ToponymicaUS City Name Origins
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Geographic/Botanical

Anchorage

Alaska (AK)est. 1914pop. 286,075/ANG-ker-ij/

The meaning

“A place where vessels anchor”

How it got the name

The tent city that sprang up in 1914 for the Alaska Railroad was labeled simply 'Anchorage' on shipping manifests because that is what the spot was: the anchorage at Ship Creek. Residents voted for the name Alaska City instead; the federal government ignored them and kept the shipping label.

Former names

  1. Ship Creek Landing
  2. Dgheyaytnu (Dena'ina)
  3. Anchorage