Five U.S. Cities that are Nothing Like Their European Namesakes
Posted on April 10, 2009 by Patrick Evans - Marketing Communications Coordinator
We’ve all heard the jokes and stories about “car drives” to Paris – Texas that is – and Rome – Georgia for that one – and a lot of other cities in the U.S. that took their names from some pretty famous European destinations.
We’ve scoured our atlas to find five cities in the U.S. that took their name from a more famous European city, but are nothing like their namesake. Check out some of these comparisons:
1. Vienna, New York / Vienna, Austria – Originally called Bengal and Orange, New York, Vienna is home to the Mayfair Campground, which was once a flourishing commercial center for harvesting Atlantic Salmon in Oneida Lake. Vienna, Austria, is known for its Wiener schnitzel and various types of sausages.
Moscow: The one in Russia or Idaho?
2. Liverpool, Texas / Liverpool, England – One of the smallest cities in Texas, Liverpool is home to just 404 people and is less than 0.9 square miles according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Liverpool, England, has a population of more than 400,000 and measures 43.2 square miles, which makes it the third largest city in England.
3. Berlin, Wisconsin / Berlin, Germany – Berlin, Wisconsin, was originally called Scott’s Landing and even after the change to Berlin, residents emphasized first syllable rather than the second because of the anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during World War 1.
4. Moscow, Idaho / Moscow, Russia – Moscow, Russia, is a major world city, which has consistently been named one of the world’s most expensive cities and is home to the world’s largest residential building. The city’s GDP is $181 billion. Moscow, Idaho, is a typical Midwestern city and is a commercial agriculture hub for the region.
5. Lisbon, Iowa / Lisbon, Portugal – Lisbon, Portugal, located near the opening of the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the most important business centers on the Iberian Peninsula. Lisbon, Iowa, is in the middle of Iowa and has no bodies of water in its area with a population of just fewer than 1,900, compared to the Portuguese city, which has just fewer than 3 million inhabitants.
What other cities in the U.S. don’t really represent the grandeur of their European namesakes? Do you know of any that are similar?
Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit: atbaker on Flickr
4 Responses to 'Five U.S. Cities that are Nothing Like Their European Namesakes'
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Paris, Michigan/Paris, France
Paris, France is one of the art, food and fashion centers of the world. Paris, Michigan has about 540 residents and is in the thumb of Michigan. Although Paris, Michigan does have a 20 ft eiffel Tower. So, it’s almost like it’s name sake. -
New England isn’t just a clever moniker– the six states that make up the Northeast region should just put the prefix “new” in front of many towns and cities names, like Amesbury and Salisbury, Mass., which, unlike their English counterparts, do not neighbor the famous site of Stonehenge. The U.S. versions lie near the Atlantic Ocean, with Amesbury famous for being the carraige-making capital of the world, and Salisbury beach is the place to get Tripoli’s pizza and play some arcade games.
Though New England is home to some of the earliest English settlements in the New World, its namesakes differ in many ways. For instance, you won’t find the famous Exeter cathedral or ruins of Rougemont Castle, landmarks specific to Exeter in Devon, England, in Exeter, NH… home of the famous “Incident at Exeter” UFO sighting! -
Nice and funny article many thanks!
Kentucky is known for stealing names from European countries and subsequently butchering the pronunciations.
Most notable: Versailles, KY, London, KY, Paris, KY, Glasgow, KY, Florence, KY, Frankfort, KY (even the spelling in different!), Warsaw, KY and Cambridge, KY.
I’m sure there are more that I don’t know of, but I can assure you they are NOTHING like their namesake.
My favorite, however, is a small town in Kentucky called Baghdad.
And there you have it!