5 Alberta place names you didn't know were named after people
There are countless towns, cities, villages, and hamlets scattered across Alberta, and every single one has a story behind its name. Some have Indigenous names that go back thousands of years. Others were borrowed from places settlers had left behind.
Many were even picked at random, but over time, these names tend to take on a life of their own. We flipped through a copy of Abee to Zama City: How Alberta’s cities, towns, villages and hamlets got their names, by Harry M. Sanders, and pulled out some places you might not realize were actually named after people, whether it’s a full name, a nickname, or even an acronym.
Claresholm
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It literally means “Clare’s home,” and if you’ve never made the connection, you’re not alone. Located 125 kilometres south of Calgary, got its name when Canadian Pacific railway superintendent John Niblock named a railway station based on a suggestion from his wife, Clare. Her residence in Medicine Hat was called “Clare’s Home,” which is where the name comes from.
Dapp
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Located 94 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, this hamlet got its name from an acronym. It comes from David Alexander Pennicuick, the chief accountant for the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway. When the railway arrived in 1917, the area was known as Eunice. The railway ended up using Pennicuick’s initials to name the station, and the name stuck. Dapp Creek and Dapp Lake were later given the same name.
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Canmore
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While it’s technically more of a nickname, this picturesque mountain town, located 92 kilometres west of Calgary, was named by CPR director Donald A. Smith after Scottish King Malcolm III, who ruled from 1058 to 1093. His nickname was Canmore, or ceann mòr in Gaelic, which translates to “big head.”
Fallis
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The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway named a lot of towns between Edmonton and B.C., and eventually, they started picking whatever came to mind. For example, Fallis, located 49 kilometres west of Spruce Grove on the north shore of Wabamun Lake, is named after William Sheppard Fallis — not because he built it, but because he was the Winnipeg sales manager for the Sherwin-Williams paint company. Somehow, the railway liked him enough to put his name on a town.
Bawlf
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Sounds like a name for one of those paper bags in your airplane seat. Located 27 kilometres northeast of Camrose, the village is named after Nicholas Bawlf, a Winnipeg grain merchant who called himself “one of the best-known men in the West and one of the largest shippers of grain in the Dominion.” Bawlf was the one who pioneered shipping Canadian grain to Japan through west coast ports, and among his many business accomplishments, there’s now a charming Alberta village named after him.
Are there any Alberta place names that surprised you? Let us know in the comments!