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The most common words in US place names, mapped

Map of most common words in place names in the US
Map of most common words in place names in the US
Mahtlahtli/reddit

The vastness of the US – there are tens of thousands of cities and towns in the country – means that, more often than not, there will be a degree of repetition when it comes to place names.

Using data from the US census, reddit user Mahtlahtli uploaded a map of the country demonstrating the most common words incorporated into place names.

And the winner is….

'City.'

'City' is the most common word. Followed by the second most common, ‘lake.’

In addition, most places in Hawaii have "Hawaiian" in the name.

American users on reddit chimed in with other names in the region.

11PoseidonsKiss20:

 Lake City is in like 5 states off the top of my head.

In the south each state has a set of about 5-10 city/town names that are the same.

t_for_t:

Washington has a river called "Lake River". Stunningly innovative names.

Another user was surprised the word "river" didn't make the cut:

I'm surprised it's not "River" when I worked in upstate rural NY, there was a town named after every kind of animal and such river. Deer river, salmon river, bear river, Indian river, beaver river, etc.

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