Washington, Montana, the Dakotas — and Massachusetts: A Comparative Approach to Street Naming

Abstract

The present paper on the street names of Washington State, Montana, and North and South Dakota (hereafter nicknamed “Dadamowa”) is a preliminary and partial analysis of the street names found in the Carrier Route tapes of the United States Postal Service. Our comparative report on both Massachusetts and the Dadamowa region provides the first extensive “interstate” survey of the nature and variability of naming practices. The most obvious differences in this five state comparison stem from the grid patterns evident in the Dadamowa region. However, our conclusion finds no radical differences in the ways the streets are named in these states.