Does anybody know of any places that use people's first names?
Here are some examples:
Moses Lake WA
Eugene OR
Tracy CA
Brenda AZ
Cameron AZ
Florence AZ
Salome AZ
Angela MT
Anna IL
Anthony TX
Jacob Lake AZ
Beatrice NE
Vivian OK
Enid OK
Ada OK
Norman OK
Lawrence KS
Lake Charles LA
Charlotte NC
Alice TX
Salina UT
Eunice NM
In the case of Lawrence, Kansas, the town takes the last name of its eponym (Amos Lawrence).
In Mexico there are quite a few cities and geographical features which take the first name and first last name (primer apellido) of famous Mexicans and are often shortened to just the last name on signs.
Quote from: ausinterkid on May 22, 2010, 03:09:30 AM
Beatrice NE
This one was indeed named after someone(the daughter of the city's founder), but it is not pronounced like the name usually is-instead of BEE-uh-triss, it's pronounced bee-AT-triss. The way someone pronounces this is the surest way to identify an outsider in Nebraska.
Also, there are some instances of where a city(usually the county seat) is the first name of the person for whom the county that it is in is named for. Nebraska has 2 of these-David City in Butler County, named after David Butler, the first governor of Nebraska and just north of that is Schuyler in Colfax County named after Schuyler Colfax who was Vice President during President Ulysses S. Grant's first term of office. Along that same line in Kansas is Ulysses in Grant County-named after the aforementioned President Ulysses S. Grant.
WV:
Eleanor, named for FDR's wife, in Putnam County. It was one of five "new deal" project towns around the country.
Nearby is "Black Betsy" named for a local black lady who founded a folk medicine hospital (as with all "new deal" project towns, Eleanor was 100% whites only).
Ellenboro, in Ritchie County, named for Ellen Williamson, daughter of the B&O railroad predident.
Elizabeth, the county seat of Wirt County, named for Elizabeth Beauchamp, the wife of the town's founder.
Jane Lew, in Lewis County, named for Jane Lou Lewis, the mother of a local developer. Corrupted from "Jane Lou".
In Georgia:
Hampton, which is in Clayton County
Tyrone, which is in Fayette County
Roberta, which is in Crawford County
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Those all that I can think of off of the top of my head.
Be well,
Bryant
Archie, MO
Marcella, AR
Pinson, AL
- Edison, NJ
- Wayne, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Ewing, NJ
- Washington, NJ
- Franklin, NJ
Quote from: Bryant5493 on May 22, 2010, 08:20:42 AM
In Georgia:
Hampton, which is in Clayton County
Tyrone, which is in Fayette County
Roberta, which is in Crawford County
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Those all that I can think of off of the top of my head.
Be well,
Bryant
Don't forget Savannah, Marietta, Rome and Augusta. My grandmother's late friend was named Augusta.
In Mississippi:
Brandon
Clinton
Flora
Florence
Hernando
Houston
Jackson
Laurel
Lawrence
Lena
Louise
Madison
Marion
Magnolia (WLBT-TV anchorwoman Maggie Wade's given first name is Magnolia)
Morton
Newton
Pearl
Prentiss
Purvis
Raymond
Rome
Sharon
Terry
Winona
I know some names, like Jackson and Morton, are commonly used as last names. Heck, Ole Miss' football coach is Houston Nutt.
I'm sure I'll have more names later when I can think of them.
Quote from: golden eagle on May 22, 2010, 08:43:08 PM
Ole Miss' football coach is Houston Nutt.
Which is something I am grateful for.
LeMars, Iowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mars,_Iowa) was reportedly assembled from the first names of six ladies who arrived with an investor: Lucy Underhill, Elizabeth Parson, Mary Weare, Anna Blair, Rebecca Smith and Sarah Reynolds.
the state of Indiana is named after a famous archaeologist.
:rofl: good one!! :clap:
Laurel, Mississippi
Ahh.. the split of I-70 & I-270 in Maryland:
Frederick, MD
What about Ann Arbor? Ann Arbor is not a proper name, but the wives of present-day Ann Arbor's founders were both named Ann and that "arbor" represent that burr oak tree that was on the land the founders bought from the federal government.
Rachel, Nevada (named after an actual baby Rachel).
For those of you just naming cities and towns, how do you know these weren't last names? Most of the non-explained examples could easily have been named for last names instead. Mr. Winkler already pointed out one such example.
Quote from: froggie on May 23, 2010, 09:51:07 AM
For those of you just naming cities and towns, how do you know these weren't last names? Most of the non-explained examples could easily have been named for last names instead. Mr. Winkler already pointed out one such example.
In the case of Jackson, MS, you are right, since it was named for Andrew Jackson. But I do know people whose first name is Jackson and a co-worker named her son Rome.
From Wikipedia...
-Annapolis, MD (Anne of Great Britain)
-Ansonia, CT (Anson Greene Phelps)
-Augusta, ME (daughter of Henry Dearborn)
-Bennington, VT (colonial governor Benning Wentworth)
-Bennington, NH (same as above)
-Bradley, ME (Bradley Blackman-settler)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jim Thorpe, Pa. yet.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 22, 2010, 10:49:19 PM
the state of Indiana is named after a famous archaeologist.
I just got that. :-D :-D
Be well,
Bryant
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Albert Lea, MN. Here's a Wikipedia entry on who he is:
The city is named after Albert Miller Lea, a topographer with the United States Dragoons, who surveyed southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in 1835, including the current site of Albert Lea.[4] Captain Nathan Boone, a son of Daniel Boone, was the scout for Lea's unit.
Albert Lea received national attention in 1959 after Local 6 of the United Packinghouse Workers of America went on strike against Wilson & Co. (one of the Big Four meatpacking plants at the time) over issues involving mandatory overtime requirements.[5] When Wilson & Co. attempted to operate the plant with replacement workers, violence erupted and split the town. During the 109-day strike, Governor Orville Freeman acted to quell the violence by closing the plant, calling in the Minnesota National Guard, and (on December 11) declaring martial law.[6] A Federal district court in Minneapolis ruled against the Governor on December 23, and the plant turned back to Wilson & Co. just days later.[7]
Prince George, VA(named in honor of Queen Anne's husband Prince George of Denmark according to Wikipedia)
Byron, Georgia
Be well,
Bryant
Adelaide, South Australia is named after William IV's wife.
Victoria on the island of Gozo, Malta (was Rabat, but there's one of those on the island of Malta). In fact, there's just a large number of Victoria-named places that come from the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, Empress of India, etc, etc - the Australian state, the waterfall, etc
All the Alexandrias dotted over the Greek empire, likewise.
Telford after engineer Thomas is a new (even for America - 1970s) town by his Ironbridge and on his Holyhead Road.
Many English places are named after families or people, but have been morphed over time. Milton Keynes is not named after John Milton and John Maynard Keynes (which is a fairly common myth), but after the village of Middleton, whose manor was owned by the de Cahaines family, and got called Middleton de Cahaines to distinguish it from other Middletons and that got tweaked to Milton Keynes through mispronunciation and shortening.