Special Report
The Most Common City Names in the US
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Ever wonder if the name of your city is the only one of its kind in the country? Chances are it may be, given that of the 19,335 U.S. cities 15,538 have unique names. The remaining 3,797 names, however, occur anywhere from twice to 30 times across the U.S.
For this list, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 25 most common city names. A city may be named after a person who made a significant impact on the region, or the name may simply be representative of the area’s surrounding geographic features. For example, three of the 25 most common city names are the last names of some of America’s Founding Fathers — Franklin, Madison, and Washington.
Another example is Newport, which is used in the names of 19 areas nationwide. What event or person made Newport such a favored name? For starters, the first Newport was established in the U.S. in 1639 in what is now Rhode Island. English settlers named the city a year after nearby Portsmouth was established by many of the same settlers.
Click here to see the most common city names in the U.S.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
25. Kingston
> No. of cities with name: 18
> Most populous city: Kingston, NY (pop: 23,625)
> Fun fact:
Kingston, New York was set on fire by British soldiers after the Battle of Saratoga.
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Source: Thinkstock
24. Oakland
> No. of cities with name: 18
> Most populous city: Oakland, CA (pop: 408,073)
> Fun fact:
Oakland, California is home to Lake Merritt, which was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in 1869, making it the first in North America.
Source: Thinkstock
23. Washington
> No. of cities with name: 18
> Most populous city: Washington, DC (pop: 647,484)
> Fun fact:
Washington, D.C. streets have letters for names. But there is no J street, because D.C. was planned before the letter J was added to the English alphabet.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
22. Waverly
> No. of cities with name: 18
> Most populous city: Waverly, MI (pop: 24,535)
> Fun fact:
While the source of the name can differ across towns, several are named after Walter Scott’s Waverley novel.
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Source: Thinkstock
21. Dayton
> No. of cities with name: 18
> Most populous city: Dayton, OH (pop: 141,368)
> Fun fact:
Dayton, Ohio was named after politician and Revolutionary War veteran Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey.
Source: Thinkstock
20. Burlington
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Burlington, NC (pop: 52,241)
> Fun fact:
The very first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store opened in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont.
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Source: Tim Kiser / Wikimedia Commons
19. Milford
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Milford, CT (pop: 51,643)
> Fun fact:
Milford, Connecticut is known for its annual Oyster Festival, which also includes kayak and canoe races.
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Source: Thinkstock
18. Newport
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Newport, RI (pop: 24,459)
> Fun fact:
In 1700, over half of the population in Newport, Rhode Island were members of the Quaker-inspired religious group, Society of Friends.
Source: Kbh3rd/Wikimedia Commons
17. Chester
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Chester, PA (pop: 34,016)
> Fun fact:
William Penn gave the city of Chester, Pennsylvania its name in tribute to Chester, England.
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Source: Thinkstock
16. Riverside
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Riverside, CA (pop: 316,335)
> Fun fact:
Riverside, California residents are not far from one of the largest annual outdoor music festivals, Coachella. The city and the festival site are both in Riverside County.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
15. Oxford
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Oxford, OH (pop: 21,762)
> Fun fact:
Oxford, Mississippi was named after Oxford University in England.
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Source: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons
14. Ashland
> No. of cities with name: 19
> Most populous city: Ashland, CA (pop: 24,226)
> Fun fact:
Ashland, Oregon was founded in 1852 by three men who shortly after established a timber mill.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
13. Milton
> No. of cities with name: 20
> Most populous city: Milton, GA (pop: 35,799)
> Fun fact:
Milton, Florida is nicknamed Scratch Ankle due to the briars, or prickly shrubs, growing in the region.
Source: Thinkstock
12. Springfield
> No. of cities with name: 20
> Most populous city: Springfield, MO (pop: 163,763)
> Fun fact:
Springfield, Illinois was the home of Abraham Lincoln and his family from 1837 until 1861 — the year he became president.
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Source: Thinkstock
11. Manchester
> No. of cities with name: 20
> Most populous city: Manchester, NH (pop: 110,139)
> Fun fact:
Another one of the many U.S. cities named after British cities, Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire.
Source: Thinkstock
10. Clayton
> No. of cities with name: 20
> Most populous city: Clayton, NC (pop: 17,869)
> Fun fact:
Clayton, Missouri was named for Ralph Clayton, who settled in that region during the 1830s century and donated land for establishing the courthouse.
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Source: Thinkstock
9. Georgetown
> No. of cities with name: 21
> Most populous city: Georgetown, TX (pop: 56,102)
> Fun fact:
Georgetown, South Carolina was named after George Prince of Wales, who later became King George II of England.
Source: Thinkstock
8. Arlington
> No. of cities with name: 21
> Most populous city: Arlington, TX (pop: 379,716)
> Fun fact:
Before Las Vegas, Arlington, Texas was the largest gambling destination in the country in the 1930s and 1940s.
Source: Thinkstock
7. Salem
> No. of cities with name: 22
> Most populous city: Salem, OR (pop: 160,008)
> Fun fact:
Salem is the Anglicized form of the Hebrew word shalom, which means peace. Despite the peaceful origin, Salem, Massachusetts is most notorious for the witch trials of 1692-1693.
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Source: Thomas R Machnitzki / Wikimedia Commons
6. Marion
> No. of cities with name: 23
> Most populous city: Marion, OH (pop: 36,701)
> Fun fact:
Marion, Ohio is nicknamed the World’s Popcorn Capital.
Source: Thinkstock
5. Madison
> No. of cities with name: 23
> Most populous city: Madison, WI (pop: 243,122)
> Fun fact:
Madison, Wisconsin was named after former president and Founding Father James Madison.
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Source: Thinkstock
4. Greenville
> No. of cities with name: 23
> Most populous city: Greenville, NC (pop: 88,598)
> Fun fact:
Greenville, Alabama’s original name was Buttsville.
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Source: Thinkstock
3. Clinton
> No. of cities with name: 27
> Most populous city: Clinton, MD (pop: 39,336)
> Fun fact:
Clinton, Arkansas was named after New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton, not former President Bill Clinton.
Source: Flickr
2. Fairview
> No. of cities with name: 28
> Most populous city: Fairview, NJ (pop: 14,233)
> Fun fact:
The cost of living in Fairview, Tennessee is 1% lower than the U.S. average.
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Source: Wikimedia Commons
1. Franklin
> No. of cities with name: 30
> Most populous city: Franklin, TN (pop: 68,549)
> Fun fact:
Named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, this Texas town was founded in October 26, 1799.
Detailed Findings and Methodology:
New England’s religious leader Anne Hutchinson brought fame to Newport by helping to establish the young city as a safe haven for those fleeing religious persecution. Quakers and Jews migrated to Newport, and their presence, coupled with ever-growing Baptists in the settlement, helped transform this small agricultural outpost to one of colonial America’s leading seaports. Today, Newport, Rhode Island is the center for yachting in America.
Perhaps the town’s prosperity from international trade is what gives the name Newport its popularity. Or maybe it’s the fact that so many different religions were welcomed wholeheartedly. Regardless, monumental events and people in history can influence the favorability of a name — as can be seen among the top 25 most common city names
To identify the most common city names in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the frequency of names of cities, towns, municipalities, boroughs, villages, and Census designated places (CDPs) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. Population data also came from the ACS.
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