This is a list of geographic portmanteaus. Portmanteaus (also called blends) are names constructed by combining elements of two, or occasionally more, other names.
For the most part, the geographic names in this list were derived from two other names or words. Those derived from three or more names are usually considered acronyms or initialisms and can be found in the List of geographic acronyms and initialisms. However, there are exceptions to this two/three rule in both lists, so it is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule.
Note that not all combinations of two names are considered portmanteaus. Simple concatenation of two names (whether hyphenated or not) does not produce a portmanteau. Nor does a combinative form of one name plus the full name of another (examples: Eurasia, Czechoslovakia). These kinds of names are excluded from this list.
Regions named from their components Some regions (including countries and provinces) have names that are portmanteaus of subregions or cities within the region.
Countries Senegambia Confederation — Senegal and The Gambia Tanzania — Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Chinese provinces Some Chinese provinces have names that are blends of their two largest cities. Anhui — Anqing and Huizhou (now Huangshan City) Fujian — Fuzhou and Jianzhou (now Nanping) Gansu — Ganzhou and Suzhou Jiangsu — Jiangning (now Nanjing) and Suzhou
Korean provinces During the Joseon Kingdom, seven Korean provinces (all but the region around the capital) were named by combining the first characters of their two major cities. The provinces were reorganized in the 1890s but the names are still in use. All these traditional provincial names are carried forward by two current provinces and for all except Gangwon (which is the only one where the two carrying the name were split between North and South Korea) a North and a South province of the same name. However note that for most former provinces, the two current provinces with the name are usually not entirely coextensive with the former province.
The dates of the former provinces are those when they carried that name; they often existed with a different name before that year. Chungcheong Province — Chungju and Cheongju, former province (1356 to 1895); the name is currently carried by North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong provinces in South Korea Gangwon Province (historical) — Gangneung and Wonju, former province (1395 to 1895); name now carried by Gangwon Province, South Korea and Kangwon Province (North Korea) Gyeongsang Province — Gyeongju and Sangju, former province (1314–1895); name is currently carried by South Gyeongsang Province and North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea Hamgyong Province — Hamhung and Kyongsong, former province (1509–1895); name currently carried by North Hamgyong Province and South Hamgyong Province in North Korea Hwanghae Province — Hwangju and Haeju, former province (1395–1895); name carried by North Hwanghae Province and South Hwanghae Province in North Korea Jeolla Province — Jeonju and Naju (The first character of Naju is actually "ra"—"r" changes to "n" in the initial position, and the combination "nr" changes to "ll" due to phonological characteristics of the Korean language); now in South Korea Pyongan Province — Pyongyang and Anju, former province (1413–1895), now in North Korea
Somalia provinces Two of Somalia's federal member states are portmanteaus of the smaller administrative regions (gobols) within the states. Galmudug — Galguduud and Mudug Hirshabelle — Hiran and Middle Shabelle
Vanuatu provinces Half of Vanuatu's provincial names are portmanteaus of their main islands or island groups. Sanma Province — Espiritu Santo and Malo Island Shefa Province — Shepherd Islands and Efate Torba Province — Torres Islands and Banks Islands
Merged towns Sometimes a portmanteau name is created from the names of predecessor towns. Names that are merely a concatenation of the predecessor names, such as Budapest, are excluded. Beaverdell, British Columbia — Beaverton and Rendell Brockton, Ontario — Brant, Greenock, and Walkerton Clarington, Ontario — Clarke and Darlington, two townships Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344, Saskatchewan — three rural municipalities: Cory No. 344, Warman No. 374 and Park No. 375 Fairborn, Ohio — Fairfield and Osborn Glanbrook, Hamilton, Ontario — Glanford and Binbrook Grenola, Kansas — Green Field and Canola Kenora, Ontario — Keewatin, Norman, and Rat Portage Őrbottyán, Pest county, Hungary — Őrszentmiklós and Vácbottyán. Ramara, Ontario — Rama and Mara Townships Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa — Sandown and Bryanston Stonewood, West Virginia — Stonewall and Norwood Temvik, North Dakota — Templeton and Larvik
Schools and school districts Some school districts that serve two or three towns have names that are either blends of those towns' names or blends of county names that the district covers parts of. Carlmont High School (San Carlos, California and Belmont, California) Chariho Regional School District (Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton), three towns in southwestern Rhode Island who share the district. Glenbard Township High School District 87 (Glen Ellyn, Illinois and Lombard, Illinois), two villages who combined to create the district Kenowa Hills Public Schools (Kent and Ottawa counties), created in 1963 near Grand Rapids, Michigan Lin-Wood Public School (Lincoln, New Hampshire and Woodstock, New Hampshire), in Grafton County Midpark High School (Middleburg Heights, Ohio and Brook Park, Ohio) former high school whose name survives in Berea–Midpark High School, in Berea, Ohio Montabella Community Schools (Montcalm and Isabella counties), created in 1966 in Michigan Nordonia Hills City School District (Northfield (Village and Center), Macedonia and Sagamore Hills) in Summit County, Ohio Schalmont Central School District (Schenectady, Albany, and Montgomery Counties in New York), covers parts of all three counties Woodmore Local School District (Woodville, Ohio and Elmore, Ohio) in Sandusky and Ottawa Counties
Other regions portmanteaued from their components Afrabia — Africa and Arabia Benelux — Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Chambana, Illinois — Champaign and Urbana, Illinois Chindia — China and India Eurabia — Europe and Arabia Gerbangkertosusila — Gresik, Bangkalan, Mojokerto, Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Lamongan Rural Municipality of Kellross No. 247, Saskatchewan — Kelliher and Leross, two villages within the municipality Lamorinda — a region of Contra Costa County, California comprising Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda Rural Municipality of Mayfield No. 406, Saskatchewan — Maymont and Fielding, two communities within the municipality Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin — Sauk City and Prairie du Sac Talsinki — Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland, informal region around these two capitals, especially in regards to the proposed tunnel between them Valguedas — Valtierra and Arguedas, informal name for the area of two Navarrese villages
Border portmanteaus A border portmanteau combines the names of two, or occasionally three, adjacent polities (countries, states, provinces, counties, cities) to form a name for a region, town, body of water, or other feature on or near their mutual border.
Regions
Generalized border regions These are generalized (and unofficial) regions usually centered on cities near state borders in the United States. They usually extend across state lines and their names are portmanteaus of two or three state names. Arklahoma (Arkansas and Oklahoma) region centered around Fort Smith, Arkansas Arklamiss (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) region near Monroe, Louisiana Ark-La-Tex (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) a U.S. socio-economic region where Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma intersect; urban center is Shreveport, Louisiana Cal-Neva (California and Nevada) centered in the Sierra Nevada mountains west of Reno, Nevada Florgia (Florida and Georgia) centered on Jacksonville, Florida Georgialina (Georgia and South Carolina) a term for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) of Augusta, Georgia and its surrounding areas Illiana (Illinois and Indiana) centered on Danville, Illinois Illowa (Illinois and Iowa) region centered around the Quad Cities area Kentuckiana (Kentucky and Indiana) a popular local name for the Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area, centered on Louisville, Kentucky and spreading across the Ohio River into Indiana Michiana (Michigan and Indiana) region whose main urban center is South Bend, Indiana Minnesconsin (Minnesota and Wisconsin) area of northwestern Wisconsin near the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area (unlike the others, this region does not extend across the state line) Texhoma (Texas and Oklahoma) centered on Wichita Falls, Texas and not necessarily distinct from Texoma Texoma (Texas and Oklahoma) region surrounding Lake Texoma
Other portmanteau regions Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia Kennessee (Kentucky and Tennessee) a formerly disputed strip of land along the Kentucky-Tennessee border
Towns, villages, and localities § This symbol marks localities with no current population; some of them never had any population.
Blends of country, state, and province names Note: places listed on the same line are immediately across the border from each other. Some others with non-similar names are also across a border from each other. § Alaflora, Alabama (Alabama and Florida) former logging town in Escambia County § Alaga, Alabama (Alabama and Georgia) town and shipping point where the Alabama Midland Railway crossed the Chattahoochee River Alcan Border, Alaska (Alaska and Canada) port of entry where the Alaska Highway (formerly the Alcan Highway) crosses into Alaska Alsask, Saskatchewan (Alberta and Saskatchewan) Arkana, Louisiana and Arkana, Arkansas (Arkansas and Louisiana) town of some 500 people with post office (1890–1931) in Lafayette County, Arkansas and Bossier Parish, Louisiana; now reduced to a single tavern on the Louisiana side of the border, Arkinda, Arkansas (Arkansas and Indian Territory, now Oklahoma) former trading post with the Choctaw Nation just across the Indian Territory line § Arkla, Arkansas (Arkansas and Louisiana), former railroad stop in Chicot County § Arkmo, Missouri (Arkansas and Missouri) likely former stop on the Kennett & Osceola Railroad in Dunklin County Arkoma, Oklahoma (Arkansas and Oklahoma) Armorel, Arkansas (Arkansas, Missouri, and initials of Robert E. Lee Wilson) § Artex, Arkansas (Arkansas and Texas) locality and former post office about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Texarkana Calexico, California (California and Mexico) Calexico Lodge, California (California and Mexico) place in San Diego County near Boulevard, California § Calneva, California (California and Nevada) former town near Calneva Lake, east of Honey Lake Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada (California, Nevada, and Arizona) § Calor, California (California and Oregon) former railroad stop in Siskiyou County, some 8 miles (13 kilometers) east of Dorris, California § Calor, Oregon (California and Oregon) former railroad stop on Southern Pacific's Cascade Line § Calvada, California (California and Nevada) former stop on the Central Pacific Railroad Calvada Springs, California (California and Nevada), now known as Charleston View § Calzona, California (California and Arizona) former town with a post office (1909–14) and rail depot (1909–17) on the Arizona and California Railway; site now west of Big River, California § Carotenn, North Carolina (North Carolina and Tennessee) another name for Lost Cove, North Carolina, a former logging town and moonshining locale, now a ghost town Carova Beach, North Carolina (North Carolina and Virginia)