10 Origins Of Famous City Names
1. New York
Possibly the most famous and instantly recognisable city in the world. No other city has inspired as many films, books and songs as New York has.
The City began its life in 1642 when the Dutch founded a permanent trading post on manhattan island, naming it New Amsterdam. The original settlers sold animal skins which accounts for the beaver that can be seen on the seal of New York City. As the town grew, a wall was built around it for protection. The small road that ran alongside the wall was named Wall Street, the same Wall Street that is now one of the financial centres of the world. In 1674, the city was taken control of by the British and they renamed it New York in honour of the Duke of the english city of York.
New York is commonly referred to as The Big Apple. This nickname was popularised in the 1920s by a sports journalist named John J. Fitzgerald. The term Apple was used in reference to the prizes given for winning horse races. As New Yorks prizes were incredibly substantial in size they became known as The Big Apple a phrase that was later adopted for use as a reference to the city itself.