How neighborhoods got their wacky names

Dinkytown

Minneapolis

This neighborhood near the University of Minnesota in east Minneapolis has been called Dinkytown since at least 1948, but locals disagree as to why.

In 2006, some college students found four viable theories. Maybe the insular neighborhood was just small, or "dinky." Or perhaps a local building called the Grodnik gave the area its moniker. Its name is said to derive from Slavic words meaning "small town." Or possibly a local theater called the Dinky, with just four rows of seats, inspired the name.

The most popular theory: The name dates back to the 1930s and '40s when trolley cars,  nicknamed Dinkys, ran through the neighborhood.

Live there: This two-unit duplex, built in 1900, is listed for $190,000.

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Strawberry Mansion

Philadelphia

This Lower North Philadelphia neighborhood takes its name from a building called the Strawberry Mansion in East Fairmount Park.

The center part of the mansion was built in the Federal style around 1790. The house's second owner, Judge Joseph Hemphill, added two Greek Revival wings in the 1820s. His son grew strawberries on the property, hence the name.

Live there: This six-bedroom, five-bath house lists for $90,000.

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Jamaica Plain

Boston

This Boston neighborhood was established in the 1630s as part of the town of Roxbury, Mass. Many have assumed it is named after the Caribbean island, which the English took over in 1655. During Colonial times, New England was linked with England and Jamaica in a trade triangle involving sugar, slaves and rum.

But Jamaica Plain predates that period, and it is more likely that the neighborhood takes its name from the Anglicization of Kuchamakin, a leader in the Massachusett tribe when British settlers arrived.

Today Jamaica Plain is an ethnically diverse neighborhood with many young families and a growing gay and lesbian community.

Live there: This two-bedroom, two-bath house is listed for $399,000.

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Beerline B

Milwaukee

This neighborhood along the Milwaukee River developed in the 1990s after the removal of the Beerline B railroad spur that once served Milwaukee's Pabst, Blatz and Schlitz breweries. It adjoins Brewers Hill, a neighborhood with homes in a variety of styles — including Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival — from the 1850s to the 1920s.

Brewers Hill takes its name from the many brewery workers and owners who once called that neighborhood home. Beerline B, whose development has been much more recent, is mainly home to condominiums boasting views of the river and downtown.

Live there: This two-bedroom, two-bath penthouse condo in Beerline B, built in 2009, is for sale for $449,900.

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Deco Ghetto

San Francisco

This San Francisco neighborhood, centered on Market Street between Franklin and Guerrero streets, gets its informal name from the large number of Art Deco furniture stores that call the area home.

Also known as Mid-Market or the Hub, the neighborhood has more to offer than antique stores. Many cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques have opened in the past decade.

Live there: This three-bedroom, three-bath contemporary condo is listed for $835,000.

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Bronzeville

Chicago

Chicago's South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville originated with the influx of black Americans who came to this city from the South during the Great Migration at the turn of the 20th century. It was said to be one of the largest black neighborhoods in Chicago by World War I.

In the 1930s, an editor at the Chicago Bee newspaper reportedly called the neighborhood Bronzeville, in proud recognition of residents' skin color.

The neighborhood is undergoing gentrification, with restoration of brownstones and town homes, and new condominiums going up on property once occupied by housing projects.

Live there: This two-story, single-family brownstone, with more than 5,000 square feet of renovated space, four bedrooms, 3.5 baths and four fireplaces, is listed for $899,000.

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French Quarter

New Orleans

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, established New Orleans on a patch of high ground along a bend in the Mississippi River. According to the National Park Service, which has designated the French Quarter a historic district, the neighborhood still nearly follows the city plan laid out in 1721. But fires destroyed most of the original French Colonial buildings in 1788 and 1794.

In fact, much of the French Quarter's distinctive architecture, including the wrought-iron balconies, dates back to a subsequent period of Spanish rule.

The neighborhood, mainly spared from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is still a major tourist destination and a prime residential district.

Live there: This single-family home on Dauphine Street lists for $1.8 million.

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Goose Hollow

Portland, Ore.

Just a few minutes from downtown Portland, Goose Hollow is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the city. Its name reportedly comes from the  19^th-century practice of local farmers letting their geese run free in the hollow, or gulch, that ran through the area.

According to the neighborhood's website, Tracy J. Prince, author of the book "Portland's Goose Hollow," found an 1875 newspaper article that described the geese clearing entire vegetable patches as they traversed the neighborhood.

That hollow has since been filled in, and the geese are gone — except for a life-size bronze goose statue commemorating them. Today, the neighborhood's east side is filled with apartments and condos, while its west side has some large, historic houses.

Live there: This 1891 home with four bedrooms and two baths is for sale for $599,900.

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Buckhead

Atlanta

The name of this posh Atlanta community comes from a general store and tavern founded by Henry Irby in 1837. Legend has it that Irby once killed a large deer and mounted the buck's head in a prominent spot where it would be visible to tourists.

Today, Buckhead has a central business district with high-rise office buildings and condos. Surrounding it are suburban neighborhoods with upscale homes.

Live there: This six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home in the neighborhood is listed for $1.099 million.

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Flatiron District

New York City

This Manhattan neighborhood gets its name from its signature tower, originally called the Fuller Building. It was one of the city's tallest when it was completed in 1902. The 22-story building is on a triangular lot between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, and its shape reminded turn-of-the-century New Yorkers of a clothes iron. This led to the neighborhood's current name, which didn't stick until the 1980s.

The area has become fashionable in recent years with new restaurants, stores and housing. The New York Times recently wrote that new construction and the conversion of commercial and industrial space added more than 1,000 housing units to the area between 2000 and 2010. But bargain hunters should probably look elsewhere: The average list price here is $2.94 million as of April 25, according to Trulia.com.

Live there: This three-bedroom, two-bath loft apartment is listed for $2.95 million.

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