this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 150 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The Europeans that went to America were the ones doing that though

[–] criitz@reddthat.com 87 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Yeah they were still Europeans when they named them. This should be the Obama award meme

[–] lugal@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They were. The American identity came later. Until the war of independence, settlers identified with the European countries of their heritage

[–] Che_Donkey@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 year ago (9 children)
[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 18 points 1 year ago

It's weird. Someone once told me her husband was German after I mentioned I lived there for a while. So I asked where they're from, maybe I knew. "From Mississippi..."

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[–] kersploosh@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

A lot of the time they didn't even bother appending "New." We have way too many Berlins, Manchesters, Lebanons, etc.

Our native-inspired place names are the superior place names, anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_place_names_of_Native_American_origin_in_the_United_States

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[–] Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 59 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Meanwhile, the Americans that didn't even put "new" in front of the city name and just called it Paris, Texas or some shit.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's a completely original name! Do you think Texans know anything about France?

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I can visit almost every continent without even leaving my state!

[–] Steve@startrek.website 11 points 1 year ago

Greetings from Naples Florida

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[–] corsicanguppy 50 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There are 15 cities in the world named Paris.

14 of them are in America.

[–] ILikeBoobies 17 points 1 year ago (4 children)
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[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So it is to avoid confusion when they write "PARIS, FRANCE" in films when they show the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre-Dame and the Louvre in establishing shots. Good to know 👍

[–] oce@jlai.lu 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, who knows what monument they have replicated again in Texas.

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[–] TheControlled@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

I mean, it's a bunch of immigrants naming things after their home. Or it's a bunch colonists claiming things... For their home.

[–] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think there is above 50 cities named "Villeneuve" in France (literraly meaning "New City)

[–] Shapillon@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Or Villefranche which means it was exempted from taxes.

Or how there are so many "St Something" that they had to add "de somewhere" to disambiguate lmao.

I've lived in 3 different places all named St Etienne.

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

And then there's the Amish, who gave their towns names like Intercourse and Bird in Hand.

[–] Spyker@infosec.pub 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Let us not forget Blue Ball, Virginville, Balls Mills, and Climax.

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[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That's a pub name in the UK.

Bird In Hand, that is. Intercourse is what happens in the pub toilets.

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[–] diverging@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 year ago (3 children)

People have always had a lack of creativity.

When the Greeks were settling around the Mediterranean they founded many 'New Cities', (Neapolis). One remained a 'new city' for long enough for the name to evolve to Naples.

The Phoenicians did the same, in their language 'New City' was Qart Hadasht, we now call it Carthage. One of the Carthages in what is now Spain was conquered by Rome and to differentiate it from the Capital of the Carthaginians they called it Carthago Nova, essentially New New City.

[–] sexual_tomato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 year ago

New new city - final - fixed - rev 3 - last.xlsx

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[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Laughs in Newcastle, Newmarket, Newport, Newbury, Newton and Newspaper

[–] Rubanski@lemm.ee 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My hamster lives in Newspaper!

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[–] xX_fnord_Xx@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Even old New York used to be New Amsterdam...

[–] 1hitsong@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] UncleSnakes@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

I can't say, people just liked it better that way.

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[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's weird they went with new instead of better. Maybe they weren't very optimistic.

[–] NoSpiritAnimal@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Better York

Less Crappy Orleans

Marginally Improved Haven

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[–] ErectSunshine@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My favorite is East Palestine, Ohio, named for being east of Palestine, Ohio. It is very far west of Palestine.

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[–] ornery_chemist@mander.xyz 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

But obviously pronounced wrong.

New Prague, MN, for example (/nu pɹeɪg/)

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[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Tbf a lot of the ‘new[city]’ was given their names by the British empire expanding their land. Just look at Australian state names.. The Americans doing this in more recent times are simply following suit.

[–] steakmeout@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

New Zealand, named by America.

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[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Europeans named the towns. People From Europe.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

texas didnt even bother adding the "new"

Also Canada did this a bunch too

[–] DreBeast@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

*Europeans naming cities in America

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

No New Shitterton, though. :(

[–] buzz86us@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Come to NY.. we have Florida, and Poland within 50 miles of each other.

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[–] moon@lemmy.cafe 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stop writing New before everything and just add a 2 at the end

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[–] sukhmel@programming.dev 10 points 1 year ago

No one even mentioned Georgia, the country that constantly gets advertising targeted for Georgia, the state.

[–] FarFarAway@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Explain new Mexico then. /s

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[–] nxdefiant@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

After they were actually American, they resorted to "What it was called by the people who lived here first, but pronounced wrong"

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[–] Rin@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago
Poland, Indiana
Poland, Maine
Poland, Chautauqua County, New York
Poland, Herkimer County, New York
Poland, Ohio
Poland Township, Mahoning County, Ohio
Poland, Wisconsin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_(disambiguation)

[–] thantik@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Essentially America came to be because they were looking to form a New Europe...so it tracks.

[–] DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

To be fair, have you ever been to regular York? I have, it sucked. New York is a slight to moderate improvement.

[–] Nfamwap@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For real? York is one of England's most historically important cities. And a really nice city, too. What sucked about it?

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