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{{Short description|none}} This is a list of place name etymologies in Washington, D.C.
Place | Namesake | Notes |
---|---|---|
Abe Pollin Way | Abe Pollin | The street was renamed after Pollin. It was announced in December 2007. [1] |
Adam's Mill Road | Named after a road on Adam's Mill, a Revolutionary War era mill in Rock Creek. [2] | |
Anacostia Park | See Anacostia River's etymology. [3] | |
Anacostia River | Anacostia is named after the first human inhabitants of the area. Anacostia is the latinization of the Algonquian name " Nacotchtank". [3] | |
Banneker Circle | Benjamin Banneker [4] | |
Banneker Drive | Benjamin Banneker [5] | |
Barnaby Run | Barnaby family | Barnaby Run (or Barnaby Branch) was named after the Barnaby family who owned an old house in the area. [6] |
Barney Circle | Joshua Barney | In August 1911, the circle was named after Barney. [7] |
Barry Farm | James D. Barry [8] | |
Benjamin Banneker Park | Benjamin Banneker [5] | The park was dedicated in 1971 after Banneker. |
Black Lives Matter Plaza | Named after the Black Lives Matter political and social movement. [5] [9] | |
Blagden Road | Thomas Blagden [10] | |
Boris Nemtsov Plaza | Boris Nemtsov [11] | |
Brentwood Hamilton Park | Robert Brent [8] | |
Brishell Jones Way | Brishell Jones | The street was named after Jones who was 16 years old when she died from gun violence in 2010. [12] |
Brentwood Playground | Robert Brent [8] | |
Bruce Monroe Community Garden | James Monroe [8] | The Monroe in "Bruce Monroe" is named for president James Monroe. |
Bryce Park | James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce | The park was dedicated to British Ambassador Bryce. [13] |
Chain Bridge | In 1810, a bridge with suspension partly supported by chains was created. In 1870, the bridge's chains were replaced with iron trusses, but the name remains. [14] | |
Clara Barton Parkway | Clara Barton | A portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway was renamed in her honor in 1989. [5] [15] |
Constitution Avenue | In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed legislation to change the name of B Street North to Constitution Avenue. [14] | |
Craig Street | Douglas Craig | Named after a deaf African American student and employee of Gallaudet University. [16] |
Dupont Circle | Samuel Francis Du Pont | The circle was originally called Pacific Circle. It was renamed after the statue of Du Pont was dedicated in 1884. [17] |
Farragut Square | David Farragut [18] | |
Farragut Street | David Farragut [5] | |
Folger Park | Charles J. Folger | The park was named after Secretary of the Treasury Folger in 1885. [19] |
Fort Bayard | George Dashiell Bayard | The fort was built in 1863 and named after Bayard who died in 1862. [20] |
Fort Bunker Hill | The fort was built in 1861 and was named after the fortification at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. [21] | |
Fort Carroll | Samuel S. Carroll [22] | |
Fort Chaplin | Daniel Chaplin | The fort was built in 1864 and it was named after Chaplin. [23] |
Fort Davis | Benjamin Franklin Davis | The fort was built in 1861. It was named after Davis who died in 1863. It was abandoned in 1865. [24] |
Fort DeRussy | Gustavus De Russy | The fort was built in 1861. It was named after DeRussy. [25] |
Fort DuPont | Samuel Francis Du Pont | The fort was built in 1861 and completed in 1862. It was named after Du Pont. [26] |
Fort Foote | Andrew Hull Foote | The fort was built in 1863. It was named after Foote who died in 1863. [27] |
Fort Greble | John Trout Greble | Construction of the fort started in 1861 and concluded in 1864. It was named after Greble who died in 1861. [28] |
Fort Mahan | Dennis Hart Mahan [29] | |
Fort Reno Park | Jesse Lee Reno | The fort was built in 1861 and was originally called Fort Pennsylvania. It was named after Reno who died in 1862. [30] |
Fort Slocum | John S. Slocum | The fort was built in 1861. It was named after Slocum, who died at the Battle of Manassas in 1861. He was the commander of the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers who built the fortification. [31] |
Fort Stanton | Edwin Stanton | The fort was built in 1861. It was named after U.S. Secretary of State Stanton. [32] |
Fort Stevens | Isaac Stevens | The fort was originally named Fort Massachusetts but was renamed after Stevens after his death in 1862. [33] |
Fort Totten | Joseph Gilbert Totten [5] | The fort was built from 1861 to 1863. [34] |
Fort Totten Drive | Joseph Gilbert Totten [5] | |
Fort Totten Park | Joseph Gilbert Totten [5] | |
Foxhall Playground | Henry Foxall [8] | |
Francis Case Memorial Bridge | Francis H. Case | In 1965, the Roaches Run Bridge was named after Senator Case. [14] |
Francis Scott Key Bridge | Francis Scott Key [14] [35] | In 1921, citizens campaigned for the Georgetown Bridge to be renamed the Key Bridge. |
Francis Scott Key Park | Francis Scott Key | The park was dedicated and donated to the National Park Service in 1993. [36] |
Franklin Square | Benjamin Franklin | Around 1830, the land was purchased by the federal government and named after Benjamin Franklin. [37] |
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge | Frederick Douglass [5] | In 1950, it was proposed the bridge be named after Frederick Douglass. [38] |
George Washington Memorial Parkway | George Washington [5] | |
German-American Friendship Garden | The garden was built to commemorate 300 years of German immigration to America. It was dedicated in 1988. [39] | |
Glover-Archbold Park | Charles C. Glover and Anne Archbald [40] | |
Grant Circle | Ulysses S. Grant [41] | |
Greenleaf Gardens | James Greenleaf [8] | |
Guy Mason Park | Guy Mason | The park was named after Mason, D.C. commissioner. [8] |
Hains Point | Peter Conover Hains [42] | |
Harrison Playground | William Henry Harrison [8] | |
Harry Thomas Way | Harry Thomas Sr. [43] | |
Henry Bacon Drive | Henry Bacon [44] | |
Hillyer Place | William L. Hillyer [45] | |
Independence Avenue | B Street South was renamed to Independence Avenue following legislation in 1933 from Senator Arthur Capper. It was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1934. The name is in honor of the Declaration of Independence. [14] | |
Jefferson Field | Thomas Jefferson [8] | |
Jenifer Street | Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer [46] | |
John Hanson Highway (US-50) | John Hanson [14] | |
John Philip Sousa Bridge | John Philip Sousa [47] | In 1938, legislation was proposed to name the unnamed bridge across the Anacostia River after Sousa. |
Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge | Kevin J. Welsh | 11th Street Bridge was renamed following the death of a D.C. police officer who drowned while saving a woman who jumped from the bridge. [48] |
Lafayette Square | Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette [49] | The square was named after Lafayette in 1833. It is also called Lafayette Park. [50] [51] |
Lincoln Park | Abraham Lincoln | The park was named after Lincoln in 1867. [14] [52] |
Lucy Diggs Slowe Way | Lucy Diggs Slowe | In 2021, the 2400 block of 4th Street NW was named after Alpha Kappa Alpha founding member Slowe. [53] |
Malcolm X Avenue | Malcolm X [5] | Named after Malcolm X in 1982. |
Malcolm X Park/ Meridian Hill Park | Malcolm X | The park is named after Malcolm X and follows the name of Meridian Hill, a reference to the longitude of the original District of Columbia milestone marker. [5] [54] |
Marion Park | Francis Marion [55] | |
Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue | Martin Luther King Jr. [5] [56] | Named in Martin Luther King Jr.'s honor in 1971. |
Marvin Gaye Park | Marvin Gaye [57] | |
McMillan Reservoir | James McMillan [58] | |
McPherson Square | James B. McPherson [59] | |
Muhlenberg Park | Peter Muhlenberg [60] | |
Murdock Mill Road | Murdock family | Named after a Washington, D.C. family. [61] |
Park Road | Formerly named Whitney Avenue, after Asa Whitney [62] | |
Porter Court | David Dixon Porter and David Porter [5] | |
Porter Street | David Dixon Porter and David Porter [5] | There is a Porter Street in Northeast and Northwest D.C. |
Raoul Wallenberg Place | Raoul Wallenberg [63] | |
Rochambeau Bridge | Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau [64] | In 1958, the 14th Street bridge between Virginia and Washington, D.C. was named for Rochambeau, a French hero of the American Revolutionary War. |
Ron Brown Way | Ron Brown | A portion of 14th Street was renamed Ron Brown Way in 2011. [65] |
Sakharov Plaza | Andrei Sakharov [66] | |
Shepherd Parkway | Alexander Robey Shepherd | The National Park Service suggests the parkway is named after Shepherd. [67] |
Shepherd Road | Alexander Robey Shepherd [68] | The road was previously named the Milk House Ford Road prior to getting named after Shepherd. |
Stead Park | Mary Stead [69] | |
Tenley Circle | John Tenley | The circle was named for settler Tenley on May 27, 1927. [70] |
Tenleytown | John TenleyCite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the
help page). |
|
Thea Bowman Drive | Thea Bowman | In 2022, a street on Catholic University's campus was named after Bowman, an educator and evangelist of Catholic University. [71] |
Theodore Roosevelt Island | Theodore Roosevelt | The island was named Anacostine Island in 1682. Between 1792 and 1833, the Mason family owned the island and it was named Mason's Island. It was later renamed after President Roosevelt. [14] |
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge | Theodore Roosevelt | U.S. Representative Joel Broyhill from Virginia introduced a bill in 1954 to name the E Street Bridge after Roosevelt. [14] |
Thomas Circle | George Henry Thomas [72] | |
Three Sisters Islands | Named after three Native American sisters. [14] | |
Totten Mews | Joseph Gilbert Totten [5] | |
Totten Place N.E. | Joseph Gilbert Totten [5] | |
Truxton Circle | Thomas Truxton | The Truxton traffic circle was named after Truxton, but was removed in the summer of 1947. [73] It became a neighborhood later.[ citation needed] |
Upshur Park | Abel P. Upshur [8] | |
Wesley Heights Circle | The Wesley Heights Circle was created in 1927. [74] | |
Wheeler Road | William H. Wheeler [6] | Wheeler owned a large farm. |
Whitehurst Freeway | Herbert C. Whitehurst [75] | The K Street Highway was named after Whitehurst in 1949. He was a highway director of Washington, D.C. [14] |
Woodley Lane | Woodley Mansion, home of Philip Barton Key [76] | |
Woodrow Wilson Bridge | Woodrow Wilson [14] | In 1956, Jones Point Bridge was named after President Wilson on the 100th anniversary of his birth. [77] |
Place | Namesake | Notes |
---|---|---|
Brewster Park | Benjamin H. Brewster [78] | |
Marian Caywood Circle | Marian Caywood | In 1951, the Marian Caywood Circle was created. [74] |
Peter's Square | Peter family | Named after the Peter family of Georgetown, the square where Grace Episcopal Church is currently located. The square was between the canal, Wisconsin Avenue and 31st Street. [79] |
[[Category:Lists of United States placename etymology|Washington, D.C. street names in, etymologies of]] [[Category:History of Washington, D.C.|Street names, Etymologies of]] [[Category:Washington, D.C.-related lists|Washington, D.C.]]