# Town names not duplicated within US state - how enforced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917 "2008-07-01T16:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/21 "2008-07-02T12:47:39Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Ohio has a hardcore [Madison Township](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Township%2C_Ohio) and [Union Township](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Township%2C_Ohio) fetish. [/QUOTE] There are 18 Union Townships in the state of Pennsylvania. I grew up in the one in Washington County. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/22 "2008-07-02T13:48:42Z")
[QUOTE=suranyi] The thing is, there are different KINDS of names of towns, for different purposes. For example, there are postal names, used by the USPS, there are official names, which is what the official name of the city is, and there are neighborhood names. These may or may not be the same. The USPS requires that there are not duplicate postal names within the same state. [/QUOTE] How do I find out the postal name for a particular address in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/23 "2008-07-02T14:30:02Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] How do I find out the postal name for a particular address in the US? [/QUOTE] A famous example is Beverly Hills 90210. If the Wikipedia article is to be believed, most of the 90210 zip code is geographically in Los Angeles, but all incoming mail is supposed to be addressed ‘Beverly Hills’. The kids in the Los Angeles part of the zip code go to LAUSD schools. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/24 "2008-07-02T14:48:41Z")
> [@](#): > > How do I find out the postal name for a particular address in the US? Try [www.usps.com](http://www.usps.com). On the upper left you’ll find a link for “Find a ZIP Code.” If you already have the ZIP but don’t know the city, you can enter that and you’ll get the city. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/25 "2008-07-02T14:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] How do I find out the postal name for a particular address in the US? [/QUOTE] The USPS website will show the preferred town name associated with a given address and zip code, as well as acceptable alternate(s). ---
**Author:** ![cedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedman)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/26 "2008-07-02T16:12:11Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] During the growth of the USA the postal authority often changed the name of a new town. _snip_ [/QUOTE] \ The US Corps of Engineers has a tradition of naming dams they build after the nearest US post office… with one exception. The dam in Summersville, WV is called Summersville Dam after the second nearest post office. The post office that was nearest at the time of construction was the Gad post office. Gad Dam does have a certain ring to it but more conservative heads prevailed. \ ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/27 "2008-07-03T05:29:22Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Supposedly a town in Missouri wanted to call itself “Marysville.” The post office demurred say the state already had one, the name had to be unique. So it is now Unique. (I never bothered to check. A nice story though.) [/QUOTE] Reminds me of the story of [Nameless, Texas](http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/NN/hrn39.html). ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/28 "2008-07-03T06:02:30Z")
The record for the most common placename within one state is **Five Points** , of which there are 32 in Pennsylvania alone. That includes 6 in Mercer County! However, it should be noted that most of these places are merely rural localities, usually where there’s a 5-way intersection or something close to it. But the most common placename in the US is either **Midway** (211) or **Fairview** (256), depending on how you count them. Fairview is most common if you count alternate names, historical names, names of subdivisions and also counting Fair View as the same. Midway is most common if you don’t count them. Interestingly, neither is the name found in the most states. That distinction belongs to **Riverside** which can be found in 46 states. The ones that don’t have one are OK, LA, HI and AK. Oklahoma used to have a Riverside, though, and there’s some indication on the net that Louisiana used to as well. I used to have an article I wrote for a magazine about this on my webpage. But last winter I switched ISPs and haven’t gotten around to uploading the pages yet. All the data above come from the Geographic Names Information System, which you can find via your favorite search engine. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/29 "2008-07-03T12:17:08Z")
I came in here to mention New Jersey. All legal documents have to have the name of the county on them to clear up some of the confusion. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/30 "2008-07-03T13:03:56Z")
[QUOTE=cedman] \ The US Corps of Engineers has a tradition of naming dams they build after the nearest US post office… with one exception. The dam in Summersville, WV is called Summersville Dam after the second nearest post office. The post office that was nearest at the time of construction was the Gad post office. Gad Dam does have a certain ring to it but more conservative heads prevailed. \ [/QUOTE] That’s a good one. At least somebody had some common sense. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/31 "2008-07-03T14:32:13Z")
[QUOTE=GythaOgg] (Which is not part of St. Louis County, but a seperate city all its own. It’s an odd situation that I’ve heard rumored is duplicated nowhere else in the country) [/QUOTE] It’s nowhere near unique. Besides Virginia, where all cities are jurisdictionally separate from the surrounding counties, there are also numrerous scattered examples such as Baltimore. The City of Baltimore is not part of Baltimore County. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/32 "2008-07-03T18:26:07Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Supposedly a town in Missouri wanted to call itself “Marysville.” The post office demurred say the state already had one, the name had to be unique. So it is now Unique. (I never bothered to check. A nice story though.) [/QUOTE] I’ve always heard this attributed to [Peculiar, MO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peculiar%2C_Missouri). I don’t believe Unique, MO exists. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/33 "2008-07-03T19:01:03Z")
There are at least 2 Midways in Georgia. And they’re not that far apart. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/34 "2008-07-03T19:01:13Z")
Seens like the OP was answered. Apparently there is no enforcement. 😉 [QUOTE=Mr. Moto] There are 18 Union Townships in the state of Pennsylvania. I grew up in the one in Washington County. [/QUOTE] There are two in New Jersey. There is also a Union City, Union Beach and Union County. There used to be 5 more Union Townships but they either changed their names or got absorbed. > [@](#): > > A famous example is Beverly Hills 90210. If the Wikipedia article is to be believed, most of the 90210 zip code is geographically in Los Angeles, but all incoming mail is supposed to be addressed ‘Beverly Hills’. The kids in the Los Angeles part of the zip code go to LAUSD schools. In my part of the state there are lots of cases where the mailing address does not match the town. My town does not exist as a postal address in spite of the fact that it is pretty large in area (but rural). There is no post office in town. Depending on what part of town you live in you get a mailing address with the name of the town that contains a post office closest to your house. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/35 "2008-07-04T01:37:34Z")
Well, here in Michigan, there are three “Clinton Townships.” According to the post office, the non-charter township is simply “Clinton”; the charter (home-rule) township is “Clinton Township”; and the other non-charter doesn’t have a mailing address that I could find. The probably use the closest town name. When I grew up in a non-charter township, we shared the zip code and postal city name with the nearest town, despite the fact that the town was physically located within another township. Today it has its own zip and postal town name, and since has been chartered – I wonder if that’s related? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/36 "2008-07-07T19:37:12Z")
There are two Rochesters in New York, the [large, well-known one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester%2C_New_York), and a [smaller one in Ulster County](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester%2C_Ulster_County%2C_New_York). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/37 "2008-07-08T00:57:48Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] But the most common placename in the US is either **Midway** (211) or **Fairview** (256), depending on how you count them. Fairview is most common if you count alternate names, historical names, names of subdivisions and also counting Fair View as the same. Midway is most common if you don’t count them. [/QUOTE] Wikipedia says there are 288 Fairviews, counting all possible subdivisions. I don’t know if they’re counting Fair\_View too (or if their number is even accurate). I used to live in Fairview, California, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from my address. All letters in that zip were addressed to Hayward. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/38 "2008-07-08T02:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] There are 18 Union Townships in the state of Pennsylvania. I grew up in the one in Washington County. [/QUOTE] Pennsylvania seems to be a pretty bad offender when it comes to this kind of thing. We also have seven Middletowns and a couple of Middletown Townships. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/39 "2008-07-08T03:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sigmagirl] The post office wields some clout, too. [/QUOTE] But how come they don’t at the in-town level? I’ve heard two news stories in the past three years about the fire departments forcing towns to rid themselves of duplicate street names - when there has been an emergency services have had to check out **both** North streets and so on. I think both towns in question were established in the 1700s, so you’d think they’d of had time to work out the street names before now… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917/40 "2008-07-08T04:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] But how come they don’t at the in-town level? [/quote] The Postal Service has no actual authority to make a local government do anything. Their power extends to designating postal addresses for nothing more than delivering the mail. If a Number/Street/City/State/Zip combination is unambiguous for their purposes then they will rarely go any further than that. > [@](#): > > I’ve heard two news stories in the past three years about the fire departments forcing towns to rid themselves of duplicate street names - when there has been an emergency services have had to check out **both** North streets and so on. I think both towns in question were established in the 1700s, so you’d think they’d of had time to work out the street names before now… I don’t think it’s a case in which the fire department has forced the town to do something. The fire department is usually part of the municipal government itself. Also, in the past, the expectations of the service and efficacy of emergency services was not as high as they are now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-names-not-duplicated-within-us-state-how-enforced/454917.md?page=3)