Where do the Names of our Favorite New York City Places Come From?

Photo by udo schuklenk

Queens

Queens was named after Queen Catherine of Braganza. She was the wife of King Charles II of England (1630-1685). 

Manhattan

Manhattan derives from the Lenape Native Americans. The word means “a thicket where wood can be found to make bows.” In English, the moniker first appeared in the notes of an officer on the Half Moon - Henry Hudson’s vessel that visited the area in 1609.

The Bronx

In 1639, Jonas Bronck settled in what is now Mott Haven and went onto acquire 500 acres along the Bronx River. But only the river was named after him, and the tract of land went unnamed for over 200 years. That changed when New York City got the land from Westchester County, and since the Bronx River ran through it, the city stuck with the name for the new borough. The ‘the’ that has long preceded the borough's name got attached because of the ‘the’ prior to the name of the river. People called it the Bronx River, so they called the borough, the Bronx.

Brooklyn

The name comes the Dutch city of Breukelen. It means marshy.

Staten Island

The island was named after the Dutch Parliament. That would be Staten-Generaal, and originally the land was known as Staaten Eylandt. However, the borough wasn’t officially named Staten Island until 1975. Prior, it was called the Borough of Richmond. He was Charles II’s illegitimate son - Charles Lennox, First Duke of Richmond.

Canal Street

Before the area became known as the Five Points, a body of water called Collect Pond occupied the location. Unfortunately by the Revolutionary War, the fresh water site became too polluted to sustain usage. So the water was drained to the Hudson, the pond filled and an existing stream formed the basis of a canal. Afterwards, Canal Street was built alongside the drainage system.

Bowery

In the early 1800s, farmland were on outskirts of New York City, and Bowery Lane connected the area to Wall Street. The name Bowery derives from the Dutch word bouwerij or farm.

Hell’s Kitchen

In the early 1800s, the area known as Hell’s Kitchen was occupied by Irish immigrants. A textbook slum, the locale was known for its poverty, corruption, and debauchery, and even Davy Crockett exercised caution on his jaunt. “I thought I would rather risk myself in an Indian fight than venture among these creatures after night. They are too mean to swab hell's kitchen."

This was the first usage, according to Jamie Lerner of Distractify, and the reference began appearing in print in the 1880’s. A New York Times reporter described a 39th Street and 10th Avenue tenement with the term, and went onto clarify, “it’s probably the lowest and filthiest in the city.”

Eventually, the area from 34th Street up to 59th Street and from Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River became associated, but there is another popular and amusing origin, according to Lerner.

A veteran policeman was with his rookie partner and observing riots on West 39th Street. So apparently, the rookie said to his partner, “This place is hell itself.” So the elder officer replied, “Hell’s a mild climate. This is hell’s kitchen.”

Lexington Avenue

The street was named in honor the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue was named after President James Madison

Avenue of the Americas

The official name of Sixth Avenue has been the Avenue of the Americas since 1945. At the time, the city council encouraged Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to create the designation. The hope was to help prop up the run down avenue by making a tie to the Organization of American States - the alliance of United States, Canada and Mexico.

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