Ambiguous City Names

[Rothman]

Yes, it's like asking people how to pronounce the capital of Kentucky:  is it Lou-ee-ville or is it Lou-iss-ville?  Nope, it's pronounced Frank-furrt.

Biggest city is Loo-eh-vull

[US 89]

Yes, it's like asking people how to pronounce the capital of Kentucky:  is it Lou-ee-ville or is it Lou-iss-ville?  Nope, it's pronounced Frank-furrt.

Biggest city is Loo-eh-vull

More like Loo-vull, with two syllables.

[Rothman]

Yes, it's like asking people how to pronounce the capital of Kentucky:  is it Lou-ee-ville or is it Lou-iss-ville?  Nope, it's pronounced Frank-furrt.

Biggest city is Loo-eh-vull

More like Loo-vull, with two syllables.

Nah.  There's a little hitch in there if you listen closely.

[sprjus4]

Lou-ee-ville.

[Rothman]

Lou-ee-ville.

Pfft.  Wrong.

[Scott5114]

Does the average Oklahoman even know what a borough is, let alone know their names?

I think there's a vague awareness that NYC has "boroughs", and Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn are boroughs. They don't know how many there are or what the other ones are. So you could slip in counterfeit boroughs pretty easily.

I'm pretty sure they'd know The Bronx as well as Staten Island despite Staten Island being the forgotten borough.

Nobody here knows or cares about the Bronx or Staten Island.

Just for fun, I quizzed my wife. I asked how many NYC boroughs there are. She said, "you mean, like the neighborhoods?" I said they're basically counties, but yeah. She didn't know how many there were. I asked her to name as many as she could. She got Manhattan and Brooklyn. After some hinting around about King of Queens she got Queens. She said she didn't know any others. I asked her to guess. "The Hamptons?"

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

Brooklyn actually has a sports team named after it, Bronx does not.

[NWI_Irish96]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

Brooklyn actually has a sports team named after it, Bronx does not.

When the Dodgers were founded, Brooklyn was still a separate city and not yet merged with NYC. When the Yankees were founded, the Bronx had already been part of NYC for a while.

[roadman65]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

Brooklyn actually has a sports team named after it, Bronx does not.

When the Dodgers were founded, Brooklyn was still a separate city and not yet merged with NYC. When the Yankees were founded, the Bronx had already been part of NYC for a while.

But, the Nets moved in long after NYC absorb the City of Brooklyn.

[NWI_Irish96]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

Brooklyn actually has a sports team named after it, Bronx does not.

When the Dodgers were founded, Brooklyn was still a separate city and not yet merged with NYC. When the Yankees were founded, the Bronx had already been part of NYC for a while.

But, the Nets moved in long after NYC absorb the City of Brooklyn.

Right, but the Dodgers gave Brooklyn notoriety that the other absorbed areas didn't have. Unlikely the Nets ever used the Brooklyn name if not for the Dodgers.

[empirestate]

I would have guessed more people would know the Bronx because of the Yankees, but maybe they think that's just a neighborhood or a nickname for that part of town.

Right, I think people tend to recognize the name, but not what it represents as a political entity. And that's not completely unfair in the Bronx's case, as it has perhaps the weakest name-identity outside of the borough system. Brooklyn was, after all, a separate city (and a major one at that); Queens has always been a county; and both Manhattan and Staten Island are recognized to be–well, islands. But the Bronx was a part of Westchester County until it was set off to become a borough of New York City (and even then, it didn't comprise a separate county until 1914).

[plain]

Richmond. When I'm traveling I usually tell people I live in Virginia (versus the city specifically) because they'll assume I'm talking about anything other than the capital of VA 

[webny99]

Another one that I don't think has been mentioned: Murfreesboro, AR vs TN.

The TN one is much bigger population-wise, but the AR one is much more famous.

[1995hoo]

Another one that I don't think has been mentioned: Murfreesboro, AR vs TN.

The TN one is much bigger population-wise, but the AR one is much more famous.

Whereas I think of the one in North Carolina because I lived in that state for three years.

[jmacswimmer]

How about Cambridge?  There's a small one in MD along US 50 on the eastern shore, and the larger one across the Charles from Boston.  But with zero context, a lot of people might first think of the one across the pond in England.

[Roadgeekteen]

How about Cambridge?  There's a small one in MD along US 50 on the eastern shore, and the larger one across the Charles from Boston.  But with zero context, a lot of people might first think of the one across the pond in England.

Most people I know would think of the MA one first.

[1995hoo]

How about Cambridge?  There's a small one in MD along US 50 on the eastern shore, and the larger one across the Charles from Boston.  But with zero context, a lot of people might first think of the one across the pond in England.

Most people I know would think of the MA one first.

Gee, I wonder why.

[Bruce]

Seattle has a neighborhood called Montlake, because it has views of the mountain and is situated on a lake.

There is a suburban city named Mountlake Terrace, because it has views of the mountain and the lake.

Apparently the two are mixed up quite often. Mountlake Terrace passed ordinances in the 1990s that required city employees to always use the full name rather than the nickname ("the Terrace") in part to prevent confusion with Montlake.

[Roadgeekteen]

How about Cambridge?  There's a small one in MD along US 50 on the eastern shore, and the larger one across the Charles from Boston.  But with zero context, a lot of people might first think of the one across the pond in England.

Most people I know would think of the MA one first.

Gee, I wonder why.

Always thought that the MA one was more well known nationwide because of Harvard and MIT but maybe I'm wrong.

[1995hoo]

How about Cambridge?  There's a small one in MD along US 50 on the eastern shore, and the larger one across the Charles from Boston.  But with zero context, a lot of people might first think of the one across the pond in England.

Most people I know would think of the MA one first.

Gee, I wonder why.

Always thought that the MA one was more well known nationwide because of Harvard and MIT but maybe I'm wrong.

I'd wager the one in Massachusetts is better-known nationally than the one in Maryland, but I wouldn't be surprised to find the one in England is better-known nationally than either of those, especially since the Queen gave William and Catherine the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (never underestimate how much the newspapers' "style" sections focus on the Royal Family).

[webny99]

One thing is for sure: Cambridge, NY is less well-known than the one in England, MA or MD. There's also a Cambridge in Ontario, Canada, and one in New Zealand.

But Cambridge, NY the still the first one that comes to mind for me because it's the only one in the US that I've been to (although I've also been to Cambridge, ON, many times).

[Eth]

Another one that I don't think has been mentioned: Murfreesboro, AR vs TN.

The TN one is much bigger population-wise, but the AR one is much more famous.

I can't say I'd ever heard of the one in Arkansas before this post. Tennessee, sure.

[hotdogPi]

Another one that I don't think has been mentioned: Murfreesboro, AR vs TN.

The TN one is much bigger population-wise, but the AR one is much more famous.

I can't say I'd ever heard of the one in Arkansas before this post. Tennessee, sure.

Same here.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

There are also fairly well known regional Cambridges in MN (north of MSP) and WI (east of Madison)