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U.S. City Name Etymologies

Can you guess these U.S. cities based on what they are named for?
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Last updated: January 11, 2020
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First submittedNovember 4, 2017
Times taken18,948
Average score60.0%
Rating4.21
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Clue
Named for ...
City
Major city
"Brotherly Love" in Greek
Philadelphia
Mythical bird that rises from its own ashes
Phoenix
Duwamish tribal chief
Seattle
State capital
Apostle who spread Jesus's teachings to the Gentiles
Saint Paul
Englishman who tried to colonize Virginia
Raleigh
French for "red stick"
Baton Rouge
Author of the Bill of Rights
Madison
Seventh President of the U.S.
Jackson
City in Georgia
Plato's home town
Athens
College town in New York
Greek island, home to Odysseus
Ithaca
Suburb of D.C.
City in Egypt
Alexandria
City in Arizona
A geographical formation, Spanish for "table"
Mesa
Suburb of Chicago or Denver
Roman goddess of dawn
Aurora
Suburb of Chicago
Rome's greatest orator
Cicero
City in Texas
Spanish for "yellow"
Amarillo
"Body of Christ" in Latin
Corpus Christi
Spanish for "the pass"
El Paso
City in New Hampshire
The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
Manchester
City in northern California
Greek expression yelled by a person making a discovery
Eureka
City in upstate New York
Greek colony on Sicily, home to Archimedes
Syracuse
JoshPen
+5
Level 79
Feb 11, 2018
Syracuse and Ithaca in the same quiz? Is the author from Upstate NY?
KevinF
+3
Level 52
Feb 11, 2018
Should have added Attica and Troy too.
junkenglish31
+14
Level 56
Feb 11, 2018
Steamed hams aplenty.
cobraaahhh
+7
Level 70
Feb 11, 2018
Not in Ithica, no, it's an Albany expression.
communisteggplant
+3
Level 73
Feb 11, 2018
Cicero could have been clued as the Syracuse suburb just to make it even more upstate-centric
BlackJohn
+2
Level 75
Feb 11, 2018
Pretty easy if you're Greek.
mikeyp
+5
Level 60
Feb 12, 2018
Yea it was all Greek to me.
vmajzlik
+5
Level 55
Feb 11, 2018
I think perhaps you should clarify the birthplace of the industrial revolution question......Are you referring to the American Industrial revolution, or the UK one? If it is the UK one....surely it is Ironbridge, whereas Manchester is considered the "powerhouse" of the revolution, not the birthplace (imo)
sihollett
+3
Level 86
Feb 14, 2018
Indeed - I knew there was a Manchester in NH, but that couldn't be right as the English city never is referred to as the 'birthplace'. I tried Ironbridge and Telford (whose signs declare it, due to Ironbridge now being inside its borders) which market themselves on this claim, before trying Manchester just because I assumed that the quiz author had done the research.
EcceHomo
+2
Level 79
Mar 22, 2021
As a Mancunian, I would go along with this.
IsleAuHaulte
+8
Level 89
Jul 7, 2018
Too Duwamish centric.
jayhiatt
+8
Level 70
Feb 5, 2019
Not the great Roman orator Gary?
KainenManas
+2
Level 95
Nov 10, 2020
Phoenix is also a capital city, but fortunately it's an easy clue.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Jul 16, 2021
I've never heard Manchester was the birthplace of the industrial revolution (source?). In primary school, we were taught it started in a place called Ironbridge, but deeper research suggests that the Industrial Revolution didn't start in any one specific town or city, but rather all over England, as a result of cultural and economic changes.
GreySkyCat
+2
Level 47
Jul 19, 2021
"The Iron Bridge's story began in the early 18th century, in the nearby village of Coalbrookdale. Abraham Darby pioneered the smelting of iron using coke, a process that was a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. It was Abraham Darby III who cast the ironwork for the bridge that still stands today, using the same techniques developed by his grandfather." Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/iron-bridge/
EmeraldOracle
+1
Level 69
Jul 20, 2021
Great quiz! Had to think about a few of them. Hope you will do another city name etymology quiz soon.
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