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Why Is It Named…?

The origin stories behind Washington, DC street names, neighborhood names, and landmark names. Who were these places named for?

Who Was Phoebe Hearst? The Story Behind Hearst Elementary School in Cleveland Park

May 14, 2026February 4, 2014 by ghostsofdc
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School

Phoebe Apperson Hearst grew up poor in rural Missouri, married a mining magnate, and became one of the wealthiest women in America. She spent her fortune on public education for Washington children. Here is her story, and why a school in Cleveland Park bears her name.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags 1890s, 1930s, Cleveland Park, Women's suffrage 7 Comments

Tenleytown: Named for a Man Who Signed with an X

May 14, 2026December 30, 2013 by ghostsofdc
Tenleytown Metro

Tenleytown takes its name from John Tennally, an illiterate tavern keeper who ran an inn at the corner of River Road and the Georgetown-Rockville Turnpike around 1790. He signed his name with an X. The resulting spelling free-for-all lasted 200 years.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags 1880s, Tenleytown 5 Comments

Why Is It Named Annandale, Virginia?

April 27, 2026October 18, 2013 by ghostsofdc
Oak Hill

Annandale, VA was named by early settlers who brought the name of their Scottish homeland with them in the 17th century.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags Fairfax County, Notable People 5 Comments

McLean Gardens: From Hope Diamond Estate to WWII Worker Housing to Wisconsin Avenue Condos

May 17, 2026October 16, 2013 by ghostsofdc
Friendship, the home of the McLean family

Friendship was the McLean estate where Evalyn Walsh McLean kept the Hope Diamond. In 1942 it became apartments for 3,500 war workers.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags 1900s, 1940s, 1970s, 1980s, Cleveland Park, embassies, Glover Park, Washington Post, World War II 4 Comments

Truxton Circle: DC’s Lost Traffic Circle and Its Naval Hero

May 14, 2026October 15, 2013 by ghostsofdc
Truxton Circle

Truxton Circle lost its namesake traffic roundabout in 1947, but the story of how it got that name reaches back to the founding of the U.S. Navy and Commodore Thomas Truxtun, one of the most celebrated officers of the early republic.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags 1790s, 1900s, 1940s, Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park, Shaw 1 Comment

The Three Sisters of the Potomac: The Legend Behind D.C.’s Cursed Islands

May 17, 2026October 4, 2013 by ghostsofdc
The Three Sisters

Three Sisters Islands in the Potomac carry a Native American curse stretching back centuries. They also nearly vanished under a 1970s highway bridge. Here’s both stories.

Categories Lost History, The Best Of, Why Is It Named...? Tags 1960s, 1970s, Bridges, Key Bridge, Landmarks, Potomac River, Urban Legends, Waterfront

Why Is the CIA Called Langley? The History Behind the Name

May 4, 2026October 2, 2013 by ghostsofdc
Aerial view of CIA headquarters campus Langley Virginia

Everyone calls the CIA Langley. But why? The name traces from a Virginia governor, a Shropshire estate, and exit signs that lied for over a decade.

Categories The Best Of, Why Is It Named...? Tags 1800s, 1950s, 1970s, Fairfax County, Politics 5 Comments

Stoddert Elementary School, Glover Park: History of the Name

May 6, 2026August 19, 2013 by ghostsofdc

Stoddert Elementary School in Glover Park is named after Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secretary of the Navy. Here is the history behind the name and the school.

Categories Why Is It Named...? Tags 1930s, Glover Park 5 Comments

Why is Washington, DC Called the District of Columbia?

April 23, 2026July 24, 2013 by ghostsofdc

The name ‘District of Columbia’ was chosen on September 9, 1791, to honor both George Washington and Christopher Columbus. Neither was present for the ceremony.

Categories The Best Of, Why Is It Named...? Tags 1790s, George Washington 25 Comments
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