Czech Local Names in the U.S.A.

Abstract

Czech local names have appeared in the map of the U.S.A. mostly after the great emigration of our countrymen to the U.S.A. Czech emigrants often gave their new American settlements names which reminded them of their old home. These names were the names of places they came from, the names of their nationalities, the names of great people of their own nation and also the names of founders of new settlements (which were not always of Czech origin) or the names of well known persons. The founders of these names were not only Czechs, but also German emigrants from Czech countries; two names were given even by Frenchmen. Nearly 200 local names of settlements in the U.S.A. are of Czech origin. Over 50 per cent of them are the names of Czech and Moravian communities, about 25 per cent are names of persons. Most of these American communities are small settlements. Only 8 of them had in 1960 more than 1,000 inhabitants, but 32 of them had post offices (1964). The local names are mostly in the American form; some of them disappear because of abolition or annexation of the communities. Some of them may belong to the past nowadays, but we can often find them in older literature. The names in this article have the same form which we can find in literature or maps. Czech local names are a testimony of the number, extension and effeciency of the Czech element in various regions of the U.S.A. This testimony will be the memory of Czech countrymen even after their assimilation.