Cross-border town naming occurs where towns or villages with the same or equivalent names are divided between two different countries. This does not necessarily imply that those towns or villages are located in geographic proximity or that they are located near a current border (divided cities). Reasons for this taking place may include the following:
- The town or village existed before the border or even before the modern concept of a border. The border was added later (sometimes by war), dividing a community.
- A community on one side of a border grows up to service the border and then takes the name of the adjacent community on the other side of the border.
- Communities grow up on both sides of the border to service the border, taking the name of the border crossing.
Most places are in Europe, but there are also some examples in North America and Asia. In Europe, until the first half of the 20th century and again since the Schengen Agreement in the late 20th century, such divisions could be mostly ignored by the inhabitants.
Examples
[edit]Note that this list includes only places with similar names that are in someway connected (by history, geography or otherwise) across modern-day international borders. Towns that have the same name but bear no relationship to each other are also very common but not particularly notable.
Africa
[edit]| Cross-border town | Countries |
|---|---|
| Moyale and Moyale |  Ethiopia /  Kenya
|
| Mobaye and Mobayi-Mbongo |  Central African Republic /  Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
| Cocobeach and Cogo |  Gabon /  Equatorial Guinea
|
| Loukolela and Lukolela |  Republic of the Congo / Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
| Mulanje and Milange |  Malawi /  Mozambique
|
| Chirundu and Chirundu |  Zambia /  Zimbabwe
|
| Mukumbura and Mucumbara | Zimbabwe / Mozambique
|
Asia
[edit]| Cross-border town | Countries |
|---|---|
| Astara and Astara |  Azerbaijan /  Iran
|
| Julfa and Julfa | |
| Biləsuvar and Bileh Savar | |
| Luohu District and Lowu |  China /  Hong Kong SAR
|
| Shatoujiao Subdistrict and Sha Tau Kok | |
| Khorgas and Khorgas | China /  Kazakhstan
|
| Sarpi and Sarp |  Georgia /  Turkey
|
| Padang Besar and Padang Besar |  Malaysia /  Thailand
|
| Dibba /Al Buraimi-Al Ain |  Oman /  UAE
|
| Al-Mazyunah and Shahan District | Oman /  Yemen
|
| Ishkoshim and Ishkashim |  Tajikistan /  Afghanistan
|
| Sarahs and Sarakhs |  Turkmenistan / Iran
|
| Kara-Suu and Qorasuv |  Uzbekistan /  Kyrgyzstan
|
Europe
[edit]
North America
[edit]Towns and cities listed have names of a common origin across an international boundary; matching pairs across provincial or state boundaries (such as Kansas City or Lloydminster) are common but are not listed here.
| Cross-border town | Countries |
|---|---|
| Beebe Plain, Quebec and Beebe Plain, Vermont |  United States /  Canada
|
| Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York | |
| Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | |
| North Portal, Saskatchewan and Portal, North Dakota | |
| Madawaska County, New Brunswick and Madawaska, Maine | |
| Calexico, California and Mexicali, Baja California | United States /  Mexico
|
| Tecate, California and Tecate, Baja California | |
| Naco, Arizona and Naco, Sonora | |
| Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora | |
| San Luis, Arizona and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora | |
| El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (formerly El Paso del Norte, 1852–1888) | |
| Boquillas, Texas and Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila | |
| Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas | |
| Progreso, Texas and Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas |
South America
[edit]| Cross-border town | Countries |
|---|---|
| Antofagasta de la Sierra and Antofagasta |  Argentina /  Chile
|
| Coquimbito and Coquimbo | |
| San Sebastián | |
| Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú |  Brazil / Argentina
|
| Guajará-Mirim and Guayaramerín | Brazil /  Bolivia
|
| Oiapoque and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock |  Uruguay /  French Guiana
|
| Chuí and Chuy | Uruguay / Brazil
|
| Acegua and Aceguá |