Toponymies of places in New York's Capital District

The toponymies of places in New York's Capital District are a varied lot, from non-English languages such as Native American, Dutch, and German to places named for famous people or families, of either local or national fame. Also, in the early 19th century, many places in the Hudson Valley, Capital District and points west were either named or renamed after places from Classical Antiquity (e.g. Athens, Cairo, Carthage, Greece, Ilion, Ithaca, Phoenicia, Rome, Syracuse, Troy, Utica)

Settlements

Place NameCountyToponymyLanguage of originYearNotes or previous namesAlbanyAlbanyDuke of AlbanyEnglish1636Fort Orange, Fuyck, Beverwyck, WilliamstadtAlplausSchenectadyAal Plats, "place of the eels"DutchAltamontAlbanyHigh mountainLatin1887KnowersvilleAmsterdam(city and town)MontgomeryAmsterdam, NetherlandsDutch1804VeddersburgAncramColumbiatown in Scotland where the Livingston family originatedScottish1814Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, GallatinArgyle(town and village)WashingtonArgyllshire, Scotland where early settlers were fromScottishAthens (town and village)GreeneAthens, GreeceAusterlitzColumbiaBattle of AusterlitzGerman1818BallstonSaratoga Eliphalet Ball a surname Ball's Town, BalltonBethlehemAlbanyin honor of the religious in the communityEnglishBleeckerFultonBarent Bleecker, early settlersurname of possible Dutch originBloodvilleSaratogaIsaiah Blood, operator of the Ballston Axe & Scythe WorksEnglishBoghtAlbanybend of riverDutchGroesbeck's CornersBrunswickRensselaerpossibly for Brunswick-Lüneburg, GermanyGerman1807Burnt HillsSaratogaCondition of the area at the time the first settlers arrivedCairoGreeneCairo, Egypt1808Cambridge(town and Cambridge)WashingtonCambridge, England1788CanaanColumbiaCanaan, Connecticut1788Kings DistrictCanajoharie (town and village)MontgomeryCanajoharie, a town, translated as "a washed kettle" or "the pot that washes itself"Iroquoian languages Name traced to a hole cut out by a 40-foot waterfallCatskill (town and village)GreeneDutchCharlestonMontgomeryCharles Van Epps, an early settlerCharltonSaratogaVillage of Charlton, UKEnglish1792Queensboro, New RobertsonClaverackColumbiaCorruption of "clover fields" or "clover reach"DutchLower Manor of RensselaerClermontColumbiaClear mountainFrench1728Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, GallatinClifton ParkSaratogaDerived from Nanning Harmansen; after he purchased piece of land from Native Americans, he wrote Lord Cornbury to request letters of Patent for Land for said purchase, also stating that it be known as "Your name of Cliftons park"."Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History" by Richard Dorrough published in the Ballston Journal. Copies of the original documents in Dorrough's possession.English1829CliftonCoeymansAlbanyBarent Pieterse Coeymanssurname of possible Dutch originCohoesAlbanyCohos, translated as "pine tree"AlgonquianColonie (town and village)AlbanyColonye; Colony of Rensselaerswyck surrounding AlbanyDutch1895CopakeColumbiaCook-pake or Ack-kook-peek ("Snake Pond")Native American1824Derived from a lake in the townCorinth (town and village)SaratogaCorinth, GreeceGreek1818Jessups LandingCoxsackie (town and village)Greene"Hoot-owl place" or "nest of many owls" Old Dutch Place Names from www.ancestry.com.Koixhacking or KoixhackungDaySaratogaEliphaz Day, noted lumbermanEnglish1827ConcordDelansonSchenectadyDelaware and Hudson RailwayEnglish1893Toad HollowDelmarAlbany1892Adamsville; chosen by the Albany & Susquehanna Railway in order to avoid confusion with Adams, Jefferson CountyDresdenWashington1822South BayDuanesburgSchenectadyLast name of man who purchased the landedEnglish1765Duane's BushEast GreenbushRensselaerGrennen Bosch (pinewood or literally, "Green Bush")Dutch1858ClintonEastonWashingtonEnglish1788EdinburgSaratogaEdinburgh, ScotlandEnglish1808NorthfieldFloridaMontgomeryState of FloridaSpanishFondaMontgomeryDouw Fonda, settler who was scalped during an Indian raid in 1780Italian1780CaughnawagaFort Ann(town and village)Washington1775WestfieldFort Edward(town and village)Washington1818Fort JohnsonMontgomerySir William Johnson, 1st Baronet1912Mount Johnson, AkinFultonvilleMontgomeryRobert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat 1824Van Epps SwampGalway (town and village)SaratogaMisspelling of Galloway on incorporation of the townEnglish1796New Galloway; originally named for Galloway, ScotlandGansevoortSaratogaPeter GansevoortDutch1792New RobertsonGhentColumbiaGhent, BelgiumDutch1818GlenMontgomeryJacob Saunders Glen, an early settler 1725GlenvilleSchenectadyAlexander Lindsay Glen1650sGloversvilleFultonGlove factory in the cityEnglish1828Granville(town and village)WashingtonJohn Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville1780Green IslandAlbanyTurkey Farm of Green Island1834Tibbits IslandGreenwich(town and village)Washington1803Whipple City, Union VillageGuilderlandAlbanyProvince of Gelderland, origin of many of the town's settlersDutch1803GuilderlandtHadleySaratogaHadley, MassachusettsEnglish1801HagamanMontgomeryJoseph Hagaman, founder 1777Hagamans MillsHalfmoonSaratogaAnglicized from Halve MaanDutch to English1788Orange (1816-1820)HamptonWashingtonCambridge, EnglandHampton Corners, GreenfieldHebronWashingtonHebron, Connecticut1786HudsonColumbiaHudson River; ultimately Henry HudsonEnglish1785Claverack's LandingHudson FallsWashingtonHudson River 1792Sandy HillHuletts LandingWashingtonThe Hulett familyBosom BayJohnstown (town and city)FultonSir William Johnson, founderEnglish1762John's TownJonesvilleSaratogaJohn Jones, "first collector of the Town of Half Moon"Kinderhook (town and village)ColumbiaKinderhoek ("Children's corner")Dutch1814Livingston Forge, Scotchtown, GallatinLathamAlbanyFormer hotel owner William G. LathamEnglishLivingstonColumbiaLivingston Manor1686LoudonvilleAlbanyJohn Campbell, 4th Earl of LoudounEnglishIreland's CornersMaltaSaratogaThere was a malt brewery in the town in its early days, now known as Maltaville1802MechanicvilleSaratogaoccupation of early residents1829MenandsAlbanyLouis Menand, founder of the village1842Middle GranvilleWashingtonSee entry from Granville''' |- |Milton |Saratoga |Either for Irish poet John Milton or a shortening of "Mill-town" |English |1792

|Minden |Montgomery |Probably for the town of Minden, Germany |German

|Mohawk |Montgomery |Mohawk River |Dutch language | |Derived from Mohican |- |Moreau |Saratoga |Jean Victor Moreau, French general |French |1805 | |-id="N" |Nelliston |Montgomery |Andrew Nellis, member of the founding family

|New Lebanon |Columbia |Mount Lebanon Shaker Society | |1818

|Newtonville |Albany |John M. Newton, early landowner |English

|Niskayuna |Schenectady |Ni-sti-go-wo-ne; roughly "extensive corn flats" |Mohawk

|North Granville |Washington |colspan="4"|See entry from Granville'|- |North Greenbush |Rensselaer |colspan="2"|see entry for East Greenbush|1858 |Clinton |- |Northumberland |Saratoga |English county of the same name |English |1798 | |-id="P" |PalatinePalatine Bridge |Montgomery |PalatinateA bridge in the settlement that spans the Mohawk River |German

|Philmont |Columbia |George P. Philip, who constructed a dam to power his factory via hydroelectricity, and so doing, built a reservoir in the Taconic Mountains |English |1878 |Factory Hill |- |Pittstown |Rensselaer |William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham |English |1761 |George III named the town in honor of the leading statesman—and Prime Minister—of the time |- |PutnamPutnam Station |Washington |Israel Putnam |-id="R" |Rensselaer |Rensselaer |The Van Rensselaer family |Dutch |1792

|Rexford |Saratoga |Edward Rexford | |1792 |Rexford Flats |- |Root |Montgomery |General Erastus Root, New York state senator

|Rotterdam |Schenectady |Rotterdam, Netherlands |Dutch

|-id="S" |St. Johnsville (town and village) |Montgomery |Either Alexander St. John, surveyor, or St. John's Church, an early name for the area | | 1818 |St. John's Church |- |Saratoga (town)Saratoga Springs |Saratoga |Known to be a corruption of a Native American name Se-rach-to-que |Mohawk |N/A1819 |It is unsure whether it means "hillside country of the great water", "place of the swift water", or even "floating scum upon the water" |- |Schenectady |Schenectady |Schau-naugh-ta-da, translated as "on that side of the pinery" or "place beyond the pine plains" |Mohawk language

|Schuylerville |Saratoga |Philip Schuyler, general in the American Revolution |Dutch language |1831 |Saratoga; sometimes referred to as Old Saratoga or Olde Saratoga |- |Scotia |Schenectady |Scotland |Latin |1650s | |-id="T" |Taghkanic |Columbia |Older spelling of "Taconic" |Native American |1803?

|Tribes Hill |Montgomery |Disputed (see below)

|The name comes from either the earlier name of "Tripes Hill", so named because of a female settler who made tripe, or a popular gathering spot for Iroquois tribes |- |Troy |Rensselaer |Classical Troy, from Homer's Iliad|Greek |1789 | |-id="V" |Valatie |Columbia |Vaaltje'' ("little falls")Dutch1665VictorySaratogaDefeat of the British at the Battles of Saratoga in 17771849Vischer FerrySaratogaEldert VischerDutch1783VoorheesvilleAlbanyAlonzo B. Voorhees, railroad attorneyDutchUnion DepotWaterfordSaratogaDerived from name of villageEnglish1794Half Moon PointWatervlietAlbanyProbably from the town of Watervliet, Belgium (then in the Netherlands)Dutchlate 19th C.Gibbonsville, West TroyWhitehall(town and WhitehallWashington1788Skenesborough

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