Specific Street Name Trends
The study of street names is called odonymy, from the Greek ὁδός (hodós, "road") and ὄνυμα (ónuma, "name"). Doris Townshend, author of The Streets of New Haven: the Origin of Their Names, once said that odonymy is an inexact science. Hamden, like many other municipalities, records only that a street is accepted with a particular name, not for whom or what it was named. The task is made easier in some cities where there was an overall plan for naming streets over large areas, for example, naming them for trees, flowers, or presidents. Hamden, however, was developed in many small subdivisions, with naming plans, if any, confined to the few streets within each of them.
One practice for a time encouraged by town officials throughout Hamden was naming streets for members of the armed forces who lost their lives in war. While there are some streets bearing the names of Hamden men who died in the Revolutionary War (Enos Dickerman) and Civil War (Charles Johnson), since those names were not assigned until around the turn of the twentieth century, they were more likely for other family members who continued to live here. The practice officially began with those who served in World War I and continued for World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Most such streets are scattered throughout town, but there are two subdivisions that have groups of them: Hepburn Ridge, off Ridge Road, with names of seven men who died in both World Wars and Korea, and Honor Hill, off Evergreen Avenue, with five who died in Vietnam.
Another trend, already alluded to, is naming streets for those who first lived on them. Examples can be found on the 1868 Beers map, showing people named Skiff, Mather, and Treadwell where each of the corresponding streets intersect Dixwell Avenue. Putnam and Sherman avenues have the names of early pastors of the churches at their intersections with Whitney Avenue.
There are several subdivisions that have streets named for places near each other. The best example of this is the State Street Terrace subdivision, off Sebec Street. Sebec and five other streets (one later renamed) have the names of towns in Maine, and the owner of the land was born in Maine. A variation on this is found in Beecher Heights, with Dorrance, Westminster, and Weybosset (later renamed) streets, which are also the names of streets surrounding a block in downtown Providence.
Various other connections exist within other groups of streets. Marne Street intersects three streets with the names of commanders at World War I battles of the Marne: Haig, Foch, and Pershing. Characters in the legend of King Arthur supplied the names of Lancelot Way and Guenevere Court.
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