How Aurora, Nebraska Got Its Name (A Compliment to a Wife From Illinois)

Aurora, Nebraska, is named for Aurora, Illinois. Early settler David Stone suggested it as a compliment to his wife, who came from there, and the town company voted it in.

Where the name comes from

A 1925 study of Nebraska place names says the name “was suggested by David Stone, an early settler, as a compliment to his wife who was a native of Aurora, Illinois.” The Plainsman Museum in Aurora and the Hamilton County history pages on the NEGenWeb site tell it the same way. The U.S. Geological Survey’s record agrees on Stone and Aurora, Illinois.

Decided by a vote

The name wasn’t automatic. The 1925 study adds that “Mr. Robert Miller has the distinction of having named the town because he cast the two votes that determined the selection of the name.” That detail shows up in only one other source we found, so it’s best taken as local tradition.

A. T. Andreas’s 1882 state history says the members of the town company argued over the name before picking Aurora. It adds a nice touch: the new town was “christened by a most brilliant display of the aurora borealis.” The Plainsman Museum and the county pages date the naming to the night of June 19, 1871.

1871 or 1882?

Here the sources split. The local museum and the county pages put the founding and naming in 1871. The 1925 study, and the U.S. Geological Survey’s record that seems to follow it, say the town was “surveyed and platted in 1882.” We go with 1871 for the naming, because the local sources give a specific night, but we note the other date. Aurora is the county seat of Hamilton County.

Sources & further reading

• Lilian Linder Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (University of Nebraska, 1925). A public-domain study of the state’s place names, county by county. David Stone’s suggestion, Robert Miller’s two votes and the 1882 platting.
• Plainsman Museum, “Aurora History.” Stone’s compliment to his wife and the vote on June 19, 1871.
• A. T. Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882), Hamilton County. The argument over the name and the northern lights that night.
• NEGenWeb, Hamilton County, “Aurora.” The same account and the 1871 date.
• GNIS feature 827118 (U.S. Geological Survey). The federal record for Aurora. Surveyed and platted in 1882; named by David Stone for Aurora, Illinois.