Ranking of the Top 25 most common names for cities and towns in the U.S. I examine actual city, town, and township names and not unincorporated communities or postal service offices.
I lived in Franklin, TN, for eleven years, and then a year and a half ago I moved to Clayton, NC. So in a way I both began and ended this video. Great work, as always!
I live in Franklin MA, we were originally named Exeter until we asked Benjamin Franklin for a donation to fix the town bell. Instead he gave us a ton a books which were put in the town library which is the first public library in America. We still decided to rename our town after him.
May I suggest that you do the most popular county (and county equivalent) names? This time, you could map each popular name on a national map, so we can see which ones are favored regionally.
"I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man." "Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson This might explain why so few towns/so many counties are named after him.
WOW, New Hampshire came out really well on this list! On top of having the most populous Manchester in the US, we also have NINETEEN out of the twenty-seven in the list: Farmington, Hudson, Kingston, Lincoln, Newport, Richmond, Troy, Ashland, Milton, Greenville, Milford, Monroe, Springfield, Chester, Manchester, Salem, Washington, Madison, Franklin
I am originally from Salem(NH) and I've seen other lists like this before and somethin I've always noticed is that Salem is the only one that is either not named after someone, a generic name, or named from another place, usually in England. Also I believe Hudson, NH is the most populated one at 25,000. The one Kyle mentions here only has 23,000.
An interesting thing about Jefferson is that there aren't that many towns just named 'Jefferson', but quite a few that are derivatives of that name - Jefferson City (MO), Jefferson City (TN), Jeffersonville (IN), Jeffersontown (KY)
Good stuff, Kyle! All the time I was watching this I was thinking how careful you are to do the proper research when looking into these subjects. You know your stuff!
I'm in the UK and find your channel very interesting and informative. I have only ever been once to the US and that was nearly thirty years ago now, and I didn't see much then. I want to see a lot more of the country and I had been planning to travel a couple years ago and well we all know what happened then - but hopefully I can make it in the future. Your channel has really helped to stimulate my interest once again so thanks!
I'm shocked midway or riverside isn't on this list they are everywhere! Proud to be from the best Midway of them all in Kentucky! Great video as always!
I was sure that #1 was going to be Jackson (Mississippi, Tennessee, Michigan, Wyoming, etc) but was surprised to see it's not even on the list! Great vid!
As a resident of Burlington, Iowa, I've got a major bone to pick with you. First, the one in Vermont is NOT the largest one in the US - the largest one is in North Carolina (pop. 57,000). Also, the one in Iowa was named after the one in Vermont, but most of the Burlingtons after that were named after the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, which was headquartered in Burlington, Iowa. That includes the one in North Carolina, founded as a railroad stop in the 1880s - even though the railroad in question wasn't the CB&Q - since that company had given the name 'Burlington' such a good connotation in the railroad industry.
I was born in West Chester PA! Chester used to be the seat of Chester County, but it was moved to West Chester when Delaware County was formed in 1789. Thanks for the nod Geography King!
I always enjoy getting a notification that you’ve released something new. This was another informative video with a lot of good stuff in it. I can’t wait for more stuff to come
One name I've always been curious about is Belzoni, Mississippi. I always wondered why a small town in the Delta has an Italian name, when I don't think there are many Italian-descended people in that area. It turns out that it was named after a famous Italian archaeologist and adventurer, Giovanni Belzoni, who was famous in the 19th Century when the town was founded, but is largely forgotten today. (He sounds like he was quite a character.)
I have family from that area and you are correct about who it’s named after. Another curiosity is about an hour away is Kosciusko, MS, named for General Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish officer who served with the Continental Army and assisted its military efforts during the American Revolution. Kosciusko County, IN is also named for the Polish general. Coincidentally, its county seat is Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
My fiance lived in Lexington KY for a few years while attending grad school. He loved it, has been planning to take me there and we're gonna visit the fine city (and travel around Appalachia/the Great Smokies) next year!!
As always, Your Majesty, you've imparted knowledge, provided data, and freely given entertainment. I cannot think of a single one of your videos that I didn't enjoy or that didn't teach me something I didn't know. keep up the good work!
Both Greeneville and many of the Greenvilles (no extra “e”) are named after Nathanael Greene, the commander of the southern theater during the Revolutionary War, andnicknamed the “Savior of the South”. That’s why so many of the Greenvilles (and Greene Counties) are in that region. To this day he is arguably Rhode Island’s favorite son.
For those who weren't around back in the '60s, when there was a program on TV by the name of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, there was a program in several parts called Swamp Fox, which was the story of Francis Marion, who was mentioned by Kyle in the Marion section. The actor who played him was Leslie Nielson. Kyle, you briefly spoke on the subject of the languages from which we get our town (and place) names here in the US. During the gathering of a list of place names I have on a computer document, I've found that there are places here with names from Basque, British English, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Old Norse, Portuguese, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Swedish, Welsh, plus at least 70 tribal languages.
Firstly, nice X album! They’re a great band and I have been wanting to get that one. Secondly, no special mention of The Simpson when talking about Springfield? Haha! Just kidding on that. Another fascinating video, sir!
I noticed at the end of your videos when you are signing off, I noticed behind you in one of them was the album cover of the Doobie Brothers album what were once vices are now habits. That's one of my favorite albums so naturally I noticed that
Great video as always, I am surprised Auburn or Newcastle were not on the list I guess it is pretty close though, I have been to Newcastle CA and Oregon and have friends here in Newcastle WA.
Hi Kyle, thanks for another great video! Ashland, California is an unincorporated community in Alameda County. I googled it and couldn’t find any other place in California named Ashland, so it’s not actually a city.
I hadn't heard of Fairview either. In MA, we have a Marion named after the Revolutionary War General. We have a Fairview, but it is a neighborhood in Chicopee.
There are an ungodly amount of these names in the southern Illinois south of Springfield - and souther Missouri south of St. Louis. I think I recognize about every one of them being within a 100 mile radius of at. Louis
I love your series' on states and their qualities. I'd love to know/watch which states are best for different hobbies (farming, fishing, designers, architects)!
There are two Lakewoods in Washington state. To avoid confusion, the Lakewood in Snohomish County became North Lakewood, while the larger Lakewood in Pierce County stayed as Lakewood. North Lakewood is still just called Lakewood by most people .
I believe most Springfields are named after the one in Mass, which itself is named for the hometown of the founder, who decided he wanted it to be a part of Massachusetts (Bay) instead of Connecticut. Before that it was called Agawam (who’s name was revived by another town- a suburb of Springfield).
Thank you, that was fun. It was interesting to me to see Marion, and Salem both listed, in succession. I went to school in Salem, Or., which is in Marion County. I've heard that Marion is a fairly common COUNTY name, as well.
Let's see which of these appear in my home state: #15 Burlington, CO is one of the larger cities in the eastern plains of the state. #10 Springfield, CO in the southeastern area of the state, near the Comanche National Grasslands #5 Washington County is about a hundred miles east of Denver, and includes a town called Last Chance
I live near a Newport in Pennsylvania and my last name is Burlington. Nice to see two names like that on this list. There are several places in Pennsylvania with the name Washington, just with different suffixes and one with no suffix.
as i was watching i was thinking Washington was going to be number one. a little surprised that one of the big Euro cities like Rome, Paris or London didn't make the list. Oh, and you didn't mention the Springfield on the Simpsons! 🙂
I got to say I was very surprised to see that picture of my hometown of Hudson Ohio come up. I had no idea it was the largest Hudson! Just an FYI, that one was named after a settler to the area named David Hudson, he was originally from Massachusetts.
I guess I should add to that David Hudson, was a descendent of the explorer William Henry Hudson, if I remember correctly he is his grandson or great nephew I forget which ... me trying to remember something I learned 30ish years ago 😆 🤣 😂!! Hudson Ohio was founded in 1799 so it is also likely one of the older ones too!
I thought Lafayette would show up on the list. I was tasked with looking that name up during my college work study. There were quite a few but I don’t remember exactly how many. And for those that don’t know, pretty much all of them are named after Revolutionary War (both American and French) hero Marquis de Lafayette.
Curious where Lancaster comes up, since (much like Springfield) there are a lot of highly-populated Lancasters, such as in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California
I work part time in the middle section of the first picture that is of Clayton NC. It's just to the right of the corner store and is a furniture/design store called the Design Haus.
Clayton- there's one of those in NJ. Fairfield- there are two of those in NJ. Burlington- We have two of those in NJ, plus a Burlington County. Oxford- We have one of those in NJ. Arlington- We have two of those in NJ, but they are actually North Arlington and Mount Arlington. Milford- We have two of those in NJ, though one of them is a West Milford (not near Milford, by the way). Monroe- We have two of those in NJ. Springfield- We also have two of those. There are also one Chester and one Manchester in NJ. We have a Salem City inside Salem County, here in NJ. Both are extremely old. We also have 6 Washingtons. I didn't even remember that we had a Fairview in NJ. We have one each of Madison and Clinton in NJ. We have 6 Franklins in NJ, though one of them is actually Franklin Lakes. That was fun. Thanks. Oh, I meant to post the following names in your video about unusual place names: Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, Atlantic City, WY, and Atlantic, IA. I don't know the origins of those names.
I live in Fairfield, CA. When we arrived in nearby Vacaville in 1974 Fairfield was the second biggest after the one in CT but about 1985 the CA Fairfield became #1
I wonder if other parts of the name were considered. I know of a "South Farmington, Michigan", but I don't think there is a "Farmington, Michigan". Similarly, I know of "East Troy, Wisconsin", but not "Troy, Wisconsin". Great video!
I could not locate a "South Farmington" in Michigan, but there is, indeed, a "Farmington" in Michigan. It is a suburb northwest of Detroit. It is also completely surrounded by a suburb named "Farmington Hills".
I wonder if Jefferson lost out a bit because some places chose to name themselves Monticello instead. Although they could've done the same with Mount Vernon I guess and didn't so who knows.
I wonder how the rest of the founders did? In MA, we also have Revere, Adams, Hamilton, Hancock, and Warren (General at Bunker Hill) in addition to Franklin, Washington, Monroe, and Marion. I wish there was more love for my favorite, General Henry Knox, but at least Knoxville and Fort Knox are well-known.
It is possible that other places with "Knox" in it are named for John Knox, but not those two. There is a Wesleyville PA and a Luthersville GA named for the Reformation leaders, so why not Knox.
I'm a little surprised Newton and Jasper did not make this list. Often found together, or bordering, Newton and Jasper were sergeants under Gen. Marion.
There's a Lincolnshire, Illinois. An affluent suburb north of Chicago. There's a very good chance it's the only placename, school or street in IL with Lincoln in the name, not named after Abe.
