*Not really named after you but sharing your name
It has had to happen at least once or twice. One is either driving, walking, or just even looking at a map and then sees something that shares your first name. It can be a bar named "Patrick's", a street named John Avenue, or a park called Benjamin Square. One usually thinks "that's neat" and moves on. However, in my mind there have been many times where I have wondered just how many places shared my name. Now, I can have a good idea of just how many places share my first name. Stephen Von Worley has made a program that searches OpenStreetMap for places which share your first name. The results are displayed on a Google Maps Mashup. Sadly one cannot search for surnames yet but this is still a very cool tool. My first name is spread all throughout the Anglosphere with some appearances in India and the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, it seems "Adolf" has greatly fallen out of favor and disappeared from many places on the globe (though Adolf Street in Lewisham, Greater London looks very British and lovely). Have fun and enjoy!
4 comments:
I'll be waiting for the day they add surnames, too. I've found only two instances of my very rare surname, a smalltown street in southern Michigan and a rural road in western Pennsylvania.
I used to work on a contract for FEMA in which I reviewed floodplain maps for accuracy during the update process. I used to keep a database of every location in which I saw a street using my first name. Apparently I am not the only weirdo who thinks this is cool.
Twelve Mile Circle,
Me too. However, I think my British surname will dominate in a few countries
Karen,
Welcome to the club of geography geekiness.
Post a Comment