What’s in a Name: Are America’s Most Common Place Names in Iowa?

As a kid, I was a huge fan of the show The Simpsons - ironically in the news for a rare prediction fail. On the popular animated show, the family lives in Springfield.

It's never really stated which Springfield, however. Because there are over 35 Springfields in the U.S., it's obvious the creators wanted it to be ambiguous.

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One thing we can be assured of, the show isn't set in Iowa. While there is a Springfield Township in Cedar County, the population is under 1,500 and it's clearly not a town ready for a primetime TV show.

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But what about some other really common city/town and country names? Does Iowa get to be a part of the love when it comes to common U.S. place names? Let's find out!

Common U.S. Place Names - Is Iowa on 'Em All?

Iowa may not have a large populous, but when it comes to land size, we're almost smack in the middle, ranking 26 out of 50.

In other words, there's lots of land for different cities. And since we have 99 counties, there are plenty of naming options there, too.

To determine the most common place names in the U.S., I used Wikipedia's handy listing. With the data in mind, here's what I discovered.

What's in a (Common) Name?

Because our country is relatively young, there are fewer "tribute" names to draw from. Because of this, it's obvious that a few really stand out.

Washington

Washington is, no surprise, the most commonly used name for a city, county, etc. in the U.S. There are several in Iowa. Washington County, for one.

There is also a Washington, Iowa (city). A North Washington (city). A Washington Mills (an unincorporated community) and a Washington Prairie (also an unincorporated community).

Franklin

Another very popular one. There is a Franklin, Iowa. It's in Lee County. Oh, and a Franklin County, too.

Clinton

This one is pretty obvious, Clinton, Iowa is a city with almost 24,500 folks.

Arlington

Yep, we have an Arlington, Iowa!

Centerville

We got one!

Georgetown

Oooh, hit that buzzer! While Iowa did once have a Georgetown, we no longer do officially. Illinois does, but we don't. Fail!

Lebanon

Ohh it's tiny. No city or town website, but it exists!

Springfield

As mentioned above... the answer is, that we do have a Springfield Township, but it's very small. Does it count? I don't think so.

Fairview

Well, it's on the map as an unincorporated community. Since we counted it for Washington above, we can say, "Sure". It exists.

Chester

Yep! We got one. It's in Howard County.

Greenville

Oh yeah. Got it. But it's a tiny town.

Madison

Who can forget the bridges of MADISON County? Certainly not Clint Eastwood or Meryl Streep...

Dayton

We have a Dayton, Iowa.

Dover

So, so tiny... should it count?

Oakland

It rolls off the tongue! Oakland, Iowa!

Newport

Ohh so small, but it's there.

Ashland

Kind of... I mean, yes... but it's tiny.

I think you certainly get the point. Iowa likes to follow along with its fellow states in its naming.

While we have some unique French-inspired names like Des Moines and Dubuque, and some cool Native American names like Black Hawk and Winnesheik, we also have most all the good old, basic, and popular city names, too.

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