Renaming Lansing, Michigan: A Hypothetical List of 10 Suggestions

Long before it was ever chosen to be Michigan's capital in 1847, Lansing originally got its name from Lansing, New York.

That's kind of a boring backstory.

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We wondered what some more fitting, purposeful names might have been contenders if the city of Lansing were to be renamed today, and came up with these ideas.

Reoville. Pays homage to the city's history as home of the REO Motor Car Company. Yes, there's the REO Town district of Lansing, but why not just own it? Olds Town could be another idea for similar reasons.

Cherry Hill. Frankly, the most pleasant sounding name of all of Lansing's current districts and neighborhoods.

Michigan City. Let's get real. Indiana barely has any of Lake Michigan's shoreline compared to us. We could steal this name back from the Hoosier State.

Red Cedar Rapids. Kind of has a ring to it, huh? We've established in several other places in Michigan that a place doesn't actually have to have active rapids to put it in their name.

Smithton. In honor of the city's very first mayor, Hiram H. Smith, when the city was officially incorporated back in 1859.

Page. Lansing native Larry Page co-founded Google, and according to Forbes, is the 6th richest person in the world. We bet he could buy the whole city.

We thought we would turn to you for some ideas on social media as well, and you brought the jokes! Among your ideas: Flint Sr., Pothole City, and Decay. Not sure those are going to pass the Chamber of Commerce test, but thanks for participating.