Kentucky by Heart: An interesting look at the state’s unusual number of female place names

By Steve Flairty
Kentucky by Heart

While recently perusing sources to find interesting tidbits about our state, I noticed something striking in Robert Rennick’s book, Kentucky’s Place Names. In Kentucky, there is an amazing abundance of communities, or, at least, former post office locations, that have female first names. Yes, there are male first names, too, but way fewer.

I dug deeper to find some information available about many of those fair female designations of place across the state. As mentioned, they originally were post office addresses, and some were discontinued in time, some overcame the test of time and exist today. I’ll share what I found though won’t promise that my search is exhaustive.

Hannah, in Lawrence County, was named for the first postmaster, Hannah Boggs. Eloise, also Lawrence County, was named after landowner-developer Jay Northrup’s daughter. The same county also has a community named Gladys, reportedly picked from a list of names gotten from a local school! And don’t forget Madge, Ledocio, Ellen, Mattie, and Martha. Apparently, no one knows for sure where the name for the county seat, Louisa, originated, but it’s probably of a female source.

Fredonia (Caldwell), according to tradition, was laid out in 1836 by Harvey Bigham and named after his infant daughter. Then there was the congressman who liked his teenage housekeeper so much that he suggested her name, Grace, for the local post office location in Clay County. Way back in 1900, Kate Patton named the hamlet, Edna, in Magoffin County, after her daughter. Also, the county instituted Gypsy before that, in 1883; she was the daughter of a teacher.

How about naming a place after your future wife? William Bowling did, calling the community Datha (Jackson). I personally like Faye, my mother’s name, but that community name belongs to Elliott County, designated after the first postmaster, Faye Redwine, in 1922. There are Eliza (Johnson) and Elizaville (Fleming), named after different people.

If it was so that naming places after the female gender indicates progressive policies, Kentucky would be a very progressive state, but I digress.

Pulaski County has Ruth and Naomi—very biblical—along with the more secular Nancy. Mousie (Knott) is named after the daughter of a big landowner. Reportedly she had an older sister named Kitty . . . no kidding.

Bonnieville (Hart) is named for a Scottish folk heroine, Bonnie Annie Laurie, and the name Burna (Livingston) was chosen in 1906 specifically from a list of local girls nominated for the designation.

Penny and Phyllis became mail sites in Pike County, with Phyllis originally called Grapevine. Olga and Ono were sites in Russell County. Lida (Laurel) was named after the daughter of Congressman Don Edwards and Lola (Livingston) the daughter of the first postmaster there. Linnie (Casey) is now an extinct community, but according to Rennick’s book, is “believed to have been in the vicinity of the fish hatchery on Kettle Creek.”

Here is an expanded sampling of communities/formerly postal sites around Kentucky (with counties):

Lydia Jacobs sent word that her town, where Alice Lloyd College is located, is named after a girl of literary origin. “My hometown, Pippa Passes, is named from a Robert Browning poem in which a little girl named Pippa passes through the village singing, ‘God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.’”

Yes, Kentucky communities “en-gender” those kinds of sentiments. Let me know if you hear of more.

Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)