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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.

Are you from reno? Your profile says you're from "suck[sic] between a rock and a hard palce."

I'm from arlington, va....apparently named after arlington cemetary (according to wikipedia).

Digging a little deeper, it seems the cemetary is named after a house that was built on that land a long time ago by George Washington's [adopted] grandson, George Washington Parke Custis. Custis' dad John Parke Custis was the son of Martha Washington and her first husband (a wealthy older man) Daniel Parke Custis. John died in the military (from illness) when his son was very little, and so Martha's second husband (famous George) adopted him.

It was originally intended as a tribute to the first president and was going to be named Mount Washington after him, but he eventually settled on Arlington because this is was the name of the Custis family's old land near the Virginia coastline.

I can't figure out what the name actually means, though...well not right now at work anyway.

Great idea for a thread... :D
 
Pretoria: from the guy that found the place (Pretorius)

It was recently changed to Tshwane: from the Setswana word Tshwana which means black cow. Apparently theres some long stroy about how a black cow ended a drought or something? Read it on wikipedia
 
I bet that's pretty.
I like them:

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;-)
 
South Kingstown. (Village of Wakefield and West Kingstown) No clue. South of North Kingstown, I know that. :)
But it was purchased from the Narragansett Indians and establishd in 1657.

And right near Kingston, which is the only one without the "W" in it. Silly RI.


As for me - Portland, Maine. Portland is just as it sounds. The town had a few names, Machigonne, Casco, Falmouth, but after a big fire, they pretty much started over and decided to call it Portland.
Portland has many meanings.

From Wiki
It is the name of numerous cities, the largest of which are Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, in the United States. The original name is of the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, United Kingdom.

Oh, and Portland, Oregon is named after Portland, Maine, due to a coin toss by the two founders. :D
 
Columbus, MS USA obviously named for Christopher Columbus, who we once thought 'discovered' the North American Continent.

Our nickname is Possum Town, which is believed to be the nickname Choctaw Indians gave the town many moons ago.
 
originally it was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula".....these days we call it L.A.



that's; "The Town of our Lady Queen of the Angeles on the River Porciuncula".....but most people drop that bit about the river
 
Perth, Western Australia

The name Perth was chosen by James Stirling for the new town. Stirling, a Scot, acted in accordance with the wish of Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, that the town be named after Perth, Scotland, which was Murray's birthplace and parliamentary seat in the British House of Commons.

tid bit:

Perth is the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. A population of 1,507,900[1] (2006 estimate) makes Perth the largest city in Western Australia and home to three-quarters of the state's residents. The city is also the fourth most populous urban area in Australia, and with a growth rate of 2% is currently the fastest growing major city in Australia.

Perth was founded on June 11, 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the free settler Swan River Colony. It has continued to serve as the seat of Government for Western Australia to the present day.

The metropolitan area is located in the south west of the continent between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth are situated on the Swan River.
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read the bit about how the white people took all the land away from the local tribes... pfft, no respect! (native title)
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On 19 September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia brought down a judgment recognising Noongar native title over the Perth metropolitan area, in the case of Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 1243.[26]

This is the first judgment giving a positive determination of native title over a capital city and its surrounds. Justice Wilcox found that native title continues to exist within an area in and around Perth; this is part of a larger area included in the Single Noongar Claim. It was determined separately by the Federal Court at the request of the Commonwealth and State Government in order to obtain certainty about whether Native Title exists in the Perth metropolitan area.

An appeal was subsequently lodged and is expected to be heard in April 2007. The remainder of the larger “Single Noongar Claim” remains outstanding; but it will hinge on the outcome of this appeal process.
 
Scenic Hartford, CT. got its name from Hertford, England. Apparently, one of Thomas Hooker's associates (Hooker was the "founding father" of CT) was from Hertford, and Hooker then named the riverfront area accordingly. No word on how the e became an a. I live in West Hartford, which is ... due west of Ha(e)rtford.

More enjoyable may be Thomas Hooker ale. The comapny is fundamentally betting on the following: You're going to want to walk up to the bar and say "I'll have a Hooker."
 
Whakatane, which means "act like a man". A canoe got washed out into the river, and Wairaka, a woman, swam out and "saved" it. That is, of course, mens' work, so she acted like a man.
 
Silver Spring, MD: when founder Francis Preston Blair (father of Montgomery Blair) was riding through what became Silver Spring he noticed the water in creeks and springs was particularly shiny because they had mica in them. hence, Silver Spring.

Washington, D.C.: pretty obvious - named in honor of the first president of the United States and the Spanish explorer who "found" North America.
 
I'm from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada (around 30 seconds north of Toronto). ;)

Wikipedia said:
The settlement came to be known as Thorne's Mills, and later, Thorne's Hill, from which its current name is derived. (Thorne would later commit suicide in 1848, after a serious wheat market crash.)
 
Ainsworth, NE. the sign at the edge of town proclaims 'welcome to the middle of nowhere'. but at least it's quiet... :)

Ainsworth is named for Captain James E. Ainsworth, chief construction engineer of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, who arrived at the town site in June 1882. Pioneers were pushing west, setting up shops and businesses. Many also were filing for homesteads on the freeland, claiming 160 acres under provisions that certain improvements be made. Ainsworth was incorporated as a village on December 2, 1883
 
Like Bartlby, I'm Welsh... so my town has a welsh name...

My village is called 'Stone Cross' in English, and it's just outside the town 'Church of 3 saints'
 
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