A Town in Canada Called “Russell” Just Changed Its Name…to “Russell”

If your name is Russell . . . first, last, or middle . . . congratulations. A town in Canada just named itself after you!

There’s a town near Ottawa called Russell that’s had that name for 225 years. But there’s been a big push to change it, because it was named after a slave-owner.

Before 1797, it was called Elmsley. So they could have gone back to that. But a lot of businesses there have “Russell” in their name. So instead, they decided to keep the name Russell . . . but officially declare it’s NOT named after the slave-owner guy anymore. Instead, it’s now named after ALL Russells.

Technically, you have to be a Russell who’s touched the community in a positive way. But the bar seems pretty low for that.

For example, there was talk about specifically naming the town after Andrew Garfield, because his middle name is Russell. And as far as we can tell, his main contribution is a few Spider-Man movies people enjoyed.

This isn’t the first time something like this has been done. Seattle’s “King County” was named after Vice President William R. King, who owned slaves. But they changed it in 2005, so it’s named after Martin Luther King, Jr.

This could be the first town named after ALL people with one name though.