Person
Dallas
Texas (TX)est. 1841pop. 1,302,868/DAL-uhs/
The meaning
“Meadow dwelling (Scots Gaelic dail)”
How it got the name
John Neely Bryan said only that he named it 'for my friend Dallas' and never specified which one. The leading candidate is George Mifflin Dallas, Polk's vice president and a champion of Texas annexation. Other contenders include his brother Commodore Alexander Dallas and a neighbor of Bryan's named Joseph Dallas.
Disputed / alternate theory
Commodore Alexander Dallas of the US Navy and a settler named Joseph Dallas are both defended by local historians.