[Portland, Maine] was formally founded in 1786 and named after the English Isle of Portland. In turn, the city of Portland, Oregon, was named after Portland, Maine.
I failed at finding how the Isle of Portland got its name but saw this:
In Dorset, England:
The origin of the name “Portland” on the Isle of Portland is uncertain, but theories include:
It may be a corruption of the Celtic word “Port Lann” (“harbor by the cliff”).
It may derive from the Old English “portelond” (“land by the harbor”).
One of the founders (Francis Pettygrove) was originally from Portland Maine, and the other was from Boston. They both wanted to name the new city after their hometown.
It’s entirely possible that part of Pettygrove why wanted to name it after his hometown is because he thought it would be fitting for river port city. But idk if he ever stated anything to that effect.
Nope, the name was decided with coin flip. Lol Could ended up as Boston.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Penny
Going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole:
I failed at finding how the Isle of Portland got its name but saw this:
https://etymologyworld.com/item/portland
Its the first time I’ve seen the site though and that page feels a bit AI generated
That’s a little disappointing.
Inland port -> Portland seemed nice and tidy
But why was Portland one of the options?
One of the founders (Francis Pettygrove) was originally from Portland Maine, and the other was from Boston. They both wanted to name the new city after their hometown.
It’s entirely possible that part of Pettygrove why wanted to name it after his hometown is because he thought it would be fitting for river port city. But idk if he ever stated anything to that effect.
i thought you were kidding until i saw the wikipedia link. that’s fascinating, and very cool that they still have the penny