Person
Charlotte
North Carolina (NC)est. 1768pop. 911,311/SHAR-luht/
The meaning
“Free man (feminine of Charles)”
How it got the name
Named in 1768 for the young German-born queen consort of George III — which is why the surrounding county is Mecklenburg, after her home duchy. Seven years later the town's residents were among the first to declare independence, making Charlotte a city named for a queen it promptly repudiated.