List_of_double_placenames Knowpia

Double placenames prominently feature the placenames of two or more constituents in double-barrelled form rather than invent a new name. This is often out of consideration for local sensitivities, since the smaller entity may resent its takeover, and may demand its symbolic perpetuation within an amalgamated name so as to propagate the impression of a merger between equals.

Styles edit

In their English forms, the conjoined names may have the following patterns:

concatenation, e.g. Papua New Guinea
grammatical conjunction, e.g. Trinidad and Tobago

The punctuation and capitalization practices in written English vary:

merging into one word without an intermediate space, e.g. Budapest
standing apart, e.g. Papua New Guinea
conjunction by hyphenation. While English-speakers are relaxed about using a hyphen or not, this punctuation once caused controversy between Czechs and Slovaks
conjunction with an en dash, typically when the usage is associative, attributive or is a juxtaposition of two independent entities.
CamelCase may sometimes be attempted, but many style guides recommend against this in formal English-language use.

Three-word names for two-part entities are often ambiguous. For example, it may not be clear whether North Rhine-Westphalia is an amalgamation between the north part of the Rhine Province on the one hand and Westphalia on the other (true) or the northern division of some pre-existing place called Rhine-Westphalia (false). While this problem does not arise in German, no entirely satisfactory punctuation of such names has been established in English. In the above case, the hyphen is often omitted because it is misleading. It has been proposed that this state's name be punctuated "North-Rhine/Westphalia" in English, but the solidus or forward slash is also ambiguous.

Neologisms edit

Some names have been merged and modified as an alternative to using hyphenation or grammatical conjunction:

BosWash: the megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D.C., CamelCase example (extended in fiction into a Boston–Atlanta Metropolitan Axis or BAMA covering most of the US East Coast)
SeaTac: another example of CamelCase (Seattle and Tacoma, Washington)
Czechoslovakia: the Czech lands and Slovakia
Senegambia: Senegal and Gambia
Tanzania: Tanganyika and Zanzibar

False double placenames edit

Binomial placenames are not true double placenames, but elements in a hierarchical naming system. They are a means of distinguishing two entities which share a parent geographic feature. Examples:

Guinea-Bissau (official name of the country with capital Bissau, as distinct from Guinea, with capital Conakry)
Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa (from the respective capitals of what are officially Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo)

They are often used for railway stations and airports:

King's Cross St Pancras, the London Underground station serving two separate London railway terminals: King's Cross and St Pancras railway stations.
Paris - Orly Airport, one of two Paris airports
Trenton–Mercer Airport, actually located in Ewing, outside Trenton, both in Mercer County.

Trenton–Mercer is an example of a marketing decision in which a small airport tries to associate itself with a larger city. Ryanair has been criticized for promoting names for airports unusually far from the city from which they are named, such as Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport (a triple name) and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.

Binomial names may be seen in German-language texts to denominate parts of towns:

Bergen-Belsen: the Belsen section within the municipality of Bergen. (This form is now fixed in English when referring to the Nazi concentration camp and the present memorial there.)
Berlin-Charlottenburg: the district of Charlottenburg, Berlin

The word "and" in its name does not always signify the union of two distinct territories:

Sala y Gómez: one island named for two people
Lewis and Clark County, Montana: named for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

In dual naming, words in two different languages have been joined by a hyphen or a slash to become the community's (or geographic feature's) official name, often because of language politics:

Vitoria-Gasteiz: the combination of this city's Spanish name of Vitoria and Basque name of Gasteiz
Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis: proposed official name (combining English and Irish-language names) of a town in the County Kerry Gaeltacht.
Aoraki / Mount Cook: mountain in New Zealand with Māori and English names combined. Many geographic features of New Zealand are officially designated in a similar way (and the country as a whole is sometimes unofficially referred to as "Aotearoa New Zealand").

Similarly, places may simply have an official name which consists of two names, such as the Australian territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which consists of the North Keeling Island and the South Keeling Islands.

Transitional names edit

Sometimes names will be concatenated during a name change. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was the name of the former Rhodesia and future Zimbabwe from June 1 to December 12, 1979.

Sovereign states edit

Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua and Barbuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Papua New Guinea: Territories of Papua and New Guinea; Papua and New Guinea are actually alternate names of the same island, New Guinea, but have been used officially for different parts of this island
São Tomé and Príncipe: São Tomé and Príncipe
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Saint Vincent and Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Non-sovereign entities edit

Capital cities edit

Budapest formed in 1873 by the amalgamation of three former capitals, Buda and Óbuda (Old Buda) on the right bank of the Danube, and Pest on the left bank.

Other cities and towns edit

Bielsko-Biała, a Polish city, is composed of two former towns on opposite banks of the Biała River, Silesian Bielsko and Lesser Poland's Biała, merged in 1951, both deriving from "white" (biała) in Polish.
Boguszów-Gorce, Polish town composed of two former towns of Boguszów and Gorce, merged in 1973
Boldești-Scăeni, Romanian town composed of two former settlements of Boldești and Scăeni, merged in 1968
Boulogne-Billancourt is the name of an industrial in the western suburbs of Paris, France. In 1924, the commune Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt to reflect the development of the industrial neighbourhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860. Many smaller French communes have been forced to merge, and double-barrelled names referring to two separate villages are not uncommon (e.g. Boutigny-Prouais in Eure-et-Loir).
Corigliano-Rossano, Italian comune composed of two former towns of Corigliano Calabro and Rossano, merged in 2018
Czechowice-Dziedzice, Polish town composed of two former settlements of Czechowice and Dziedzice, merged in 1951, under current name since 1958
Czerwionka-Leszczyny, Polish town composed of two former towns of Czerwionka and Leszczyny, merged in 1962
Dallas–Fort Worth is a metroplex and the usual name for the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area in Texas.
Golub-Dobrzyń, Polish town composed of two former towns of Golub and Dobrzyń on opposite banks of the Drwęca River, merged in 1951
Jelcz-Laskowice, Polish town composed of two former municipalities of Jelcz and Laskowice Oławskie, merged in 1987
Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Polish city composed of two former towns of Kędzierzyn and Koźle, merged in 1975
Knokke-Heist is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns Knokke and Heist-aan-Zee that merged also with some other minor locations in 1971.
Konstancin-Jeziorna, Polish town composed of two former towns of Skolimów-Konstancin and Jeziorna, merged in 1969
Mänttä-Vilppula, Finnish town composed of two former municipalities of Mänttä and Vilppula, merged in 2009
Morkovice-Slížany, Czech town composed of two former municipalities of Morkovice and Slížany, merged in 1960
Popești-Leordeni, Romanian town composed of two former settlements of Popești and Leordeni, merged in 1873
Rájec-Jestřebí, Czech town composed of two former municipalities of Rájec and Jestřebí, merged in 1960
Ruciane-Nida, Polish town composed of two former settlements of Ruciane and Nida, merged in 1966
Šaštín-Stráže, Slovak town composed of two former settlements of Šaštín and Stráže, merged in 1961
Sedlec-Prčice, Czech town composed of two former municipalities of Sedlec and Prčice, merged in 1957
Tel Aviv-Yafo, located on the Israeli coastal plain, was formed in 1950 when the ancient port city of Jaffa was merged with the Tel Aviv municipality to its north.

Former place names edit

Includes defunct personal unions and dissolved political unions.

Abruzzi e Molise: Abruzzo and Molise
Araucania and Patagonia: Araucanía and Patagonia
Austria-Hungary: Austria and Hungary
Corsica et Sardinia: Corsica and Sardinia
Croatia-Slavonia: Croatia and Slavonia
Denmark–Norway: Denmark and Norway
Gilbert and Ellice Islands: Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands
Gorizia and Gradisca: Gorizia and Gradisca
Hereford and Worcester: Herefordshire and Worcestershire
Kalinga-Apayao: Kalinga and Apayao
Lombardy–Venetia: Lombardy and Venetia
Massa and Carrara: Massa and Carrara
Modena and Reggio: Modena and Reggio
Emirate of Nejd and Hasa: created when the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd annexed the al-Hasa region
Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd: created when the Sultanate of Nejd annexed the Kingdom of Hejaz
Muscat and Oman: Muscat and Oman
Ubangi-Shari: region between the Ubangi and Shari rivers
Piedmont–Sardinia: Piedmont and Sardinia
Poland–Lithuania: Poland and Lithuania
Rhodesia and Nyasaland: Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Ruanda-Urundi: Rwanda and Burundi
Serbia and Montenegro: Serbia and Montenegro
Río de Oro y Saguía el Hamra: Río de Oro and Saguía el-Hamra
Sweden–Finland: anachronistic term sometimes used for Sweden prior to its cession of Finland
Sweden–Norway: Sweden and Norway
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Great Britain and Ireland
Zimbabwe Rhodesia: Zimbabwe and Southern Rhodesia, two names for the same territory

Triple placenames edit

Barletta-Andria-Trani: Barletta, Andria and Trani, a province in the Italian region of Apulia
Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington: the metropolitan statistical area of Dallas (and two neighboring cities), Texas, United States
Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco: Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco; a former Spanish territory
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, the name of airport situated between Mulhouse and Basel on the France–Switzerland border and near the German city of Freiburg.
Mongmong-Toto-Maite: a village in the United States territory of Guam consisting of three traditional villages united after the Second World War.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur: Provence, Alpes and Côte d'Azur, a region of France
Rhondda Cynon Taff: River Rhondda, River Cynon and River Taff in Wales
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, A British Overseas territory
Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue: the metropolitan statistical area of Seattle (and two neighboring cities), Washington state, United States
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties: a county in Ontario, Canada, consisting of the former counties of Stormont County, Dundas County, and Glengarry County.
Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, an Argentine province comprising its part of Tierra del Fuego island, Argentina's claims to Antarctica and Argentina's claims to the Falkland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola: Verbano, Cusio and Ossola, a province in the Italian region of Piedmont
Yau Tsim Mong District: Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, a district in Hong Kong

Polycentric metropolitan areas edit

Metropolitan areas composed of multiple cities and shared facilities are often collectively named or referred to with the names of their principal component cities. These are conjoined with an unspaced en dash in formal writing, though not journalism, which hyphenates. Some examples include:

Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, Turkey
Amsterdam–The Hague–Rotterdam, Netherlands (also known collectively as the Randstad)
Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, Maryland and DC, United States
Champaign–Urbana and University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, US
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, US
Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi, US
Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, US
Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto, Japan (a.k.a. Keihanshin)
Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US (a.k.a. the Research Triangle)
Seattle–Tacoma, Washington (state), US
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario and Quebec, Canada

Some may even be international conurbations (transborder agglomerations), and do not exist as geopolitical entities:

Detroit–Windsor, US and Canada
El Paso-Juarez, US and Mexico
San Diego–Tijuana, US and Mexico

In cases where one of the cities in the metropolitan area is itself conjoined, some other form of punctuation may be used to separate them, e.g. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, consisting of the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Traditionally conjoined entities edit

Separate entities historically treated as one single unit by tradition or convention:

Alsace-Lorraine: Alsace and Lorraine
Baker and Howland Islands: Baker Island and Howland Island
Bohemia and Moravia: Bohemia and Moravia
England and Wales: England and Wales
Eupen and Malmedy: Eupen and Malmedy
Matthew and Hunter Islands: Matthew Island and Hunter Island
Svalbard and Jan Mayen: Svalbard and Jan Mayen

United Kingdom edit

England edit

Barking and Dagenham: Barking and Dagenham
Bath and North East Somerset: Bath and north east Somerset
Blackburn with Darwen: Blackburn with Darwen
Brighton and Hove: Brighton and Hove
Epsom and Ewell: Epsom and Ewell
Hammersmith and Fulham: Hammersmith and Fulham
Hinckley and Bosworth: Hinckley and Market Bosworth
Kensington and Chelsea: Kensington and Chelsea
Newark and Sherwood: Newark-on-Trent and Sherwood Forest
Nuneaton and Bedworth: Nuneaton and Bedworth
Redcar and Cleveland: Redcar and Cleveland
Reigate and Banstead: Reigate and Banstead
Telford and Wrekin: Telford and The Wrekin
Tyne and Wear: River Tyne and River Wear
Windsor and Maidenhead: Windsor and Maidenhead

Northern Ireland edit

Dungannon and South Tyrone: Dungannon and south Tyrone
Newry and Mourne: area around Newry and the Mourne Mountains

Scotland edit

Dumfries and Galloway: Dumfriesshire and Galloway
Lewis and Harris: one island consisting of Lewis and Harris
Perth and Kinross: Perthshire and Kinross-shire
Argyll and Bute: Argyll and Bute

Wales edit

Neath Port Talbot: Neath and Port Talbot
Rhondda Cynon Taff: River Rhondda, River Cynon, and River Taff

United States edit

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine: created in 1922 by the merger of towns Dover and Foxcroft
Elko New Market, Minnesota: created in 2006 from a merger of bordering cities Elko and New Market.
Helena–West Helena, Arkansas: created in 2006 by the merger of the former cities of Helena and West Helena
La Cañada Flintridge, California: created from unincorporated areas called La Cañada and Flintridge
Leo-Cedarville, Indiana: created by the merger of Leo and Cedarville
Lexington–Fayette, Kentucky: the official name of the merged city of Lexington and county of Fayette
Little River-Academy, Texas: created from the merger of Little River and Academy in 1980
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina: created from the merger of Fuquay Springs and Varina
New Smyrna Beach, Florida: created from the merger of New Smyrna and Coronado Beach in 1947
Pico Rivera, California: created from unincorporated areas called Pico and Rivera
Melcher-Dallas, Iowa: created by the merger of the cities of Melcher and Dallas in 1986
Miami-Dade County, Florida: The governments of Dade County and its largest city, Miami, have been merged since 1957, but the county did not take its current name until 1997, when county voters passed a referendum to that effect.
Milton-Freewater, Oregon: created in 1951 from the merger of Milton and Freewater.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska: Named for Matanuska River and the town of Susitna.
More than half of the land area of Alaska is within the Unorganized Borough which is administered directly by the state. Therefore, the United States Government considers the census areas within the Unorganized Borough to be county-equivalent entities. [1] Three of these have double (or triple) names:
- Prince of Wales – Hyder Census Area
- Hoonah–Angoon Census Area
- Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area
- Another such area, the Valdez–Cordova Census Area, existed until January 2019, when it was split into the Chugach and Copper River Census Areas.
Norwood Young America, Minnesota, formed in 1997 when the cities of Norwood and Young America merged.
Sedro-Woolley, Washington, formed in 1898 from towns Sedro and Woolley
Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, created in 1969 by the incorporation of the former communities of Soddy and Daisy, plus some surrounding areas
Texarkana, on the border between Texas and Arkansas, and near the triple point of those two states with Louisiana
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, created by the 1913 merger of the towns of Winston and Salem.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, named after British Parliamentarians John Wilkes and Isaac Barré who were sympathetic to colonial concerns