# Shelbyvilles, i.e. places that look like they have a generic place name in them but don't **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667 "2026-02-14T17:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/81 "2026-03-02T08:53:02Z")
Our local elementary school is the Bradt School, which fits the topic phonetically. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/82 "2026-03-04T20:47:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Hamilton Burger lost nearly every case against Perry Mason; in the original TV series, he only won twice over the course of 271 episodes. He must have had a awfully good win-record against every other lawyer in town, to keep getting elected. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/83 "2026-03-10T18:25:22Z")
Since it’s been in the news lately, I had a similar assumption about the business Florsheim Shoes. I had vaguely assumed that, since I only experienced it in the form of physical Florsheim-branded stores, that “-heim” meant “home of” as found in Nordic languages. I didn’t know what “flor” meant – apparently in Nordic languages it means “flower” rather than “floor” – but if I had thought about it I might have thought the full name meant “home of things you’re going to be putting on the floor”. It is of course named after Milton Florsheim. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/84 "2026-03-10T18:39:57Z")
I’ve got one: [Northwestern Glacier](https://www.alaska.org/detail/northwestern-glacier) on the Kenai peninsula in Alaska is not named after a geographical location, as you might expect. It is instead named after Northwestern University in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/85 "2026-03-10T19:36:33Z")
Interesting. It would never have occurred to me it was anything but someone’s name. The era of WAG 1850 to 1940 most every company was named by the founder for themselves. Or something simple like “Standard Oil” or a region like “Allegheny Railway”. The use of coinages for corporate or brand names is a creation of modern marketing. Made up brand names got started late 1800s, but didn’t really take off until a couple decades later. Made up words for corporate names mostly waited until after WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/86 "2026-03-10T20:10:41Z")
The classic example of a “Shelbyville” brand name is Max Factor cosmetics: it sounds like it’s supposed to evoke some kind of “max(imum) factor,” but it’s actually named for its founder, Max Factor Sr. (born Maksymilian Faktorowicz). ---
**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:** [March 10, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/87 "2026-03-10T20:16:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The use of coinages for corporate or brand names is a creation of modern marketing. Made up brand names got started late 1800s, but didn’t really take off until a couple decades later. Made up words for corporate names mostly waited until after WWII. Kodak, for instance, dates from 1888. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/88 "2026-03-11T01:04:37Z")
Delanson, NY sounds like it’s a person’s last name. It’s actually derived from the _ **DEL** _aware _ **AN** _d hud_ **SON** _ Railroad, which had a railroad yard there. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/89 "2026-03-12T21:56:03Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I’ve got one: [Northwestern Glacier](https://www.alaska.org/detail/northwestern-glacier) on the Kenai peninsula in Alaska is not named after a geographical location, as you might expect. It is instead named after Northwestern University in Illinois. Good one! It appears that Northwestern Glacier is in fact in the southeastern part of Kenai Fjords National Park, which in turn is on Alaska’s southern coast. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/90 "2026-03-12T22:51:01Z")
> [@robby](#): > > It is instead named after Northwestern University in Illinois. And you would expect Northwestern University to be in, you know, the Northwest. Which it is distinctly not, having been named after the Northwestern Territory, which stopped existing some 50 years before the establishment of the university. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/91 "2026-03-13T00:04:04Z")
OTOH, it (the glacier) is a decent distance Northwest of Northwestern University in suburban Chicago. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/92 "2026-03-13T00:07:17Z")
Dating as the university does from 1851, the formal Northwestern Territory may have been (recent) history, but it wasn’t that far from the then-current northwestern frontier of civilization. There were US settlers further west then, but civilization sorta ended right there in Chicago ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/93 "2026-03-13T00:15:10Z")
I’m not sure I’ve heard “Chicago” and ”civilization” in the same sentence before. (I may have lived in St. Louis too long.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/94 "2026-03-13T00:16:57Z")
As a former St. Louis resident (city proper; not no steekin’ burb!) I understand and agree. St. Louis is elegant; Chicago is a vulgar brawl. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/95 "2026-03-13T00:17:26Z")
Although not a place, I used to be confused by the fact that Northwest Airlines was headquartered in Minneapolis. From a modern perspective you’d expect an airline called Northwest to be based in, say, Seattle. But they also apparently got their name from the Northwestern Territory. On the other hand, the airline actually based in Seattle is… Alaska Airlines. Which I guess sort of make sense since Seattle historically has had close economic ties to Alaska, and it’s the logical connecting point for travel between Alaska and the Lower 48. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/96 "2026-03-13T00:22:02Z")
The early & IMO proper name of Northwest Airlines was Northwest Orient Airlines. They operated throughout the northwestern quadrant of the lower 48 USA domestically, plus Alaska. And launched out across the Pacific in a northwesterly direction to reach the northern Orient. So IMO pretty northwestern in orientation despite where HQ was cited. A few mergers later and as “orient” came to be seen as racist or something, but definitely archaic, they dropped that word from their corporate tradename. But their primary catchment area hadn’t changed: the NW quadrant of the CONUS, Alaska, and the northern Pacific. The informal corporate motto of the domestic division was: “It’s cold; it’s dark; but it’s _ours!_” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/97 "2026-03-13T00:40:33Z")
The Hand melon – a type of sweet muskmelon popular with the upper crust – was not named for the body part, but because it is grown at the Hand Melon Farm, named after Alan F. Hand, who first developed them. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/98 "2026-03-13T05:37:22Z")
I’m sure almost everyone knows this, but Chicago’s Midway Airport isn’t midway between any two landmarks. It’s named for the Battle of Midway in WWII. I wonder if there are any other airports named after a battle. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/99 "2026-03-13T07:37:19Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > It probably comes from an Irish phrase meaning (the town on) the way to the moor, which coincidentally sounds like the English words valley and mountain. That would be “an baile ar an mbealach go dtí an móinéar.” I can see baile (bahl-ya) and móinéar (moyn-yeer) maybe slightly fitting into this narrative. But it’s a stretch. The Scots Gaelic is closer, both in geography and pronunciation: “am baile air an t-slighe chun na mòintich.” I’m no expert on their pronunciation, but the consonants are much sharper, and you’ll see there’s a ‘t’ in “mòintich”. My money is on returning Scots Gaels for this one. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2026, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667/100 "2026-03-13T08:33:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m reminded of a joke in one of Isaac Asimov’s stories, set tens of thousands of years in the future where Earth is an insignificant backwater and the fact that humanity originated on a single planet has been lost. The Horsehead Nebula still has that name, but since nobody knows that it got that name because it resembles a horse’s head when seen from Earth (or knows what a horse is, for that matter), the popular belief is that it was named after an explorer named Horace Hedd. I tried doing a similar thing in the future history I write for, set ten thousand years in the future; but it turns out that nebulae like the Horsehead are fairly ephemeral things, and by the year ten thousand it will look completely different, if it exists at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelbyvilles-i-e-places-that-look-like-they-have-a-generic-place-name-in-them-but-dont/1027667.md?page=6)