Special Report
The Most Common Town Names in the US
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For a country the size of the United States, it’s not surprising that some towns, both big and small, share the same name. About a third of all cities, towns, villages, and census-designated places (CDPs) don’t have unique names. Almost 3,800 of them appear between two and 30 times across the country.
It’s not unusual for a place to be named after a person who made a significant impact on the region or country as a whole. Take George Washington, for example. He is the inspiration for 13 cities’ names, as well as that of the nation’s capital.
Another example is Benjamin Franklin. His last name is a favorite for American cities. A total of 30 — the most in the country — are named after him.
The idea behind giving a place its name, by which it will likely be known for years and even centuries, is to distinguish it from others. That’s why the name may simply be representative of the area’s surrounding geographic features. Chicago, for example, has a name of Algonquian origin. It is derived from “shikaakwa,” meaning wild garlic, which was abundant in the area.
Towns sometimes change their names. It may be because they have grown too much, have come under new rule, or simply for popularity.
Click here for the most common town names in the U.S.
To identify the most common city names in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the frequency of names of cities, towns, municipalities, boroughs, villages, and census designated places (CDPs) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey. Population data also came from the ACS.
25. Kingston
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Kingston, New York (pop: 23,419)
Kingston, New York, was set on fire by British soldiers after the Battle of Saratoga, which was a turning point in the American Revolution.
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24. Waverly
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Waverly, Michigan (pop: 24,589)
While the source of the name may differ across towns, several of them are named after Walter Scott’s Waverley novels. (Picture is of Waverly, Nebraska.)
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23. Dayton
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Dayton, Ohio (pop: 140,939)
Dayton, Ohio, was named after politician and Revolutionary War veteran Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey.
22. Riverside
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Riverside, California (pop: 321,570)
Riverside, California, residents are not far from one of the largest annual outdoor music festivals, Coachella. The city and the festival site are both in Riverside County.
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21. Oakland
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Oakland, California (pop: 417,442)
Oakland, California, is home to Lake Merritt, which was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in 1869, making it the first in North America.
20. Washington
> Number of towns with the same name: 18
> Most populous city: Washington, District of Columbia (pop: 672,391)
Washington, D.C., streets have letters for names. But there is no J street, because D.C. was planned before the letter J was added to the English alphabet.
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19. Oxford
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Oxford, Ohio (pop: 22,624)
Oxford, Mississippi, was named after Oxford University in England, which is one of the most prestigious and expensive universities in the world.
18. Ashland
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Ashland, California (pop: 24,477)
Ashland in Oregon was founded in 1852 by three men who shortly after established a timber mill. (Picture is of Ashland, Oregon.)
17. Newport
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Newport, Rhode Island (pop: 24,745)
In 1700, over half of the population of Newport, Rhode Island, were members of the religious group Society of Friends, or Quakers.
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16. Chester
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Chester, Pennsylvania (pop: 34,102)
William Penn gave the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, its name as a tribute to the English city of Chester, which was founded as a fortress in the first century and is still one of the best preserved walled cities in Great Britain.
15. Milford
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Milford, Connecticut (pop: 52,331)
Milford, Connecticut, is known for its annual Oyster Festival, which also includes kayak and canoe races.
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14. Burlington
> Number of towns with the same name: 19
> Most populous city: Burlington, North Carolina (pop: 52,813)
The very first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store, a mom and pop shop that went big, opened in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont.
13. Clayton
> Number of towns with the same name: 20
> Most populous city: Clayton, North Carolina (pop: 19,306)
Clayton, Missouri, was named for Ralph Clayton, who settled in that region during the 1830s and donated land for establishing the courthouse. (Picture is of Clayton County, Georgia.)
12. Milton
> Number of towns with the same name: 20
> Most populous city: Milton, Georgia (pop: 37,556)
Milton, Florida, is nicknamed Scratch Ankle due to the briars, or prickly shrubs, growing in the region.
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11. Manchester
> Number of towns with the same name: 20
> Most populous city: Manchester, New Hampshire (pop: 110,601)
Another one of the many U.S. cities named after British cities, Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire. (And these are the largest cities in the world.)
10. Springfield
> Number of towns with the same name: 20
> Most populous city: Springfield, Missouri (pop: 165,785)
Springfield, Illinois, was the home of Abraham Lincoln — considered by many historians to have been one of the best presidents — and his family from 1837 until 1861, the year he became president.
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9. Georgetown
> Number of towns with the same name: 21
> Most populous city: Georgetown, Texas (pop: 63,062)
Georgetown, South Carolina, was named after George, Prince of Wales, who later became King George II of Great Britain, who was mostly known for his lack of self-confidence and reliance on his ministers.
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8. Arlington
> Number of towns with the same name: 21
> Most populous city: Arlington, Texas (pop: 388,225)
Before Las Vegas, Arlington, Texas, was the largest gambling destination in the country in the 1930s and 1940s.
7. Salem
> Number of towns with the same name: 22
> Most populous city: Salem, Oregon (pop: 163,654)
Salem is the Anglicized form of the Hebrew word “shalom,” which means peace. Despite the peaceful origin, Salem, Massachusetts, is most notorious for the witch trials of 1692-1693.
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6. Marion
> Number of towns with the same name: 23
> Most populous city: Marion, Iowa (pop: 38,014)
Marion, Ohio, is nicknamed the World’s Popcorn Capital, even though popcorn jobs are gone. There is still a museum and an annual popcorn festival, however.
5. Greenville
> Number of towns with the same name: 23
> Most populous city: Greenville, North Carolina (pop: 90,347)
Greenville, Alabama’s original name was Buttsville, which is arguably one of the strangest names in America.
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4. Madison
> Number of towns with the same name: 23
> Most populous city: Madison, Wisconsin (pop: 248,856)
Madison, Wisconsin, was named after former president and Founding Father James Madison, who was one the wealthiest presidents in American history.
3. Clinton
> Number of towns with the same name: 27
> Most populous city: Clinton, Maryland (pop: 39,230)
Clinton, Arkansas, was named after New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, not, contrary to popular belief, after former President Bill Clinton.
2. Fairview
> Number of towns with the same name: 28
> Most populous city: Fairview, New Jersey (pop: 14,422)
The per capita income in Fairview, Tennessee, in 2017 was just over $24,000, half the average for Williamson County in which the town is located.
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1. Franklin
> Number of towns with the same name: 30
> Most populous city: Franklin, Tennessee (pop: 72,990)
Named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, who was also a prolific inventor, this Texas town was founded on Oct. 26, 1799.
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