American Town Name Generator
Small-town USA names that sound real
Generate believable American town names built the way real US places are named: founders' surnames, Native and Spanish roots, mill and ford towns, and hopeful boosters' names like Freedom and Amity. Great for novels, film scripts, and tabletop settings.
About American town names
American town names are a layered record of how the country was settled. The oldest layer is Native American: Kokomo, Pocatello, Wenatchee, Talladega and Chickasaw are anglicized versions of tribal words and personal names. Then come the colonial imports (Plymouth, Andover, Norwich, Winchester), the Spanish mission and rancho names of the Southwest (San Luis Obispo, Las Cruces, Buena Vista), and the French river-trader names of the Mississippi valley (Terre Haute, Prairie du Chien, Fond du Lac).
The biggest layer was made by ordinary settlers. Thousands of towns carry a founder's surname plus a suffix: -ville, -burg, -ton, -town, -port or -field. Landmark names describe what was there when the post office opened: Millbrook, Coldwater, Cedar Falls, Beaver Dam, Poplar Bluff. Mining and industry towns wear their product (Leadville, Ironton, Carbondale, Coalport). Boosters picked hopeful abstractions like Freedom, Independence, Enterprise and Amity, and quirky post-office names such as Peculiar, Cut and Shoot and Ninety Six are real. Classical names (Athens, Troy, Ithaca, Rome, Carthage) swept upstate New York and the Midwest in the early 1800s.
A convincing fictional American town borrows one of these patterns rather than inventing a new one. Choose the region first, then the pattern that fits: Spanish or Native roots in the West, English county names in New England, French along the rivers, and founder-plus-suffix almost anywhere.
How to choose American town names
- Match the name to the region: a town called Natchitoches or Thibodaux belongs in Louisiana, while Falmouth and Wellesley read as New England.
- For a fictional town that has to feel real, use a surname plus -ville, -burg or -ton and pair it with a plausible county name; readers rarely question it.
- Add a modifier like Falls, Junction, Depot, Springs, Heights or Corners to turn a plain surname into a place with a story.
- Check the name against a map search before publishing; hundreds of small real towns share names, and you may want to avoid a real one for legal or tonal reasons.
- Say the name aloud in a sentence ('Welcome to Harlow Springs') to test whether locals would plausibly shorten or nickname it.
Frequently asked questions
Why do so many American towns share the same names?
Settlers named new towns after their hometowns back East or in Europe, and after popular presidents and generals, so names like Springfield, Marion, Washington and Lexington appear in dozens of states. Post-office rules only required a name to be unique within a state.
What are the most common suffixes in US town names?
The most common are -ville, -ton, -burg, -town, -field, -port and -wood, usually attached to a founder's surname or a landscape feature. Compound forms like Falls, Springs, Junction, Heights and Corners are also widespread.
Can I use these town names in a novel, game or film?
Yes. Place names are not protected by copyright, and the fictional and generic ones here are free to use in commercial work. If a name matches a real town, that is fine for fiction, but avoid implying anything defamatory about the real place.
How do I invent a town name that sounds real but does not exist?
Combine an uncommon surname (Harlow, Whitfield, Ashby) with a common suffix or feature word (Springs, Junction, Ridge), then search a map to confirm it is unused. Names like Bedford Falls and Stars Hollow work because they follow real patterns.
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All 1,000 American town names
A: 34 names
- Abbeville
- Abingdon
- Absarokee
- Absecon
- Accident
- Ajo
- Alamo Heights
- Alamogordo
- Alamosa
- Albertville
- Algona
- Alma
- Alpena
- Alton
- Altoona
- Amherst Junction
- Amity
- Anadarko
- Andover
- Angels Camp
- Apalachicola
- Appleton
- Ararat
- Arcadia
- Arkadelphia
- Ashby Junction
- Ashtabula
- Assumption
- Atascadero
- Atchison
- Athens
- Attica
- Au Sable Forks
- Auburn Hills
B: 78 names
- Bala Cynwyd
- Bandera
- Bandon
- Banner Elk
- Bar Harbor
- Bardstown
- Barnesville
- Barnstable
- Barstow
- Batesville
- Baxter Springs
- Bay Minette
- Bay St. Louis
- Bayou La Batre
- Bear Creek
- Beatrice
- Beaufort
- Beaver Dam
- Bedford Falls
- Bedford Station
- Belle Fourche
- Belle Plaine
- Bellefontaine
- Bellefonte
- Bemidji
- Benicia
- Bentonville
- Berea
- Bergen
- Berkeley Springs
- Berlin Center
- Bernalillo
- Berne
- Bessemer
- Bethany
- Bethesda
- Bethpage
- Big Timber
- Birch Run
B, continued
- Bird-in-Hand
- Bisbee
- Bishop's Crossing
- Black Hawk
- Black River Falls
- Blanchard
- Bloomfield
- Blowing Rock
- Blue Earth
- Bluebell
- Bluefield
- Boca Grande
- Boerne
- Bogalusa
- Bois Blanc
- Bonne Terre
- Boonesborough
- Boonville
- Boring
- Boron
- Bowie
- Bowling Green
- Bozeman
- Brattleboro
- Brewster
- Bridgeton
- Bristol
- Broken Bow
- Brookhaven
- Brownsville
- Bryn Mawr
- Bryson City
- Buckhannon
- Bucksnort
- Buena Vista
- Buffalo Gap
- Burlington Flats
- Burnt Corn
- Butte des Morts
C: 101 names
- Cabot
- Cadiz
- Cairo
- Calais
- Caldwell
- Calico Rock
- Calloway Bend
- Calumet
- Cambridge
- Camden Mills
- Canandaigua
- Canton
- Cape Elizabeth
- Cape Girardeau
- Cape May
- Carbondale
- Cardiff
- Carefree
- Carlisle
- Carpinteria
- Carrizozo
- Carrollton
- Carthage
- Castine
- Catskill
- Cazenovia
- Cedar Falls
- Centerville
- Chadds Ford
- Chadron
- Chagrin Falls
- Chama
- Champlain
- Chappaqua
- Chariton
- Charlestown
- Chattahoochee
- Chehalis
- Cherokee
- Chestnut Hill
- Cheyenne Wells
- Chickasaw
- Chicken
- Chillicothe
- Chiloquin
- Chimayo
- Chimney Rock
- Chincoteague
- Chinle
- Choteau
C, continued
- Chugwater
- Cicely
- Cimarron
- Circleville
- Clarksdale
- Clarkston
- Claverack
- Clay Center
- Clearfield
- Clinton Corners
- Cloverdale
- Coalinga
- Coalport
- Cobleskill
- Coeur d'Alene
- Cold Spring Harbor
- Coldwater
- Coloma
- Columbia Falls
- Columbiana
- Comfort
- Concordia
- Conway
- Cool
- Cooperstown
- Coopersville
- Copper Harbor
- Copperopolis
- Cordova
- Corinth
- Cornish Flat
- Cortez
- Cortland
- Coshocton
- Cottonwood Falls
- Coxsackie
- Crawfordsville
- Creede
- Creve Coeur
- Cripple Creek
- Crockett
- Crossville
- Crow Agency
- Crystal Falls
- Cuero
- Cumberland Gap
- Custer
- Cut and Shoot
- Cut Bank
- Cut Off
- Cypress Gardens
D: 34 names
- Dahlonega
- Damariscotta
- Damascus
- Danevang
- Danville
- Darien
- De Kalb
- De Soto
- Deadwood
- Decatur
- Defiance
- Del Norte
- Delphi
- Denison
- Des Peres
- Devils Lake
- Diligence
- Dillingham
- Dime Box
- Ding Dong
- Dinosaur
- Dixon
- Dodge City
- Dorset
- Dover Plains
- Doylestown
- Dubois
- Dubuque
- Duck
- Dunleavy Mills
- Dunmore
- Dunsmuir
- Durango
- Duxbury
E: 37 names
- Eagle Butte
- Eagle River
- East Liverpool
- Easton
- Eau Claire
- Economy
- Eden
- Edgefield
- Edinburg
- Effingham
- Ekalaka
- El Dorado Springs
- El Reno
- Elizabethton
- Elk Horn
- Elkader
- Elko
- Ellijay
- Ellisburg
- Ellsworth
- Elm Grove
- Ely
- Embarrass
- Emmaus
- Emporia
- Enterprise
- Ephraim
- Ephrata
- Equality
- Escanaba
- Espanola
- Essex Junction
- Estes Park
- Eufaula
- Eureka
- Exeter
- Experiment
F: 43 names
- Fair Haven
- Fairhope
- Fairmont
- Faith
- Fallon
- Falmouth
- Faribault
- Farmington
- Fayetteville
- Fenwick Island
- Fernandina Beach
- Fernley
- Fishkill
- Fitzgerald
- Five Forks
- Flat Rock
- Florence
- Florissant
- Fond du Lac
- Forest City
- Forge Village
- Fort Atkinson
- Fort Benton
- Fort Bragg
- Fort Bramble
- Fort Edward
- Fort Gibson
- Fort Kent
- Fort Madison
- Fort Morgan
- Fort Payne
- Fort Plain
- Fort Recovery
- Fort Scott
- Fort Stockton
- Fort Sumner
- Fort Tillman
- Four Oaks
- Frankfort
- Franklin Grove
- Fredericksburg
- Freedom
- Friendship
G: 39 names
- Galax
- Galena
- Gallipolis
- Gallup
- Gardiner
- Garrity Corners
- Gates Mills
- Gatlinburg
- Genoa
- Georgetown
- Germantown
- Gettysburg
- Gilroy
- Glastonbury
- Glendive
- Glenns Ferry
- Glenwood Springs
- Goliad
- Gonzales
- Goodnight
- Goshen
- Grafton
- Grand Haven
- Grand Marais
- Grand Meadow
- Grand Portage
- Granite Falls
- Grants Pass
- Grantsville
- Grass Valley
- Great Barrington
- Greencastle
- Greeneville
- Grinnell
- Grundy Center
- Guilderland
- Guilford
- Guthrie
- Gwynedd Valley
H: 49 names
- Hagerstown
- Haines
- Haleiwa
- Halfway
- Hamilton
- Hammondsport
- Hana
- Hanalei
- Hancock
- Hanging Rock
- Hannibal
- Hanover
- Happy
- Harlow Springs
- Harpers Ferry
- Harrodsburg
- Hastings
- Havana
- Havre
- Havre de Grace
- Hays
- Hazard
- Hazelton
- Hebron
- Helvetia
- Henderson
- Hermann
- Hermitage
- Hiawassee
- Hickory
- Hill Valley
- Hillsboro
- Hilo
- Hoboken
- Holdrege
- Holland
- Hollis Ferry
- Homer
- Hondo
- Honokaa
- Hood River
- Hopewell
- Horseheads
- Hot Coffee
- Hot Springs
- Humboldt
- Humptulips
- Hundred
- Hurricane
I: 13 names
- Idabel
- Idaho Springs
- Immokalee
- Independence
- Inverness
- Iola
- Ipswich
- Iron Mountain
- Ironton
- Ishpeming
- Isle La Motte
- Ithaca
- Iuka
J: 11 names
- Jackson Hole
- Jamestown
- Jasper
- Jefferson City
- Jericho
- Jerome
- Jonesborough
- Joplin
- Jordan
- Junction City
- Jupiter
K: 34 names
- Kailua
- Kalispell
- Kalkaska
- Kamiah
- Kanab
- Kaneohe
- Kapaa
- Karlstad
- Kaunakakai
- Kayenta
- Kearney
- Keene
- Kennebunk
- Kennett Square
- Keokuk
- Ketchikan
- Ketchum
- Kewaunee
- Kiel
- Kilkenny
- Kilnwood
- Kimballton
- Kinderhook
- Kingfisher
- Kittery
- Kitty Hawk
- Kodiak
- Kokomo
- Koloa
- Kooskia
- Kosciusko
- Kotzebue
- Krakow
- Kutztown
L: 49 names
- L'Anse
- La Grange
- La Junta
- La Porte
- La Veta
- Lac du Flambeau
- Lafayette
- Lahaina
- Lake Placid
- Lamar
- Lambertville
- Lanai City
- Lancaster
- Laramie
- Larkin's Ford
- Las Cruces
- Last Chance
- Lawrenceville
- Le Sueur
- Lead
- Leadville
- Leavenworth
- Lebanon
- Lewisburg
- Lewistown
- Lexington
- Liberty Corners
- Lima
- Limerick
- Lincolnton
- Litchfield
- Lititz
- Little Compton
- Little Falls
- Live Oak
- Lizard Lick
- Llano
- Locust Grove
- Lodi
- Logan
- Lone Pine
- Lonoke
- Lookout Mountain
- Loretto
- Los Alamos
- Los Lunas
- Louisa
- Ludington
- Lund
M: 77 names
- Macomb
- Madisonville
- Magdalena
- Magnolia Springs
- Mahnomen
- Makawao
- Malmo
- Malone
- Mamou
- Manheim
- Manistee
- Mankato
- Maple Heights
- Marble Hill
- Marblehead
- Marietta
- Marion
- Mariposa
- Marlinton
- Marlowe Junction
- Marquette
- Mars
- Marseilles
- Marshalltown
- Martinsburg
- Mason City
- Massena
- Matewan
- Mattoon
- Mayberry
- McAllister
- McCook
- Medicine Lodge
- Memphis Junction
- Menasha
- Menomonie
- Mercersburg
- Mesa Verde
M, continued
- Mexico
- Middlebury
- Milan
- Milford
- Millbrook
- Millersburg
- Millinocket
- Minden
- Mineral Point
- Minster
- Mishawaka
- Missoula
- Mizpah
- Moab
- Monkey's Eyebrow
- Monongahela
- Monroeville
- Monticello
- Montpelier
- Moorefield
- Mora
- Morgantown
- Morristown
- Moscow
- Mount Airy
- Mount Angel
- Mount Horeb
- Mount Moriah
- Mount Pleasant
- Mount Tabor
- Mount Vernon
- Mountain Home
- Muleshoe
- Muncie
- Murfreesboro
- Muscatine
- Muskogee
- Mustang
- Mystic
N: 37 names
- Nacogdoches
- Nampa
- Nantucket
- Narragansett
- Natchez
- Natchitoches
- Natural Bridge
- Needles
- Neenah
- Negaunee
- New Bern
- New Braunfels
- New Canaan
- New Glarus
- New Harmony
- New Holstein
- New Paltz
- New Rochelle
- New Sweden
- New Ulm
- Newberry
- Newburyport
- Nimrod
- Ninety Six
- Niobrara
- Nogales
- Nome
- Noodle
- Normal
- North Platte
- North Pole
- Northampton
- Norwalk
- Norwich
- Novelty
- Nowata
- Nyack
O: 35 names
- Oacoma
- Oak Bluffs
- Oak Harbor
- Oatmeal
- Oberlin
- Ocala
- Ocean Isle Beach
- Ogallala
- Oglethorpe
- Ogunquit
- Oil City
- Ojai
- Okay
- Okeechobee
- Okemah
- Okmulgee
- Old Lyme
- Old Saybrook
- Olivet
- Olney
- Onancock
- Oneonta
- Ontonagon
- Opelika
- Opelousas
- Ophir
- Osawatomie
- Oskaloosa
- Ottawa
- Ottumwa
- Ouray
- Owatonna
- Owensboro
- Owosso
- Oxford
P: 62 names
- Paducah
- Pahrump
- Paia
- Painesville
- Painted Post
- Palacios
- Palatka
- Palmyra
- Panther Burn
- Paradise
- Paris
- Parkersburg
- Pascagoula
- Pass Christian
- Patagonia
- Pawhuska
- Pawnee City
- Peculiar
- Peekskill
- Pella
- Pendleton
- Penn Yan
- Perrysburg
- Peru
- Petaluma
- Peterborough
- Petoskey
- Petrolia
- Pettibone Hollow
- Philomath
- Pie Town
P, continued
- Pigeon Forge
- Pikeville
- Pilsen
- Pine Bluff
- Pittsfield
- Placerville
- Plaquemine
- Plattsburgh
- Plymouth
- Pocatello
- Point Constance
- Point Verity
- Ponchatoula
- Pontiac
- Poplar Bluff
- Port Townsend
- Portage des Sioux
- Portsmouth
- Poteau
- Poughkeepsie
- Poulsbo
- Prague
- Prairie du Chien
- Prescott
- Presidio
- Princeton
- Protection
- Providence
- Pulaski
- Punta Gorda
- Puyallup
Q: 4 names
- Quakertown
- Quanah
- Quarry Junction
- Quincy
R: 24 names
- Radford
- Radiator Springs
- Rapid City
- Raton
- Red Wing
- Redwood Falls
- Refugio
- Rehoboth Beach
- Rhinebeck
- Rhinelander
- Rifle
- Rio Vista
- Ripon
- Roanoke
- Rock Ridge
- Rock Springs
- Rockaway
- Rocky Mount
- Rome
- Roswell
- Rotterdam Junction
- Rough and Ready
- Ruidoso
- Rutland
S: 107 names
- Sag Harbor
- Salem Depot
- Salida
- Salmon
- Saltville
- San Anselmo
- San Augustine
- San Elizario
- San Jacinto
- San Juan Bautista
- San Luis Obispo
- San Marcos
- San Saba
- Sandpoint
- Sandusky
- Sandwich
- Sandy Hook
- Santa Claus
- Santa Rosa de Lima
- Santa Ynez
- Sapulpa
- Saranac Lake
- Saratoga Springs
- Sardis
- Saugerties
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Sawtelle Depot
- Schaefferstown
- Schoharie
- Schulenburg
- Schuylerville
- Scituate
- Scotland Neck
- Sea Bright
- Sedalia
- Selma
- Seneca Falls
- Sequim
- Sevierville
- Sewanee
- Shamrock
- Sharon Springs
- Sheboygan Falls
- Shelbyville
- Sheridan
- Shoshone
- Signal Mountain
- Sikeston
- Silver City
- Silver Plume
- Silverton
- Sisseton
- Sitka
S, continued
- Skagway
- Skamokawa
- Skaneateles
- Skowhegan
- Slatington
- Sleepy Hollow
- Snohomish
- Soldotna
- Soledad
- Solvang
- Somerset
- Sonoma
- Sparta
- Spearfish
- Springfield
- St. Albans
- St. Augustine Beach
- St. Charles
- St. Clairsville
- St. Francisville
- St. Helena
- St. Ignace
- St. Johnsbury
- St. Martinville
- St. Michaels
- St. Peter
- Staatsburg
- Starkville
- Stars Hollow
- Statesboro
- Staunton
- Steamboat Springs
- Steubenville
- Stillwater
- Stockbridge
- Stockholm
- Stone Mountain
- Stonington
- Stony Brook
- Stoughton
- Strasburg
- Sturgeon Bay
- Sturgis
- Stuyvesant Falls
- Sudbury
- Summersville
- Sunbury
- Surprise
- Sutter's Mill
- Swan Quarter
- Swansea
- Sweetwater
- Sycamore
- Sylacauga
T: 54 names
- Tahlequah
- Talkeetna
- Talladega
- Tallapoosa
- Taos
- Tappan
- Tarboro
- Tarrytown
- Tea
- Tecumseh
- Tehachapi
- Tell City
- Telluride
- Temperance
- Ten Sleep
- Terre Haute
- Thatcher's Crossing
- Thermopolis
- Thibodaux
- Thousand Oaks
- Three Forks
- Thurmond
- Ticonderoga
- Tightwad
- Tillamook
- Tionesta
- Tishomingo
- Tiverton
- Toledo
- Tombstone Flats
- Topsfield
- Trempealeau
- Trinidad
- Trinity
- Trona
- Troy
- Truckee
- Truro
- Truth or Consequences
- Tuba City
- Tubac
- Tucumcari
- Tunkhannock
- Tuolumne
- Tupper Lake
- Turkey
- Tuscaloosa
- Tuscumbia
- Tuskegee
- Twin Peaks
- Two Egg
- Two Rivers
- Tybee Island
- Tylertown
U: 8 names
- Ukiah
- Umatilla
- Unalaska
- Uncertain
- Union City
- Upsala
- Ute Springs
- Utica
V: 12 names
- Vacherie
- Valatie
- Valdez
- Van Buren
- Vandermeer Landing
- Vermilion
- Versailles
- Viborg
- Vienna
- Ville Platte
- Vineyard Haven
- Voorheesville
W: 49 names
- Wabash
- Wailuku
- Waimea
- Wakarusa
- Walnut Ridge
- Wapakoneta
- Wappingers Falls
- Warm Springs
- Warsaw
- Washington
- Wasilla
- Waterproof
- Watervliet
- Waukesha
- Waupaca
- Waverly
- Waxahachie
- Waynesboro
- Welcome
- Wellesley
- Wenatchee
- Westerly
- Westphalia
- Wethersfield
- Wetumpka
- Wewahitchka
- Wewoka
- Wexler Gap
- What Cheer
- Wheatland
- Whitefish
- Whitesburg
- Whitewater
- Whitfield
- Why
- Wibaux
- Wickford
- Williamsport
- Willow Springs
- Winchester
- Winnemucca
- Winslow
- Wiscasset
- Wolcott's Ferry
- Womelsdorf
- Woods Hole
- Woodstock
- Wrangell
- Wyalusing
Y: 3 names
- Yarmouth
- Yeehaw Junction
- Yellow Pine