The United States Board on Geographic Names

By Roger L. Payne
Executive Secretary, U.S. Board on Geographic Names

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is responsible by law for developing policies to assure the standardization and promulgation of official geographic names for use by the Federal government. To achieve this mission the Board has indicated that the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) <http://geonames.usgs.gov>, the nation's official geographic names repository and developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, is the only official source for geographic names usage by agencies of the Federal government and their contractors. The Board's most important policy is local use and acceptance, which is why the Board always seeks the opinion of local governments, the State Names Authorities, and Tribal Councils.

The systematic standardization of geographic names in the United States began late in the 19th century. After the American Civil War, there was a surge of mapping and scientific reporting associated with the exploration, mining, and settlement of the western territories. Inconsistencies and contradictions among the many names, their spellings, and applications became a serious problem to mapmakers and scientists who required uniform, nonconflicting geographic nomenclature. As a result, President Benjamin Harrison signed an Executive Order on September 4, 1890, establishing the United States Board on Geographic Names. The Board was given authority to resolve all unsettled questions concerning geographic names. Decisions of the Board were accepted as binding by all departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt extended the responsibilities of the Board. In addition to adjudicating conflicts, it now had authority to standardize all geographic names for Federal use, including name changes and new names.

The current period in the Board's history began in 1947 when the Congress of the United States reorganized the Board by Public Law 80-242. The Board on Geographic Names, conjointly with the Secretary of the Interior, is directed to establish and maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government, which includes establishing policies, solving name discrepancies, approving new names, authenticating existing names, and promulgating all official names. The present Board operates without a budget and is made up of members from agencies of Federal departments and independent agencies, providing a broad spectrum of representation from most Federal programs concerned with the use of geographic names. All members of the Board are employees of the Federal Government, and they serve without further compensation.

Special working committees are established by the Board as necessary. The Secretary of the Interior, upon recommendation of the Board, may establish advisory committees of recognized experts in their respective fields to assist in the solution or treatment of special problems. Current working committees include the Domestic Names Committee, Foreign Names Committee, Executive Committee, Publications and Publicity Committee, and advisory committees for Antarctic and undersea feature names.

Since 1947, domestic names standardization has been carried out in the name of the Board by its Domestic Names Committee, which meets monthly. The USGS provides staff support for the domestic names activities of the Board and names activities for Antarctica.

From the beginning, in 1890, the Board developed principles of domestic names standardization that have stood the test of time. A primary principle is formal recognition of present-day local usage. To this end, the Committee and its supporting staff work closely with State geographic names authorities, State and local governments, and the general public in order to determine the choice, spelling, written form, and application of each name for official use. A list of State names authorities is available upon request from the Geographic Names Office at the U.S. Geological Survey, and at the Board's website <http://geonames.usgs.gov>.

Members of the Board and its staff have represented the United States in various international programs to standardize names, including those of the United Nations, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History, and others.

Foreign names standardization is an activity considered important to the United States although only the United States and the United Kingdom have significant foreign names programs. This activity is accomplished in the name of the Board by its Foreign Names Committee. The staff support for the foreign names activities of the Board and the maintenance of records relating to names of undersea features are provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in the Department of Defense. The Secretariat and the Executive Secretary for the Board on Geographic Names are at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Are there any geographic features in the United States that have your name? Find out at http://geonames.usgs.gov! Click on Query GNIS, type in the name, and get a list of streams, mountains, populated places, or other features with that name. For example, the United States has 350 Nortons, 11 Raleys, 4 Groats [plus one in Quebec], and 495 Paynes.