What’s in a Place Name?

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  05.30.06 | 11:09 PM ET

imageA lot, especially if that name happens to be “Whorehouse Meadow,” “Squaw Tit” or, say, “Cripple Brush Creek.” Syracuse University geographer Mark Monmonier takes up the subject of controversial place names in a new book, From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: How Maps Name, Claim, and Inflame. In the book, Monmonier writes that “how a nation manipulates and preserves its place and feature names says a lot about its respect for history, minority rights and indigenous culture.” Critic Michael Kenney reviewed the book in today’s Boston Globe and writes that it’s “an entertaining and enlightening excursion.” We’re intrigued.

Related on World Hum: Goodbye “Calcutta,” Hello “Kolkata.” What’s in a Name?

Tags: North America


2 Comments for What’s in a Place Name?

Kelsey Timmerman 05.31.06 | 10:22 AM ET

My favorite place name:

Big Bone Lick State Park, KY

Makes me smile everytime I think about it.

Dean Blobaum 06.01.06 | 8:07 AM ET

An excerpt from From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: How Maps Name, Claim, and Inflame by Mark Monmonier is available on the University of Chicago Press website.  Read the
whole story of places like Whorehouse Meadow, Brassiere Hills, and the town of Dildo:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/534650.html

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