10 US cities with Arab city and country names

Lebanon, New Hampshire. Damascus, Maryland. Bagdad, Florida. These are actual cities in the United States that have long borrowed Arab and Muslim cities over the years and have taken them as their own.

While most of these cities today have no direct links with the Arab world, a lot of their history dates back to Arab diasporas who migrated to America and established their footings across multiple states and named their lands after their origins.

This article takes a look at the top 10 cities where one could find traces of the Arab world by name:

Lebanon, Pennsylvania:

Lebanon is a city in Pennsylvania, United States with a population of 25,477. Lebanon is also the name of the Middle Eastern country with four million citizens.

Damascus, Maryland:

Damascus is located in Montgomery county, Maryland, United States with a population of around 11,430. It is also the name of Syria’s capital at the heart of a 6-year civil war.

Bagdad, Florida:

Bagdad is a small area located in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States with a population 1,490. It is also the name of the Iraqi capital of a population of roughly 8,765,000.

Alexandria, Virginia:

Alexandria is a city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States with a population estimated to be 155,810. It is also the name of the second largest city in Egypt with a population of 4,984,387.

Cairo, Illinois:

Cairo is the southernmost city in the US state of Illinois with a population of 2,359. It is also the name of the Egyptian capital with a population of 9.5 million.

Palestine, Texas:

Palestine is a city in Anderson County, Texas, in the United States with a population of 18,712. It is also the name of the Middle Eastern country occupied by Israel.

Bethlehem, New Hampshire:

Bethlehem is town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States with a population of 2,526. It is also the name of a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank, Palestine with a population of approximately 25,000.

Mecca, California:

Mecca is a community located in Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 8,577. It is also the name of a city in Saudi Arabia where the Holy Kaaba is located.

Jordan, Minnesota:

Jordan is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States with a population of 5,470. It is also the name of the Arab country in the Middle East with a population of 9,952,293.

Tyre, New York:

Tyre is a small town in Seneca County, New York, United States with a population of 981. It was named after a coastal city in southern Lebanon.