# What people from places call themselves **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-people-from-places-call-themselves/174274 "2003-05-10T04:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-people-from-places-call-themselves/174274/1 "2003-05-10T04:43:27Z")
Why do we add “ian” or “ite” to place names to signify the people that live there. I mean, I know we have to call them something, but why “ian” and “ite”. And are there any formal rules as to what should be the suffix to signify a resident thereof? And what on earth do you call someone from Utah? And really what on earth do you call someone from Dead Woman Crossing, WY; The Pas, MB (Canada); or, Climax, MI? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-people-from-places-call-themselves/174274/2 "2003-05-10T05:33:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morkfromork \* > **what on earth do you call someone from Utah?** The Salt Lake Tribune, which seems to be as good a source as any to consult, uses [Utahn](http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03062003/nation_w/35639.asp). However, [this handy page](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855542.html) says “Utahan” is also acceptable. Although I’ve only been an Indianan for a couple of years, I can safely say that most Indianians refer to themselves as “Hoosiers”. “Ohioans”, the group into which I was born, are more apt to use the “proper” name for themselves, although many call themselves “Buckeyes” regardless of their affiliation (or lack thereof) with The Ohio State University. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-people-from-places-call-themselves/174274/3 "2003-05-10T09:16:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morkfromork \* > **Why do we add “ian” or “ite” to place names to signify the people that live there. I mean, I know we have to call them something, but why “ian” and “ite”. And are there any formal rules as to what should be the suffix to signify a resident thereof?** Not really. Steven Pinker, setting up an inductive argument about irregularity as a universal feature of human language, used the dramatic variation in residential nouns as his prime example: > [@](#): > > This does not mean, however, that every inflection in every language has both regular and irregular words. Even in English we find all the possibilities. Though the plural and the past tense have mixtures of regular and irregular words, the progressive is completely regular . . . . In contrast, the English word for the inhabitant of a city or state is completely irregular, with _Londoners_ in London but _Bostonians_ (not _Bostoners_) in Boston, _Louisianans_ in Louisiana but _Hoosiers_ in Indiana, and no one knowing what to call someone from Massachusetts, the Northwest Territories, or the United Kingdom. Steven Pinker, _Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language_ 213 (1999). Arguably “someone from Massachusetts” would be a _Massachusettensian_, from “Massachusettensis,” or “man from Massachusetts,” a pseudonym used for a series of pro-British letters published in the _Massachusetts Gazette_ in late 1774 and early 1775 by lawyer Daniel Leonard, to which John Adams replied in a different publication under the pseudonym “Novanglus.” The pseudonym was revived in 1788 by the author of Anti-Federalist Paper No. 49. (I have also seen _Bay Stater_ used to refer to a resident of Massachusetts.) There is actually an entire book on this topic: [_Labels for Locals: What to Call People from Abilene to Zimbabwe_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0877796165/qid=1052555860/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-2438701-3253507?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Paul Dickson. The book explains how most names were derived. It is out of print, but you can usually find a copy at amazon or alibris. The book opens with an exhaustive essay about what you call these labels. You may also be interested in the thread [Citizens of various locales - what are they called?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158013)