US Place Names ~ Ridgely, Illinois to Rye, New Hampshire

Ridgely; village in Sangamon County, Illinois, named for Charles Ridgely, one of its founders.

Ridgeway; borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, named for John Jacob Ridgeway, of Philadelphia, a large landowner.

Ridley Park; borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, named from the native place of its settlers in Cheshire, England.

Rienzi; town in Alcorn County, Mississippi, named for the Roman tribune.

Riga; town in Lenawee County, Michigan, named from the city in Russia.

Riley; county in Kansas named for Maj. Gen. Bennet Riley, United States Army.

Rimersburg; borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, named for John Rimer, its first settler.

Rimini; town in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. Named by Lawrence Barrett for the character m the tragedy of "Francesca da Rimini."

Rincon; towns in Riverside County, California, and Donna Ana County, New Mexico. A Spanish word meaning "comer," or "inside corner."

Rindge; town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, named for one of the original proprietors.

Ringgold; county in Iowa, named for Maj. Samuel Ringgold, an officer of the Mexican war.

Ringwood; villages in Passaic County, New Jersey, and Halifax County, North Carolina, named from the town in England.

Rio Arriba; county in New Mexico intersected by the Rio Grande del Norte, "great river of the North." A Spanish name meaning "upper," or "high river."

Rio Blanco; county in Colorado, named from the White River, of which the county's name is the Spanish interpretation.

Rio de las Piedras; stream in New Mexico. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of the stones."

Bio de los Americanos; river in California. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of the Americans," the favorite route of the early emigrants.

Rio de los Martires; river in California. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of the martyrs," so named from the murder of Spanish priests by Indians.

Rio de los Mimbres; river in New Mexico. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of the willows."

Rio de Mercede; river in California. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of mercy."

Rio Frio; river in Texas. A Spanish word meaning "cold river."

Rio Grande; county in Colorado, named from the river.

Rio Grande; river rising in the Rocky Mountains and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. A Spanish phrase meaning "great river."

Rio Grande Pyramid; mountain of the San Juan Range, Colorado, so called because its form is that of a perfect pyramid.

Rio Llano; river in Texas. A Spanish phrase meaning "river of the plain."

Rio Salinas; river in Arizona, having alkaline deposits upon its banks, which caused it to be given this Spanish name, meaning "salt river."

Rio Seco; town in Butte County, California. A Spanish phrase meaning "dry river."

Rio Verde; river in Arizona. A Spanish phrase meaning "green river."

Rio Vista; town in Solano County, California, at the mouth of the Sacramento River. A Spanish phrase meaning "river view."

Ripley; counties in Indiana and Missouri and town in Chautauqua County, New York, named for Gen. Eleazer W. Ripley.

Ripley; town in Brown County, Ohio, named for General Ripley, an officer in the war of 1812.

Ripley; town in Payne County, Oklahoma, named for a leading official of the Santa Fe Railroad.

Ripley; town in Jackson County, West Virginia, named for a resident.

Ripon; city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, named from the town in England.

Rippey; town in Greene County, Iowa, named for Capt. C. M. Rippey, an old settler. Rising: City; village in Butler County, Nebraska, named for the owners of the town site, A. W. and S. W. Rising.

Rising: Sun; village in Dearborn County, Indiana, so named by its founder, John James, when viewing the sunrise from that location.

Ritchie; county in West Virginia, named for Thomas Ritchie, editor of the Richmond Enquirer.

Rivanna; river and township in Virginia, named for Queen Anne, of England.

Rivera; town in Los Angeles County, California. The Spanish form of "river."

River Falls; city in Pierce County, Wisconsin, so named because of its situation near the falls of the Kinnikinnic River.

Riverhead; town in Suffolk County, New York, so named because of its location near the head of the Peconic River.

Riverside; county, and town in same county, in California, town in Washington County, Iowa, and forty other places, being usually so named on account of their location.

Rivoli; town in Mercer County, Illinois, named from the town in Italy.

Roach; creek in Humboldt County, California, named for a pioneer who was drowned in it.

Roan; plateau in Colorado, so named on account of the color of the cliffs rising from the Grand River Valley.

Roan; mountain in North Carolina, so named on account of the color of the laurel growing upon its summit.

Roane; county in Tennessee, named for Governor Archibald Roane.

Roane; county in West Virginia, named for Spencer Roane, judge of the supreme court of the State in its early days.

Roanoke; towns in Randolph County, Alabama, Howard County, Missouri, and Genesee County, New York, named from the home of John Randolph in Virginia.

Roanoke; township and village in Woodford County, Illinois, named from Roanoke, Virginia, the home of its founders.

Roanoke; town in Huntington County, Indiana; county, and city in same county, in Virginia; and river in Virginia and North Carolina. An Indian word designating a kind of shell used for money.

Roaring; mountain in Yellowstone Park, so named on account of the shrill sound made by the steam escaping from a vent in its summit.

Roaring Fork; branch of the Grand River in Colorado, so named from its steep and rapid descent.

Robbinston; town in Washington County, Maine, named for its original owners, Edward H. and Nathaniel J. Bobbins.

Roberts; county in South Dakota, named for Moses Robert (Robar), a fur trader.

Roberts; county in Texas, named for Oran M. Roberts, former governor of the State.

Robertson; county in Kentucky, named for ex-Chief Justice George Robertson, a leading pioneer.

Robertson; county in Tennessee, named for Gen. James Robertson, a pioneer.

Robertson; county in Texas, named for Sterling C. Robertson, who received a colonization grant from Mexico.

Robeson; county in North Carolina, named for Col. Thomas Robeson, of the North Carolina Revolutionary Militia.

Robinson; town in Summit County, Colorado, named for George B. Robinson, former lieutenant-governor of the State.

Robinson; township and city in Crawford County, Illinois, named for John M. Robinson, United States Senator from Illinois, 1830-1841.

Robinson; city in Brown County, Kansas, named for Governor Charles Robinson.

Robla; town in Ventura County, California. A Spanish word meaning "bill of sale."

Roche a Gris; river in Adams County, Wisconsin. A French phrase meaning "gray rock."

Rochelle; city in Ogle County, Illinois, named from Rochelle, France.

Roche Moutonnee; branch of the Eagle River in Colorado, so named on account of the glacial rocks of its gorge.

Roche Percee; river in Boone County, Missouri. A French phrase meaning "pierced rock."

Rochester; township and town in Fulton County, Indiana, named from the city in New York.

Rochester; towns in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, and Beaver County, Pennsylvania, named from the city in England.

Rochester; city in Monroe County, New York, named for the senior proprietor, Col. Nathaniel Rochester.

Rochester; town in Ulster County, New York, named for the Earl of Rochester.

Rock; counties in Minnesota and Nebraska, county and river in Wisconsin, and many other places, so named on account of the rocky character of the soil.

Rockaway; river, and borough in Morris County, New Jersey. Supposed to be derived from the Indian word reckawackes, or achewek, meaning "bushy," or "difficult to cross."

Rockbridge; county in Virginia, so named on account of the natural bridge of rock over Cedar Creek.

Rockcastle; county and river in Kentucky, named for the rock castles on the river banks.

Rockdale; county in Georgia, so named from the ledges of rock running through it.

Rock Falls; city in Whiteside County, Illinois, named from its location at the falls in Rock River.

Rockford; city in Winnebago County, Illinois, so named because of its situation on both sides of Rock River.

Rockford; village in Wells County, Indiana, so named because it is located at a ford on Rock Creek.

Rockingham; counties in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Virginia, named for the Marquis of Rockingham, premier of England at the time of the repeal of the stamp act.

Rock Island; county, and city in same county, in Illinois, named from an island in the Mississippi River which is formed of limestone.

Rockland; city in Knox County, Maine, so named because of its granite quarries.

Rockland; town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, so named from the character of the soil.

Rockland; county in New York, so named on account of its extensive quarries of red sandstone.

Rockport; town in Spencer County, Indiana, so named because of the hanging rock, "Lady Washington Rock," on the Ohio River.

Rockport; town in Essex County, Massachusetts, so named on account of the granite quarries near the sea.

Rock Rapids; town in Lyon County, Iowa, named from its location on the falls of Rock River.

Rockton; township and village in Winnebago County, Illinois, named from its location on the Rock River.

Rockville; city in Tolland County, Connecticut, so named because of the rock formation of the hills upon which the city is built.

Rockville; city in Parke County, Indiana, so named because of large boulders in the neighborhood.

Rockville; village in Allegany County, New York, so named on account of a quarry in the vicinity.

Rockwall; county in Texas, so named on account of an underground wall.

Rodeo; town in Contra Costa County, California. A Spanish name signifying the market place where horned cattle are exhibited for sale.

Rodman; town in Jefferson County, New York, named for Daniel Rodman, of Hudson.

Rodney; town in Jefferson County, Mississippi, named for Judge Rodney, of the State.

Roger Mills; county in Oklahoma, named for Roger Q. Mills, senator from Texas.

Rogers; mountain in Tennessee, named for William B. Rogers, the geologist.

Rogue; river in Oregon, named for the Tototins, an Indian tribe of nefarious habits, who were termed Coquins by the French and Rogues by the English.

Rohnerville; town in Humboldt County, California, named for Henry Rohner, an early settler.

Rolesville; town in Wake County, North Carolina, named for a prominent resident.

Rolette; county in North Dakota, named for the Hon. Joseph Rolette, an early settler of Red River Valley.

Rolfe; town in Pocahontas County, Iowa, said by some authorities to be named for the young Englishman who married Pocahontas, but by others for the man who previously owned the town site.

Rolla; township and city in Phelps County, Missouri. A corruption of Raleigh, being named from the city in North Carolina.

Rollinsford; town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, named for a resident family.

Rollinsville; town in Gilpin County, Colorado, named for John Q. A. Rollins.

Rome; cities in Floyd County, Georgia, and Oneida County, New York, and twenty other places, the name being transferred from the city in Italy.

Romeo; village in Macomb County, Michigan, named for the character of Shakespeare's tragedy.

Romulus; towns in Wayne County, Michigan, and Seneca County, New York, named for the founder of Rome.

Rondout; creek in Ulster County, New York, the name being a corruption of "redoubt," a fortification built upon the stream by the early Dutch.

Roodhouse; city in Greene County, Illinois, named for John Roodhouse, its founder.

Rooks; county in Kansas, named for John C. Rooks, member of Company I, Eleventh Kansas.

Roosevelt; county in New Mexico, named for President Theodore Roosevelt.

Root; town in Montgomery County, New York, named for Erastus Root, of Delaware County.

Roscoe; town in Coshocton County, Ohio, named for William Roscoe, the English historian.

Roscommon; county in Michigan, named from the county in Ireland.

Rose; town in Wayne County, New York, named for Robert L. Rose, of Geneva.

Roseau; county, river, and lake in Minnesota, retaining the early French name, meaning a reed or rush, referring to the abundance of a very coarse reed grass.

Rosebroom; town in Otsego County, New York, named for Abraham Rosebroom, one of the earliest settlers.

Rosebud; county and river in Montana, so named because of the profusion of wild roses in the vicinity.

Roseburg; town in Douglas County, Oregon, named for Aaron Rose, one of the first settlers.

Rosedale; city in Wyandotte County, Kansas, so named because when located the town site was a mass of wild rose bushes.

Rosita; town in Custer County, Colorado, said to have been so named by the early miners because of the thickets of wild roses which surrounded the springs in the vicinity.

Ross; town in Kent County, Michigan, named for Daniel Ross. Boss; county in Ohio, named for Hon. James Ross, of Pennsylvania. Bossie; town in St. Lawrence County, New York, named for a sister of David Parish, the proprietor.

Rossville; village in Vermilion County, Illinois, named for its founder.

Rossville; city in Shawnee County, Kansas, named for W. W. Ross, agent of the Pottawatomie Indians.

Rossville; village in Richmond County, New York, now a part of New York City, named for the proprietor of a large tract of land.

Rossville; town in Fayette County, Tennessee, named for Jon Ross, a Cherokee chief.

Roswell; town in El Paso County, Colorado, named for Roswell P. Flower, of New York.

Roswell; town in Cobb County, Georgia, named for Roswell King.

Rothville; town in Chariton County, Missouri, named for John Roth, an early settler.

Rotterdam; town in Schenectady County, New York, named from the city in the Netherlands.

Roubedeau; river in Delta County, and pass in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, named for Antoine Roubedeau, a French trader.

Rough and Ready; town in Nevada County, California, so named by the miners of 1849.

Round Hill; town in Loudoun County, Virginia, so named because of its location near a round foothill of the Blue Ridge.

Bouse Point; village in Clinton County, New York, named for a resident family.

Routt; county in Colorado, named for John L. Routt, the last governor of the Territory.

Rowan; county in Kentucky, named for John Rowan, a distinguished lawyer of the State.

Rowan; county in North Carolina, named for Matthew Rowan, prominent in the early politics of the State.

Rowesville; town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, named for Gen. William Rowe.

Rowletts; town in Hart County, Kentucky, named for John P. Rowlett.

Rowley; town in Essex County, Massachusetts, named from the town in England.

Royal; village in Antelope County, Nebraska, named for Royal Thayer.

Royal Oak; village in Talbot County, Maryland, so named because of a nearby oak into which the British shot a cannon ball in the war of 1812.

Royalston; town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, named for Col. Isaac Royal, one of its proprietors.

Royersford; borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, named for a family known as Roya, who lived at a ford in the Schuylkill River in that vicinity.

Rubicon; town in Eldorado County, California, and river in Wisconsin, named from the river in Italy.

Ruby; peak in Colorado, so named on account of its color.

Rulo; village in Richardson County, Nebraska, named for Charles Roulean.

Rumford; town in Oxford County, Maine, said to have been named for Count Rumford.

Rumsey; town in McLean County, Kentucky, named for Edward Rumsey, a prominent resident of the State.

Runnels; county in Texas, name for Henry R. Runnels, former governor.

Runnelsville; town in Madison County, Mississippi, name for a prominent family of the State.

Rush; county in Indiana, named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia.

Rush; county in Kansas, named for Alexander Rush, captain Company H, Second Regiment Kansas Colored Volunteers.

Rush; town in Monroe County, New York, named from large stretches of rushes growing in the vicinity.

Rushville; township and city in Schuyler County, Illinois, named for Dr. Richard Rush, candidate for vice-presidency in 1828.

Rushville; town in Rush County, Indiana, named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia.

Rushville; village in Sheridan County; Nebraska, so named because of the extensive growth of rushes.

Rusk; county in Texas, named for Gen. Thomas J. Rusk, United States Senator from that State.

Russell; county in Alabama, named for Col. Gilbert Russell, of that State.

Russell; county, and city in same county, in Kansas, named for Capt. Avra P. Russell, Company K, Second Kansas Regiment.

Russell; county, and city in Logan County, in Kentucky, and county in Virginia, named for Gen. William Russell.

Russell; village in St. Lawrence County, New York, named for Russell Atwater, its original proprietor.

Russell; township in Geauga County, Ohio, named for a family of early settlers.

Russellville; town in Pope County, Arkansas, named for Dr. Thomas Russell, who located there in 1835.

Russellville; village in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, named for the Russell family, prominent in the business interests of the vicinity.

Russian River; township in Sonoma County, California, on a river of the same name, so named because a Russian settlement was early located there.

Rutherford; counties in North Carolina and Tennessee;

Rutherfordton; town in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Named for Gen. Griffith Rutherford, a noted Indian fighter.

Rutherford; borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, named for John Rutherford, an extensive landowner.

Rutland; village in Lasalle County, Illinois, and town in Jefferson County, New York, named from the city in Vermont.

Rutland; town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, said to have been named from Rutland, near Leicestershire, England.

Rutland; county, and city in same county, in Vermont, named from the town in Massachusetts.

Ryans; creek in Humboldt County, California, name for an early settler.

Rye; town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, named from the home of its English settlers.

US Place Names

Source: The Origin of Certain Place Names the United States, Second Edition, Henry Gannett, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1906.