We’ve waded through surnames that paired with nations and those that matched U.S. states. Now it’s time for the third and final installment of this investigation. Let’s look at surnames that match capital cities of U.S. states.
A quick summary of the rules — I pulled information from Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000 [link no longer works] and provided it in a shared Google spreadsheet — and we’re just about ready to go. Matches between surnames and state capital names were the least likely to indicate any kind of correlation beyond a common etymological root. It wasn’t legitimate to conclude that people with the surname Phoenix traced their ancestral homeland to Phoenix, Arizona, as an example.
I did make one accommodation. Many of the capital cities were obviously based upon the surnames of settlers, historical figures or other notables. Then they tagged various suffixes onto them such as -burg, -ville, -ton, -polis or city. I felt it was fair to discard those extraneous characters.
Jackson Wins!
Fortunately I didn’t have to invoke that rule for the most frequent occurrence, an honor bestowed upon Jackson. It’s both the capital city of Mississippi (map) and the 18th most common surname in the United States with 666,125 instances. Jackson formed an exact match. I say this with all due respect to my close family in Mississippi (and there are a bunch of them there): doesn’t it feel good to come out on top of a list for once? And it’s not for a negative reason?
Jackson, as a surname, literally means “Son of Jack” with Jack additionally serving as the diminutive form of John. One would expect lots of Jacksons and Johnsons and indeed that is the case. Andrew Jackson, an important figure in the history of the nascent United States, became a namesake for the Mississippi capital even before he became President. Jackson was just ending his role as the first U.S. military governor of Florida when Mississippi named its capital for him in 1822.
The final major battle of the War of 1812 propelled Jackson into national visibility and adoration. He led the U.S. victory over British forces at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Then he became an instant hero. Jackson carried his military exploits into the First Seminole War, setting the stage for Spain to cede Florida to the United States. That then positioned him well for his election to President in 1829.
Jackson, the city, is also the site of the Jackson Dome which has become one of the more popular articles on 12MC for reasons that completely escape me. A handful of visitors drop by there every day.
Son of Harry’s Town
We had another son to consider with the surname Harris, the root of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (map). One has to sound it out a bit to uncover “Harry’s Son”. It’s easier to hear it in the less-mangled version, Harrison. People got lazy, slurred the last couple of letters and it morphed into Harris. So that’s the variation used by more than half a million people (593,542) in the United States. It was enough to make it the 24th most popular surname in 2000.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania didn’t get its name from anyone famous. It was just some guy who settled in the area in the Eighteenth Century. As noted in the Harrisburg City Archives,
“John Harris emigrated first to Philadelphia from Yorkshire, England, and later to Lancaster County. As a pioneer, he wished to venture farther west to build a productive life in a new land. Through his Philadelphia contacts, Harris received a land grant of 800 acres, on what is now the site of downtown Harrisburg and part of Shipoke.”
His son John Harris Jr. platted a town here in 1785. Then he named it for the family and incorporated the village in 1791. It became Pennsylvania’s capital in 1812.
Washington, Capital of Um…
Washington came next on the list, assuming one considers Washington to be the “capital” of the District of Columbia (map). The first issue is simple. The District is not a state. The second is more complicated. Washington exists within a coterminous situation with the District. The cities of Washington and Georgetown once had their own distinct charters. However, the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 combined everything into a single governing unit.
It’s hard to claim that the District maintains a distinct capital for its municipal government. It’s so completely enmeshed within its role as the capital of the United States. Maybe I could argue that the capital of the District is the Wilson Building? I’m going to set this aside. One should feel free to refer to the surname in the context of the State of Washington in the previous article if the topic warrants further elaboration.
Once a National Capital
Two other capital city surnames round-out the popular top tier with greater than a hundred thousand appearances each.
The surname Austin is an Anglicization of Augustine, with Latin roots implying “greatness”. That’s the reason why Roman emperors were often titled Augustus. Austin, Texas (map) honored Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas”. It served as the national capital of the Republic of Texas from 1839-1846 before it became the state capital of Texas with its admission to the United States. There were 113,160 people with the Austin surname in the 2000 Census.
The surname Montgomery is a bit shrouded in history. It seems to trace back with Norman roots to the 11th Century at least. Montgomery, Alabama (map) derived from Richard Montgomery in 1819, a general during the American Revolution. Paradoxically, the surrounding county also became Montgomery, although for a different Montgomery: Lemuel P. Montgomery who died in the 1814 Creek War. There were 112,144 people with the Austin Montgomery surname in the 2000 Census.
I think that little bit of geo-trivia is a good place to stop my surname-geography comparison.
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