Why do so many Massachusetts' town names end in 'ham'? (2024)

If you have ever looked at a map of Massachusetts, you may have noticed many places that have "ham" in their name. There's Dedham, Framingham, Stoneham and more than a dozen others. Some are spoken as they are written, while others end in an "mmm" sound.

"There are 19 Massachusetts cities and towns that end in either 'ham' or 'mmm' — but that's 5% of our total number of cities and towns, so that's not insignificant," Edgar B. Herwick III said on GBH's Morning Edition.

But why are there so many?

Here's a hint: Every Massachusetts city and town with a "ham" in its name has a counterpart in England. Herwick said that "ham" essentially means a village.

"And to take it a step further, that H-A-M — that 'ham' itself — in old English means 'home,' which is why it sort of doubles to mean 'village' as well. So that word 'ham' actually means home," he said. "So when you have something like Stoneham, for example, likely there was a village which was a home to people which was probably near a stone somewhere that got called 'stone ham.'"

That same "ham" sometimes appears at the start of a town name instead — like in Hampden and Hampshire.

"So when you have Hampden, that's the same 'ham.' That actually means 'home town' — 'ham' 'ton,'" Herwick said. "Hampshire — also the same 'ham.' That means sort of a 'home county.' A 'shire' is a county."

It's not just old English, though. One word we use today is a mish-mash of language.

"That L-E-T at the end of 'hamlet,' that's not an old English ending, that's a French ending. That's a French diminutive," explained Peter Sokolowski, editor for Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

"And so 'ham' meant a village or a small town," he continued. "'Hamlet' meant an even smaller place. But that word comes into English after the Norman conquest. So after the Normans, who spoke French, came in one of the consequences was the mix of languages, and one of those mixes is the word 'hamlet.'"

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Siegel: So when I first moved to Massachusetts, one of the first things I noticed is all of the towns, cities that end in 'ham.' What is with all of the towns in Massachusetts that end in 'ham'?

Herwick: Well, I did a little work on this, Jeremy, for you. And first of all, let me just say, It's not a figment of your imagination. There are 19 Massachusetts cities and towns that end in either 'ham' or 'mmm.' But that's 5% of our total number of cities and towns. So that's not insignificant.

Now, some of them, it's really obvious, right? Wareham, Framingham. But as you say, some of them are more like Stoneham, Dedham. You don't quite notice the ham as much. But either way, it all comes from the same place, which is jolly old England. Where so many of our roots are, not surprising here in New England.

And in fact, every one of our ham towns, so to speak, there's a counterpart over in England. Either there's a village or a town with the exact same name. So none of them here do not have a counterpart in in England. And this convention in English, that 'ham,' it essentially means a village. This place is a village, a place where people live. And to take it a step further that H-A-M, ham itself, in old English means 'home,' which is why it sort of doubles to mean village as well. So that word ham actually means home. So when you have something like Stoneham, for example, likely there was a village which was a home to people which was probably near a stone somewhere that called that got called 'stone ham.'

Alston: So is like Waltham and Petersham, like home of Walt and Peter? Who are Walt and Peter?

Herwick: I do not know who Walt and Peter are, presumably they are some very fancy people who have a lot of land, to have a town named after them. So a couple of interesting things about this is that that same 'ham' appears not at the end, but also at the beginning of a few town names. It is that same ham. So when you have Hampden, that's the same 'ham.' That actually means 'home town' — 'ham,' 'ton.' Hampshire also the same 'ham.' That means sort of 'home county.' A 'shire' is a county. And there's also that 'ham' is the root word of a word that we still use today to mean 'village.' And that's the word 'hamlet.' Here's Peter Sokolowski, who's editor for Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Sokolowski: But that L-E-T at the end of Hamlet— that's not an old English ending. That's a French ending. That's a French diminutive. And so 'ham' meant a village or a small town. 'Hamlet' meant an even smaller place. But that word comes into English after the Norman conquest. So after the Normans, who spoke French, came in, one of the consequences was the mix of languages, and one of those mixes is the word 'hamlet.'

Herwick: A little mish-mash of old English and French to give us modern English.

Alston: So we have to have some potatoes to go along with that ham. And we have a listener question, too, to put on our plates.

Herwick: That's right. We have a listener from Walpole, Massachusetts, who reached out to the Curiosity Desk with a question about potatoes.

LaRusso: Hi, my name is Louis LaRusso. I'm from Walpole, Mass. I like to cook at home. My kids love potatoes in the morning and I've been curious about where the name originated for 'home fries.'

Siegel: Did you find an answer?

Herwick: I did. And thankfully, since we're talking about words, I was able to continue talking to Peter Sokolowski from Merriam-Webster for some help. So let's start and talk about what kind of potatoes home fries are, right? These are distinct from hash browns. So hash browns are shredded potatoes — my favorite. Shredded potatoes would be hash browns. Home fries are either cubed or diced, right? They are sometimes parboiled, but then typically sort of fried, maybe with onions and peppers, sometimes in a pan. They're sort of canned for getting really hungry.

So the word itself, there are a few things we know and there are a few things we don't know. The word itself we know for sure is an American invention. So unlike ham, the home ham, it is an American invention. The OED, which is the Oxford English Dictionary, gives 1927 as the earliest known use of it. So this is the first time it's been fund in print — it comes from an article in the Wisconsin Rapid's Daily Tribune. And here's Peter Sokolowski reading a sentence from that article, which is referencing the then American hero, Charles Lindbergh.

Sokolowski: If these gods were anything like our own Lindbergh, they relished now and then an order of ham and sunny side up, a good cup of Java and a side of home fries.

Herwick: As far as we know, that's the first time it was used in print. Now, we also know that it's commonly used throughout the country, right? It's used more in the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic than it is here in New England. And it's used even less in the South and in the West. But still.

Alston: I never heard of home fries until I think I moved here.

Herwick: It's yeah, it's far less common in the South. We know this because there's a thing called DARE, the Dictionary of American Regional English.

Alston: And not to be confused with the drug prevention program.

Herwick: Correct — totally, two completely different things. So at the end of the day, what we actually don't know, unfortunately, is the origin of the term. We probably will never know the origin of the term. And frankly, as Peter Sokolowski says, this is not really that uncommon when it comes to words in English.

Sokolowski: Home fried potatoes presumably meant potatoes that you would fry at home, in a private kitchen. But we don't know for sure. And with something like this, it would be lost to the mists of time.

Alston: So it sounds like Louis LaRusso was on to something.