This is a list of geographic acronyms and initialisms. That is, it's a list of the names of cities, towns, lakes, and other geographic places that are derived from acronyms.
Acronyms are abbreviations formed by the initial letter or letters of the words that make up a multi-word term.
For the most part, the geographic names in this list were derived from three or more other names or words. Those derived from only two names are usually considered
portmanteaus and can be found in the
List of geographic portmanteaus. However, there are exceptions to this two/three rule in both lists, so it is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule.
Regions
Countries
Pakistan — Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, (I for pronunciation), Sindh, and BaluchisTAN, the northern provinces of
British India. The name also means Land of the Pure in Urdu and Persian.
Calabarzon — the Southern Tagalog Mainland region of the Philippines, comprising five provinces: CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, and QueZON
LoVeSe — three island groups in northern
Norway:
LOfoten,
VEsterålen, and
SEnja, often used in relation to the political issue of oil extraction in the region. "LoVe" is also a common variation, referring to just Lofoten and Vesterålen.[2]
Luzviminda — three island groups in the Philippines: LUZon, VIsayas, and MINDAnao
Mimaropa, Philippines — provinces comprising the Southwestern Tagalog Region: MIndoro (East and West), MArinduque, ROmblon and PAlawan
NEPA, a common nickname of NorthEastern PennsylvaniA
Archerwill, Saskatchewan — councilors ARCHie Hamilton Campbell and ERvie Edvin Hanson, and secretary-treasurer WILLiam S. Pierce of Barrier Valley Rural Municipality[12]
Gathon, Illinois — Gallager, Adams, Tremblay, and Herzog (ON added by the post office)[14]
Geekabee Hill, Western Australia — George Kershaw Brown[59]
Germfask Township, Michigan — town founders: John Grant, Matthew Edge, George Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar (O.D.) Sheppard, and Hezekiah Knaggs[37]
Golah, New York[60] — coined by Rev H. W. Howard from five local family names (names unknown)[8]
Halbrite, Saskatchewan — three Canadian Pacific Railway engineers: HALl, BRuce, WhITE[12]
Helechawa, Kentucky — HELEn CHAse WAlbridge, daughter of W. Delancy Walbridge, first president of Ohio and Kentucky Railroad[17]
Hemaruka, Alberta — daughters of A. E. Warren, General Manager of Canadian National Railway: HElen, MArgaret, RUth and KAthleen[27]
Hisega, South Dakota — six women who built a camp site and country club at the location: Helen Scroggs, Ida Anding, Sadie Robinson, Ethel Brink, Grace Wasson, and Ada Pike[61]
Le Mars, Iowa — eight women from Cedar Rapids on a railroad excursion who were asked to name the town. Two of the letters, L and M, represent two women each: Lucy Ford and Laura Walker; Elizabeth Underhill or Ellen Cleghorn; Mary Weare and Martha Weare; Adeline Swain; Rebecca Smith; Sarah Reynolds.[66]
Maleb, Alberta — initials of the Bowen family: Morley, Amy, Lorne, Elizabeth, Bowen; disagreement over whether these are the initials of the parents[27] or the children[9]
Pawn, Oregon — local residents who applied for a post office: Poole, Ackerley, Worthington, Nolen[15]
Peedee, Kentucky — Pumphrey David Smith, landowner[17]
Primghar, Iowa — initials of eight people who had a major part in platting the town: Pumphrey; Roberts; Inman; McCormack; Green; Hayes or Hays; Albright; Rereick or Renck[70][68]
Renwer, Manitoba — A. E. WarREN and W. E. Roberts, railway officials[64]
Many of these names were the result of neighborhood rebranding, first in
New York, and then in other cities. The names were mostly coined in imitation of Soho in Manhattan.
Camanava — the Northern Manila District of
Metro Manila, Philippines; cities: CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas, VAlenzuela
Gerbangkertosusila — official acronym for the Surabaya Extended Metropolitan Area in East Java, Indonesia: GREsik BANGkalan MojoKERTOSUrabaya SIdoarjo LAmongan
Jabodetabek — the capital of Indonesia and suburbs: JAkarta, BOgor, DEpok, TAngerang and BEKasi
Owaa Lake, Saskatchewan[84] — Outdoor Writers Association of America (to mark a meeting of that organization in June 1967)[12]
Sareco Bay, Saskatchewan[85] — SAskatchewan REsearch COuncil; contains Sareco Island[12]
Snafu Lake, Yukon — Situation Normal, All Fucked Up[48]: 69 (drained by Snafu Creek[86]); there is also a Snafu Lake in Ontario[87] and a Snafu Creek in Northwest Territories[88]
Veeocee Mountain, British Columbia[97] — Varsity Outdoor Club of the University of British Columbia[98]
Others
Alwinsal — potash mine at
Guernsey, Saskatchewan named after a French–German consortium that invested: 1) Mines Domanials de Potasse d'ALsace (French) 2) WINtersall AG (German) 3) SALzfuther AG (German)[12]
Amdewanda No. 630 — school near
Eston, Saskatchewan; first trustees: Clyde AMey, Sid DEan, Robert WAmsley plus NDA for alliteration[12]
^
abcdefghijklmnopqrKenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press.
hdl:
2027/uc1.b3624093.
^Brigham, Johnson.
"How Le Mars was Named". Annals of Iowa. State Historical Society of Iowa. Archived from
the original on December 1, 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
This is a list of geographic acronyms and initialisms. That is, it's a list of the names of cities, towns, lakes, and other geographic places that are derived from acronyms.
Acronyms are abbreviations formed by the initial letter or letters of the words that make up a multi-word term.
For the most part, the geographic names in this list were derived from three or more other names or words. Those derived from only two names are usually considered
portmanteaus and can be found in the
List of geographic portmanteaus. However, there are exceptions to this two/three rule in both lists, so it is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule.
Regions
Countries
Pakistan — Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, (I for pronunciation), Sindh, and BaluchisTAN, the northern provinces of
British India. The name also means Land of the Pure in Urdu and Persian.
Calabarzon — the Southern Tagalog Mainland region of the Philippines, comprising five provinces: CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, and QueZON
LoVeSe — three island groups in northern
Norway:
LOfoten,
VEsterålen, and
SEnja, often used in relation to the political issue of oil extraction in the region. "LoVe" is also a common variation, referring to just Lofoten and Vesterålen.[2]
Luzviminda — three island groups in the Philippines: LUZon, VIsayas, and MINDAnao
Mimaropa, Philippines — provinces comprising the Southwestern Tagalog Region: MIndoro (East and West), MArinduque, ROmblon and PAlawan
NEPA, a common nickname of NorthEastern PennsylvaniA
Archerwill, Saskatchewan — councilors ARCHie Hamilton Campbell and ERvie Edvin Hanson, and secretary-treasurer WILLiam S. Pierce of Barrier Valley Rural Municipality[12]
Gathon, Illinois — Gallager, Adams, Tremblay, and Herzog (ON added by the post office)[14]
Geekabee Hill, Western Australia — George Kershaw Brown[59]
Germfask Township, Michigan — town founders: John Grant, Matthew Edge, George Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar (O.D.) Sheppard, and Hezekiah Knaggs[37]
Golah, New York[60] — coined by Rev H. W. Howard from five local family names (names unknown)[8]
Halbrite, Saskatchewan — three Canadian Pacific Railway engineers: HALl, BRuce, WhITE[12]
Helechawa, Kentucky — HELEn CHAse WAlbridge, daughter of W. Delancy Walbridge, first president of Ohio and Kentucky Railroad[17]
Hemaruka, Alberta — daughters of A. E. Warren, General Manager of Canadian National Railway: HElen, MArgaret, RUth and KAthleen[27]
Hisega, South Dakota — six women who built a camp site and country club at the location: Helen Scroggs, Ida Anding, Sadie Robinson, Ethel Brink, Grace Wasson, and Ada Pike[61]
Le Mars, Iowa — eight women from Cedar Rapids on a railroad excursion who were asked to name the town. Two of the letters, L and M, represent two women each: Lucy Ford and Laura Walker; Elizabeth Underhill or Ellen Cleghorn; Mary Weare and Martha Weare; Adeline Swain; Rebecca Smith; Sarah Reynolds.[66]
Maleb, Alberta — initials of the Bowen family: Morley, Amy, Lorne, Elizabeth, Bowen; disagreement over whether these are the initials of the parents[27] or the children[9]
Pawn, Oregon — local residents who applied for a post office: Poole, Ackerley, Worthington, Nolen[15]
Peedee, Kentucky — Pumphrey David Smith, landowner[17]
Primghar, Iowa — initials of eight people who had a major part in platting the town: Pumphrey; Roberts; Inman; McCormack; Green; Hayes or Hays; Albright; Rereick or Renck[70][68]
Renwer, Manitoba — A. E. WarREN and W. E. Roberts, railway officials[64]
Many of these names were the result of neighborhood rebranding, first in
New York, and then in other cities. The names were mostly coined in imitation of Soho in Manhattan.
Camanava — the Northern Manila District of
Metro Manila, Philippines; cities: CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas, VAlenzuela
Gerbangkertosusila — official acronym for the Surabaya Extended Metropolitan Area in East Java, Indonesia: GREsik BANGkalan MojoKERTOSUrabaya SIdoarjo LAmongan
Jabodetabek — the capital of Indonesia and suburbs: JAkarta, BOgor, DEpok, TAngerang and BEKasi
Owaa Lake, Saskatchewan[84] — Outdoor Writers Association of America (to mark a meeting of that organization in June 1967)[12]
Sareco Bay, Saskatchewan[85] — SAskatchewan REsearch COuncil; contains Sareco Island[12]
Snafu Lake, Yukon — Situation Normal, All Fucked Up[48]: 69 (drained by Snafu Creek[86]); there is also a Snafu Lake in Ontario[87] and a Snafu Creek in Northwest Territories[88]
Veeocee Mountain, British Columbia[97] — Varsity Outdoor Club of the University of British Columbia[98]
Others
Alwinsal — potash mine at
Guernsey, Saskatchewan named after a French–German consortium that invested: 1) Mines Domanials de Potasse d'ALsace (French) 2) WINtersall AG (German) 3) SALzfuther AG (German)[12]
Amdewanda No. 630 — school near
Eston, Saskatchewan; first trustees: Clyde AMey, Sid DEan, Robert WAmsley plus NDA for alliteration[12]
^
abcdefghijklmnopqrKenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press.
hdl:
2027/uc1.b3624093.
^Brigham, Johnson.
"How Le Mars was Named". Annals of Iowa. State Historical Society of Iowa. Archived from
the original on December 1, 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2019.