Having recently covered popular baby names I thought it would be interesting to write a post about popular street names. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – after a dozen posts he’s already run out of ideas. Seriously, a Map Monday post about street names? How many brain cells can I expect you to waste on such trivial drivel?
With the nearly nearly ubiquitous Wall Street/Main Street meme ringing in our ears haven’t we heard enough about streets? Besides, doesn’t that meme imply that Main Street exists everywhere? To be fair, I shared that same line of thinking until I looked at the map.
I expected Main to be the most popular, but it’s not. Oddly enough, the only two states where Main is the most popular name are Maine (coincidence?) and Utah. The most popular street name is Park. As for the annoying meme I suspect that Wall Street/Park Street may be more accurate. However it doesn’t have the same everyman ring to it that the users are looking for.
Other Street Name Inspirations
Naming streets after trees is also quite fashionable. Nearly one third of the states’ most popular street names are trees. It’s primarily an eastern phenomenon, with the name matching the local trees. In the western states, which include the plains, numbered streets lead the way in fourteen states. I did find it odd that in five of those states Second Street was the most popular name. What happened to First Street? And in the case of Washington what happened to First and Second streets? Did the lower numbered streets get sacrificed as part of some urban renewal project, are they perhaps considered bad luck – like the thirteenth floor, or what?
In Virginia, the leading street name is Lee. Not a surprise in the state with the highest concentration of Civil War battlefields. You’d think Maple would be the most popular in Vermont, which despite its size is the leading maple syrup producer in the US, but it’s not. However, Maple is the most popular in neighboring New Hampshire. Yet another factor contributing to the confusion between the Green Mountain and Granite states.
I hope you found that worth wasting a few brain cells. If not, well you can’t say you I didn’t warn you. If you’re interested in more data here’s a slightly different list of street names compiled using the US census. The site hypothesizes the missing numbered streets result from re-naming them in honor of local or national heroes.
As always, thanks for reading.
Armen
