# Toponymies of places in New York's Capital District

The toponymies of places in New York's Capital District are a varied lot, from non-English languages such as Native American, Dutch, and German to places named for famous people or families, of either local or national fame. Also, in the early 19th century, many places in the Hudson Valley, Capital District and points west were either named or renamed after places from Classical Antiquity (e.g. Athens, Cairo, Carthage, Greece, Ilion, Ithaca, Phoenicia, Rome, Syracuse, Troy, Utica)

## Settlements

* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z
| Place Name | County | Toponymy | Language of origin | Year | Notes or previous names |
| Albany | Albany | Duke of Albany | English | 1636 | Fort Orange, Fuyck, Beverwyck, Williamstadt |
| Alplaus | Schenectady | Aal Plats, "place of the eels" | Dutch | | |
| Altamont | Albany | High mountain | Latin | 1887 | Knowersville |
| Amsterdam (city and town) | Montgomery | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Dutch | 1804 | Veddersburg |
| Ancram | Columbia | town in Scotland where the Livingston family originated | Scottish | 1814 | Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, Gallatin |
| Argyle (town and village) | Washington | Argyllshire, Scotland where early settlers were from | Scottish | | |
| Athens (town and village) | Greene | Athens, Greece | | | |
| Austerlitz | Columbia | Battle of Austerlitz | German | 1818 | |
| Ballston | Saratoga | Eliphalet Ball | a surname | | Ball's Town, Ballton |
| Bethlehem | Albany | in honor of the religious in the community | English | | |
| Bleecker | Fulton | Barent Bleecker, early settler | surname of possible Dutch origin | | |
| Bloodville | Saratoga | Isaiah Blood, operator of the Ballston Axe & Scythe Works | English | | |
| Boght | Albany | bend of river | Dutch | | Groesbeck's Corners |
| Brunswick | Rensselaer | possibly for Brunswick-Lüneburg, Germany | German | 1807 | |
| Burnt Hills | Saratoga | Condition of the area at the time the first settlers arrived | | | |
| Cairo | Greene | Cairo, Egypt | | 1808 | |
| Cambridge (town and Cambridge) | Washington | Cambridge, England | | 1788 | |
| Canaan | Columbia | Canaan, Connecticut | | 1788 | Kings District |
| Canajoharie (town and village) | Montgomery | Canajoharie, a town, translated as "a washed kettle" or "the pot that washes itself" | Iroquoian languages | | Name traced to a hole cut out by a 40-foot waterfall |
| Catskill (town and village) | Greene | | Dutch | | |
| Charleston | Montgomery | Charles Van Epps, an early settler | | | |
| Charlton | Saratoga | Village of Charlton, UK | English | 1792 | Queensboro, New Robertson |
| Claverack | Columbia | Corruption of "clover fields" or "clover reach" | Dutch | | Lower Manor of Rensselaer |
| Clermont | Columbia | Clear mountain | French | 1728 | Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, Gallatin |
| Clifton Park | Saratoga | Derived from Nanning Harmansen; after he purchased piece of land from Native Americans, he wrote Lord Cornbury to request letters of Patent for Land for said purchase, also stating that it be known as "Your name of Cliftons park". | English | 1829 | Clifton |
| Coeymans | Albany | Barent Pieterse Coeymans | surname of possible Dutch origin | | |
| Cohoes | Albany | Cohos, translated as "pine tree" | Algonquian | | |
| Colonie (town and village) | Albany | Colonye; Colony of Rensselaerswyck surrounding Albany | Dutch | 1895 | |
| Copake | Columbia | Cook-pake or Ack-kook-peek ("Snake Pond") | Native American | 1824 | Derived from a lake in the town |
| Corinth (town and village) | Saratoga | Corinth, Greece | Greek | 1818 | Jessups Landing |
| Coxsackie (town and village) | Greene | "Hoot-owl place" or "nest of many owls" | | | Koixhacking or Koixhackung |
| Day | Saratoga | Eliphaz Day, noted lumberman | English | 1827 | Concord |
| Delanson | Schenectady | Delaware and Hudson Railway | English | 1893 | Toad Hollow |
| Delmar | Albany | | | 1892 | Adamsville; chosen by the Albany & Susquehanna Railway in order to avoid confusion with Adams, Jefferson County |
| Dresden | Washington | | | 1822 | South Bay |
| Duanesburg | Schenectady | Last name of man who purchased the landed | English | 1765 | Duane's Bush |
| East Greenbush | Rensselaer | Grennen Bosch (pinewood or literally, "Green Bush") | Dutch | 1858 | Clinton |
| Easton | Washington | | English | 1788 | |
| Edinburg | Saratoga | Edinburgh, Scotland | English | 1808 | Northfield |
| Florida | Montgomery | State of Florida | Spanish | | |
| Fonda | Montgomery | Douw Fonda, settler who was scalped during an Indian raid in 1780 | Italian | 1780 | Caughnawaga |
| Fort Ann (town and village) | Washington | | | 1775 | Westfield |
| Fort Edward (town and village) | Washington | | | 1818 | |
| Fort Johnson | Montgomery | Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet | | 1912 | Mount Johnson, Akin |
| Fultonville | Montgomery | Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat | | ca. 1824 | Van Epps Swamp |
| Galway (town and village) | Saratoga | Misspelling of Galloway on incorporation of the town | English | 1796 | New Galloway; originally named for Galloway, Scotland |
| Gansevoort | Saratoga | Peter Gansevoort | Dutch | 1792 | New Robertson |
| Ghent | Columbia | Ghent, Belgium | Dutch | 1818 | |
| Glen | Montgomery | Jacob Saunders Glen, an early settler | | ca. 1725 | |
| Glenville | Schenectady | Alexander Lindsay Glen | | 1650s | |
| Gloversville | Fulton | Glove factory in the city | English | 1828 | |
| Granville (town and village) | Washington | John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville | | 1780 | |
| Green Island | Albany | Turkee Farm of Green Island | | 1834 | Tibbits Island |
| Greenwich (town and village) | Washington | | | 1803 | Whipple City, Union Village |
| Guilderland | Albany | Province of Gelderland, origin of many of the town's settlers | Dutch | 1803 | Guilderlandt |
| Hadley | Saratoga | Hadley, Massachusetts | English | 1801 | |
| Hagaman | Montgomery | Joseph Hagaman, founder | | ca. 1777 | Hagamans Mills |
| Halfmoon | Saratoga | Anglicized from Halve Maan | Dutch to English | 1788 | Orange (1816-1820) |
| Hampton | Washington | Cambridge, England | | | Hampton Corners, Greenfield |
| Hebron | Washington | Hebron, Connecticut | | 1786 | |
| Hudson | Columbia | Hudson River; ultimately Henry Hudson | English | 1785 | Claverack's Landing |
| Hudson Falls | Washington | Hudson River | | ca. 1792 | Sandy Hill |
| Huletts Landing | Washington | The Hulett family | | | Bosom Bay |
| Johnstown (town and city) | Fulton | Sir William Johnson, founder | English | 1762 | John's Town |
| Jonesville | Saratoga | John Jones, "first collector of the Town of Half Moon" | | | |
| Kinderhook (town and village) | Columbia | Kinderhoek ("Children's corner") | Dutch | 1814 | Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, Gallatin |
| Latham | Albany | Former hotel owner William G. Latham | English | | |
| Livingston | Columbia | Livingston Manor | | 1686 | |
| Loudonville | Albany | John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun | English | | Ireland's Corners |
| Malta | Saratoga | There was a malt brewery in the town in its early days, now known as Maltaville | | 1802 | |
| Mechanicville | Saratoga | occupation of early residents | | 1829 | |
| Menands | Albany | Louis Menand, founder of the village | | 1842 | |
| Middle Granville | Washington | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' |
| Milton | Saratoga | Either for Irish poet John Milton or a shortening of "Mill-town" | English | 1792 | |
| Minden | Montgomery | Probably for the town of Minden, Germany | German | | |
| Mohawk | Montgomery | Mohawk River | Dutch language | | Derived from Mohican |
| Moreau | Saratoga | Jean Victor Moreau, French general | French | 1805 | |
| Nelliston | Montgomery | Andrew Nellis, member of the founding family | | | |
| New Lebanon | Columbia | Mount Lebanon Shaker Society | | 1818 | |
| Newtonville | Albany | John M. Newton, early landowner | English | | |
| Niskayuna | Schenectady | Ni-sti-go-wo-ne; roughly "extensive corn flats" | Mohawk | | |
| North Granville | Washington | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' | See entry from Granville' |
| North Greenbush | Rensselaer | see entry for East Greenbush | see entry for East Greenbush | 1858 | Clinton |
| Northumberland | Saratoga | English county of the same name | English | 1798 | |
| Palatine Palatine Bridge | Montgomery | Palatinate A bridge in the settlement that spans the Mohawk River | German | | |
| Philmont | Columbia | George P. Philip, who constructed a dam to power his factory via hydroelectricity, and so doing, built a reservoir in the Taconic Mountains | English | 1878 | Factory Hill |
| Pittstown | Rensselaer | William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham | English | 1761 | George III named the town in honor of the leading statesman—and Prime Minister—of the time |
| Putnam Putnam Station | Washington | Israel Putnam |
| Rensselaer | Rensselaer | The Van Rensselaer family | Dutch | 1792 | |
| Rexford | Saratoga | Edward Rexford | | 1792 | Rexford Flats |
| Root | Montgomery | General Erastus Root, New York state senator | | | |
| Rotterdam | Schenectady | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Dutch | | |
| St. Johnsville (town and village) | Montgomery | Either Alexander St. John, surveyor, or St. John's Church, an early name for the area | | ca. 1818 | St. John's Church |
| Saratoga (town) Saratoga Springs | Saratoga | Known to be a corruption of a Native American name Se-rach-to-que | Mohawk | N/A 1819 | It is unsure whether it means "hillside country of the great water", "place of the swift water", or even "floating scum upon the water" |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | Schau-naugh-ta-da, translated as "on that side of the pinery" or "place beyond the pine plains" | Mohawk language | | |
| Schuylerville | Saratoga | Philip Schuyler, general in the American Revolution | Dutch language | 1831 | Saratoga; sometimes referred to as Old Saratoga or Olde Saratoga |
| Scotia | Schenectady | Scotland | Latin | 1650s | |
| Taghkanic | Columbia | Older spelling of "Taconic" | Native American | 1803? | |
| Tribes Hill | Montgomery | Disputed (see below) | | | The name comes from either the earlier name of "Tripes Hill", so named because of a female settler who made tripe, or a popular gathering spot for Iroquois tribes |
| Troy | Rensselaer | Classical Troy, from Homer's Iliad | Greek | 1789 | |
| Valatie | Columbia | Vaaltje ("little falls") | Dutch | 1665 | |
| Victory | Saratoga | Defeat of the British at the Battles of Saratoga in 1777 | | 1849 | |
| Vischer Ferry | Saratoga | Eldert Vischer | Dutch | 1783 | |
| Voorheesville | Albany | Alonzo B. Voorhees, railroad attorney | Dutch | | Union Depot |
| Waterford | Saratoga | Derived from name of village | English | 1794 | Half Moon Point |
| Watervliet | Albany | Probably from the town of Watervliet, Belgium (then in the Netherlands) | Dutch | late 19th C. | Gibbonsville, West Troy |
| Whitehall (town and Whitehall | Washington | | 1788 | Skenesborough |