Why Does Michigan Have So Many Places Named After Foreign Places?
Michigan's map is full of foreign and classical town names — Paris, Moscow, Athens, Rome — left over from an 1800s naming boom, and locals pronounce most of them their own way.
Drive around Michigan and the map reads like a world atlas that fell down the stairs. There’s a Paris, a Moscow, a Hamburg, a Berlin, and a Vienna. There’s an Athens, a Rome, a Hanover, and a Dublin. And yes — famously — there’s a town locals pronounce nothing like the country. So why does Michigan have a Charlotte that’s “shar-LOT,” a Milan that’s “MY-lun,” and a Pinckney, all within driving distance?
The plain answer: the 1800s naming boom. When Michigan was being settled and platted in the early-to-mid 19th century, hundreds of new townships and villages needed names all at once. Settlers grabbed names from everywhere. Some took the European cities they or their families came from. Some took classical places they admired. There was a craze for ancient Greek and Roman names, which is why Michigan has an Athens, a Sparta, a Romeo, and a Rome. Others pulled from Bible places, or from the names of land speculators and early postmasters. Some names were tributes to the old country. Others were pure marketing, meant to make a brand-new frontier settlement sound established and grand.
The fun twist for outsiders: Michigan towns almost always say these names their own way. They ignore the original pronunciation entirely. Michigan’s Milan is “MY-lun,” not “mi-LAHN.” Charlotte is “shar-LOT.” Pompeii, over in Gratiot County, is “pom-pay-eye.” It catches visitors every time. The rule, once again: in Michigan, a familiar-looking name is probably pronounced in an unfamiliar way.
Where to see it
Take a back-roads drive through southern Michigan and you can pass through Athens, Sparta, and Vienna in an afternoon. Just don't try to say them like a world traveler.