What's in a (Place) Name?

As anyone working in economic development, investment promotion and place marketing knows only too well… place names matter. They can carry significant brand value and trigger memorable connections or a fascinating historic context. Sometimes, they create intrigue or simply raise a smile.

So it’s with that in mind, that I perused a list of cities and counties in the great state of Tennessee in the hope of finding some interesting places… it did not disappoint!

Tennessee is blessed with some of the most iconic places imaginable - Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Clarksville - all brimming full of cultural reference points and familiarity. It is worth remembering that long before these, the state is named from the former Cherokee settlement of Tanasi, which was a major hub in the 1720s.

But it wouldn’t be America if there weren’t some exotic global doppel-gangers too. Step forward the cities of Milan, Moscow, Lebanon, Paris and Athens!

But these names are not simply far-flung namesakes, they have their own origins. Moscow is from the Cherokee Chief Mosgo and Milan developed from ‘My-Land’. Lebanon is named for its cedar trees (Cedrus Libani) while Athens is named for its topographical similarities to its Greek relative as is Memphis, like the city in Ancient Egypt on the banks of the River Nile.

Oh, and naturally in Paris,TN, you'll find a 70-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower!

Tennessee’s links with Ireland and Scotland run deep, so it’s no surprise to find Belfast, Erin, Burns, McNairy and Stewart among the 30 or more place names that will be familiar on this side of the pond. Bristol, Brighton, Chester, Harrogate, Newport and Tipton are all here… and my own favourite, Manchester (is in the wonderful Coffee County!)

For left-field place names, how about Soddy-Daisy, Bean Station, Red Boiling Springs and Parrottsville. And the surreal signs pointing to Finger, TN always raise a smile.

So in spite of Nashville, Murfreesboro, Knoxville and Clarksville all being named in honour of military generals who successfully fought the American War of Independence, my fellow Brits will find a very warm welcome today, with hundreds of UK companies choosing to locate in Tennessee.

If you get the chance to visit, for business or pleasure, take it. You won’t be disappointed.