You can travel the world without ever leaving Michigan

The U.S. is filled with towns and cities named after foreign places.

• You can take a quick trip to Paris, Illinois — or to Gibraltar, right here in the mitten.

The intrigue: Michigan has at least 50 cities that share names with international places, from Milan in southeast Michigan and Pompeii north of Lansing to Holland on the west side and Norway in the U.P.

• We have the ninth-most such cities. New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts top the country with more than 80 each.
• Full list here

Why it matters: Air travel is expected to be a full-on hellscape this summer with potential record demand, continued staffing problems at several major airlines and expected passport processing delays.

• So if you need a vacation this summer, it might be easier to plan a world tour without leaving your home state.
• Check out our full national project with interactive maps, graphics, and more U.S. towns named for foreign places.

Between the lines: The names of these places were often given by immigrants in honor of their home country or city. They reflect the history of immigration by mostly exhibiting who had the money and status to settle in the U.S. — and who was legally allowed to do so.

• The majority of names in our national data set originate from Europe, 72%, while only a small fraction comes from Asia, Africa or Latin America.

Zoom in: Canton, founded as a township in 1834, was named after the old English name of Guangzhou, China, partly because of the trade relationship between the U.S. and China at the time, per the township's government.

• Gibraltar in Wayne County was named after the British Overseas Territory on the southern coast of Spain.
• Buena Vista in Saginaw County was reportedly named in commemoration of a victory in the Mexican-American War in Buena Vista.

📬 Tell us: Do you hail from any of these towns? Do you know about their cultural history?

• Email [email protected] to share any interesting factoids, pronunciation differences or photos — or let us know what we missed.