List of geographic anagrams and anadromes

An animation illustrating the anagrammatical origin of the name of the Florida town El Jobean

These are geographic anagrams and anadromes. Anagrams are rearrangements of the letters of another name or word. Anadromes (also called reversals or ananyms) are other names or words spelled backwards. Technically, a reversal is also an anagram, but the two are derived by different methods, so they are listed separately.

Anagrams

Place names created by anagramming fall into three distinct groups:

  • Single letters swapped Sometimes this is due to a typo that did not get fixed. Others are just to make a different name, but not too different, from the original.
  • Syllables swapped Usually based on someone's surname.
  • Well mixed combinations When a completely different name was desired.
Name Anagram of Notes Reference
Aloha, Oregon Aloah Aloah was a small resort in Wisconsin; letters swapped by Post Office during application approval [1]
Birson, Saskatchewan[2] Robins George Cornelius Robins, early settler; now known as Fir Ridge [3]
Boncar, West Virginia carbon Now known as Alloy, West Virginia [4]
Carol City, Florida Coral name changed after Coral Gables threatened to sue [5]
Dongola, Wisconsin Gondola name misspelled (during post office approval?) and never corrected [6]
El Jobean, Florida Joel Bean developer anagrammed his own name [5]
Elroy, Wisconsin Leroy chosen to avoid post office name duplication [6]
Garus, California sugar   [7]
Goliad, Texas Hidalgo (except silent H) indirect naming for Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican national hero [8]
Kinhop, Saskatchewan[9] Hopkins (minus the S) William Hopkins [3]
Landrose, Saskatchewan Roseland William Roseland [3]
Lerado, Kansas Laredo, Texas post office clerical error resulted in a swap of the E and A [10]
Linbro Park, Sandton, South Africa Brolin local family name [11]
Lipona Plantation, Florida Napoli owned by Prince Achille Murat, former prince of Naples [5]
Malesus, Tennessee[12] Samuels Samuels was a prominent local who did not want the town named for him. Malesus was a compromise [13]
Medina, North Dakota median name changed from Midway, so named because it's about halfway between the extreme east and west of the continent [14]
Nada, Kentucky Dana Dana Lumber Company, which owned the sawmill [15]
Neola, West Virginia Olean, New York   [4]
Romley, Colorado[16] Morely Colonel B. F. Morely, mine owner; now a ghost town [17]: 323 
Salitpa, Alabama Satilpa Creek error when someone apparently crossed the wrong letter (thus switching the L and T) when applying for a post office [18]
Shallmar, Maryland Marshall "a New Yorker who founded the community"

[19]

Sury Basin, London, England Sainsbury street in Kingston upon Thames and location of the town's Sainsbury's supermarket; first part is also a mis-spelling of Surrey, the town's traditional county [20]
Ticona, Illinois[21] Tonica, Illinois a nearby town [22]
Vadis, West Virginia Davis   [4]
Vinsulla, British Columbia[23] Sullivan Michael Sullivan, early pioneer [24]
Windber, Pennsylvania Berwind Charles and Edward Berwind, mine owners [25]

Anagram-like constructions of place names

A few places names were constructed by arranging a preselected set of letters in an order that made a pronounceable name.

Name Notes Reference
Agloe, New York the initials of Otto G. Lindberg, director of the General Drafting Co., and his assistant, Ernest Alpers. Initially a copyright trap, but then made real by a store taking the name from an Esso road map. [26]
Delmita, Texas seven sons of founder Nicéforo G. Peña, Sr. each drew a letter [27]
Solina, Ontario School teacher John Hughes suggested a name be coined from the letters A I L N O and S. Solina was chosen over several other choices such as Linosa and Sinola [28]

Anadromes

Name Reversal of Notes Reference
Adanac, Nipissing District, Ontario Canada   [citation needed]
Adanac, Parry Sound District, Ontario Canada community within Carling, Ontario. [citation needed]
Adanac, Saskatchewan Canada   [3]
Adaven, Nevada Nevada ghost town [29]
Aksarben Village, Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska mixed-use development. Formerly, the Ak-Sar-Ben (arena), a horse race track and indoor arena [30]
Amabala, Oklahoma[31] Alabama   [32]
Anidem, Oregon Medina named after a previous home/work place of the mine owner, possibly a Medina Mine in Colorado [1]
Atokad Park Dakota location of Atokad Downs horse racing track in South Sioux City, Nebraska [33]
Cleo, Oregon[34] O(regon) E(xport) L(umber) C(ompany) reversed acronym; railroad stop [1]
Egnar, Colorado range   [35]
Ekal, Florida lake   [36]
Ekoms, Oregon smoke post office approved but never established; up river from Ragic (q.v.) [1]
Enola, South Carolina[37] alone   [36]
Enola Hill[38] alone hill in Oregon, applied by a homesteader whose house was isolated [1]
Etlah, Missouri halte German for "stop" [39]
Lebam, Washington Mabel Goodell daughter of early settler [40]
Lennut, Kentucky[41] tunnel now known as Combs, Kentucky [15]
Maharg, Oklahoma Graham reversed due to postal name conflict; now named Foss, Oklahoma [42]
Mahned, Mississippi Denham community founder name [43]
Muroc, California Ralph and Clifford Corum now the location of Edwards Air Force Base, formerly Muroc Field [36]
Nagrom, Washington Elmer G. Morgan owner of Morgan Lumber Company [40]
Namorf, Oregon[44] George Froman local resident [1]
Narod, California Daron railroad section foreman's name; RR stop south of Montclair, California [7]
Nedra, Florida Arden, Pennsylvania home town of developers [45]
Nedrow, New York Worden town founder  
Nikep, Maryland Pekin former name arbitrarily reversed to avoid postal confusion [46]
Nillup, Western Australia Harold Maughan Pullin popular local who did not want the place named after him [47]
Nilrem, Alberta Merlin   [48]
Nivloc, Nevada[49] Colvin mine owner [29]
Nolem, Florida melon   [36]
Niton, Alberta not in   [48]
Notla, Texas Alton Grocery Company landowner also owned Alton grocery store in Enid, Oklahoma [36]
Ocapos, Arizona SO(uthern) PA(acific) CO(mpany) reversed acronym; also known as Southern Pacific Railroad [50]
Orestod, Colorado Dotsero, Colorado opposite ends of a short railroad line; Dotsero is derived from dot-zero, origin point of rail line [35]
Radec, California cedar   [7]
Ragic, Oregon cigar post office on the Rogue River(1898–1900); see also Ekoms [1]
Redart, Virginia Trader early settler's name [51]
Rednaxela Terrace, Hong Kong Alexander believed to have been the last name of a former part-owner of the street; name is believed to have been reversed due to a clerical error [52][53]
Reklaw, Texas Margaret Walker land donor; reversed due to post office name conflict [36]
Remlap, Alabama James W. Palmer First postmaster. A relative of Palmer's was the postmaster of a neighboring town, which he had already named Palmerdale, and the name Remlap was chosen to avoid the confusion of having two similarly named towns in close proximity. [54]
Remlap, Florida[55] Palmer Town developers from Chicago [45]
Remlig, Texas Alexander Gilmer owner of the Gilmer Lumber Company [56]
Remlik, Virginia[57] Willis Sharpe Kilmer estate owned by Kilmer, a patent medicine entrepreneur [58]
Retlaw, Alberta Walter R. Baker Canadian Pacific Railway official [59]
Retlaw, Oregon H. L. Walter Southern Pacific Railroad employee [1]
Retrop, Oklahoma Ira J. Porter first postmaster [32]
Retsil, Washington Ernest Lister Washington Governor (1913–1919) [40]
Retsof, New York Foster town founder [citation needed]
Revilo, Tennessee[60] Oliver brand name of a plow [13]
Revloc, Pennsylvania Colver, Pennsylvania two company towns, owned by Monroe Coal Company [61]
Robat, South Carolina[62] Mount Tabor locality in Union County [citation needed]
Rolyat, Oregon Taylor probably the name of a Post Office official in Washington [1]
Rotavele, California elevator   [63]
Sacul, Texas Lucas land owner's name; reversed due to post office name conflict [64]
Saxet, Texas[65] Texas locality in Shelby County [66]
Saxet Lake Park Texas park in Victoria County, Texas [67]
Seloc, South Carolina Coles   [42]
Senoj Lake (Oregon) Jones person unknown [1]
Senyah, Florida Haynes developer's last name [45]
Setag, Texas James T. Gates company owner [68]
Silaxo, California Oxalis, California Silaxo is a few miles south of Oxalis [7]
Sniktaw, California W. F. Watkins journalist who used Sniktaw as an pseudonym [36]
Tesnus, Texas sunset sunset appearing on a logo of Southern Pacific Railroad [69]
Ti, Oklahoma I(ndian) T(erritory) reversed abbreviation; named before territory was renamed to Oklahoma [32]
Tinrag, Texas Garnit local family name [70]
Trebloc, Mississippi Colbert local family name [71]
Trevlac, Indiana Colonel Calvert resort developer; reversed to avoid duplication [36]
Wabasso, Florida Ossabaw Island in Georgia   [36]
Yellek, Ontario R J. Kelley trainmaster for Canadian Pacific Railway [72]
Yewed, Oklahoma Admiral George Dewey reversed due to post office name conflict [32]

Imperfect ananyms

Name Reversal of Notes Reference
Enola, Nebraska T. J. Malone founder; omitted the M when reversed. [36]
Lionilli, Kentucky[73] Illinois intended to be Sionilli, but name misrecorded by post office clerk [15]
Nonnell, Kentucky John Lennon L&N RR maintenance supervisor; extra L [15]
Revelo, Kentucky Oliver railroad construction engineer; formerly spelled Revilo; name changed for unknown reasons [15]
Revillo, South Dakota J. S. Oliver railroad man; extra L added. [36]
Samoth, Illinois John R. Thomas Congressman from Illinois; TH kept intact for pronunciation [22]
Sarben, Nebraska Nebraska omitting the KA [74]: 85 
Mount Sniktau, Colorado Watkins "Sniktau" was a pen name of journalist E. H. N. Patterson, who borrowed and modified W. F. Watkins's nom de plume; see Sniktaw above [35]
Tensed, Idaho Pierre-Jean De Smet Belgian missionary; reversed due to post office name conflict, and then misspelled during name approval process [36]
Yelrome, Illinois Isaac Morley Mormon elder; E added for pronunciation; town burned down by anti-Mormon mob in 1845 [22]
Yesmar, Alabama Ramsay local family name, but with an E replacing an A. [36]

See also

References

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