# Washington, District of Columbia: What/where is Columbia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219 "2002-09-13T03:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 13, 2002, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/21 "2002-09-13T22:05:08Z")
Columbia (Span. Colombia) was also a name that many New-World intellectuals liked as an alternative to “America”, as something fairer than naming the continent after Vespucci. In South America, Bolívar originally thought of uniting the whole shebang under that name. Had to settle for less. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2002, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/22 "2002-09-13T22:53:49Z")
I have heard that Columbia and it’s variations meant “beautiful”. I believe I heard it when I lived in Columbia, SC. When Columbia SC was built it was meant to be a beautiful city. It is, but columbia certainly doesn’t describe the ugly, sandy area with gnarled pines around Columbia, nor can it describe most of current DC or the swamp that it once was. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/23 "2002-09-13T23:08:41Z")
> [@](#): > > **Then why is the chief elected official in this District of Columbia called a mayor? Mayors are usually the head of cities or towns, not districts. You’d think the head of a district would be a commissioner or governor or something.** DC has only had four mayors in its history, ever. Prior to the LBJ administration in the sixties, it had plenty of Territorial Governors who were appointed by Congress. The last Territorial Governor, Walter Washington, was also the first mayor under Home Rule. The memory of Marion Barry’s administration is the single biggest obstacle to DC ever getting voting representation in Congress. “Governor Barry” was the cachphrase that gave anone who needed one an excuse to deny the place statehood (although any DC resident who really needs the vote could do what I did and move to Virginia or Maryland). As late as the1950s, “Washington” and “DC” weren’t completely synonymous, at least in local usage. People north of Florida Avenue or west of Rock Creek would commonly address their mail by their respective neighborhoods, i.e. Brookland, DC or Cleveland Park, DC. Many residents of the DC partition of Takoma Park still address their mail as “Takoma, DC.” (Takoma Park, MD is just across Eastern Avenue.) ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/24 "2002-09-14T05:47:06Z")
While there is no governmental entity named the City of Washington, that does not mean there is no city called Washington in D.C. Just look at any map, after all. The city name continues to exist because people constantly use it, just as (as Krokodil points out) most large cities have neighborhood names that are widely used and recognized … even if those neighborhoods do not exist as governmental entities. Place names can exist independently of official bureaucracy. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/25 "2002-09-14T07:13:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > **Columbia = peace** How ironic. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2002, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/26 "2002-09-14T12:32:29Z")
But those who are actually _in_ the District of Columbia don’t refer to any particular part of the territory as “Washington.” They either refer to it by the name of the neighbourhood or as “the District (of Columbia).” “Washington” pretty much exists only as a postal address. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/27 "2002-09-14T15:18:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > \*\*Columbia = peace. I believe it is Latin. There is a southern constellation, Columba, the Dove…the symbol of peace…same route. Hope this helps. Also, there is a Columbia, MD it has no relation to DC, so don’t be confused! - Jinx \*\* While there is a connection to doves, it’s through the name of Cristoforo Colombo (Columbus’s actual name), which means dove. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/28 "2002-09-14T18:43:09Z")
acsenray, residents of D.C. do use occasionally use Washington as a territorial concept, as Krokodil explained. Of course, these days it’s used as a negative concept, i.e. the parts of the District that _aren’t_ a special neighborhood. For example, “I used to live in Georgetown, but then I moved back to NW Washington” is a perfectly possible D.C. resident statement. And of course D.C. residents will use the name Washington to explain themselves to non-natives. Non-Americans tend to give you a blank stare if you say “I used to live in D.C.” but everyone knows exactly what you mean if you say “I used to live in Washington, D.C.” Plus of course newspapers, TV newsmen, books, magazines, maps, etc. constantly refer to the city as Washington, D.C., or just plain Washington. It’s just like your own name, really. Your legal name may be James, but your mother may call you Jimmy, your co-workers may call you Jim, your old college buddy may call you Jimbo, and your Straight Dope messageboard handle might be ExplodingPorcupine. All of those names belong to you, even though only one of them is “official.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/29 "2002-09-14T19:12:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Geoduck \* > \*\*Another interesting followup, in 1889, Washington state was originally intended to be named “Columbia” referring, of course, to the river on our southern border. As the story goes (and I will try to dig up a cite tomorrow), the powers that be were concerned that there would be confusion with the District of Columbia. Of course to remedy this they named the state. . .Washington. \*\* This is why Canada has a province named “British Columbia.” It originally was used to indicate that part of the Columbia region (named after the Columbia river) that was in British territory. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/30 "2002-09-14T19:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*When growing up in Arlington, Virginia, I always lauged at the term for Northern Virginia, DC, and Southern Maryland being “Tri-State area.” DC’s not a state, and regardless of what their gov’t website says, it does not function as a state. \*\* Doesn’t the tri-State area refer to Northern VA, Southern MD, and DELAWARE? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219/31 "2002-09-14T19:19:40Z")
I was born in Washington D.C., though I’ve lived my entire life in California. This caused a problem when my sixth-grade teacher asked the class which state everyone was born in. She refused to believe that Washington was just a “district” and insisted that I was really born in Virginia. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-district-of-columbia-what-where-is-columbia/128219.md?page=1)