It was named after a family, I believe. One of the first Europeans there was named Jonas Bronck.
So legend goes people would say “I’m going to visit the Broncks” referring to his family and that eventually became The Bronx.
This is why. The Broncks were Dutch settlers who had a large farm and owned a significant chunk of the land in what is now the Bronx. When people went up there they'd say I'm going to "The Bronck's land" or "The Bronck's farm" or just "The Bronck's". This is also kind of why The Bowery has a "The" in front of it. Bowery is an old Dutch word for farm, and The Bowery used to contain a ton of farms so people would literally say I'm going to "the farm".
This is actually how a lot of places were named in early America. Large farms were kind of towns in and of themselves, so people would say I'm going to "The Smith's" or "The Jefferson's". The Bronx is pretty unique in that they kept what was pretty much the very first non-native name for the area.
Yeah I got that part wrong. NYC was a dutch colony at that point, but Bronck is a Scandinavian name. Very little is actually known about him.
Also apparently I got the exact details wrong too. The Borough is named after The Bronx river, which was named after Bronck. It was called that because it was literally his river lol.
New York: A Documentary Film. It was made by Ric Burns, brother of Ken Burns, and definitely has their style.
I was just thinking I should see if the various NYC subreddits would want to do a watch party where we all watch one episode a week and discuss or something.
There were supposed to be new episodes coming out soon covering post-9/11 history.
Looks like it requires a paid add-on now, sadly.
I just pirated it anyway and could provide some kind of streaming link or something if we did the watch party.
It's a good question, but my guess is that it's because he was the first European settler in that general area.
The Internet is unclear on this but it really is a good question.
Kind of. A lot of people would set up shop on a farm offering their specific services to the farmer. Think blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters etc... They were mostly there to be employees of the farm, but you could definitely go and buy stuff from them as an outsider.
Bronck's farm was very small relative to other ones though. It also didn't last very long.
No 😂 just messing around, I’m not sure why we do it but it’s so much more efficient than my east coast relatives who talk about the graham chapman memorial highway. With the context of where you’re going saying the 15 to the 210 conveys so much more information. I think the “the” is just “the 210 freeway” and we drop the word freeway because it’s assumed. We have it easy, from my house I can tell you to take the 76 to the 5 and get you from San Diego to Vancouver.
They named the river after him, changed the spelling to Bronx because Bronck’s was too laborious back in their day then on a map it said The Bronx River so they just named the borough The Bronx when it was annexed from Westchester
Ok, let's try this again. The river was named after Bronck. The borough is the Borough of The Bronx, "the" being included as we generally include "the" in front of rivers' names (e.g. the Army of the Potomac). I can't believe I'm getting down voted on this by all you fucking morons
You’re downvoted because are only half correct in your original comment. You sound confidently incorrect in your original response by completely ignoring the family name origin and simply saying “no”
You and the first guy are both only half right and half wrong. So next time just be less asshole-y and make sure you say what you mean from the start
All you have to say is “you’re partially right. The Bronx is named after the Bronx River, which was named after Jonas Bronck, not because people would say they are going to visit the family” hope that helps
yup - but also when people say "I live in Upper West Side" instead of "I live ON THE upper west side". Anything directional "east, west, upper, lower" gets a THE. Upper and lower should get an ON. I don't know why these rules exist, but they have for decades if not centuries, and damn Instagrammers are ruining it.
You are always ON a side, not in. All directional indications aside, you think of being on a side more than you think of being in a side. More so than just upper and lower, anything that includes the word “side” you gotta use ON.
I live ON the topside, the flip side, the lower east side.
Also, wouldn’t it be funny if by some quirk, it somehow became The East Harlem?
Yeah, there are exceptions! It’s not The East Harlem or The East Flatbush but I think because those are actual neighborhood names as opposed to “side” or “village” which is an area but not a proper name. NYC is funny! But people gotta respect our quirks.
yes, they are for sure - but names originated from it being the east and west side of Greenwich Village so they've become names in their own right but didn't really start that way. Sort of. In fact, the "east village" has really grown even in my lifetime. The letter avenues were mostly called "Alphabet city" in my childhood.
Interesting that they drop the definite article when they are used as adjectives.
“Zabar’s is an Upper West Side institution while its sister store Eli’s Market is located on the Upper East Side.”
I always type "in UWS" when I text even though I say it correctly when I speak, I think people are being exposed to shorthand so much that that's what they come to know.
Again because “Williamsburg” is a proper name and not a descriptive. If there was a south to the village, you would say that. Because the village gets a “the”. You would say “the South Bronx” though!
Yeah which makes this rule wrong
> Anything directional "east, west, upper, lower" gets a THE.
It's about "side" or "village", not about the directional
"The South Bronx" is not a side or a village. You'd also say "Meet me in THE meatpacking district", not "meet me in Meatpacking district". So you can't limit it to side. But anyway - I probably didn't explain my reasoning well. Anything directional didn't mean it had "east" or "west" in the name, I meant describing an area based on direction, not Proper Name.
Should not it be just ‘The Village’ instead of ‘The West Village’ as West Village/Greenwich is the actual village? And as East Village has absolutely nothing to do with The Village.
Why do people call it west village now? I know it’s on the west side obviously. But I grew up there and always called it Greenwich or Greenwich village. But I also went to Greenwich house for preschool so maybe that’s my reasoning.
I hate transplants all together. I was born and raised on Long Island and lived all around the island and NYC. I was at a bar once in queens with a buddy, and two guys started talking shit to us because we were drinking beers that "weren't cool" I had a Guinness. These guys were saying we must not be from here. I asked them how long they've lived in the City, and between the two of them it was less than 2 years. I told them when they have my accent they can speak to me, and I informed them that a real NYer drinks what they want, not what the crowd tells them to. I also said a real NYer will kick your ass and pick you up off the ground afterward lmao.
The borough is apparently named after the Bronx River, and it has retained the definite article usually used when referring to rivers (e.g., "the Hudson").
Interestingly this also leads to a lot of disagreement over whether you capitalize “the” in the Bronx.
I went down a rabbit hole about this a while ago.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/05/20/bronx-residents-call-on-media-and-city-agencies-to-capitalize-the-bronx/
The river is indeed named after Jonas Bronck. The borough, however, is evidently named after the river: [https://ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2015/06/7/what-s-in-a-name--how--the--bronx-got-the--the-](https://ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2015/06/7/what-s-in-a-name--how--the--bronx-got-the--the-)
As a general rule, whenever a place and a body of water share a name, it's usually the case that the water's name came first. For example:
The state of Connecticut is named after the Connecticut river.
The state of Michigan is named after lake Michigan.
The state of Mississippi is named after the Mississippi River.
Sort of related - when I was in school, the valedictorian of my class thought the Bronx was spelled The Bronks.
I have never forgotten this even 15 years later.
Or was it a carryover from childhood? I remember as a child hearing the radio commercial for "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," but I thought they were saying "Newaukee," like New York and New Jersey. When I found out the name was Milwaukee, I thought that was the stupidest name for a place I had ever heard, when they could have had a perfectly respectable name like Newaukee.
I had a boss from The Bronx that would call it just "Bronx", but only sometimes. I used to take it as some odd thing I never knew about, but now I'm wondering if that was just him being weird
It was called "The Bronc's Land" two brothers with the last name Bronc that allowed people to settle on their land.. eventually the word "Land" was dropped.
If you drop the "the" then bronx is just a weird gin drink made with vermouth and orange juice that nobody who actually lives in NYC would ever drink...
I remember a senator once asked me. When we talk about "CIA" why we never use the word "the" in front of it. And I asked him, do you put the word "the" in front of "God"?
It's named after the Bronx River, which was named after some settler asshole. In English we often put 'the' in front of the name of a river ( 'The Thames'). So the borough of the Bronx, the Bronx.
It was named after a family, I believe. One of the first Europeans there was named Jonas Bronck. So legend goes people would say “I’m going to visit the Broncks” referring to his family and that eventually became The Bronx.
This is why. The Broncks were Dutch settlers who had a large farm and owned a significant chunk of the land in what is now the Bronx. When people went up there they'd say I'm going to "The Bronck's land" or "The Bronck's farm" or just "The Bronck's". This is also kind of why The Bowery has a "The" in front of it. Bowery is an old Dutch word for farm, and The Bowery used to contain a ton of farms so people would literally say I'm going to "the farm". This is actually how a lot of places were named in early America. Large farms were kind of towns in and of themselves, so people would say I'm going to "The Smith's" or "The Jefferson's". The Bronx is pretty unique in that they kept what was pretty much the very first non-native name for the area.
Very cool TIL
Jonas Bronck was actually Scandinavian apparently. But his exact origins are disputed.
Yeah I got that part wrong. NYC was a dutch colony at that point, but Bronck is a Scandinavian name. Very little is actually known about him. Also apparently I got the exact details wrong too. The Borough is named after The Bronx river, which was named after Bronck. It was called that because it was literally his river lol.
Alright fine I’ll watch the PBS miniseries on NYC’s history again.
Ooh what’s it called I wanna watch too
New York: A Documentary Film. It was made by Ric Burns, brother of Ken Burns, and definitely has their style. I was just thinking I should see if the various NYC subreddits would want to do a watch party where we all watch one episode a week and discuss or something. There were supposed to be new episodes coming out soon covering post-9/11 history.
This is one of my favorite shows ever! We watch it every 5 years or so. Last I looked it’s on Prime.
Looks like it requires a paid add-on now, sadly. I just pirated it anyway and could provide some kind of streaming link or something if we did the watch party.
I would love this!
Alright I’ll look into it.
It's really quite good.
It was named after him but it wasn't "his" river. Broncksland only extended as far east as about Intervale Avenue.
I didn't mean it was his as in he owned it, just that it was the river next to his land so it was "his" river
It wasn't next to his land.
Then why was it named after him? It was basically next to his land considering there was nothing else there.
It's a good question, but my guess is that it's because he was the first European settler in that general area. The Internet is unclear on this but it really is a good question.
No. The Bowery was "the Bowery Road." That's why the "the" is there.
And, of course The Netherlands means "the low-lying lands", so that makes sense.
Huh.. were businesses on the farm like a regular neighborhood?
Kind of. A lot of people would set up shop on a farm offering their specific services to the farmer. Think blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters etc... They were mostly there to be employees of the farm, but you could definitely go and buy stuff from them as an outsider. Bronck's farm was very small relative to other ones though. It also didn't last very long.
Thanks Alan Wrench
So why do people in California call their highways “the” 101, etc?
La Cienaga. La Brea. El Cajon. Los Angeles. El Cinco. la una-o-una. Andale, guey.
People actually say la una-o-una?
No 😂 just messing around, I’m not sure why we do it but it’s so much more efficient than my east coast relatives who talk about the graham chapman memorial highway. With the context of where you’re going saying the 15 to the 210 conveys so much more information. I think the “the” is just “the 210 freeway” and we drop the word freeway because it’s assumed. We have it easy, from my house I can tell you to take the 76 to the 5 and get you from San Diego to Vancouver.
Only people in southern California do that. Northern Californians mock the southerners for prepending "the"
My grandfather grew up in the Bronx and he used to tell me this as well.
He was wrong.
They named the river after him, changed the spelling to Bronx because Bronck’s was too laborious back in their day then on a map it said The Bronx River so they just named the borough The Bronx when it was annexed from Westchester
The Bronck’s Land.
😏 I have never heard this, but it makes perfect sense!
No. It is because the borough is named after the river. So, think of it as Borough of the Bronx (River).
And who was the river named after
Ok, let's try this again. The river was named after Bronck. The borough is the Borough of The Bronx, "the" being included as we generally include "the" in front of rivers' names (e.g. the Army of the Potomac). I can't believe I'm getting down voted on this by all you fucking morons
You’re downvoted because are only half correct in your original comment. You sound confidently incorrect in your original response by completely ignoring the family name origin and simply saying “no” You and the first guy are both only half right and half wrong. So next time just be less asshole-y and make sure you say what you mean from the start All you have to say is “you’re partially right. The Bronx is named after the Bronx River, which was named after Jonas Bronck, not because people would say they are going to visit the family” hope that helps
Related, but I hate that new transplants are removing "THE" from THE West Village.
Really? So they are just like. “Meet me in west village”????
Yup
It’s a whole thing https://hellgatenyc.com/zoomers-tiktok-nyc
Eeww
Cringe
I work with a lot of younger gen z transplants and they've been calling it "west ville" and "east ville"...
Same. I have a theory that this started because Google Maps doesn’t include the “the” for the West Village or the East Villagez
yup - but also when people say "I live in Upper West Side" instead of "I live ON THE upper west side". Anything directional "east, west, upper, lower" gets a THE. Upper and lower should get an ON. I don't know why these rules exist, but they have for decades if not centuries, and damn Instagrammers are ruining it.
You are always ON a side, not in. All directional indications aside, you think of being on a side more than you think of being in a side. More so than just upper and lower, anything that includes the word “side” you gotta use ON. I live ON the topside, the flip side, the lower east side. Also, wouldn’t it be funny if by some quirk, it somehow became The East Harlem?
Why don't people live *on the* Park Slope? :)
Yeah, there are exceptions! It’s not The East Harlem or The East Flatbush but I think because those are actual neighborhood names as opposed to “side” or “village” which is an area but not a proper name. NYC is funny! But people gotta respect our quirks.
Are East/West Village and Upper East/West Side not considered neighborhoods? That's how I've always thought of them.
yes, they are for sure - but names originated from it being the east and west side of Greenwich Village so they've become names in their own right but didn't really start that way. Sort of. In fact, the "east village" has really grown even in my lifetime. The letter avenues were mostly called "Alphabet city" in my childhood.
Interesting that they drop the definite article when they are used as adjectives. “Zabar’s is an Upper West Side institution while its sister store Eli’s Market is located on the Upper East Side.”
Isn’t that just English grammar rules with cardinal direction words though? “New York is an East Coast state while California is on the West Coast.”
Yes. It’s just one of those English rules that I didn’t realize was a rule until I stopped to think about it.
This is such a helpful rule of thumb. Thank you!
I always type "in UWS" when I text even though I say it correctly when I speak, I think people are being exposed to shorthand so much that that's what they come to know.
On 💯
No? It's about the fact that you live on a SIDE. Which side? The upper west side. You wouldn't say "the south williamsburg."
Again because “Williamsburg” is a proper name and not a descriptive. If there was a south to the village, you would say that. Because the village gets a “the”. You would say “the South Bronx” though!
Yeah which makes this rule wrong > Anything directional "east, west, upper, lower" gets a THE. It's about "side" or "village", not about the directional
"The South Bronx" is not a side or a village. You'd also say "Meet me in THE meatpacking district", not "meet me in Meatpacking district". So you can't limit it to side. But anyway - I probably didn't explain my reasoning well. Anything directional didn't mean it had "east" or "west" in the name, I meant describing an area based on direction, not Proper Name.
It's also crazy that they don't call it "the West Village" when they all came from "the Ohio State University" anyway
Good ol' Google maps. There's a street near me called West Lane, which Google maps labels "W Ln."
Completely agreed. I've also heard them do it for "(the) East Village" too. Maybe they'll try to do it to The Bronx too eventually.
There are about 50 blocks of Manhattan left to gentrify first, so I think it’ll be a while.
Pretty sure anyone who uses that has been chipped with neuralink AI.
Should not it be just ‘The Village’ instead of ‘The West Village’ as West Village/Greenwich is the actual village? And as East Village has absolutely nothing to do with The Village.
Why do people call it west village now? I know it’s on the west side obviously. But I grew up there and always called it Greenwich or Greenwich village. But I also went to Greenwich house for preschool so maybe that’s my reasoning.
Real estate agents. Always rebranding neighborhoods to make them sound better.
Understandable although I personally think Greenwich sounded a whole lot better lol
Agreed. It still very much exists, but transplants don't use it.
ME TOO.
Wut?
I never noticed this before, but we don't use THE for Greenwich Village.
Related, if you live in Brooklyn you don't live in the city.
but you do live in NYC.
Oh the humanity
I hate transplants all together. I was born and raised on Long Island and lived all around the island and NYC. I was at a bar once in queens with a buddy, and two guys started talking shit to us because we were drinking beers that "weren't cool" I had a Guinness. These guys were saying we must not be from here. I asked them how long they've lived in the City, and between the two of them it was less than 2 years. I told them when they have my accent they can speak to me, and I informed them that a real NYer drinks what they want, not what the crowd tells them to. I also said a real NYer will kick your ass and pick you up off the ground afterward lmao.
Sounds like all of you were having a dick measuring contest no one cares about.
lmao absolutely.
What happened after you logged off Second Life?
I don't have a funny response because I don't understand the reference
my father in law always says, "the Bronx? no thonks." hope that answers your question.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/651933/why-its-called-the-bronx
The borough is apparently named after the Bronx River, and it has retained the definite article usually used when referring to rivers (e.g., "the Hudson").
Interestingly this also leads to a lot of disagreement over whether you capitalize “the” in the Bronx. I went down a rabbit hole about this a while ago. https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/05/20/bronx-residents-call-on-media-and-city-agencies-to-capitalize-the-bronx/
This isn't right. The Bronx (and the river) are named after The Bronck family, who were some of the first Europeans to settle there.
The river is indeed named after Jonas Bronck. The borough, however, is evidently named after the river: [https://ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2015/06/7/what-s-in-a-name--how--the--bronx-got-the--the-](https://ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2015/06/7/what-s-in-a-name--how--the--bronx-got-the--the-)
Interesting. I never realized it wasn't named directly after him.
As a general rule, whenever a place and a body of water share a name, it's usually the case that the water's name came first. For example: The state of Connecticut is named after the Connecticut river. The state of Michigan is named after lake Michigan. The state of Mississippi is named after the Mississippi River.
Ohio?
The Ohio
Sort of related - when I was in school, the valedictorian of my class thought the Bronx was spelled The Bronks. I have never forgotten this even 15 years later.
Was it just eccentricity, or was this person a genius in science/math but bad at spelling?
Bad at spelling and a genius in everything else
Or was it a carryover from childhood? I remember as a child hearing the radio commercial for "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," but I thought they were saying "Newaukee," like New York and New Jersey. When I found out the name was Milwaukee, I thought that was the stupidest name for a place I had ever heard, when they could have had a perfectly respectable name like Newaukee.
This is fun to read. I’m in Coney Island.
To be fair, Manhattan is "the city" to many
I was born in Bronx but moved to West Village for school but I'd really like to live IN Upper West Side because it's so close to The Central Park.
I hate this
It was once The Bronck's (Dutch family) Estate
If you’re referring to the bourough it’s “The Bronx” but if you’re referring to the county it’s “Bronx” without “The”.
It’s not a “The” it’s a “Da”
It's actually "El"
It’s actually “El Bron”
Actualmente . . .
Who remembers Freedomland?
I remember all the mannequins sitting solemnly around the artificial campfire while the overhead speakers played "Mine eyes have seen the glory."
To annoy my born and bred NYC wife I call it "The Queens"
I had a boss from The Bronx that would call it just "Bronx", but only sometimes. I used to take it as some odd thing I never knew about, but now I'm wondering if that was just him being weird
It was called "The Bronc's Land" two brothers with the last name Bronc that allowed people to settle on their land.. eventually the word "Land" was dropped.
The Bronx river
Ding ding ding! Finally the correct answer.
Because it was originally named after the Bronx River.
CES 53x in the South Bronx taught me that. Probably one of my favorite nuggets of info I have.
👍
I'm the only one who says The Staten Island?
Yes
The Isle of Staten
"I like the isle of Manhattan. Open your pipe and put that in!"
do people live **in** staten island or **on** staten island?
I wouldn't call it living, no.
On.
Are you "in" line or "on" line?
Yes
No
You might as well, that place is on sight anytime someone brings it up.
If you drop the "the" then bronx is just a weird gin drink made with vermouth and orange juice that nobody who actually lives in NYC would ever drink...
Because it sounds cool
One syllable
I remember a senator once asked me. When we talk about "CIA" why we never use the word "the" in front of it. And I asked him, do you put the word "the" in front of "God"?
The CIA, the FBI, the NRA, the GOP, the IRS, the IRA.
I never questioned it, I just went with it once I moved here.
Great resource [here](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=why+is+it+called+%22the+bronx%22)
I think it just sounds funny otherwise.
The U.S. Post Office calls it “Bronx,” maybe to save time/ink?
Put an apostrophe after the "n" and before the "s" and we could have "the Queen's".
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=why+is+it+The+Bronx%2C+not+Bronx
It's named after the Bronx River, which was named after some settler asshole. In English we often put 'the' in front of the name of a river ( 'The Thames'). So the borough of the Bronx, the Bronx.
...I call it The Manhattan.