The Culture of Street Names

When you visit a typical English village for the first time you probably won't need a map. In most English villages you can guide yourself just by using the road names.

For example, if you arrive by train then you will probably emerge from the station onto Station Road. Walk down Station Road (past the Railway Arms / Tavern or Inn) and you will come to the High Street. Walk past all the shops on the High Street and eventually you will find Church Lane. Walk down Church Lane and you will find the village's pretty Norman church.

If you visit a German village then you could probably use the exact same directions (translated into German).

It seems to be a common feature in Europe that the most popular or most common street names are named for important landmarks. For example, streets are commonly named after churches, stations and schools. The main road, where most of the shops are located, is normally called 'Main Street' (in the UK it may often be called the 'High Street' instead).

In north America things are a little different. Most European towns have grown organically over centuries, often around important local landmarks such as a church or market. North American towns, on the other hand, have more often been planned, usually using a grid system. If you have a grid system then it makes sense to number your roads.

According to City Lab half of all American cities have some sort of numerical street naming system. The Geography of Street Numbering in US Cities looks in some depth into the advantages and popularity of giving streets numbers as names.

You can compare the popularity of different street names in north America and Europe in the table below. This shows the top ten most popular street names in the USA, Canada, England and Germany.

USA	Canada	England	Germany (translated)
Second	Second	High Street	Main Street
Third	First	Church Lane	School Street
First	Third	Station Road	Garden Street
Fourth	Main	Church Street	Station Street
Park	Fourth	Mill Lane	Village Street
Fifth	Maple	Church Road	Mountain Street
Main	Fifth	Green Lane	Birch Road
Sixth	Park	Main Street	Lime Street
Oak	Church	School Lane	Church Street
Seventh	Sixth	New Road	Forest Street

You can see for yourself how in the USA and Canada numbers dominate the top ten most popular street names. In Canada the Maple is very popular (for obvious reasons), whereas in the USA the Oak appears to be the most popular tree.

Once you get past the highest numbers then both the USA and Canada do start to name streets for local landmarks, buildings or geographical features. For example, streets might be named 'Park', 'Church' or 'Lake'.

If you are interested in the cultural and historical background of street names then you might also like:

The Most Popular Street Names in America
How Popular is Your German Street Name?

Sources:
USA street names - FiveThirtyEight
Canada - the10and3
England - Journal of Economic Geography
Germany - Die häufigsten Straßennamen in Deutschland