Way back in 2009, I drove with some friends to Montreal to celebrate the end of college. Before reaching the border via I-81, we passed the town of Mexico, NY. That name has stuck with me ever since. The fact that there’s a town called Mexico so near the border with Canada is high levels of hilarious to me.
Now that I’m moving back to my beloved New York State, I’ve been combing through maps in hopes of finding an apartment. And while zooming in and out at different areas, something keeps popping out at me, something I didn’t really piece together after ~18 years of living in the state: there are a ton of places that share names with countries.
In some places, the town is directly named after a certain nation. But others are just simple coincidences; I’ve tried to give a little history about these, as well as some with interesting backgrounds.
Angola
Formerly Evans Station, the town needed a post office in the 1850’s. When a local office in a Quaker village closed, the government moved the building to a new site at Evans Station, but kept the name: Angola, based on the work some had done in Africa.
Belgium
Bolivia
The town of Bolivar, NY, is named after Simon Bolivar, who of course is the same namesake as the country.
Chile
The town historian for Chili posits the country as one of two explanations for the town’s name.
Cuba
Rather than being named for the country, Cuba comes from a Roman word for “goddess” or “protector of young.”
Denmark
Egypt
Egypt is a small hamlet in the town of Perinton that Google can’t even outline.
Greece
In 1822, the country of Greece was in the midst of a war for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Those settling this town chose the name to honor them.
Holland
Italy
Jamaica
As it turns out, the neighborhood in Queens and the country have two completely different derivations; the town, it’s thought, sees its name derive from the name of a local Native American tribe, the Jameco, a word that in Algonquin also means “beaver,” while the country comes from a different word from a different tribe (Xaymaca, Taino for “land of wood and water”).
Jordan
Both are named for the River Jordan.
Lebanon
According to the town website, when asked the name of the new town, its founder quoted a Bible verse. But that same source suggests that it may have been named for the town in Connecticut.
Macedonia (As Macedon.)
Malta
This, apparently, is not named after the country but instead is thought to be inspired by an old brewery in the area. I fully support any town named after brewing.
Mexico
Norway
Panama
Peru
Poland
Russia
Scotland
Sweden
Wales
Finally, I’ll include Persia in this list. It’s not a country anymore (although Wikipedia insists you can still refer to Iran this way), but there’s a town by that name in New York State. Granted, the town’s history (pdf) is direct that they have no idea where the name came from, but I think it still counts.
New York is the place to be if you want to drive from Lebanon to Jamaica in a single day.