streetname

A street name is the label assigned to a public way within an urban or rural address system. It identifies a location for navigation, mail delivery, emergency services, and property ownership, and it is used by authorities for planning and governance.

The word street derives from Old English strǣt, ultimately from Latin via strata, meaning a paved road. Street names arise from descriptive features, local history, geography, or commemorations and vary by country and city.

Naming conventions are maintained by local authorities and can be guided by official policies. Names may honor individuals, reference landmarks or industries, describe terrain, or indicate direction or position. Suffixes such as Street, Avenue, Road, Lane, and Boulevard carry customary meanings in some regions, though the exact usage varies.

Common types include descriptive names (Main Street), commemorative names (Johnson Street), geographic or topographic names (Riverside Drive), and functional names (Industrial Way). Duplicate names within a jurisdiction are usually avoided to prevent confusion, and renaming may occur for political, historical, or practical reasons.

Administratively, street names appear in official gazetteers and are tied to postal codes, GIS databases, and emergency response systems. When changes are proposed, processes typically involve public consultation, signage updates, and recoding maps and addresses.