List of double placenames
Double placenames prominently feature the placenames of two or more constituent geopolitical entities.
Introduction
Such amalgamated placenames are often created when two cities, provinces or other territories are merged, and a decision is taken to preserve the old names in double-barrelled form rather than invent a new name. This is often out of consideration for local sensitivities, since the smaller entity may resent its takeover, and may demand its symbolic perpetuation within an amalgamated name so as to propagate the impression of a merger between equals.
Styles
In their English forms, the conjoined names may have the following patterns:
- concatenation, e.g. Papua New Guinea
- grammatical conjunction, e.g. Trinidad and Tobago
The punctuation and capitalization practices in written English vary:
- merging into one word without an intermediate space, e.g. Budapest
- standing apart, e.g. Papua New Guinea
- conjunction by hyphenation, e.g. Bosnia-Hercegovina. While English-speakers are relaxed about using a hyphen or not, this punctuation once caused controversy between Czechs and Slovaks
- CamelCase may sometimes be attempted, but many style guides recommend against this in formal English-language use.
Three-word names for two-part entities are often ambiguous. For example, it may not be clear whether North Rhine-Westphalia is an amalgamation between the north part of the Rhine Province on the one hand and Westphalia on the other (true) or the northern division of some pre-existing place called Rhine-Westphalia (false). While this problem does not arise in German, no entirely satisfactory punctuation of such names has been established in English. In the above case, the hyphen is often omitted because it is misleading. It has been proposed that this state's name be punctuated "North-Rhine/Westphalia" in English, but the solidus or forward slash is also ambiguous.
Neologisms
Some names have been merged and modified as an alternative to using hyphenation or grammatical conjunction:
- BosWash: the megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D.C., CamelCase example
- Czechoslovakia: the Czech lands and Slovakia
- Senegambia: Senegal and Gambia
- Tanzania: Tanganyika and Zanzibar
False double placenames
Binomial placenames are not true double placenames, but elements in a hierarchical naming system. They are a means of distinguishing two entities which share a parent geographic feature. Examples:
- Guinea-Bissau (official name of the country with capital Bissau, as distinct from Guinea, with capital Conakry)
- Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa (from the respective capitals of what are officially Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo)
They are often used for railway stations and airports:
- London St Pancras (one of several London rail termini: this one is on St Pancras Road)
- Paris - Orly Airport (one of two Paris airports)
- Trenton-Mercer Airport (actually located in Ewing, outside Trenton, both in Mercer County)
Trenton-Mercer is an example of a marketing decision in which a small airport tries to associate itself with a larger city. Ryanair has been criticized for promoting names for airports unusually far from the city from which they are named, such as Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport (a triple name) and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.
Binomial names may be seen in German language texts to denominate parts of towns:
- Bergen-Belsen (the Belsen section within the municipality of Bergen: this form is now fixed in English when referring to the Nazi concentration camp and the present memorial there)
- Berlin-Charlottenburg: the district of Charlottenburg, Berlin
The word "and" in its name does not always signify the union of two distinct territories:
- Sala y Gómez: one island named for two people
- Lewis and Clark County, Montana: named for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
In some cases, words in two different languages have been joined by a hyphen to become the community's official name, often because of language politics:
- Vitoria-Gasteiz: the combination of this city's Spanish name of Vitoria and Basque name of Gasteiz
- Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis: proposed official name (combining English and Irish names) of a town in the County Kerry Gaeltacht.
Transitional Names
Sometimes names will be concatenated during a name change. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was the name of the former Rhodesia and future Zimbabwe from June 1 to December 12, 1979.
Sovereign states
- Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua and Barbuda
- Bosnia-Hercegovina: Bosnia and Hercegovina
- Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Papua New Guinea: Papua Territory and British New Guinea; Papua and New Guinea are acctually alternate names of the same island, New Guinea, but have been used officially for different parts of this island
- São Tomé and Príncipe: São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Saint Vincent and Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago
Non-sovereign entities
Dependent territories
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands: Ashmore Island and Cartier Island
- Heard and McDonald Islands: Heard Island and McDonald Island
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: Saint Pierre Island and Miquelon
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
- Trindade and Martim Vaz: Trindade Island and Martim Vaz Island
- Turks and Caicos Islands: Turks and Caicos
- Wallis and Futuna Islands: Wallis Island and Futuna Islands
States of federations
- Baden-Württemberg: Baden and Württemberg
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Mecklenburg and Vorpommern
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador
- North Rhine-Westphalia: part of the Rhineland with Westphalia
- Rhineland-Palatinate: part of the Rhineland with the Palatinate
- Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Rhode Island proper and Providence Plantations
- Saxony-Anhalt: part of Saxony with Anhalt
- Schleswig-Holstein: Schleswig and Holstein
Seven regions of France, several federal subjects of Russia and some autonomous communities of Spain also feature two or more placenames conjoined by a hyphen or with the word "and" (or its translation).
Capital cities
Former placenames
Includes defunct personal unions and dissolved political unions.
- Austria-Hungary: Austria and Hungary
- Denmark-Norway: Denmark and Norway
- Gilbert and Ellice Islands: Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands
- Great Britain and Ireland: Great Britain and Ireland
- Muscat and Oman: Muscat and Oman
- Oubangui-Chari: Ubangi and Shari
- Poland-Lithuania: Poland and Lithuania
- Rhodesia and Nyasaland: Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- Ruanda-Urundi: Rwanda and Burundi
- Serbia and Montenegro: Serbia and Montenegro
- Río de Oro y Saguía el Hamra: Río de Oro and Saguía el-Hamra
- Sweden-Finland: anachronistic term sometimes used for Sweden prior to its cession of Finland
- Sweden-Norway: Sweden and Norway
- Zimbabwe-Rhodesia: Zimbabwe and Southern Rhodesia, two names for the same territory
Triple placenames
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur: Provence, Alpes and Côte d'Azur, a region of France
- Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco: Elobey, Annobón and Corisco, a former Spanish territory
- Rhondda Cynon Taff: River Rhondda, River Cynon and River Taff in Wales
Traditionally conjoined entities
Separate entities historically treated as one single unit by tradition or convention:
- Alsace-Lorraine: Alsace and Lorraine
- Baker and Howland Islands: Baker Island and Howland Island
- Bohemia and Moravia: Bohemia and Moravia
- England and Wales: England and Wales
- Eupen and Malmedy: Eupen and Malmedy
- Matthew and Hunter Islands: Matthew Island and Hunter Island
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen: Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Smaller entities
For a longer, alphabetical list of double placenames that includes other counties, towns and settlements, see Category:Amalgamated placenames.
United Kingdom
England
- Bath and North East Somerset: Bath and north east Somerset
- Blackburn with Darwen: Blackburn with Darwen
- Brighton and Hove: Brighton and Hove
- Redcar and Cleveland: Redcar and Cleveland
- Telford and Wrekin: Telford and Wrekin
- Tyne and Wear: River Tyne and River Wear
Northern Ireland
- Dungannon and South Tyrone: Dungannon and south Tyrone
- Newry and Mourne: area around Newry and the Mourne Mountains
Scotland
- Dumfries and Galloway: Dumfriesshire and Galloway
- Lewis and Harris: one island consisting of Lewis and Harris
- Perth and Kinross: Perthshire and Kinrosshire
Wales
- Neath Port Talbot: Neath and Port Talbot
- Rhondda Cynon Taff: River Rhondda, River Cynon, and River Taff
United States
- La Cañada Flintridge: two unincorporated areas joined into one city in California
- Miami-Dade County: The city of Miami was merged with Dade County, Florida
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska: Named for Matanuska River and the town of Susitna.
- More than half of the land area of Alaska is within the Unorganized Borough which is administered directly by the state. Therefore, the United States Government considers the census areas within the Unorganized Borough to be county-equivalent entities. [1] Five of these have double (or triple) names:
Other countries
- Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown: borough of Dun Laoghaire and barony of Rathdown in Ireland
- San Andrés and Providencia: San Andrés Island and Providencia Island in Colombia