How do you get a creek named after you?

[bugo]

There's a creek on my dad's property.  As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a name.  I want to name it after my family who live along this creek.  First, where is there a map that shows the name of every little creek?  Second, if the creek is indeed unnamed, what is the process for naming the creek?

[Scott5114]

Good question–contact the Arkansas Geological Survey (or whatever) perhaps?

[usends]

The place to start is by viewing the 1:24k USGS topo of the area, and see if the creek is named on there (you can use mapper.acme.com for this).  If it's not named, then in order to make your proposed name official, the US Board on Geographic Names must make a ruling on it.  The primary thing the USBGN will consider is whether you can provide evidence that the proposed name is in common local usage.  If the entire creek is on your family's land, this might be fairly easy to demonstrate.  But if not, then it would be best to achieve consensus among local landowners before even applying to the USBGN.  And keep in mind there's an added hurdle if you want to name it after a person: rarely will they accept a name if the person is still alive.

Oh, and Scott5114 is correct: the USBGN will defer to the Arkansas Geological Survey (or whatever organization exists at the state level).  And the AGS will in turn defer to the County's opinion on the matter.  So you can see what I mean by building consensus at the local level, and then working your way up.  It can be a long process - it took me 4 years to get the name "Headwaters Hill" approved for a mountain in Colorado.
https://www.usends.com/headwaters-hill.html

[edited to correct URL]

[NE2]

Easiest way: buy a piece of land on a creek with 'nigger' in the name and complain.

[bugo]

My dad and uncle both live along this creek, and my grandpa used to live along it.  Our last name would be a perfect name for this stream.  It's just a mountain creek that runs into the Irons Fork River.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Easiest way: buy a piece of land on a creek with 'nigger' in the name and complain.

Know of any here amongst the 50 states?

[NE2]

Easiest way: buy a piece of land on a creek with 'nigger' in the name and complain.

Know of any here amongst the 50 states?

Looks like they've all been renamed, actually (per a GNIS search), but mostly by simply replacing it with Negro. You could probably still get that changed easily.

[hbelkins]

Easiest way: buy a piece of land on a creek with 'nigger' in the name and complain.

Know of any here amongst the 50 states?

Looks like they've all been renamed, actually (per a GNIS search), but mostly by simply replacing it with Negro. You could probably still get that changed easily.

Wasn't there a successful effort recently to change the name of Negro Mountain in MD and PA? I thought the name had been changed, but the last time I passed through the western panhandle of Maryland on I-68, the signage was still up.

A street with the name Negro in it in Mt. Vernon, KY was renamed a few years ago.

[bugo]

There's a Klan Street in Paris, AR.

[Takumi]

There was a Negro Foot, Virginia decades ago, but it isn't a designated place anymore. It was in Hanover County, west of Ashland.