'Washington' Ranks No. 1 on List of Places With Presidents' Names

Presidents’ Day is observed on the third Monday of February every year. And while many feel Presidents’ Day is a time to honor all former U.S. presidents, the holiday is actually the official observance of George Washington’s birthday, which is Feb. 22, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau recently released a list of the country's 100 most common names of places, minor civil divisions (MCD) and counties. As it turns out, many presidents' names turn up quite high on the list.

The following is the list from the Census Bureau:

61

Grant

Note: The “actual name” column is based on the number of places, MCDs and counties with just that name alone. The “total” column includes the “actual name” count plus the count in which the name is found within a longer name (such as “Fort Washington” or “Lincoln Park”).

The term “places” refers to both incorporated places and census designated places (CDPs). Names of minor civil divisions (MCDs) are primarily the towns and townships from the 12 strong MCD states of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Also, these places were not necessarily named after the president in some cases, since the entities may have been named before the president was in office.

While not counted in this data set, Richfield is home to a variety of "president places," with nearly all of the town's parks containing the last name of a president. And, of course, there's also Garfield Avenue.

Other fun facts released by the Census Bureau included:

• Although never a president, founding father Benjamin Franklin’s last name was the second most common name of a place, MCD or county, with 89 of these bearing his actual name.
• Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia, is tied for 110th place, with 18 places, MCDs and counties across the country having this actual name.
• Also in the top 1,000, based on the number of places, MCDs and counties with the actual name, is Johnson (20), Polk (18), Van Buren (13), Roosevelt (13), Fillmore (10), Buchanan (10), Pierce (nine), McKinley (eight), Carter (eight), Hayes (six), Taft (six), Harding (five), Kennedy (five) and Ford (five).

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