Route 66 Towns and the Stories Behind Their Names

10 storiesChecked Oct 31, 2026

Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926, and the National Park Service calls it the nation’s first all-weather highway linking Chicago to Los Angeles. The road was new. Most of the names along it weren’t.

Drive it from east to west and the names come in layers. Some are older than any road out here: a Native word for a river, the name of an old Creek town, a phrase off a missionary’s list of Chippewa words. Some came with Spain, like a city named for holy faith and another named for a duke by a governor who didn’t ask permission first. And some honor people and places the founders cared about, from a French explorer to a Union general to a school for teachers.

The road itself didn’t sit still. In New Mexico, the Park Service says, the first Route 66 swung north through Santa Fe, and by 1937 it was realigned to skip that loop. So a few stops were on the road for decades, and one was on it for only about its first ten years. The names stayed put either way.

Each stop links to the full story of its name, with the sources, so you can check every detail yourself.

How we picked these. The town was on the historic U.S. Route 66 (1926-1985), on any of its official alignments, as shown by a National Park Service or other official source. Each story below lists the source that confirms it.

  1. Cook County, IL

    Chicago, Illinois: Named for Wild Garlic, or for a Skunk?

    Chicago, Illinois, takes its name from a Native word for its river, and the oldest records tie that word to the wild garlic that grew there.

    Disputed

    Route 66 started at Grant Park in Chicago, which the National Park Service calls the road's eastern terminus. Source: Route 66: Illinois (U.S. National Park Service)

  2. Will County, IL

    Joliet, Illinois: The City That Was Called Juliet Until 1845

    Joliet, Illinois, was recorded in 1834 as Juliet, and a paper town called Romeo was laid out nearby to match it.

    Documented

    The city says Historic Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway cross at Cass and Chicago streets in downtown Joliet. Source: National Scenic Byways | City of Joliet, IL

  3. McLean County, IL

    How Normal, Illinois Got Its Name From a Teachers' School

    Normal, Illinois, is named for a school, not for being ordinary. The railroad stop called North Bloomington took the name of the State Normal University.

    Documented

    Sprague's Super Service in Normal is on the National Park Service list of Route 66 sites in the National Register. Source: Route 66: Illinois (U.S. National Park Service)

  4. Sangamon County, IL

    Springfield, Illinois: The Capital That Wouldn't Be Calhoun

    Springfield, Illinois, got its name from a county order in 1821, but for a while part of the town was platted as Calhoun, and many refused to use it.

    Documented

    The National Park Service lists Springfield's Lazy A Motel and a stretch of Route 66 by Carpenter Park among the road's sites. Source: Route 66: Illinois (U.S. National Park Service)

  5. Tulsa County, OK

    How Tulsa, Oklahoma Got Its Name From an Old Creek Town

    In 1903, a booklet history of Tulsa, Oklahoma, admitted it didn't know where the name came from. Tulsa is the name of an old Muscogee (Creek) town.

    Documented

    The National Park Service notes Tulsa was home to Cyrus Avery, the man credited as the Father of Route 66. Source: Route 66: Oklahoma (U.S. National Park Service)

  6. Oklahoma County, OK

    Oklahoma City's Post Office Was Just "Oklahoma" Until 1923

    Oklahoma City's post office didn't carry the name Oklahoma City until 1923. Before that, the mail went to plain "Oklahoma."

    Documented

    The Milk Bottle Grocery and the Lake Overholser Bridge in Oklahoma City are on the National Park Service list of Route 66 sites. Source: Route 66: Oklahoma (U.S. National Park Service)

  7. Canadian County, OK

    El Reno, Oklahoma: Not a Reindeer, Just a Post Office Fix

    In 1905, a U.S. Geological Survey book said El Reno, Oklahoma, meant "the reindeer." But the Post Office turned down plain Reno, and the town added "El."

    Documented

    Fort Reno, the post behind the town's name, is one of the El Reno sites on the National Park Service's Route 66 list. Source: Route 66: Oklahoma (U.S. National Park Service)

  8. Santa Fe County, NM

    Santa Fe, New Mexico: Holy Faith, St. Francis, No Birth Date

    Santa Fe means holy faith, and New Mexico's capital has carried that name for over 400 years, but even its first historians couldn't find the day it began.

    Documented

    Santa Fe was on the first Route 66 through New Mexico, until the road was realigned to bypass it by 1937, the National Park Service says. Source: Route 66: New Mexico (U.S. National Park Service)

  9. Bernalillo County, NM

    Albuquerque, New Mexico: Named for a Duke, Minus One R

    The governor who founded Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1706 named it for the viceroy, the Duke of Alburquerque, and got scolded for not asking first.

    Documented

    Albuquerque was on Route 66 both before and after the 1937 realignment in New Mexico, the National Park Service says. Source: Route 66: New Mexico (U.S. National Park Service)

  10. Los Angeles County, CA

    How Pasadena, California Got a Chippewa Name by Mail

    Pasadena, California, got its name in the mail: a colony leader wrote to a college friend working as a missionary, who sent back a list of Chippewa words.

    Documented

    Pasadena's Colorado Street Bridge is on the National Park Service list of Route 66 sites in California. Source: Route 66: California (U.S. National Park Service)

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