US Place Names ~ Beekmanton,
New York to Blaine, Colorado
Beekmanton; town in Clinton County, New York, named for
William Beekman, one of the original grantees.
Bekuennesee; rapids in the Menominee River, Wisconsin.
An Indian word, meaning "smoky falls."
Belair; poet villages in Richmond County, Georgia, and
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, town in Harford County,
Maryland, and village in Lancaster County, South
Carolina. A French phrase, meaning "good air."
Belchertown; town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts,
named for Jonathan Belcher, one of the original grantees
and one time governor of Massachusetts.
Belen; town in Quitman County, Mississippi, named from
the battle ground upon which Col. John A. Quitman fought
during the Mexican war.
Belew; town in Jefferson County, Missouri, named for
Silas Belew, who owned property in the vicinity.
Belfast; city in Waldo County, Maine, named by James
Miller, an early settler, from his native city in
Ireland. Numerous other places in the country bear this
name.
Belknap; township and village in Johnson County,
Illinois, named for a prominent railroad man.
Belknap; county in New Hampshire. The origin of this
name is in doubt, but by some the county is thought to
have been named for Jeremy Belknap, who wrote a history
of the State.
Belknap; mount in Utah, named for William Worth Belknap,
secretary of war under President Grant.
Bell; county in Kentucky, named for Josh Bell.
Bell; county in Texas, named for P. H. Bell, governor of
the State in 1849-1857.
Bellaire; city in Belmont County, Ohio, named for the
town of Belair in Maryland.
Bellavista; town in Shasta County, California. A Spanish
phrase, meaning "beautiful view."
Belle; a French word meaning "beautiful, " of frequent
occurrence in the country, there being seventy-eight
post-offices which have this name in combination with
descriptive suffixes.
Bellefontaine; city in Logan County, Ohio, so named
because of the beautiful springs in the neighborhood.
Belleville; township and city in St. Clair County,
Illinois. The name was suggested by John Hay, a French
Canadian, prominent in the early days of the State.
Belleville; city in Republic County, Kansas, named for
Arabelle, wife of A. B. Tutton, president of the
town-site company.
Belleville; village in Jefferson County, New York, named
from the village in Wisconsin.
Belleville; village in Dane County, Wisconsin, named by
the first settler, John Frederick, from his native
village in Canada.
Bellevue; village in Sonoma County, California; a French
term meaning "beautiful view."
Bellevue; township and city in Jackson County, Iowa,
named for John D. Bell, the first settler.
Bellflower; township and village in McLean County,
Illinois, so named by the early settlers from the fields
of bell-shaped flowers.
Bellingham; town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, named
for Governor Richard Bellingham.
Bellingham; bay in Washington, named by Vancouver, the
explorer, probably for Sir Henry Bellingham, who was
knighted in 1796.
Bellmont; village in Franklin County, New York, named
for William Bell, an early proprietor.
Bellows Falls; village in Windham County, Vermont, named
for Col. Benjamin Bellows, an early settler and founder
of Walpole.
Bell Spring; mountain in Humboldt County, California, so
named by an early explorer, who found a cow bell in a
spring on the mountain.
Bellwood; village in Butler County, Nebraska, named for
D. J. Bell, its proprietor and patron.
Belmont; village in San Mateo County, California, and
Allegany County, New York, named for its pleasing
situation in the hills; translation from the French,
"fine mountain."
Belmont; towns in Mississippi County, Missouri, and
Belknap County, New Hampshire, named for August Belmont,
of New York.
Belmont; county, and village in same county, in Ohio,
named for an early settler.
Howe says it is named in reference to its hilly surface;
French, "fine mountain."
Belmont; village in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, named
for three mounds within its limits, which the early
French travelers called "Belles Montes."
Beloit; city in Rock County, Wisconsin. A coined name
selected by a committee, to whom it was suggested by the
name Detroit.
Beloit; city in Mitchell County, Kansas, named for the
city in Wisconsin.
Belpré; town in Washington County, Ohio, named from the
French, meaning "beautiful prairie," from its situation
on a prairie.
Belton; town in Anderson County, South Carolina, named
for a prominent family.
Belton; city in Bell County, Texas, named for Governor
P. H. Bell.
Beltrami; county, and village in same county, in
Minnesota, named for Count C. C. Beltrami, an Italian,
with Major Long's exploring expedition into the
Northwest country.
Belvedere; town in Marin County, California. From the
Italian, meaning "beautiful sight."
Belvidere; township and city in Boone County, Illinois,
named by one of the founders for his native place in
Canada.
Belzoni; town in Washington County, Mississippi, named
for an Italian, Giambattuta Belzoni, a celebrated
archaeologist.
Bement; township and village in Piatt County, Illinois,
named for a United States surveyor.
Bemis Heights; village in Saratoga County, New York,
named for Jonathan Bemis, innkeeper there during the
Revolution.
Benedicta; town in Aroostook County, Maine, named for
Bishop Benedicta Fen-wick, who was an early proprietor.
Benhur; village in Mariposa County, California, named
for the character in Gen. Wallace's novel.
Benicia; city in Solano County, California, named by
General Vallejo for his wife.
Benita; village in Kern County, California. A Spanish
word meaning ''nun."
Ben Lomond; post-offices in Sevier County, Arkansas,
Santa Cruz County, California, Issaquena County,
Mississippi, and Mason County, West Virginia; named from
the lake in Scotland.
Bennett; town in Cedar County, Iowa, named for Chet
Bennett, a railroad man.
Bennett; point in Maryland, named for Richard Bennett.
Bennett; town in Lancaster County, Nebraska, named for a
resident.
Bennett Creek; village in Nansemond County, Virginia,
named for Richard Bennett, governor in 1652-1656.
Bennetts; wells on the westerly border of Death Valley,
Inyo County, California, named for the Bennett party of
immigrants, most of whom perished in the neighborhood in
1852.
Bennettsville; town in Marlboro County, South Carolina,
named for a family prominent in the State.
Bennington; town in Hillsboro County, New Hampshire, and
county, and town-ship, and town in same county in
Vermont, named for Governor Benning Wentworth, of New
Hampshire.
Benson; town in Johnston County, North Carolina, named
for a prominent citizen.
Benson; county in North Dakota, named for Hon. B. W.
Benson, member of the State legislature and banker, of
Valley City, North Dakota.
Benson; town in Rutland County, Vermont, said by some to
have been named for Judge Egbert Benson, one of the
original proprietors. The Vermont Historical Society
says that it was named by James Meacham, a proprietor,
for a Revolutionary officer.
Bent; county in Colorado, named for William Bent, first
United States governor of New Mexico.
Benton; counties in Arkansas, Indiana, and Iowa; village
in Marshall County, Kentucky; town in Bossier Parish,
Louisiana; county, and township and village in Carver
County, in Minnesota; counties in Mississippi and
Missouri; town in Grafton County, New Hampshire; and
counties in Oregon and Tennessee; named for Senator
Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri. Thirty other cities,
towns, and villages bear this name, most of them in
honor of the same man.
Benton; town in Yates County, New York, named for Caleb
Benton, the first settler.
Bentonia; town in Yazoo County, Mississippi, named for
the maiden name of Mrs. Hal Green, a resident.
Benwood; city in Marshall County, West Virginia, named
for Benjamin Latrobe, an engineer on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad.
Benzie; county in Michigan. Probably named from the town
of Benzonia, which was founded and named before the
county. There are some, however, who think the name a
corruption from Betsie River and Pointy which were
originally called Aux Bees Scies, a French form meaning
"at the snouts of the sawfish."
Benzonia; village in Benzie County, Michigan, named from
the Hebrew, meaning "sons of light, " by the Rev. J. B.
Walker, member of a company formed to found a college
where poor students could be educated; the college was
built upon the spot where the village now stands.
Beowawe; post-office in Eureka County, Nevada, said to
be from an Indian word meaning "gate," so named from the
peculiar shape of the hills at this point, which gives
the effect of an open gateway up the valley to the
canyon beyond.
Berea; towns in Adair County, Iowa, Madison County,
Kentucky, and Cuyahoga County, Ohio, named from the
ancient city in Macedonia.
Berenda; town in Madera County, California. A Spanish
word meaning "antelope," so applied because the country
was overrun with antelope.
Beresford; lake in Florida, named for an early English
proprietor.
Berg; village in Sutter County, California, so named
from its location in the mountains. From the German,
meaning "mountain."
Bergen; county in New Jersey, name from Bergen Point.
Bergen Point; post village of Hudson County, New Jersey,
named by colonists from Bergen, Norway.
Bergholtz; village in Niagara County, New York, named
for the town in Prussia.
Bering; sea and strait lying between Alaska and Asia,
named for the Dutch navigator, Ivan Ivanovitch Bering.
Berkeley; city in Alameda County, California, named for
Dean Berkley, Bishop of Cloyne.
Berkeley; county in South Carolina, named for John Lord
Berkeley, one of the original proprietors. Berkeley;
county in West Virginia;
Berkeley Springs; town in Morgan County, West Virginia.
Named for William Berkeley, governor of Virginia in
1642.
Berkley; town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, probably
named for Dean Berkley, Bishop of Cloyne, though some
authorities say for James and William Berkley, members
of the Privy Council.
Berkley; town in Norfolk County, Virginia, named for a
prominent family of land holders.
Berks; county in Pennsylvania, named from the county of
Berks in England.
Berkshire; county in Massachusetts, named from
Berkshire, England. Several towns in the country are
named from the same.
Berlin; thirty-seven post-offices in the United States
bear the name of the city in Germany.
Bermuda; villages in Conecuh County, Alabama, Gwinnett
County, Georgia, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Marion
County, South Carolina, and Knox County, Tennessee;
named from the group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
which were named for the Spanish discoverer, Juan
Bermudez.
Bern; towns in Adams County, Indiana, and Albany County,
New York;
Bernville; borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Named
from the town of Bern in Switzerland.
Bernal; suburb of San Francisco, California. A Spanish
word meaning "vernal," "green."
Bernalillo; county in New Mexico, named from the town on
the Rio Grande. A Spanish-Christian name, meaning
"little Bernal."
Bernalillo; town in Sandoval County, New Mexico, settled
by descendants of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was
associated with Cortez in the conquest of Mexico.
Bernardo; township and village in San Diego County,
California. From the Spanish, relating to the Bernardine
religious order.
Bernardstown; town in Franklin County, Massachusetts,
named for the British governor, Sir Francis Bernard.
Berrien; county in Georgia, and county, and township in
same county, in Michigan, named for John McPherson
Berrien, attorney-general of the United States in 1829.
Berry; creek in Idaho, so named by Captain Clark, the
explorer, because he subsisted entirely on berries at
that place.
Berry; village in Harrison County, Kentucky, named for a
man who had a station there called Berry's station.
Berryville; town in Carroll County, Arkansas, named for
James H. Berry, governor-of the State.
Berthoud; village in Larimer County, Colorado, named for
E. L. Berthoud, chief engineer of the Union Pacific
Railroad.
Bertie; county in North Carolina, named for James and
Henry Bertie, in whom the proprietary rights of the Earl
of Clarendon rested.
Berwick; town in York County, Maine, named from the town
in England, Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Berwick; borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, named
from the county in Scotland.
Bessemer; town in Jefferson County, Alabama, city in
Gogebic County, Michigan, town in Gaston County, North
Carolina, and several other places; named for Sir Henry
Bessemer, who invented the process of reducing iron ore.
Bethaldo; village in Madison County, Illinois. Changed
from Bethel to distinguish it from another post-office
of that name.
Bethany; village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, borough
in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and many other places
bear the name of the village in Palestine.
Bethel; town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and many
other places, named directly or indirectly from Bethel
in Palestine.
Bethesda; post-office in Montgomery County, Maryland,
and several other places, named from the pool in
Jerusalem.
Bethlehem; borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania,
originally a Moravian settlement, named on Christmas
Day, 1741, from the birthplace of Christ in Judea.
Twelve other places in the Union bear the same name.
Betsie; river, point, and town, in Michigan, a
corruption of the French name given to the river in
early days, aux bees scies, meaning "at the snouts of
the sawfish."
Beulah; post-office in Crawford County, Kansas, and many
towns and villages bear this Scriptural name.
Beverly; city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and many
towns and villages bear this name, probably derived from
Beverly, in Yorkshire, England.
Beverly; township and city in Burlington County, New
Jersey, so named by the first settlers, who found the
country overrun with beavers.
Beverly; town in Randolph County, West Virginia,
doubtless named for William Beverly, the original
grantee of Beverly manor.
Bevier; village in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and city
in Macon County, Missouri, named for Col. Robert Bevier,
of Kentucky.
Bexar; villages in Marion County, Alabama; Fulton
County, Arkansas, and Lauder-dale County, Tennessee, and
county, and village in same county, in Texas, named for
the Duke of Bexar, a Spanish nobleman.
Bibb; counties in Alabama and Georgia, named for Dr.
William Wyatt Bibb, member of Congress from Georgia.
Bicknell; village in Knox County, Indiana, named for
John Bicknell.
Biddeford; city in York County, Maine, named from the
place in England whence some of the early settlers
emigrated.
Bienville; parish, and town in same parish, in
Louisiana, named for Governor Jean Baptiste Lemoine
Bienville, son of the French explorer who accompanied La
Salle on his expedition.
Big Bar; post-office and mining settlement in Trinity
County, California, named for the rich and extensive
bars of placer gravel.
Big Blackfoot; river in the Rocky Mountains, Montana,
the name of which is derived from the Blackfeet Indian
tribe.
Big Blue; creek in Missouri, which was formerly called
Bluewater Creek, the name being derived from its French
name, riviere de l'eau bleue.
Bigbone; village in Boone County, Kentucky, so named
from the numbers of bones of mastodons discovered in the
vicinity.
Big Dry; creek in Montana, bo name by Lewis and Clark,
because it was dry when they reached it.
Big Gravois; creek in Missouri. A French name meaning
"rubbish."
Biggsville; village in Henderson County, Illinois, named
for Thomas Biggs, who built the first mill.
Bighorn; river in Montana, tributary to the Yellowstone
River, so named from the Rocky Mountain sheep,
frequently called "big horn." It's Indian (Dakota) name
was papatunkau, meaning "big head."
Bighorn; county in Wyoming, named from the range of
mountains, which took their name from the sheep which
were found in them. The Indian (Absaroka) name of the
mountains was ahsahta, meaning "big head."
Bigler; lake in California, named for John Bigler,
governor of the State.
Big Muddy; creek in Missouri; the name is translated
from that given it by the early French, grande riviere
raseuse, "great muddy river."
Big Palm Springs; village in San Diego County,
California, named for the desert palms or giant yuccas
in the vicinity.
Big Rapids; city in Mecosta County, Michigan, so named
from rapids in the Muskegon River.
Big Sioux; river in Minnesota and South Dakota, named
from the Indian tribe.
Big Spring; town in Meade County, Kentucky, so named
from a spring which rises near the middle of the town.
There are fifteen other places in the country that bear
this name because of the presence of springs.
Bigstone; county in Minnesota, which takes its name from
a river, which was doubtless named descriptively.
Big Timber; town in Sweet Grass County, Montana, so
named from a stream which rises in the Crazy Mountains
and flows into the Yellowstone River at a point opposite
the town. This stream was called the Big Timber for
years before the town was settled.
Bigtooth; creek in Center County, Pennsylvania, a
translation of the Indian name of the creek, mangipisink,
"place where big teeth are found."
Big Tree; village in Erie County, New York, so called
from the Indian village which formerly occupied the
site, deonundaga, "big tree."
Big Trees; village in Calaveras County, California, so
named from a grove of about ninety enormous trees of the
genus Sequoia.
Bigwood; river in Idaho, the name of which is derived
from the name given by the early French traders, boisé
or boisée "woody;" so called because of its wooded
banks.
Bijou; town in Eldorado County, California. A French
word meaning a "jewel."
Bijou; hills in South Dakota, named for an early French
hunter.
Bijou Hills; village in Brule County, South Dakota,
named from the hills.
Billerica; town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts,
named from the town in Essex, England.
Billing's; city in Yellowstone County, Montana, named
for Parmley Billings, son of the first president of the
Northern Pacific Railroad.
Billing's; county in North Dakota, named for Frederick
Billings, at one time president of the Northern Pacific
Railroad.
Billingsport; town in Gloucester County, New Jersey,
named for an English merchant, Edward Bylling.
Billington Sea; pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts, named
for the discoverer. Billington, one of the Mayflower
passengers, who reported it as an inland sea.
Bill Williams; mountain in Arizona, named for a guide
and trapper.
Biloxi; bay, and city in Harrison County, in
Mississippi. An Indian tribe of this name inhabited this
part of the country. The name is of Choctaw origin,
variously rendered as referring to "worthless" or
"terrapin."
Biltmore; town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, named
by George Vanderbilt from the last part of his name,
with the Gaelic mór, "great."
Bingham; county in Idaho, named by Governor Bunn for his
friend. Congressman Bingham, of Pennsylvania.
Bingham; town in Somerset County, Maine, named for
William Bingham, a large landowner in early days.
Binghamton; city in Broome County, New York, named for
William Bingham, of Philadelphia, a benefactor of the
town.
Birch; nineteen post-offices, besides many natural
features, bear this name, either alone or with suffixes,
generally indicating the presence of the tree.
Bird; city in. Cheyenne County, Kansas, named for its
founder, Benjamin Bird.
Birdsall; town in Allegany County, New York, named for
Judge John Birdsall.
Birdsboro; borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, named
for William Bird, who in 1740 bought the tract on which
the town now stands.
Birmingham; twelve places in the country, named from the
manufacturing town in England.
Bismarck; cities in St. Francois County, Missouri, and
Burleigh County, North Dakota, and many other places,
named for Prince Otto von Bismarck of Germany.
Bison; peaks in Colorado and Yellowstone Park, named for
their shape.
Bitterwater; town in San Benito County, California,
named from the bitter mineral springs in the vicinity.
Bitterwater; branch of Grand River, Utah, so named from
the character of the water.
Bituma; village in Ventura County, California, named
from the asphalt beds in the neighborhood.
Blackbird; town in Holt County, Nebraska, named for the
great warrior and chief of the Omaha Indians,
Washingasahba, meaning "blackbird."
Black Butte; village in Siskiyou County, California,
named from an extinct volcanic cone.
Black Creek; town in Wilson County, North Carolina,
named from a creek of dark water.
Black Diamond; town in Contra Costa County, California,
so named from its coal mines.
Blackfoot; peak, and village in Bingham County, in
Idaho, named from the Black-feet Indian tribe.
Blackford; county, and village in Jaspar County,
Indiana, named for Isaac Black-ford, judge of the
supreme court of Indiana.
Blackhawk; town in Gilpin County, Colorado, named from
one of the earliest min-ing companies.
Blackhawk; county, and village in Davis County, in Iowa,
named for a noted chief of the Sac and Fox Indians.
Blackhawk; town in Carroll County, Mississippi, named
for a Choctaw Indian chief.
Black Hills; mountain range in South Dakota, called by
the early French traders cóte noire, "black hills," from
the character of the timber which grows on them, giving
a dark appearance.
Blackiston; village in Kent County, Delaware, named for
one of the original proprietors of large tracts of land
in the county,
Blacklick; creek in Pennsylvania, called by the Indians
naeskahoni, ''lick of blackish color."
Blackmore; mount in Montana, named for the English
ethnologist, William Blackmore, of London.
Black Mountain; town in San Diego County, California,
named from the black volcanic rocks.
Black Mountain; range in North Carolina, so named from
the dark-green foliage of the balsam fir which covers
the top and sides.
Black Mountain; town in Buncombe County, North Carolina,
named from the mountain towering above it.
Black River; village in Jefferson County, New York,
named from a river the waters of which are the color of
sherry.
Black River Falls; city in Jackson County, Wisconsin,
named from the falls of Black River, near which it is
situated.
Blacksburg; town in Cherokee County, South Carolina,
named for a prominent family in the neighborhood.
Blackstone; village in Livingston County, Illinois,
named for Timothy B. Black-stone, a prominent railroad
official.
Blackstone; river, and town in Worcester County, in
Massachusetts, named for William Blackstone, the first
settler in Boston.
Black Warrior; river in Alabama, a translation of the
Choctaw Indian word tuscaloosa.
Blackwells; island in East River, New York, named for
the Black well family, who owned it for one hundred
years. Bladen; county in North Carolina;
Bladenboro; town in Bladen County. Named for Martin
Bladen, one of the lord commissioners of trades and
plantations.
Bladensburg; town in Prince George County, Maryland,
named for Gov. Thomas Bladen.
Blain; borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, named for
James Blain, the warrantee of the land upon which it was
built.
Blaine; mountain in Colorado, county in Idaho, town in
Aroostook County, Maine, counties in Nebraska and
Oklahoma, and many other places, named for James G.
Blaine.
US Place Names
Source: The Origin of Certain
Place Names the United States, Second Edition, Henry
Gannett, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1906.
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