Virginia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston,_Virginia), gets its name from the initials of the founder, Robert E. Simon. Good. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Norco, one in Louisiana ( **N** ew **O** rleans **R** efining **Co** mpany) and one in California ( **Nor** th **Co** rona Land Company). Good, good. > [@Ignatz](#): > > Not a place name but a region - when I lived in Aw Benny, Georgia, the locals referred to the area as SOWEGA for SOuth WEst GA and when I lived in Wilmington, NC, they referred to the area as SENCLAND for SouthEast North Carolina Land before they gave up on that. Nah, I’ll skip these. I want things that could reasonably be called a city, town, or village. I’ll extend that to townships or the equivalent in other countries (municipalities, communes, civil parishes, etc.) I don’t want anything bigger. I did put a couple lakes on the list, but am not sure I’ll keep them. > [@kunilou](#): > > Across the river from St. Louis, there’s a municipality originally called Alcoa, then incorporated as Alorton (Aluminum Ore Town.) > > Mokane, Mo. was a stop for the Missouri Kansas & Eastern Railway. These two are good. > [@](#): > > The folks in Oklahoma seem to like this a lot. There’s Lake Texoma, Arkoma, Texola (which had been called both Texokla and Texoma), not to be confused with Texhoma. > > And Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas (and LouisiANA) as well as the tiny state line village of Arkana, Louisiana. > > Mexicali is just across the U.S.-Mexico border from Calexico. I mentioned these state name portmanteaus upthread. There’s already a list of them on Wikipedia and I don’t see any point in duplicating it. It’s a lot easier to just give a link to it. So I’m restricting the state name blends to those that have at least 3 states blended. There’s only a handful of those. I haven’t added Texarkana yet, but I knew about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/33 "2017-10-24T03:06:11Z")
How about a country name that’s an acronym? From the Wikipedia article on Pakistan, “The name of the country was coined in 1933 as Pakstan by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never, using it as an acronym (“thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN”) referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan. The letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct, meaningful, and colorful name.” ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/34 "2017-10-24T05:36:20Z")
People who live in Orange County, California, are familiar with Katella Boulevard, which is a major east-west thoroughfare. The County bought the land for it from a farmer who exacted a promise that the street would be named after his two daughters: Kate and Ella. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/35 "2017-10-24T15:17:36Z")
I was aware of Pakistan, but see my comments above about this being about cities, towns, etc. As far as street names, I’ve already mentioned those too. Another thing is that I don’t want this list to get out of hand size-wise. So for blends of randoms names, I’m only going to list those derived three or more of them. Strictly speaking, blends of just two words or names are portmanteaus. There’s lots of those that I run across but I don’t feel like listing them. If anyone wants such a list, feel free to create a page yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/36 "2017-10-24T18:57:22Z")
A Florida retirement community is named Nalcrest, which stands for **N** ational **A** ssociation of **L** etter **C** arriers **R** etirement, **E** ducation, **S** ecurity and **T** raining. I first became aware of the community courtesy of a trivia item that mentioned that, as might be expected of a place that catered to ex-postal workers, [no dogs are allowed.](https://postalmuseum.si.edu/postalemployeesafterhours/retirement.html) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/37 "2017-10-25T01:57:08Z")
The town of Germfask, in Upper Michigan, was so named as the least ludicrous pronounceable combination of the initial letters of the surnames of the eight original settlers who founded the town. Similarly, Hemaruka, Alberta, was so named by the founder, whose daughters were HElen, MArgaret RUth and KAthleen. I have been to both towns. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/38 "2017-10-25T16:17:31Z")
Nalcrest, Germfask, Hemaruka: all good additions. Thank you very much. I’ve been thinking about the title and decided to change from “acrostics” to “initialisms”. The former was not quite right; the latter is a vaguer term that fits, although it could also mean acronyms. I’ll explain the difference as I’m using the terms here. I found a way to find some of these. There’s a number of books that have etymologies of place names, each usually about those within a single state/province. Most are on googlebooks or another site with old texts and have a search function. I can search for terms like “initials” and “letters” on those. Doesn’t always find all of them and the search function can be flakey at times, but it’s better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/39 "2017-10-25T16:27:29Z")
Not towns, but Honduras has a bunch of new county-sized territories (called \*concejos territoriales \*in Spanish), in the indigenous Muskitia region (Mosquito Coast), and their names are mostly portmanteau blends of (usually) two or three major towns/villages within them. Their names are on [this map here.](http://prmapping.res.ku.edu/MASTA_CTs_ICP.html) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410/40 "2017-10-25T16:44:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > As far as I know, the only other named place whose name is its state spelled backwards is Aksarben Racetrack, in Omaha, Nebraska. Historical update: [Aksarben](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ak-Sar-Ben_(arena)) hasn’t been a racetrack since 1995. Now the land is a “mixed-use development” called [Aksarben Village](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksarben_Village). I’m having a hard time intuiting OP’s restrictions, so I don’t know if the toponym of a shopping/office district should count, but there you go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placename-acronyms-anagrams-and-acrostics/799410.md?page=3)