According to
toponymist George R. Stewart, the use of the suffix
-ville for settlements in the United States did not begin until after the
American Revolution. Previously, town-names did not usually use suffixes unless named after European towns in which case the name was borrowed wholly. When a suffix was needed,
-town (or the separate word Town) was typically added (as in
Charleston, South Carolina, originally Charles Town). In the middle of the 18th century, the suffixes
-borough (-boro) and
-burgh (
-burg) came into style. The use of
-town (-ton) also increased, in part due to the increasing use of personal names for new settlements. Thus the settlement founded by William Trent became known as
Trenton. These three suffixes,
-town/-ton,
-borough/-boro, and
-burgh/-burg became popular before the Revolution, while
-ville was almost completely unused until afterward. Its post-revolutionary popularity, along with the decline in the use of
-town, was due in part to the pro-French sentiments which spread through the country after the war. The founding of
Louisville, Kentucky, in 1780, for example, used not only the French suffix but the name of the French king,
Louis XVI. The popularity of
-ville was greatest in the southern and western (Appalachian) regions of the new country, as opposed to its lesser prevalence in New England. A few
-ville names pre-date the revolution, but most of them are named after persons whose name refers to European settlements or dukedoms. For example,
Granville, Massachusetts was named for the
Earl of Granville (he was named himself after
Granville, Manche (Normandy)). After the revolution and the decline in the use of
-borough and
-town, the two suffixes
-ville and
-burgh/-burg became by far the most popular for many decades. A difference between the usage of the two is that
-burgh/-burg was almost always appended to personal names while -ville was added to a variety of words. By the middle of the 19th century, the
-ville suffix began to lose its popularity, with
-wood,
-hurst,
-mere,
-dale, and others becoming common. However, the -ville suffix is still associated with the name of settlements in language use and popular culture.
-ville in popular culture • Thneedville, the setting of the movie
The Lorax •
Antville, an underground city in the animation
Anthony Ant • Coolsville, the setting of the
Scooby-Doo cartoon franchise • Danville, the setting of the American animated TV series
Phineas and Ferb •
Dogville, a 2003 drama film •
FarmVille, a 2009 farming video game • Friendlyville, the main setting in the children’s television series,
Finley the Fire Engine •
Hooterville, the setting of the American TV series
Petticoat Junction and
Green Acres •
Hooverville, an area where homeless people generally lived during the
Great Depression •
Pleasantville, a 1998 American feature film •
Psychoville a British television series • Retroville, the setting of the American animated TV series
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius •
Smallville, a town in the
Superman comics and related media •
Shelbyville, a fictional city in the American animated TV series
The Simpsons • Stylesville, the setting of the American animated TV series
Bratz • Townsville, the setting of the American animated TV series
The Powerpuff Girls •
Whoville, a fictional town created by author Theodor Seuss Geisel, under the name Dr. Seuss •
Whyville, an educational website targeted at children ==References==