Which Portland? This Interactive Map Shows All the Duplicate Place Names in the U.S.

At assorted points successful history, radical successful Oregon, Maine, and a fig of different states asked themselves the pursuing question: What should we telephone the onshore astir the port? And the reply was simply “Portland.”

You tin determine for yourself whether that reflects an admirable utilitarian sensibility oregon a shameful deficiency of creativity. What isn’t up for statement is however communal the inclination is.

There are 17 Portlands successful the U.S., 2 each successful Wisconsin and Colorado. Not each of them are technically named owed to the beingness of a port; Indiana’s Portland, for example, is virtually conscionable named aft Portland, Maine. There are 15 Parises (again, 2 successful Wisconsin) and 12 Wyomings, including the authorities itself (yet again, 2 are successful Wisconsin).

In galore cases, discourse clues volition archer you which duplicate someone’s talking about. When a caller acquaintance you conscionable successful Manhattan says they unrecorded successful Brooklyn, they astir decidedly mean the borough close crossed the East River, alternatively than immoderate of the country’s different twelve oregon truthful Brooklyns (three of which are successful Wisconsin).

But it’s not ever rather that clear—so The Pudding’s Russell Samora, with assistance from Michelle McGhee, developed an interactive map to assistance you. Type successful a spot name, and the representation volition amusement you each the U.S. locales with that name, identifying which 1 is astir apt to beryllium referenced successful immoderate fixed county. Those probabilities are determined by 3 factors: proximity to the place, the place’s population, and the magnitude of the place’s Wikipedia page, the past of which adds “an other furniture of nuance for the taste importance/awareness of places that whitethorn not person a ample population,” the tract explains.

Places extracurricular the U.S. are included erstwhile relevant. Enter Pluto, for example, and the representation volition amusement you a reddish radius astir Pluto, West Virginia. Within that radius, a notation of Pluto astir apt refers to the West Virginia spot. But beyond the circle, you’re astir apt dealing with Pluto the dwarf planet.

The creators specify that the tool’s conclusions aren’t acceptable successful stone. “Please enactment that this is simply a precise opinionated instrumentality connected answering this question. Consider it a speech starter, not ender,” the tract reads. You tin adjacent taxable feedback to assistance them grow oregon amended their determination feedback.

Learn much and research the representation for yourself here.