There are over 180,000 populated places in the United States, and almost all of them have a different name. Firstly, the names of towns and cities in the United States vary greatly in terms of their length. Reddit user Dremarious made maps showing the shortest city name in each U.S. state.
However, I found 11 places with names that are made up of only two letters using the U.S. Board of Geographic Names database. There are settlements named Ai in two states: Alabama (Cleburne County) and Georgia (Gilmer County). There are six settlements that have names with 33 letters. The average length of the names of the settlements is nine letters. Settlement names are most commonly six letters long. There are 19,245 towns or villages in the country.
Many states on the East Coast of the U.S. have longer names for their cities and towns, while states in the Plains and Intermountain West Region have shorter names for their populated places.
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Most common length of names of settlements
- Populated places’ names containing 6 letters – 19,245
- Populated places’ names containing 8 letters – 19,244
- Populated places’ names containing 7 letters – 19,044
- Populated places’ names containing 9 letters – 18,544
- Populated places’ names containing 10 letters – 17,590
Common words in the U.S. settlement names
The most common words in city names often represent the name of the person who founded the place, a well-known person, or a significant natural feature like a river, valley, mountain, lake, or cardinal direction like north, south, east, or west.
5 most common town names in the U.S.
- Franklin (number of towns with the same name – 30; the most populous city Franklin located in Tennessee (population – 72,939)
- Fairview (number of towns with the same name – 28; the most populous city Fairview in New Jersey (13,835).
- Clinton (number of towns with the same name – 27; the most populous city Clinton is located in Maryland (35,970)
- Madison (number of towns with the same name – 23; the most populous city Madison located in Wisconsin (254,977)
- Greenville (number of towns with the same name – 23; the most populous city Greenville located in North Carolina (91,921)
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The weirdest U.S. city names
American Fork (Utah), Atomic City (Idaho), Bangs (Texas), Blue Grass (Iowa), Bluff (Alaska), Briny Breezes (Florida), Canadian (Texas), China (Texas), Climax (Michigan), Colon (Michigan), Concrete (Washington), Cool (Texas), Okay (Oklahoma), Cut and Shoot (Texas), Dinosaur (Colorado), Fries (Virginia), Hooker (Oklahoma), Hurt (Virginia), Kill Devil Hills (North Carolina), Last Chance (Iowa), Ninety Six (South Carolina), Oblong (Illinois), Placentia (California), Popejoy (Iowa), Okay (Oklahoma), Pink (Oklahoma), Rainbow City (Alabama), Soda Springs (Idaho), Speed (North Carolina), Superior (Wyoming), Three Way (Tennessee), Truth or Consequences (New Mexico), Whynot (North Carolina), Winnebago (Minnesota), Uncertain (Texas).
Conclusion
Over 180,000 populated places in the United States have varying names, with most having six letters. The most common length of settlement names is six letters, with 19,245 towns or villages in the country. Common words in city names often represent the founder, well-known person, or significant natural feature. The most common town names include Franklin, Fairview, Clinton, Madison, and Greenville. The weirdest city names include American Fork, Atomic City, Bangs, Blue Grass, and Uncertain.
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