City Dweller Names

[AAllan at AOL.COM]

<< My favorite is "Haligonian" for someone who lives in Halifax. If someone
can explain that one to me, I'd be eternally (more or less) grateful. >>

_Labels for Locals_ doesn't exactly explain it, but it does say: >>This North
American demonym has a long history. Researcher David Shulman has found it in
print as early as 1840: "[in] those days Haligonians were proverbial for
their hospitality" (The United Service Magazine). Shulman also found an
example from 1859 in which the term was spelled with two l's, but this must
be considered an error or ephemeral variation.<<

You might also be interested in this, from the preface:  >>Some years ago
historian, onomastician, and novelist George R. Stewart, Jr. outlined a set
of principles for such names that boiled down to this: If the name of the
place ends in -a or -ia, an -n should be added; if it ends in -on, add -ian;
if it ends in -i, add -an; if it ends in -o, add -an; and if it ends in -y,
change the -y to an -i and add -an. If, however, the place ends in a sounded
-e, -an is added; if it ends in -olis, it becomes -olitan; and if it ends
with a consonant or a silent -e, either -ite or -er is added.<< Doesn't work
in all cases, of course.

- Allan Metcalf