Is it true that large lakes have the word lake first in their name and small lakes have it second?

Question

A friend brought this up to me a couple days ago, I didnt do any other digging into the subject...For example "Lake Michigan"....A large lake...."Partridge Lake".....much smaller...This seems to be the case in Wisconsin anyway...Did someone do this intentionally...If so what is the reason...And how is it determined if a lake is big or small...what is the citeria?

Answer 1

It is not true. Different states and agencies name lakes in a variety of ways. The Army Corp of Engineers name lakes after the town they are closest to. Minnesota offers a petition for naming/renaming one of the over 11,000 lakes in the State. The USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) lists thousands of lakes with a wide range of names listing the word "lake" either before and after. So, your friend is not accurate.

Answer 2

What an interesting question. It certainly appears that way. Not just in the US either ... Lake Victoria, for example.

I think your friend is right, but I've been unable to dig up any gramatical or scientifc evidence to support it !

I did note that of the 20 largest lakes in the world, only 2 (10%) of them begin with something other than "Lake" ... see the first link below.

Pertaining to the difference, the only thing I could find was from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (see second link). According to them:

"The term "lake" or "pond" as part of a waterbody name is arbitrary and not based on any specific naming convention. In general, lakes tend to be larger and/or deeper than ponds, but numerous examples exist of "ponds" that are larger and deeper than "lakes." For example, Echo "Lake" in Conway is 14 acres in surface area with a maximum depth of 11 feet, while Island "Pond" in Derry is nearly 500 acres and 80 feet deep. Names for lakes and ponds generally originated from the early settlers living near them, and the use of the terms "lake" and "pond" was completely arbitrary. Many have changed names through the years, often changing from a pond to a lake with no change in size or depth. Often these changes in name were to make the area sound more attractive to perspective home buyers. Examples of ponds that are now called lakes include Mud Pond to Mirror Lake in Canaan, Mosquito Pond to Crystal Lake in Manchester and Dishwater Pond to Mirror Lake in Tuftonboro."

The US Geological Survey makes no distinction either.

So, although there does not appear to be a scientific basis for it, it does seem to follow a certain convention.

Maybe I'll start referring to myself as "The StillNoCouch" ! No basis for the "The" either, but it makes me sound more important !

Good question !

Answer 3

I don't think that is a universal truth. For example, Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake in Canada are both bigger than Lake Erie, yet the "Lake" comes after. Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire is only 72 square miles in size, but the "Lake" comes first.

Answer 4

I don't think that is true. I live in South Carolina and some of our smaller Lakes start with Lake.....so I think that theory may be wrong