# Washington DC named while George Washington was alive and President - were people fine with that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589 "2010-01-26T23:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/21 "2010-01-27T05:21:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Washington State was originally the Columbia Territory and applied for admission under that name. However, Congress thought it might cause confusion with the District of Columbia, so named it Washington. > > Washington was called “Washington City” through the Civil War and beyond. > [@Indistinguishable](#): > > There’s something quite amusing about that last line. “Mr. Speaker, the Columbia Territory has applied for admission to the United States” “Perfect, but…isn’t the name a possible source of confusion with the District of Columbia?” “Sure, let’s change it to something completely original” “How about…Washington” “What part of “isn’t the name a possible source of confusion” did you not get, dumbass?” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/22 "2010-01-27T05:31:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Naming a mere capital for him was the only thing he would accept, so people were absolutely thrilled to do that. Apparently, in his will he stated that he didn’t want any streets or whatever named after him (though he accepted that there probably would be), but that the one and only thing he did want named after him was a university, and stipulated that certain of his stocks should go towards the founding of that university. Even though the stocks were worthless at that time, they went ahead and founded Washington University anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/23 "2010-01-27T05:38:27Z")
I believe you actually mean to refer to George Washington University (in D.C.), rather than Washington University (in St. Louis). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/24 "2010-01-27T06:22:35Z")
Yeah, that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/25 "2010-01-27T06:39:57Z")
> [@"RealityChuck](#): > > Washington State was originally the Columbia Territory and applied for admission under that name. However, Congress thought it might cause confusion with the District of Columbia, so named it Washington. > [@Indistinguishable](#): > > There’s something quite amusing about that last line. It’s quite possibly the most ironic thing Congress has ever done. And renaming the country “United States of Columbia” would be a candidate for second most. (Assuming that the reason is to avoid confusion between the country and the continents.) New York, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia were all named after the then current monarch or one of their close relatives who were still living. There were also many places in the colonies that were similarly named. So the practice predates the founding of the country. AIUI, at least one of the Georgetowns named after a monarch was renamed after George Washington during or just after the War for Independence. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/26 "2010-01-27T06:40:28Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I believe you actually mean to refer to George Washington University (in D.C.), rather than Washington University (in St. Louis). There’s also Washington University in Virginia. The school was originally Augusta Academy, then during the Revolution was named Liberty Hall University. When Washington gave them a gift in his will, it was renamed Washington University. Then, after Robert E. Lee (who was its president) died, it got renamed Washington and Lee University. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/27 "2010-01-27T07:18:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > America is a very young and very, very large country. We have millions of things to name. Naming some after a living person, especially a president, is hardly unusual. The last [Nimitz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_George_H.W._Bush_%28CVN-77%29) class carrier is named after George H.W. Bush. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/28 "2010-01-27T08:55:46Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > I thought it was the convention everywhere not to name things after people until they were dead. The number of things in South Africa named after Nelson Mandela would tend to give the lie to that. Including 1 Metro area (but the actual city in that metro is still called Port Elizabeth - for now) ---
**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:** [January 27, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/29 "2010-01-27T13:43:49Z")
In 1947, [Levittown, NY](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York) was was named after and by the Levitts, who developed the area. So the idea of naming things for living people is far from an old one. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/30 "2010-01-27T14:01:04Z")
Dean Smith of UNC coached in the Dean Smith Center for 11 years. He retired in 97. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/31 "2010-01-27T14:01:48Z")
> [@](#): > > “Mr. Speaker, the Columbia Territory has applied for admission to the United States” > “Perfect, but…isn’t the name a possible source of confusion with the District of Columbia?” > “Sure, let’s change it to something completely original” > “How about…Washington” > “What part of “isn’t the name a possible source of confusion” did you not get, dumbass?” “You’re probably just going to make fun of my second suggestion, Georgia, also aren’t you?” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/32 "2010-01-27T14:31:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Washington was the closest thing to a living god the country has ever had. He could easily have been king for life. I think he probably would have thrown up if you suggested that to him… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/33 "2010-01-27T14:35:40Z")
They just recently (within the past ten years) made a law here in South Carolina that roads and such are not to be named after living people, because somebody they named a highway after disgraced himself in some way. Before that, it was fair game. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/34 "2010-01-27T15:06:00Z")
Didn’t George Washington also donate most of the land for the District of Columbia? At least Roslynn must have been part of his estate? And didn’t Arlington Manor and environs come down to Martha Custis through his Will? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/35 "2010-01-27T15:57:17Z")
Did anyone read my post? During Washington’s lifetime (and well after), the present area of Washington, D.C. was mostly not known as Washington. The name “Washington” only applied to a small city centered on what’s now the Mall and parts of downtown Washington. The entire district was called the Territory of Columbia. It was only gradually through the nineteenth century that the incorporated parts of the district expanded and eventually it was decided that the entire district was a single city to be called Washington, D.C. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/36 "2010-01-27T16:37:06Z")
– ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/37 "2010-01-27T16:37:46Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Didn’t George Washington also donate most of the land for the District of Columbia? At least Roslynn must have been part of his estate? And didn’t Arlington Manor and environs come down to Martha Custis through his Will? Washington was given the power to choose the boundaries of the District through the [Residence Act of 1790](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residence_Act). He wouldn’t have done anything as crass as choose his own property. In any case, Mt. Vernon is several miles past the boundaries. > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Did anyone read my post? During Washington’s lifetime (and well after), the present area of Washington, D.C. was mostly not known as Washington. The name “Washington” only applied to a small city centered on what’s now the Mall and parts of downtown Washington. The entire district was called the Territory of Columbia. It was only gradually through the nineteenth century that the incorporated parts of the district expanded and eventually it was decided that the entire district was a single city to be called Washington, D.C. This is true but somewhat misleading. That “small city” was the official “federal city” named for Washington in the same resolution of Sept. 9, 1791 that named the entire area the Territory of Columbia. It may not have covered much but that was the only important piece of a fetid swampland that everybody hated. As the important part increased in size, it kept the name Washington until D.C. and Washington coincided. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/38 "2010-01-27T17:33:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It may not have covered much but that was the only important piece of a fetid swampland that everybody hated. Well, that, and Georgetown and Alexandria, which were each substantial settlements of their own. As our good friend Wikipedia puts it: > [@](#): > > By 1800, the City of Washington had a population of 3,210, Georgetown had 2,993, and Alexandria had 4,971. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/39 "2010-01-27T18:16:18Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I think he probably would have thrown up if you suggested that to him… Even better - he wrote a letter scolding the guy who proposed it: > **[Newburgh letter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newburgh_letter)** > > On May 22, 1782, the Newburgh letter was sent to George Washington who was camped at Newburgh, New York; written for the army officers by Colonel Lewis Nicola, it proposed that Washington should become the King of the United States. Washington reacted very strongly against the suggestion, and was greatly troubled by it. > The letter could in many ways have been a turning point in American history. Nicola's proposal, while never fully formed, would not be suggesting tyranny (he rejected how others ... > **[Retired Site | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/retired-site/)** > > This Content is No Longer Available Washington was committed to American democracy, and willingly gave up power, both as a general and as President, when many would’ve been happy for him to hold it as long as he lived. He was so well-regarded among his peers that there was never really any doubt that the Federal capital would be named after him. Its flag still bears a version of his coat of arms; one of its most prominent monuments still honors him. But sometimes I think we did him a disservice in naming the capital after him. As a metonym for the Federal government, nowadays you hear the name used with disgust or disdain, as often as not. He deserves better. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589/40 "2010-01-27T20:08:59Z")
As to the naming convention, two things the Federal Government absolutely bans from honoring living people are postage stamps and currency. At other levels and in other areas of interest, there are various practices depending on who’s running the show. (\*) It’s not uncommon in some jurisdictions for there to exist actual regulation that in the case of a public property, program, structure or space, the honoree be deceased; but in very many other cases there is just a social expectation; or else the guideline is that s/he just be retired from active official posts. These practices usually provide for exceptions to be authorized by the appropriate legislative body (Congress, State Legislature, City Council, etc.) which is what you see in something like the USS Jimmy Carter. BUT, to the contrary, see the Pell Grants, where the esteemed Senator Claiborne Pell still had a few reelection campaigns in him when the program he had sponsored was officially named. It IS considered bad form as a matter of public image to do or influence the renaming yourself, and specially so if from high office: too imperial. (\*)For example: The case in my jurisdiction is that a state law requires the person be deceased (even if just an hour ago) unless it’s explicitly legislated to name the thing/place/program after a living person. Otherwise the naming is made administratively by the authority that manages the thing/place/program. Thus the Highway Authority board of directors can name the “Raúl Juliá Expressway”; but you’d need to pass a law to name the “Benicio Del Toro Bypass” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-dc-named-while-george-washington-was-alive-and-president-were-people-fine-with-that/526589.md?page=3)