Person
Houston
Texas (TX)est. 1836pop. 2,314,157/HYOO-stuhn/
The meaning
“Hugh's town”
How it got the name
The Allen brothers bought swampy land on Buffalo Bayou weeks after the Battle of San Jacinto and named their speculative town for the victorious general, then running for president of the new republic. It worked — Houston briefly became the capital. The Scottish surname behind it means 'Hugh's settlement.'