Talk:Newnans Lake

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Name

I moved this article from "Newnan's Lake" to "Newnans Lake" because the latter seems to be the more common usage. I had looked for "Newnans Lake" and gotten a red link, and was prepared to create the article. I find it ironic that two of the three sources cited in the article, including the USGS GNIS, were for "Newnans Lake" (without the apostrophe). In a Google search, "Newnans Lake" gives about 5,920 hits, while "Newnan's Lake" gives about 3,800 hits. -- Donald Albury 13:44, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There is a state forest along the northwest coast of the lake named "Newnans Lake" without the apostrophe. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 04:42, 9 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I added a mention of it to the article. - Donald Albury 14:28, 9 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The absence of an apostrophe in “Newnans Lake” is consistent with a long-standing policy by the United States Board on Geographic Names (USBGN). Since its establishment in 1890, the USBGN has generally discouraged the use of apostrophes in geographic place names to avoid confusion and standardize naming conventions. Apostrophes are omitted to prevent the implication of ownership and to simplify signage and mapping. According to USBGN policy, exceptions to this rule are rare, with only five apostrophes allowed in official U.S. geographic names (e.g., Martha’s Vineyard). This policy explains why official sources like the GNIS list the lake as “Newnans Lake” rather than “Newnan’s Lake.” While historical records or local usage might include the apostrophe, the official spelling reflects this naming standard. Wiiildone^(talk) 04:29, 24 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The spelling in GNIS is usually not a factor in naming an article in Wikipedia. Per Wikipedia:Article titles, we generally prefer the form of the name that is most commonly used over any official (and GNIS is official only in a limited sense) name. Donald Albury 13:58, 24 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]