Princeton

Where Princeton comes from

From prince + -ton (“town”), originally in honor of crown princes or princes of the British Empire but later chiefly in honor of others with the name Prince or locations named Princeton. Doublet of Princetown. Cf. Princes Town, Princeville, Kingston, Kingstone, Coniston, Kingstown, Queenston, and Queenstown. In particular, the British Columbian town is named for Edward VII, who was known as Albert, Prince of Wales, during the reign of his mother Queen Victoria. The New Jersey borough is named for William III—who became king of England through marriage to Mary II—in honor of his own separate Dutch title of Prince of Orange. The North Carolina town and Nebraska and Ontario communities are named for the New Jersey borough; the Missouri city is named for the Battle of Princeton which occurred there in the American Revolution; and the Illinois city and Florida CDP are named for the university named for its location in the borough. The given name derives from the prestigious university. The Massachusetts town is named for clergyman Thomas Prince, and the Wisconsin city and town are named for the Massachusetts town. The Minnesota city is named for its founder John S. Prince, and the Idaho CDP is named after the Minnosota city. The Indiana city is named for politician William Prince, and the Kansas city is named for the Indiana city. The Texas city is named for landowner Prince Dowlin. The Kentucky city is named for landowner William Prince.
— Wiktionary's entry for Princeton
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1935
    Princeton Lyman born
    American diplomat
  2. 1950
    First appearance
    #3,329 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 2017
    Peak, #402
    793 babies named Princeton — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name.
Namesakes
  • Princeton Lyman · American diplomat, 1935–2018

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.