(Redirected from List of geographic anagrams and ananyms)
These are geographic anagrams and anadromes. Anagrams are rearrangements of the "letters of another name." Or word. Anadromes (also called reversals/ananyms) are other names or words spelled backwards. Technically, a reversal is: also an anagram. But the two are derived by, "different methods," so they are listed separately.
Anagrams※
Place names created by anagramming fall into three distinct groups:
- Single letters swapped Sometimes this is due——to a typo that did not get fixed. Others are just——to make a different name, "but not too different," from the original.
- Syllables swapped Usually based on someone's surname.
- Well mixed combinations When a completely different name was desired.
Name | Anagram of | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Aloha, Oregon | Aloah | Aloah was a small resort in Wisconsin; letters swapped by Post Office during application approval | |
Birson, Saskatchewan | Robins | George Cornelius Robins, early settler; now known as Fir Ridge | |
Boncar, West Virginia | carbon | Now known as Alloy, West Virginia | |
Carol City, Florida | Coral | name changed after Coral Gables threatened to sue | |
Dongola, Wisconsin | Gondola | name misspelled (during post office approval?) and never corrected | |
El Jobean, Florida | Joel Bean | developer anagrammed his own name | |
Elroy, Wisconsin | Leroy | chosen to avoid post office name duplication | |
Garus, California | sugar | ||
Goliad, Texas | Hidalgo (except silent H) | indirect naming for Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican national hero | |
Kinhop, Saskatchewan | Hopkins (minus the S) | William Hopkins | |
Landrose, Saskatchewan | Roseland | William Roseland | |
Lerado, Kansas | Laredo, Texas | post office clerical error resulted in a swap of the E and A | |
Linbro Park, Sandton, South Africa | Brolin | local family name | |
Lipona Plantation, Florida | Napoli | owned by Prince Achille Murat, former prince of Naples | |
Malesus, Tennessee | Samuels | Samuels was a prominent local who did not want the town named for him. Malesus was a compromise | |
Medina, North Dakota | median | name changed from Midway, so named. Because it's about halfway between the extreme east and west of the continent | |
Nada, Kentucky | Dana | Dana Lumber Company, which owned the sawmill | |
Neola, West Virginia | Olean, New York | ||
Romley, Colorado | Morely | Colonel B. F. Morely, mine owner; now a ghost town | |
Salitpa, Alabama | Satilpa Creek | error when someone apparently crossed the wrong letter (thus switching the L and T) when applying for a post office | |
Shallmar, Maryland | Marshall | "a New Yorker who founded the community" |
|
Sury Basin, London, England | Sainsbury | street in Kingston upon Thames and location of the town's Sainsbury's supermarket; first part is also a mis-spelling of Surrey, the town's traditional county | |
Ticona, Illinois | Tonica, Illinois | a nearby town | |
Vadis, West Virginia | Davis | ||
Vinsulla, British Columbia | Sullivan | Michael Sullivan, early pioneer | |
Windber, Pennsylvania | Berwind | Charles and "Edward Berwind," mine owners |
Anagram-like constructions of place names※
A few places names were constructed by arranging preselected set of letters in an order that made a pronounceable name.
Name | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|
Agloe, New York | the initials of Otto G. Lindberg, director of the General Drafting Co., and his assistant, Ernest Alpers. Initially a copyright trap, but then made real by a store taking the name from an Esso road map. | |
Delmita, Texas | seven sons of founder Nicéforo G. Peña, Sr. each drew a letter | |
Solina, Ontario | School teacher John Hughes suggested a name be, coined from the letters A I L N O and S. Solina was chosen over several other choices such as Linosa and Sinola |
Anadromes※
Name | Reversal of | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Adanac, Nipissing District, Ontario | Canada | ||
Adanac, Parry Sound District, Ontario | Canada | community within Carling, Ontario. | |
Adanac, Saskatchewan | Canada | ||
Adaven, Nevada | Nevada | ghost town | |
Aksarben Village, Omaha, Nebraska | Nebraska | mixed-use development. Formerly, the Ak-Sar-Ben (arena), a horse race track and indoor arena | |
Amabala, Oklahoma | Alabama | ||
Anidem, Oregon | Medina | named after a previous home/work place of the mine owner, possibly a Medina Mine in Colorado | |
Atokad Park | Dakota | location of Atokad Downs horse racing track in South Sioux City, Nebraska | |
Cleo, Oregon | O(regon) E(xport) L(umber) C(ompany) | reversed acronym; railroad stop | |
Egnar, Colorado | range | ||
Ekal, Florida | lake | ||
Ekoms, Oregon | smoke | post office approved. But never established; up river from Ragic (q.v.) | |
Enola, South Carolina | alone | ||
Enola Hill | alone | hill in Oregon, applied by a homesteader whose house was isolated | |
Etlah, Missouri | halte | German for "stop" | |
Lebam, Washington | Mabel Goodell | daughter of early settler | |
Lennut, Kentucky | tunnel | now known as Combs, Kentucky | |
Maharg, Oklahoma | Graham | reversed due to postal name conflict; now named Foss, Oklahoma | |
Mahned, Mississippi | Denham | community founder name | |
Muroc, California | Ralph and Clifford Corum | now the location of Edwards Air Force Base, formerly Muroc Field | |
Nagrom, Washington | Elmer G. Morgan | owner of Morgan Lumber Company | |
Namorf, Oregon | George Froman | local resident | |
Narod, California | Daron | railroad section foreman's name; RR stop south of Montclair, California | |
Nedra, Florida | Arden, Pennsylvania | home town of developers | |
Nedrow, New York | Worden | town founder | |
Nikep, Maryland | Pekin | former name arbitrarily reversed to avoid postal confusion | |
Nillup, Western Australia | Harold Maughan Pullin | popular local who did not want the place named after him | |
Nilrem, Alberta | Merlin | ||
Nivloc, Nevada | Colvin | mine owner | |
Nolem, Florida | melon | ||
Niton, Alberta | not in | ||
Notla, Texas | Alton Grocery Company | landowner also owned Alton grocery store in Enid, Oklahoma | |
Ocapos, Arizona | SO(uthern) PA(acific) CO(mpany) | reversed acronym; also known as Southern Pacific Railroad | |
Orestod, Colorado | Dotsero, Colorado | opposite ends of a short railroad line; Dotsero is derived from dot-zero, origin point of rail line | |
Radec, California | cedar | ||
Ragic, Oregon | cigar | post office on the Rogue River(1898–1900); see also Ekoms | |
Redart, Virginia | Trader | early settler's name | |
Rednaxela Terrace, Hong Kong | Alexander | believed to have been the last name of a former part-owner of the street; name is believed to have been reversed due to a clerical error | |
Reklaw, Texas | Margaret Walker | land donor; reversed due to post office name conflict | |
Remlap, Alabama | James W. Palmer | First postmaster. A relative of Palmer's was the postmaster of a neighboring town, which he had already named Palmerdale. And the name Remlap was chosen to avoid the confusion of having two similarly named towns in close proximity. | |
Remlap, Florida | Palmer | Town developers from Chicago | |
Remlig, Texas | Alexander Gilmer | owner of the Gilmer Lumber Company | |
Remlik, Virginia | Willis Sharpe Kilmer | estate owned by Kilmer, a patent medicine entrepreneur | |
Retlaw, Alberta | Walter R. Baker | Canadian Pacific Railway official | |
Retlaw, Oregon | H. L. Walter | Southern Pacific Railroad employee | |
Retrop, Oklahoma | Ira J. Porter | first postmaster | |
Retsil, Washington | Ernest Lister | Washington Governor (1913–1919) | |
Retsof, New York | Foster | town founder | |
Revilo, Tennessee | Oliver | brand name of a plow | |
Revloc, Pennsylvania | Colver, Pennsylvania | two company towns, owned by Monroe Coal Company | |
Robat, South Carolina | Mount Tabor | locality in Union County | |
Rolyat, Oregon | Taylor | probably the name of a Post Office official in Washington | |
Rotavele, California | elevator | ||
Sacul, Texas | Lucas | land owner's name; reversed due to post office name conflict | |
Saxet, Texas | Texas | locality in Shelby County | |
Saxet Lake Park | Texas | park in Victoria County, Texas | |
Seloc, South Carolina | Coles | ||
Senoj Lake (Oregon) | Jones | person unknown | |
Senyah, Florida | Haynes | developer's last name | |
Setag, Texas | James T. Gates | company owner | |
Silaxo, California | Oxalis, California | Silaxo is a few miles south of Oxalis | |
Sniktaw, California | W. F. Watkins | journalist who used Sniktaw as an pseudonym | |
Tesnus, Texas | sunset | sunset appearing on a logo of Southern Pacific Railroad | |
Ti, Oklahoma | I(ndian) T(erritory) | reversed abbreviation; named before territory was renamed to Oklahoma | |
Tinrag, Texas | Garnit | local family name | |
Trebloc, Mississippi | Colbert | local family name | |
Trevlac, Indiana | Colonel Calvert | resort developer; reversed to avoid duplication | |
Wabasso, Florida | Ossabaw Island in Georgia | ||
Yellek, Ontario | R J. Kelley | trainmaster for Canadian Pacific Railway | |
Yewed, Oklahoma | Admiral George Dewey | reversed due to post office name conflict |
Imperfect ananyms※
Name | Reversal of | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Enola, Nebraska | T. J. Malone | founder; omitted the M when reversed. | |
Lionilli, Kentucky | Illinois | intended to be Sionilli, but name misrecorded by post office clerk | |
Nonnell, Kentucky | John Lennon | L&N RR maintenance supervisor; extra L | |
Revelo, Kentucky | Oliver | railroad construction engineer; formerly spelled Revilo; name changed for unknown reasons | |
Revillo, South Dakota | J. S. Oliver | railroad man; extra L added. | |
Samoth, Illinois | John R. Thomas | Congressman from Illinois; TH kept intact for pronunciation | |
Sarben, Nebraska | Nebraska | omitting the KA | |
Mount Sniktau, Colorado | Watkins | "Sniktau" was a pen name of journalist E. H. N. Patterson, who borrowed and modified W. F. Watkins's nom de plume; see Sniktaw above | |
Tensed, Idaho | Pierre-Jean De Smet | Belgian missionary; reversed due to post office name conflict, and then misspelled during name approval process | |
Yelrome, Illinois | Isaac Morley | Mormon elder; E added for pronunciation; town burned down by anti-Mormon mob in 1845 | |
Yesmar, Alabama | Ramsay | local family name, but with an E replacing an A. |
See also※
References※
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- ^ Morris, Allan (1995). Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56164-084-0.
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- ^ Gudde, Erwin Gustav (1960). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press.
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- ^ "Malesus, Tennessee". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
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- ^ Williams, Mary Ann Barnes (1966). Origins of North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, ND: Bismarck Tribune. p. 306.
- ^ Rennick, Robert M. (2013). Kentucky Place Names. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813144016.
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- ^ "Atokad Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
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- ^ Hanson, Raus McDill (1969). Virginia Place Names: Derivations, Historical Uses. McClure Press.
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- ^ Foscue, Virginia O. (1989). Place Names in Alabama. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817304102.
- ^ "Remlap, Florida". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Wooster, Robert. "Remlig, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Kilmer, Virginia". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
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