Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-08-12
TOWN.NOMENCLATURE.
C,riosittts of Place-NameS in The United
States.
From =, The Contrbufors' Club" IN the Atlantic
for August,

an article (enllUeu 'Oome 81 Suiaua
on the names OF American towns. Az
that time there were some lOUoo places
c,,ias. towns and villages on the census
return for 1850 Tne United States ros.
,sl Guide" uow contains the names Oh
90 335 st.otfices There are only about
half at number OF names for use III uls-
tInpuishing them. II mere nominal az
ferences be overlor ked, where the Varla-
tion is in the mode OF writing, Is flat
Woods. Va, AMI Flatwoocs. "a, or the
adding If 3 soostrophlzed, as Foster and
Fnster5s the names would be less than
bsiftha nl.ces. Toe Postmaster General
has therefore issued an official circular re
o,estino the use ut the county names.
Rnt tor the 567 counties are provided
only / 455 names Some popular names
are found in half the States OF tue Union.
Since the article Of 1860 much has been
done to corret the evil. There were then
one hundred aud thirty eight towns named
Washington. There are now but t'enty-
sic post offices go entitled. The same is
true OF other names, then popular, that
they have been reduced In like proportion.
But the poverty OF invention then com
planned of remains Many of the names
are not names at all. They are simply
appellations. They might be borne by
more fitness than by town.
For instance, all proper names OF per
sons The classic names which perpetu
sted the founder or the founders favorite
showed by the grammatical termination
what WAS meant Alexandria, or Antlo-
CHA, was the city of Alexander, or Antlo
chus, C@sares, the city OF Caesar. The
name recorded fact, 1t may be preten,
tious for Mr.. Smith or Mr.. Dodge to call
his new factory village Smithville or
DodgeOpolis, but il is legitimate. Smith
or Dodge is the real c0ndtOr urbts, and
has as good right to say 80 as had MIN
rod or Beus.
But, If pstronymlcs are Objectionable,
given names are more so. Inc POSTAL
Guide" shows how deeply we have stunned
in this particular. Under the letter A
alone are more than thirty, beginning
with Aaron ana Abel, and ending with
Aubrey and Auciila.
Again, names belonging to countries or
natural features are unfit. What is the
sense of calling town Europe, or
America, or Andes, or Australia, or Italy,
or ireland? Yet iais has been done re
peatedly, as the postal Guide" shows.
There is no good reason tor applying to
petty places the names of famous cities
and towns abroad There Is one eycep
ton, which is jushflsble on the ground
that it records o tect-namely: that the
settlers of the new town came from the
old. Thus, in my former paper | was
puzzled over the title High Spire. A cor
respondent informed me that il WAS the
corruption of Neu rs,--New Spey.
ers,-trOm the famous Rhinelsnd city.
Scriptural names were once highly sig
niticsnt; but repeated they lose all their
meaning, and become as distastetul as
when the good New Englanders bestowed
on their children names taken at random
from the Bible, regardless whether they
were Of prophets or OF apostates, OF
martyrs or of msleiactors.
The classic fever which led to the bap.
tism of so many unhappy towns, notably
in Western New 1ork, has died out. But
names taken from modern literature, as
Ivsnhoe, Waverley, Highland Mary, Don
Juan, are not much better.
Also, there is ass of names which
seem borrowed from the sheet-musc
which lies on the pianos of rural inns,
such as Hazel Dell, Sunny Dale, Glen
Julia, and the Ike.
Then there are names chosen mainly
for the sound. Thus | find in the "Posta
Guide" Ambrosis, Alpharetts, ADimosa,
AleXandrians, Amicolols, Alpha, Beta,
Delta, Kappa, Omega, Caverna, Colita,
Robious, Noverts, Padora Omro, Ora,
Orel. There are quaint names with q
meaning such as Accident, Recklesstown
Troublesome Difficult, Disputsnta, Dis
cord, Antiquity, Agenda, Alert, Alembic,
Arcana, Arcanum, Harmonious, Jolly.
town, Jolly, Industry, Glad Tidings, Good
Intent, Gravity, Mrsbile, Mutual Love,
Energy, Liberty, Effort, Equality, Emf.
nence, Justice, Enterprise, Modest Town,
Clear Grit, Subllmity, Temperance, Toler.
snce, Bird in Hand, Blowout, Bargain
town, Csshtown, Businessburg, Pay
Down, Convenience, CongruIty, Day.
Book, Buyerstown, Competition, Com
pensstion, Confidence, Concert. Form is
represented by Angle, Acme, Apex, Ogee,
Oblong; architecture by Fan-Ligh ami
Cupola; Latin grammar by Amo, Amor
Esto, Novi, Ira, Celia, Caput Strata and
Caro-. Mythology appears as Lethe, Me
dusa, Saturn, Ceres, Juno, Clio, River
Styx. Ccon and Demos suggest Aristo.
planes. There are unsavory names, too,
as Graball and Bangall, Muck, Drain,
Cuthsnd, Cut Shin, Catarrh, Dirt.Town,
Dismal, Bogus, Saw Dust, Frost, Hurrl-
cane, Cyclone, Fussville, Poverty Hill,
Raub, Trickum.
There are names without meaning, or
euphony, as Ar, Alley, Anso, Beloil,
Bsshi, Busti, Canni Chilo, Chino. Cul.
drum, Drenthe, De Huntsville, E,o, f.
rod, Eucutts, Gardi Cisne, Hahira, HicJ,
Harthegig, HlSo, Hika, Lspldum, Inkpa
City, Jadden, Leopaa, Marak, Moe, Malta.
woman Comic, Medybemns Nurey, M.
Gums, Pysht, Cithersll, S.agle, Speonk,
Squsk, Sksgit, Zuf and Zig. There are