US Place Names ~ Gordonsville,
Virginia to Gypsum, California
Gordonsville; town in Orange County, Virginia, named for
its founder, Nathaniel Gordon.
Gore; pass in Colorado, named for a gunsmith of Denver.
Gorham; town in Cumberland County, Maine. Some
authorities say it was named for Col. Shubael Gorham,
one of the original proprietors, but Whitmore says that
it was named for Capt. John Gorham, an early proprietor.
Gorham; town in Coos County, New Hampshire, named for
Captain Gorham, who was in the Narragansett fight.
Gorham; town in Ontario County, New York, named for
Nathaniel Gorham.
Gorman; township in Ottertail County, Minnesota, named
for Willis A. Gorman; former governor of the State.
Goshen; township in Stark County, Illinois, named from
Goshen, Ohio.
Goshen; city in Elkhart County, Indiana, village in
Orange County, New York, and township and village in
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, named from the "Land of
Goshen." The name is found in many parts of the country,
applied as a synonym of fruitfulness and fertility.
Gosiute; peak and lake in Nevada, named for an Indian
tribe.
Gosnold; town in Dukes County, Massachusetts, settled by
Bartholomew Gosnold.
Gosper; county in Nebraska, named for John J. Gosper,
secretary of state.
Gothic; mountains in the Adirondacks, New York, and Elk
Mountains, Colorado, so named because of pinnacles
resembling gothic architecture.
Gouldsboro; town in Hancock County, Maine, named for
Robert Gould, one of the original proprietors.
Gouverneur; town in St. Lawrence County, New York, named
for Gouverneur Morris, an American statesman.
Govan; town in Bamberg County, South Carolina, named for
a family prominent in South Carolina history.
Gove; county, and city in same county, in Kansas, named
for Grenville L. Gove, captain in the Eleventh Kansas
Regiment.
Governors; island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, named
for Governor Winthrop, to whose descendants it still
belongs.
Governors; island in New York Harbor, named for Governor
Van Twilier, who owned it at an early date.
Gowanda; village in Cattaraugus County, New York. An
Indian word meaning "town among the hills by the water
side."
Grafton; village in Pope County, Illinois, named from
the town in Massachusetts, the native place of the first
settler.
Grafton; town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, named
for Charles Fitz-Roy, Duke of Grafton.
Grafton; county, and town in same county, in New
Hampshire, named for Augustus Henry Fitz-Roy, Duke of
Grafton.
Grafton; city in Taylor County, West Virginia, so named
by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, because they grafted
a branch from this point to Wheeling.
Graham; county in Kansas, named for John L. Graham,
captain of the Eighth Kansas Regiment.
Graham; county, and town in Alamance County, North
Carolina, named for Senator William A. Graham, secretary
of the navy under President Fillmore.
Graham; city in Young County, Texas, named for one of
two brothers, who owned salt works near where the town
was built.
Grahamsville; village in Sullivan County, New York,
named for Lieutenant Graham, who was killed by Indians
near the site of the village.
Grahamton; town in Meade County, Kentucky, named for an
early pioneer.
Grahamville; town in Beaufort County, South Carolina,
named for the founder.
Grainger; county in Tennessee, named for Mary Grainger.
Granby; town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, said to
have been named for John, Marquis of Granby.
Granby; town in Essex County, Vermont, named for Earl
Granby, in 1761.
Grand; county in Colorado, named from Grand Lake, the
source of Grand River.
Grand Coteau; town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, so
named because of its position. A French name meaning
"great hill."
Grand Forks; county, and city in same county, in North
Dakota, which take their name from the junction of the
Red River of the North with Red Lake River.
Grand Haven; city in Ottawa County, Michigan, so named
because it is situated on the best harbor on the eastern
shore of Lake Michigan.
Grand Island; city in Hall County, Nebraska, on Platte
River, which is divided into two channels at that point
by an island nearly 50 miles long.
Grand Isle; town in Aroostook County, Maine, named from
an island in the river at that point.
Grand Isle; county, and village in same county, in
Vermont, named from an island in Lake Champlain, now
called South Hero. The early French called it Grand
Isle.
Grand Junction; city in Mesa County, Colorado, so named
because of its location at the junction of the Gunnison
and Grand rivers.
Grand Junction; town in Greene County, Iowa, so named
from its position at the junction of the Keokuk and Des
Moines and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads.
Grand Lake Stream; plantation in Washington County,
Maine, named from a lake in the northern part of the
State.
Grand Ledge; city in Eaton County, Michigan, so named
because of the rock ledges along the Grand River in the
vicinity.
Grand Rapids; cities in Kent County, Michigan, and Wood
County, Wisconsin, named from rapids and falls in the
Grand and Wisconsin rivers.
Grand Ronde; river and valley in Oregon. A French name
meaning "great round." It was applied by the early
French trappers to the valley because of its circular
shape.
Grand Tower; city in Jackson County, Illinois, named
from a high rocky island in the Mississippi River, which
resembles a tower.
Grand Traverse; county in Michigan, named from Grand
Traverse Bay.
Granite; county in Montana, named from a mountain which
contains the celebrated Granite Mountain silver mine.
Granite Falls; city in Yellow Medicine County,
Minnesota, located at falls in Minnesota River, so named
because of the presence of immense masses of granite
rock.
Graniteville; village in Iron County, Missouri, named
for a quarry near, considered one of the most remarkable
in the world.
Grant; military post in Arizona, county in Arkansas;
town in Humboldt County,
California; town in Montgomery County, Iowa; county in
Kansas; parish in Louisiana; county in Minnesota;
county, and village in Perkins County, Nebraska;
counties in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota,
and West Virginia; and many small places throughout the
country; named for Gen. U. S. Grant.
Grant; county in Indiana, named for Samuel and Moses
Grant, of Kentucky, killed in battle with the Indians.
Grant; county in Kentucky. According to John McGee it
was named for Col. John Grant, an early settler, but
according to J. Worthing McCann, the county was named
for Samuel Grant.
Grant; river and county in Wisconsin, named for a
trapper who had a cabin on the river bank.
Grantsdale; town in Ravalli County, Montana, named for
H. H. Grant, land owner, who built the first flour mill
and kept the first store.
Grantsville; town in Calhoun County, West Virginia,
named for Gen. U. S. Grant.
Granville; township and village in Putnam County,
Illinois, and township and village in Licking County,
Ohio, named from the town in Massachusetts.
Granville; towns in Hampden County, Massachusetts, and
Washington County, New York, and county in North
Carolina, named for John Carteret, Earl of Granville.
Grass; river in St. Lawrence County, New York, from the
name given it by the early French, la grasse riviere,
meaning "the fertile river."
Grass Valley; township and city in Nevada County,
California, named from a valley covered with grass.
Gratiot; county in Michigan, named for Capt. Charles
Gratiot, United States Army, who constructed Fort
Gratiot in 1814.
Gratiot; village in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, named
for Col. Henry Gratiot, an Indian agent.
Grattan; township in Kent County, Michigan, named for
the Irish orator.
Gratz; borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, named
from the Prussian town.
Graves; county in Kentucky, named for Capt. Benjamin
Graves, who fell at the battle of Raisin River.
Gravesend; village in Kings County, New York, now a part
of New York City, named by persons from Gravesend,
England.
Gravette; town in Benton County, Arkansas, named for E.
T. Gravette.
Gray; county in Kansas, named for Alfred Gray, secretary
of the Kansas State board of agriculture in 1873-1880.
Gray; town in Cumberland County, Maine, said to have
been named for Thomas Gray, one of the proprietors.
Gray; county in Texas, named for Peter W. Gray, a
prominent lawyer of Houston.
Grayling; town in Crawford County, Michigan, named from
the fish for which the Au Sable River was famous.
Graymount; town in Colorado near the foot of Gray's
Peak; hence the name.
Grays; peak in Colorado, named by Doctor Parry for Dr.
Asa Gray, botanist.
Grays; harbor in Washington, named for the discoverer,
Capt. Robert Gray, of Boston.
Grayson; counties in Kentucky and Virginia, named for
Col. William Grayson, United States Senator from
Virginia.
Grayson; town in Carter County, Kentucky, named for Col.
Robert Grayson.
Grayson; county in Texas, named for Peter W. Grayson,
attorney-general of the Texas Republic in 1836.
Graysville; village in Sullivan County, Indiana, named
for Joe Gray, its founder.
Graysville; village in Herkimer County, New York, named
for Latham Gray, a resident.
Grayville; township and city in White County, Illinois,
named for James Gray, who laid out the town in 1828.
Great Barrington; town in Berkshire County,
Massachusetts, named for Lord Barrington. "Great" was
prefixed to distinguish it from Barrington, Rhode
Island, which town was formerly considered as possibly
being within the limits of Massachusetts.
Great Basin; an area of territory in Utah whose waters
do not reach the sea; hence the name.
Great Bend; city in Barton County, Kansas, which takes
its name from a bend in the Arkansas River south of the
site.
Great Bend; borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania,
named from a bend in the Susquehanna River at that
point.
Great Black; river in Maine, which takes its name from
the Indian designation chimkazaootook, meaning "big
black stream."
Great Butte des Morts; lake in Wisconsin, so called from
neighboring mounds, said to contain the bodies of
Indians slain in battle. A French phrase, meaning "hill
of the dead."
Great Falls; city in Cascade County, Montana, named from
the falls in the Missouri River, near the city.
Great Quabbin; mountain in Massachusetts, named for a
celebrated Indian sachem. The word is supposed to mean
"many waters."
Great Salt; lake in Utah, named from the salinity of its
waters.
Great Sinabar; creek in Missouri. A corruption of the
old French name chenal au barre, meaning "channel to the
bar."
Greeley; city in Weld County, Colorado; county, and
city, in Anderson County, Kansas, and county in
Nebraska, named for Horace Greeley.
Greeley; village in Holt County, Nebraska, named for
Peter Greeley.
Green; descriptive word found frequently with and
without various suffixes. The river in Wyoming and Utah
was so called from the green shale through which it
flows.
Green; river rising in the Wind River range of the Rocky
Mountains, formerly known as popo agie words of the Crow
dialect, meaning "head of river."
Green; mountains in Vermont, so named from their forests
of evergreen trees.
Green; counties in Kentucky and Wisconsin, named for
Gen. Nathaniel. Greene.
Green Bay; city in Brown County, Wisconsin, named from
the bay which was called by the early French la grande
baie "the large bay," which was corrupted into the
present name. Other authorities claim that the name was
occasioned from the deep greenish hue of the water of
the bay.
Greenbrier; county in West Virginia, named from the
river, which was so called by Col. John Lewis.
Greenbush; town in Rensselaer County, New York; a
translation of the original Dutch name groen bosch, from
the pine woods which originally covered the flats.
Greencastle; city in Putnam County, Indiana, named from
the town in Ireland.
Green Cove Springs; town in Clay County, Florida, named
from a large sulphur spring, supposed by some to be the
"fountain of youth" of Spanish and Indian legends.
Greene; counties in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa;
town in Androscoggin County, Maine; counties in
Mississippi, Missouri, and New York, and village in
Chenango County, New York; counties in North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia; named for
Gen. Nathaniel Greene, Revolutionary soldier.
Geene; town in Butler County, Iowa, named for Judge
George Green of Linn County.
Greenesville; county in Virginia;
Greeneville; town in Greene County, Tennessee. Named for
Gen. Nathaniel Greene.
Greenfield; town in Adair County, Iowa, named from the
town in Massachusetts.
Greenfield; town in Franklin County, Massachusetts,
which derives its name from the river which intersects
it. Before its incorporation as a town the settlement
was known as "Green River District."
Greenfield; village in Highland County, Ohio, so named
from its general appearance.
Green Island; town in Albany County, New York, so named
because situated on an island of that name in Hudson
River.
Green Lake; county in Wisconsin, named from a lake which
was called so from the color of its waters.
Greenleaf; city in Washington County, Kansas, named for
the treasurer of the Union Pacific Railroad, A. W.
Greenleaf.
Greenport; village in Suffolk County, New York, so named
for the green hill sloping to the bay.
Greensboro; town in Hale County, Alabama, named for Gen.
Nathaniel Greene, a Revolutionary celebrity.
Greensburg; city in Kiowa County, Kansas, named for Col.
D. R. Green.
Greensburg; town in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,
named for Gen. Nathaniel Greene.
Greenup; village in Cumberland County, Illinois, named
for William Greenup, first clerk of the Illinois
Territorial legislature.
Greenup; county, and town in same county, in Kentucky,
named for Christopher Greenup, governor of the State in
1804-1808.
Greenville; city in Butler County, Alabama, so named by
early settlers from the town in South Carolina.
Greenville; city in Bond County, Illinois, named from
the town in North Carolina.
Greenville; city in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, town in
Pitt County, North Carolina, and city in Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, named for Gen. Nathaniel Greene.
Greenville; city in Montcalm County, Michigan, named for
John Green, one of the first settlers.
Greenville; town in Washington County, Mississippi,
named for the first settler.
Greenville; county, and city in same county, in South
Carolina, named from the physical appearance. The name
was first given to the city and from that applied to the
county.
Greenwich; towns in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and
Hampshire County, Massachusetts, and village in
Washington County, New York, named from Greenwich in
England.
Greenwood; town in Sebastian County, Arkansas, named for
Moses Greenwood, a prominent merchant of early days.
Greenwood; county in Kansas, named for Alfred B.
Greenwood, Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1859-60.
Greenwood; city in Leflore County, Mississippi, named
for Greenwood Leflore, a noted Choctaw Indian chief.
Greenwood; village in Cass County, Nebraska, named for
an early settler, J. S. Green.
Greenwood; county in South Carolina, descriptively
named.
Greer; county in Oklahoma, named for John A. Greer,
governor of Texas in 1849- 1853.
Greer; town in Greenville County, South Carolina, named
for a resident family.
Gregg; county in Texas, named for a prominent citizen.
John Gregg, killed in the civil war.
Gregory; county in South Dakota, named for J. Shaw
Gregory, legislator.
Greig; town in Lewis County, New York, named for the
late John Greig, of Canandaigua.
Grelder Hollow; a deep cleft in the east side of the
Taghkanic Mountains, in the town of Egremont, Berkshire
County, Massachusetts, named for John van Grelder, a
Dutchman, who lived in the hollow.
Grenada; county, and town in same county, in
Mississippi, named from the Spanish province:
Grenola; city in Elk County, Kansas, named by
compounding the first part of the name of two rival
towns in the neighborhood, Greenfield and Kanola.
Greylock; mountain in Berkshire County, Massachusetts,
named from its hoary aspect in winter. Greylock is the
highest elevation in the State.
Gridley; township and town in McLean County, Illinois,
named for Asabel Gridley, State senator, 1850-1854.
Griffin; city in Spalding County, Georgia, named for
Gen. L. L. Griffin.
Grifton; town in Pitt County, North Carolina;
Grifton Comers; village in Delaware County, New York.
Named for the Grifton family.
Griggs; county in North Dakota, named for Hon. Alexander
Griggs, a pioneer of Grand Forks, member of the
constitutional convention of North Dakota.
Griggsville; township and city in Pike County, Illinois,
named for its founder, Richard Griggs.
Grimes; town in Colusa County, California, named for the
man who founded it.
Grimes; town in Polk County, Iowa, named for Senator
Grimes.
Grimes; county in Texas, named for Jesse Grimes, member
of the council of provisional government.
Grimesland; town in Pitt County, North Carolina, named
for Gen. Bryan Grimes.
Grinnell; city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, named for Hon.
VV. H. Grinnell, a citizen.
Griswold; town in New London County, Connecticut, named
for Roger Griswold, governor of the State in 1811.
Griswold; town in Cass County, Iowa, named for J. N. A.
Griswold, a prominent railroad official.
Grizzly; peak in Colorado, named by a party of
scientists from an adventure with a grizzly bear.
Gross; point in Maine on the Penobscot River, named for
the first settler, Zachariah Gross.
Grossdale; village in Cook County, Illinois, named for
E. A. Gross, one of its founders.
Grosse Isle; village in Wayne County, Michigan, which
takes its name from an island in Detroit River, which
was called by the early French grosse isle "great isle."
Grossepoint; town in Wayne County, Michigan, so named
from a large point which projects into Lake St. Clair,
named by the French grosse pointe, "great point."
Grosvenor; mount in Arizona, named for H. C. Grosvenor,
who was killed there in 1861.
Groton; town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, named
from the place in England owned by the family of Deane
Winthrop, whose name headed the petition for the grant.
Groton; village in Tompkins County, New York, named from
the town in Massachusetts.
Groveland; town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The
origin of the name is obscure, but the name is believed
to have been suggested by attractive groves in the
neighborhood.
Grover; village in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and
town in Dorchester County, South Carolina, named for
President Grover Cleveland.
Grubbs; village in Newcastle County, Delaware, named for
the early owner, John Grubbs.
Grundy; counties in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and
Tennessee;
Grundy Center; town in Grundy County, Iowa. Named for
Felix Grundy, United States Senator from Tennessee.
Guadalupe; county in New Mexico, and river, county, and
town in Victoria County, Texas, named for Don Felix
Victoria, first President of Mexico, known as "Guadalupe
Victoria." The name is of Arabic origin.
Guernsey; county in Ohio, named by emigrants from the
island of Guernsey in the English Channel.
Guero; mount in Colorado, named for a Ute Indian.
Guilford; borough in New Haven County, Connecticut,
named from the town in England.
Guilford; county in North Carolina, named for the Earl
of Guilford, father of Lord North.
Guinda; town in Yolo County, California. A Spanish word
meaning "cherry."
Gulfport; town in Harrison County, Mississippi, so named
by W. H. Hardy because of its situation.
Gulpha; creek in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The name is a
corruption of Calfat, a proper name, probably belonging
to an early settler.
Gunnison; county, town in same county, mountain, and
river in Colorado, and island in Great Salt Lake, Utah,
named for Capt. J. W. Gunnison, an early explorer.
Gurnet; point at the entrance to Plymouth Harbor,
Massachusetts, named from the gurnet, a sea fish.
Guthrie; creek in Humboldt County, California, named for
an early settler.
Guthrie; county in Iowa, named for Capt. Edwin B.
Guthrie.
Guthrie; town in Callaway County, Missouri, named for
Guthrie brothers, early settlers.
Guthrie Center; town in Guthrie County, Iowa, named for
Capt. Edwin B. Guthrie.
Guttenburg; city in Clayton County, Iowa, and town in
Hudson County, New Jersey, named for the inventor of
printing.
Guyandot; town in Cabell County and river in West
Virginia; the French form of Wyandotte, the name of the
tribe of Indians.
Guyot; mounts in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Tennessee,
named for Arnold Guyot, the geographer.
Gwinnett; county in Georgia, named for Button Gwinnett,
a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Gypsum; town in San Bernardino County, California, named
from the gypsum deposits.
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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