Have you passed by the new “Genevas of the World” sign yet?

Installed in July at Campbell and Third in downtown Geneva, the whimsical structure is a hodgepodge of road signs showcasing the other cities known as Geneva across the globe, along with their distance from “our” Geneva. 

Which got me thinking — what’s the story behind those Genevas? And what about the other Batavias and St. Charleses out there?

It turns out that our trio of Fox River towns is far from unique (in terms of labels, at least). The names show up all over the U.S., from a village in Ohio to a city in Missouri that dwarfs all three of our communities in population. There’s even a fascinating connection to Jakarta, Indonesia (more on that in a moment).

After digging around in the U.S. Census Bureau's official list of every incorporated city, village, and town in the country, here’s what surfaced. 

A Batavia exists in seven states, but ours is the biggest, with a higher population than every other Batavia in the country combined. But Batavia, New York, is pretty notable in itself.

According to this account from Batavia, New York’s city historian, it’s safe to assume that when Judge Isaac Wilson named our community “Batavia” in the 1800s, the label stemmed from Batavia, NY. Wilson had lived just a few miles from that Batavia for most of his adult life. 

Batavia is the county seat of Genesee County in New York, and in Ohio, Batavia is the county seat of Clermont County. The latter was actually settled in 1797, making it one of the oldest communities in the state. 

But the name Batavia goes back much further than any of these towns. Batavia, NY, was named after the Batavian Republic, which was what the Netherlands was called from 1795 to 1806. 

Which leads us to another international Batavia connection: Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Dutch founded a walled township called Batavia in 1619 on the site of present-day Jakarta, which grew into the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch name Batavia remained the official name until Indonesian independence was achieved and Jakarta became the national capital (and its present name) in 1949. 

Jakarta is now home to over 10 million people.

Geneva has the most common name of the three Tri-Cities, appearing in 12 states and 13 separate places (Indiana has both a Geneva town and a Geneva CDP). Most of these places are small. 

Similar to Batavia, not only is the New York Geneva second in population to our Geneva, it’s also the namesake for our town. 

According to a summary of our Geneva’s history, Dr. Charles Volney Dyer, an abolitionist who had relocated to Illinois from upstate New York, chose the name based on the town he was familiar with from back home. 

Most accounts suggest that Geneva, NY, was named after the world-famous Geneva, Switzerland — home to the second-largest United Nations' center and the World Health Organization. Given that it’s one of the most recognized city names on Earth, most Genevas can probably trace their names back to the Swiss city. 

St. Charles is the only town of the three with a larger sibling. St. Charles, Missouri (part of the St. Louis metro area) is home to more than 72,000 people, over twice the population of our own St. Charles.

The Missouri St. Charles has played its own significant role in the region, serving as Missouri's first state capital (1821-1826) and the starting point for the iconic Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. It’s also where Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, the founder of Chicago, lived for the final decade of his life.

The naming of St. Charles, IL wasn’t as straightforward as Batavia and Geneva; in fact, it wasn’t even the preferred name for the town. Originally named Charleston, the community’s name had to be changed to St. Charles because there already was a town called Charleston in downstate Illinois.

There’s also a St. Charles in Ontario, Canada near the town of Sudbury. Some other St. Charles towns are said to be named after Saint Charles Borromeo, an Italian Catholic official who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584.

Here's every incorporated Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles in the country, ranked by population:

There are 10 more instances of Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles names across the country, but they’re what the Census Bureau calls a census-designated place (CDP). This means it's a real, named community, but it was never legally incorporated as a city, village, or town under state law and doesn’t have a municipal government of its own.

In terms of CDPs, there’s a Batavia in Arkansas, Montana, and Wisconsin, a Geneva in Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington, and a St. Charles in South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia.

All together, that means (including the Tri-Cities) there are 31 places using these names across the country.

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