List of place names of French origin in the United States

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Several thousand place names in the United States have names of French origin, some a legacy of past French exploration and rule over much of the land and some in honor of French help during the American Revolution and the founding of the country (see also: New France and French in the United States ). Others were named after early Americans of French, especially Huguenot, ancestry (Marion, Revere, Fremont, Lanier, Sevier, Macon, Decatur, etc.). Some places received their names as a consequence of French colonial settlement (e.g. Baton Rouge, Detroit, New Orleans, Saint Louis). Nine state capitals are French words or of French origin (Baton Rouge, Boise, Des Moines, Juneau, Montgomery, Montpelier, Pierre, Richmond, Saint Paul) - not even counting Little Rock (originally "La Petite Roche") or Cheyenne (a French rendering of a Lakota word). Fifteen state names are either French words / origin (Delaware, New Jersey, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon, Vermont) or Native American words rendered by French speakers (Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Wisconsin).

Contents

The suffix "-ville," from the French word for "city" is common for town and city names throughout the United States. Many originally French place names, possibly hundreds, in the Midwest and Upper West were replaced with directly translated English names once American settlers became locally dominant (e.g. "La Petite Roche" became Little Rock; "Baie Verte" became Green Bay; "Grandes Fourches" became Grand Forks).

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Cities

Counties

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

U.S. Virgin Islands

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 1 suggests that this town is named for a French settler.
  2. ↑ Gudde 1998, p. 263 suggests this town was named from German, which also has "Nord" as its word for "North."
  3. ↑ This is disputed; Palús is the name of the aboriginal people who lived at the mouth of the river and the name has been connected to a group of rocks at the same area. French fur traders referred to the river as pavillon (flag). [85]

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References

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  2. ↑ Kaetz, James P. (July 16, 2014). "Bayou La Batre". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Foscue 1989, p. 15.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 1.
  5. ↑ Holmes, Jack D.L. (1967). "Dauphin Island's Critical Years: 1701-1722". Alabama Historical Quarterly. 29 (1): 40 – via HathiTrust.
  6. 1 2 3 Foscue 1989, p. 46.
  7. 1 2 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 2.
  8. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 62.
  9. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 64.
  10. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 76.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 3.
  12. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 91.
  13. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 93.
  14. 1 2 Foscue 1989, p. 94.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 4.
  16. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 95.
  17. ↑ Foscue 1989, p. 125.
  18. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 6.
  19. 1 2 Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names (PDF). Washington: Government Printing Office. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  20. 1 2 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 8.
  21. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 9.
  22. 1 2 Coulet du Gard & Coulet de Gard 1974, p. 11.
  23. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet de Gard 1974, p. 12.
  24. ↑ Granger, Byrd Howell (1983). Arizona's Names: X Marks the Place. Tucson: Falconer Publishing Company. p. 474. ISBN   0918080185.
  25. ↑ "peridot" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/8349623216 . Retrieved August 16, 2024.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet de Gard 1974, p. 13.
  27. ↑ Branner 1899, p. 34.
  28. 1 2 Branner 1899, p. 35.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Branner 1899, p. 39.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Branner 1899, p. 36.
  31. ↑ Branner 1899, pp. 36–37.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Branner 1899, p. 37.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet de Gard 1974, p. 14.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Branner 1899, p. 38.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet de Gard 1974, p. 16.
  36. 1 2 Branner 1899, p. 40.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 17.
  38. 1 2 Gudde 1998, p. 31.
  39. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 18.
  40. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 19.
  41. ↑ Gudde 1998, p. 104.
  42. ↑ Gudde 1998, pp. 137–138.
  43. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 20.
  44. ↑ Gudde 1998, p. 141.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 21.
  46. 1 2 3 4 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 22.
  47. ↑ Gudde 1998, p. 261.
  48. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 23.
  49. ↑ Gudde 1998, p. 289.
  50. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 24.
  51. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 16.
  52. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 17.
  53. ↑ Bright 2004, pp. 18–19.
  54. 1 2 Bright 2004, p. 28.
  55. 1 2 3 4 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 25.
  56. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 69.
  57. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 26.
  58. 1 2 Bright 2004, p. 108.
  59. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 120.
  60. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 142.
  61. ↑ Bright 2004, p. 156.
  62. 1 2 3 Hughes, Arthur H.; Allen, Morse S. (1976). Connecticut Place Names. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society.
  63. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 28.
  64. 1 2 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 29.
  65. 1 2 Morris 1995, p. 25.
  66. ↑ Morris 1995, p. 32.
  67. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 30.
  68. 1 2 Morris 1995, p. 72.
  69. ↑ Morris 1995, p. 93.
  70. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 31.
  71. 1 2 Morris 1995, p. 172.
  72. ↑ Morris 1995, p. 206.
  73. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 32.
  74. 1 2 3 4 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 33.
  75. 1 2 3 4 5 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 34.
  76. 1 2 3 4 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 35.
  77. 1 2 3 Krakow, Kenneth K. (1994). Georgia Place Names (2nd ed.). Macon, Ga.: Winship Press. ISBN   0915430002.
  78. 1 2 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 36.
  79. 1 2 3 Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 37.
  80. ↑ Coulet du Gard & Coulet du Gard 1974, p. 38.
  81. ↑ "Bee Branch Creek History | Dubuque, IA - Official Website". www.cityofdubuque.org. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  82. ↑ "An Indian Legend". Bellevue Herald Leader. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  83. ↑ "Crapo". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  84. ↑ "Pinardville NH Home Page" . Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  85. ↑ Thompson, Albert W. (1971). "The Early History of the Palouse River and Its Names". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 62 (2): 69–76. ISSN   0030-8803.
  86. ↑ "Cheyenne | Origin and meaning of the name cheyenne by Online Etymology Dictionary".

Bibliography

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