Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names

Location
Arizona State Library
1700 West Washington Street
7th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Chair
Arthur L. Pearce, II

Support Staff
Jane Cadwalader - Reference Archivist
Tel: 602-926-3720 | Email

Betsy Howard - Administrative Support
Tel: 602-926-3602 | Email

Description

The Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names has statutory responsibility for determining the most appropriate names for place names in Arizona.

Arizona's geographic names reflect its colorful history, culture and diversity. These names show reverence and awe, realism and grit, whimsy and humor. Geographic names are part of the state's historical record.

The Arizona Board was created in 1982 and is responsible for determining the most appropriate names for geographic features in Arizona.

Mandate

Arizona Revised Statues, Title 41, Chapter 4.1, Article 3 (ARS §41-835 through §41-838) establishes the State Board on Geographic and Historic Names.

The significance of geographic names was recognized by the State as early as 1945, when Arizona's Legislature declared it to be the policy of the state that geographic features retain the names they currently had in order to preserve Arizona's historical records. In 1982, the Arizona Board was created, and in 1990, the Arizona Legislature gave responsibility for determining the most appropriate names for geographic features to it.

Meetings

Meetings are conducted quarterly and are open to the public. The public notice and agenda for each meeting is posted on this page and the Arizona Public Meetings page. Agendas, previous meeting minutes and draft minutes are archived for public review.

Membership

The Board is composed of one member appointed by the head of each of the following agencies or organizations: the Department of Transportation, the State Land Department, the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, the Arizona Historical Society, the Arizona Commerce Authority, the Department of Economic Security, and a geography department of an Arizona university. Three additional members of the public are appointed by the governor, at least one of whom is an enrolled member of a recognized tribe or Indian community located in Arizona.

Application Form

Application form for submitting name proposals

All name proposals must include a completed Application, supporting documentation and a map showing the location of the feature. After downloading the application, please include the name proposal in the file name (example filename: ASBGHN Application_name feature).

Recommendation form for name proposals

The board considers information provided by the proponent, opponents, if any, and the board's staff in its deliberations on proposed names. The board's support staff contacts the appropriate local, county and state governmental agencies, Native American tribal governments and also conducts independent, systematic, thorough research for background on the historical and current local usage of a proposed name. This can take some time, therefore, the more documentation the board receives from a proponent, the easier it is for the board to decide on a name proposal.

These procedures allow anyone from the public or a government agency to propose a name and allow for public input at open meetings, both for and against a proposed name. The board goes to this effort in furtherance of its statutory charge to preserve and protect the state's history as reflected in Arizona's geographic names.

Additional Information

To help your understanding of the policies, practices and procedures the Board follows in deciding a name issue for the State of Arizona, the Board has resolved to increase awareness and proactively communicate its role in the State of Arizona.

The Board follows the Principles, Policies, and Procedures of the United States Board on Geographic Names when considering proposals.

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (USBGN), contains information on nearly 2 million physical and cultural features in the United States. The federally recognized name of each feature described in the database is identified and references are made to a feature’s location by state, county and geographic coordinates. The GNIS is the nation’s official repository of domestic geographic names information.