What does your town name mean?

[Queso]

Saw a similar thread on another forum somewhere out **waves in direction of Internet** there and thought it would be a good idea to do here since we could all learn something new

What are the origins of the name of the place where you live? Post the name of the town and where the name comes from. If you live in a big city narrow it down to the area where you live, otherwise we'll end up with 50 explanations of San Francisco, which won't be as much fun.

I'll start. I live in Fitzrovia, a part of London. It's named after Charles Fitzroy (Lord Southampton), who bought the land the area now stands on in the late 18th century and commissioned Robert Adam to build a residential square that bore his name. The area around Fitzroy Square then became known as Fitzrovia over time.

How about where you live?

 

[bartelby]

Newport.

Hmmmm, let's see what could that mean.?..

 

[Queso]

Newport.

Hmmmm, let's see what that could mean...

You could go into why it's called "New". Where was "Old"?

 

[mattscott306]

Woodstock Georgia.
Obviously named for a bunch of hippies.

(actually I have no idea)

 

[bartelby]

You could go into why it's called "New". Where was "Old"?

Here you go:

The name Newport comes from the fact that Caerleon was the 'old port' on the river Usk, but as ships became bigger, they could no longer navigate the river to Caerleon so a new port/dock was built near to where the Riverfront Arts Centre stands today.

The Welsh name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg (IPA: [kasˈnɛʊɪð ar ˈwɪsk]) means 'New castle-on-Usk' (this is a shortened version of Castell Newydd ar Wysg). This refers to the twelfth-century castle ruins near the city centre. The original Newport Castle was a small Motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite St. Woolos Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible.

Newport also has the Latin name Novus Burgus, meaning new borough or new town. It is sometimes labelled Newport-on-Usk on old maps.

 

[0098386]

To target in on me, from big to small-

Manchester- hill that looks like a breast., not my words, the words of Wikipedia.

Saddleworth- *shrugs*

Springhead- lots of natural springs around (Waterhead too).

The name of our land apparently means a place that animals were kept before slaughter in some old language. Which is terribly lovely.

 

[bartelby]

Woodstock Georgia.
Obviously named for a bunch of hippies.

(actually I have no idea)

Or a small yellow bird

 

[twoodcc]

my hometown is Winder, Georgia. (where my high school was)

my hometown address is Hoschton, Georgia

and i go to college in Atlanta, Georgia

don't really know what they mean off the top of my head

edit: Atlanta is named after "Atlantic" according to Wiki

 

[aricher]

The name Chicago itself is derived from the Potawatomi word “She ga goy nak”, meaning “place of the skunk” or “place of the onions”. One might translate Chicago simply as “Skunk Town”.

Nice.

 

[ezzie]

Williamsport, MD

Williamsport - (from Wikipedia) "The community was named after Revolutionary War Gen. Otho Holland Williams."

BTW, if anyone decides to read the Wiki article, i'm *not* one of the households below the poverty line.

 

[MongoTheGeek]

Supposedly my town was a popular stop for travelers and they would often stop and request a sweet wine from the Inn keepers daughter. Hence the name Port Matilda.

The other etymology involved a scheme to build a canal through the region and the town would be a stop. This goes with the names of some other towns, Portage, Lockhaven, Jersey Shore, Williamsport.

As for water, we have a creek which you paddle around in with a kayak, when the water is high.

 

[Queso]

Manchester- hill that looks like a breast., not my words, the words of Wikipedia.

A manboob?

 

[fistful]

My home town of Simcoe, Ontario (not to be confused with Simcoe County) is named after the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe who also founded York (now Toronto).

 

[CanadaRAM]

But of course, The Queen, my deahs.

 

[johnee]

But of course, The Queen, my deahs.

at least you don't live in Regina (ewwwww)

actually, I think an active member does live there, his sig was something like "Regina, the city that rhymes with fun"

 

[JNB]

Glendale (AZ) - from Wikipedia: Named after Glendale, Isle of Skye, Scotland, it's two words, glen (a narrow secluded valley in the mountains) and dale (an open river valley).

San Diego (CA) (birthplace) - from Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy: "In German it means a whales vagina. Scholars maintain the translation was lost hundreds of years ago."

 

[twoodcc]

actually, I think an active member does live there, his sig was something like "Regina, the city that rhymes with fun"

that was shard i believe

 

[Lovesong]

Jesse Lee Reno was a Union general during the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of South Mountain. (or so says Wiki). Here's an image of the man. Now it's just a gambling town... sad, really.

 

[eluk]

The origins of Hackney is either Haca's Isle or possibly Hook Island. As yet there is no consensus.

 

[4nr-]

Göteborg literally means "Castle of Geats", Geats being some kind of Viking population (well not really, but shallow as I am, thats what I believe.

 

[paddy]

Baile an Easpaig: Bishopstown

 

[Peterkro]

Brixton= "(At) the stone of Beohtsige (brightsige)" I'm none the wiser but it's got something to do with a causeway.Dates from the 11th century at least.

 

[gauchogolfer]

Santa Barbara = Saint Barbara

Now, as to who the heck Saint Barbara was and why my town is named after her, I have no idea.

Edit: thanks Answers.com!

City (pop., 2000: 92,325), southern California, U.S. Located on the Pacific coast, Santa Barbara was named for the patron saint of mariners in 1602, and it became the site of a Spanish military post in 1782. The mission of Santa Barbara was built in 1786; it is the western headquarters of the Franciscan Order and has been in continuous use since its founding. The city developed into a busy port and was incorporated as a city in 1850.

 

[echeck]

Boise (pronounced [boy-see]) is the capital and most populous city of the State of Idaho. Boise was given its name after French-Canadian trappers first explored the area after crossing the arid desert plains. Finding green trees at the site, primarily cottonwoods along the river, they named it boisé (meaning "wooded"). Boise has consequently been given the nickname City of Trees.

It really is the City of Trees. It's absolutely gorgeous in Autumn when you're up in the foothills looking down on the Valley and all you see are thousands of differents colors on the trees.

Boise is the headquarters for several major companies, such as Washington Group International (successor to Morrison Knudsen), Micron Technology, Albertsons (a major supermarket chain now owned by SuperValu), the J.R. Simplot Company and Hewlett Packard's printer division. Other major industries are headquartered in Boise or have large manufacturing facilities there. High Tech industries are becoming increasingly vital to Boise's economy. State government is one of the city's main employers, as it is the capital city for Idaho and home of Boise State University.

Population (2006)
- City 211,830
- Metro 624,000

And we STILL don't have an Apple Store!

 

[Queso]

Now, as to who the heck Saint Barbara was and why my town is named after her, I have no idea.

Saint Barbara and the Franciscan Mission from which the town took its name

So it wasn't named after some rubbish daytime soap opera after all...

EDIT: Ah, I see you've been busy whilst I've been on Wiki