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List of geographic anagrams and anadromes

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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
Birson, Saskatchewan Robins George Cornelius Robins, early settler; now known as Fir Ridge
Boncar, West Virginia carbon Now known as Alloy, West Virginia
Carol City, Florida Coral name changed after Coral Gables threatened to sue
Dongola, Wisconsin Gondola name misspelled (during post office approval?) and never corrected
El Jobean, Florida Joel Bean developer anagrammed his own name
Elroy, Wisconsin Leroy chosen to avoid post office name duplication
Garus, California sugar  
Goliad, Texas Hidalgo (except silent H) indirect naming for Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican national hero
Kinhop, Saskatchewan Hopkins (minus the S) William Hopkins
Landrose, Saskatchewan Roseland William Roseland
Lerado, Kansas Laredo, Texas post office clerical error resulted in a swap of the E and A
Linbro Park, Sandton, South Africa Brolin local family name
Lipona Plantation, Florida Napoli owned by Prince Achille Murat, former prince of Naples
Malesus, Tennessee Samuels Samuels was a prominent local who did not want the town named for him. Malesus was a compromise
Medina, North Dakota median name changed from Midway, so named because it's about halfway between the extreme east and west of the continent
Nada, Kentucky Dana Dana Lumber Company, which owned the sawmill
Neola, West Virginia Olean, New York  
Romley, Colorado Morely Colonel B. F. Morely, mine owner; now a ghost town
Salitpa, Alabama Satilpa Creek error when someone apparently crossed the wrong letter (thus switching the L and T) when applying for a post office
Shallmar, Maryland Marshall "a New Yorker who founded the community"

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
Ticona, Illinois Tonica, Illinois a nearby town
Vadis, West Virginia Davis  
Vinsulla, British Columbia Sullivan Michael Sullivan, early pioneer
Windber, Pennsylvania Berwind Charles and Edward Berwind, mine owners

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.
Delmita, Texas seven sons of founder Nicéforo G. Peña, Sr. each drew a letter
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

Anadromes

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

Imperfect ananyms

Name Reversal of Notes Reference
Enola, Nebraska T. J. Malone founder; omitted the M when reversed.
Lionilli, Kentucky Illinois intended to be Sionilli, but name misrecorded by post office clerk
Nonnell, Kentucky John Lennon L&N RR maintenance supervisor; extra L
Revelo, Kentucky Oliver railroad construction engineer; formerly spelled Revilo; name changed for unknown reasons
Revillo, South Dakota J. S. Oliver railroad man; extra L added.
Samoth, Illinois John R. Thomas Congressman from Illinois; TH kept intact for pronunciation
Sarben, Nebraska Nebraska omitting the KA
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
Tensed, Idaho Pierre-Jean De Smet Belgian missionary; reversed due to post office name conflict, and then misspelled during name approval process
Yelrome, Illinois Isaac Morley Mormon elder; E added for pronunciation; town burned down by anti-Mormon mob in 1845
Yesmar, Alabama Ramsay local family name, but with an E replacing an A.

See also

References

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