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Person

Eugene

Oregon (OR)est. 1846pop. 177,899/yoo-JEEN/

The meaning

“Well-born (eugenes)”

How it got the name

Eugene Skinner built a cabin on a butte in 1846; the settlement was Skinner's Mudhole before residents settled on his considerably more dignified first name. The Greek root eugenes means 'well-born' — an unintended joke for a town that started as a mudhole.

Former names

  1. Skinner's Mudhole
  2. Eugene City
  3. Eugene