British/European
Portland
Oregon (OR)est. 1845pop. 635,749/PORT-luhnd/
The meaning
“Land by the port”
How it got the name
The two claim-holders could not agree: Asa Lovejoy of Massachusetts wanted Boston, Francis Pettygrove of Maine wanted Portland. They flipped a copper penny twice out of three. Pettygrove won. The Portland Penny sits in a museum downtown, and the entire identity of the Pacific Northwest's largest city rests on a coin landing the right way up.
Former names
- The Clearing
- Stumptown (nickname)
- Portland