List of renamed places in the United States

These are the list of renamed places in the United States --- various political and physical entities in the U.S. that have had their names changed, though not by merger, split, or any other process which was not one-to-one. It also generally does not include differences due to a change in status, for example, a "River Bluff Recreation Area" that becomes "River Bluff State Parkway".

Alaska

  • Mount McKinley National Park was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980 (the eponymous mountain itself was renamed Denali by the state government in 1975,[1] but was not officially renamed Denali by the federal government until 2015[2])
  • Barrow was renamed Utqiaġvik in 2016, after its original Iñupiaq name.[3]
  • Black River was renamed Draanjik River after its original Gwich'in name in 2014.[4]
  • Chandalar River was renamed Ch'iidrinjik River and Teedrinjik River as replacements for the North and Middle forks of the river in 2015.[4]
  • Sheldon Point was renamed Nunam Iqua in 1999, after its original Yup'ik name.
  • Willoughby District in Juneau was renamed to Aakw Kwaan Village District in 2019.[5]

California

  • Amity became Woodbridge in 1784.[6]
  • Bantam became Litchfield in 1719.[7]
  • Chatham became East Hampton in 1915.[8]
  • Columbia Parish became Prospect in 1827.[9]
  • Conway became Portland in 1841.[9]
  • Danielsonville became Danielson in 1895.[10]
  • Dorchester became Windsor in 1637.[11]
  • East Enfield became Somers in 1734.[9]
  • East Saybrook became Lyme in 1667.[9]
  • Farmingbury became Wolcott in 1796.[12]
  • Freshwater Plantation became Enfield ≈1683.[13]
  • Furnace Village became Lakeville in 1846.[14]
  • Great Neck became Lordship ≈1650.
  • Hartford Mountains became Bolton in 1720.[15][16]
  • Humphreysville became Seymour in 1850.[9]
  • Huntington became Shelton in 1919.[17]
  • Iron Works Village became East Haven in 1707.[18]
  • Kensington became Berlin in 1785.[9]
  • Lebanon Crank became Columbia in 1804.[19]
  • Mattabesett became Middletown in 1653.[20]
  • Middlesex Parish became Darien in 1820.[21]
  • Mill River Village became Southport in 1831.[22]
  • Mortlake became Brooklyn in 1752.[9]
  • New Cambridge became Bristol in 1785.[9]
  • New Cheshire Parish became Cheshire in 1780.
  • New Concord became Bozrah in 1786.[9]
  • New Roxbury became Woodstock in 1690.[23]
  • New Scituate became Ashford in 1710.[24]
  • Newbury became Brookfield in 1787.[25]
  • Newtowne became Hartford in 1637.[26]
  • North Stratford became Trumbull in 1797.[27]
  • Northbury became Plymouth in 1795.[28]
  • Orford Parish became Manchester in 1823.[29]
  • Paugasset became Derby in 1675.[9]
  • Pimpewaug became Cannon in 1882, renamed Cannondale in 1915.[30]
  • Pomperaug Plantation became Woodbury in 1673.[31]
  • Ponde Town became Mansfield in 1702.[32]
  • Quanneapague became Newtown in 1708.[33]
  • Rippowam became Stamford in 1642.[9]
  • Salem Bridge became Naugatuck in 1844.[34]
  • Saybrook became Deep River in 1947.[35]
  • Shepaug became Roxbury in 1743.[36]
  • Sherwood's Bridge became Glenville after 1848.[37]
  • South Farms became Morris in 1859.[38]
  • South Lyme became Old Lyme in 1857.[9]
  • Stepney Parish became Rocky Hill in 1843.[39]
  • Swampfield became Danbury in 1687.[40][41]
  • Totoket became Branford in 1653.[9]
  • Upper Middletown became Cromwell in 1851.[9]
  • Watertown became Wethersfield in 1637.[42]
  • Wepawaug became Milford in 1640.[9]
  • West Farms became Franklin in 1786.[43]
  • Westbury became Watertown in 1780.[44]
  • Wintonbury became Bloomfield in 1835.[9]

Georgia

  • Limestone was named Maysville after John May, a surveyor, clerk and land owner in the area in 1787 when the town was formed. The post office opened as "Limestone" and kept that name from 1794 to 1799.
  • Cold Spring (1731–1761) became Belchertown (1761–Present).
  • Gay Head (1870-1998) became Aquinnah (1998–Present) after residents voted to approve the name change in 1997.[58]
  • Manchester (1645–1989) became Manchester-By-The-Sea (1989–Present).
  • Trimountaine (1625-1630) became Boston (1630-Present).[59]

New York

North Carolina

  • Hamburgh (later Hamburg) is now Glenville.
  • The towns of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper were consolidated and became the city of Eden in 1967.[95]

North Dakota

Ohio

Pennsylvania

  • Mauch Chunk (prior to 1953) is now Jim Thorpe.[98]
  • Hickory Township (prior to 1972) is now Hermitage.

South Carolina

  • Charles Town (colonial period) is now Charleston.[99]

South Dakota

Tennessee

  • Coal Creek became Lake City in 1936, after the completion of Norris Dam, which created Norris Lake. Later, it was renamed to Rocky Top.

Texas

Utah

  • The territory that became Utah was known as Deseret when first settled by Latter-Day Saints in 1847
  • Parley's Park City became shortened to Park City
  • Fort Utah became Provo
  • The area known as Provo Bench became Orem before the city's incorporation in 1919

Wyoming

  • The valley in which the town of Jackson is located was originally known as Jackson's Hole and is now Jackson Hole. (The town's name has never contained the word "Hole".)

 

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

References

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  • Shorto, Russell (2004). The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan & the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385503490.
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