About
Named For is a map of Lakewood, Ohio. Tap a street to learn why it has its name and where that story comes from, or, if nobody knows yet, to help find out.
Show the map's welcome again →
After Noah Veltman
This map exists because of Noah Veltman's History of San Francisco Place Names (2013), a map where you click a street and learn the story behind its name. The idea is his; Lakewood is our tribute to it.His write-up on how he built itwas the guide for how this one was built.
Where the history comes from
The entries come from Romance in Lakewood Streets by Margaret Manor Butler, published for the Lakewood Historical Society in 1962. Her sketches first ran weekly in the Lakewood Ledger in 1960 and 1961. Every entry here is a paraphrase of hers, cited to the page.
The book covers 75 of the 217 streets on this map. The rest are marked unknown, because a guess would be worse than nothing. They're collected on the Mystery board.
How to read an entry
- Verified
- A cited source states the origin plainly.
- Likely
- A cited source supports it but hedges, or part of it is inferred.
- Disputed
- Sources disagree, or the source itself is unsure.
- Unknown
- No source yet. You can help.
The full rules, including what counts as a source and whether we can infer a name, are on the policies page.
Community notes
Anyone can add a note to a street with what they know and where they learned it, or reply to someone else's note. Notes are public as soon as they're posted, labelled Unverified, or Sourcedwhen they cite a source. A verifier who reads the source marks the note Verified, or Likelywhen the source supports the origin without stating it. Either way the note stands as the answer for that street, with its author's name on it, and the street leaves the Unsolved list on the Mystery board.
A few designated local historians, such as the Lakewood Historical Society, can sign in to check notes against their sources, pin the best answer on a street, and tidy up. Their notes carry a badge.
More Lakewood street projects
Neighbors are walking every street A to Z and riding as much of the city as they can in a day.See the other Lakewood street projects →
Map data
Street lines © OpenStreetMap contributors. Basemap by OpenFreeMap, from OpenMapTiles.
Who made this
Built by proud Lakewoodite Nathan Noll.