French
Montpelier
Vermont (VT)est. 1787pop. 8,074/mont-PEEL-yer/
The meaning
“Disputed — possibly 'mount of the pilgrim' or 'bare hill'”
How it got the name
Chartered in 1781 during the height of American gratitude toward France, one of a wave of French place-names adopted after the Revolution. It is the smallest state capital in the country by population, and the only one without a McDonald's. The French original's etymology remains contested even in France.