The nation’s capital was officially named for President George Washington on this day in 1791, two years after Congress officially declared a capital would be built on the Potomac. An appointed commission made the decision to name the new capital the “City of Washington,” and the area around it the “Territory of Columbia.” That first name stuck — but the second one didn’t last long.
At the time, the territory already contained two cities, Georgetown in Maryland and Alexandria in Virginia. The land had been ceded to the new national government, but the states were still in charge.
In 1801, that changed when full governance of the territory was given to the federal government and it was renamed the District of Columbia. It’s worth noting that we don’t actually know how Washington felt about the city being named for him; he never used the name when referring to the capital.
