ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Biblical toponyms in the United States

Have you ever heard of the Bible before? It's a very important book to many people, and it talks about a lot of different places. These places are called toponyms. And did you know that there are many places in the United States that have names that come from the Bible?

For example, there is a city called Bethlehem, which is named after the same town where Jesus was born! There is also a city called Nazareth, which is where Jesus lived when he was a boy.

Other places have names that are related to stories from the Bible. The city of Jericho got its name from a story where Joshua and the Israelites marched around the city seven times and it fell down. And there is a town called Canaan, which is the same name as the land that was promised to the Israelites.

Now, not all places in the United States with biblical names are from the Christian Bible. There are also places named after figures from the Jewish Bible (which Christians call the Old Testament), such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And even the Islamic holy book, the Quran, has influenced place names in the United States, such as Medina.

So there you have it! The United States has many places that have names from the Bible, and they are all connected to stories and people from this important book.