I have seen plantations with names, such as "Buena Vista," "Golden Hills," etc. in the Virginia records and this is also done in Maryland with names such as "Essex Lodge" or "Town Point."  Also in Maryland, they named their patented tracts as well, such as "Not So-Good-in-Finland," "Hall's Folly," "Good Plenty," and so on.  Such names go back to the 17th century in many cases.  It was a way of identifying their isolated homesteads their neighbors and visitors alike, and presumably, was a continuation of the English custom of naming their homeplace as Paul Courtney mentioned.



> This past week, I have been researching a house identified in the County  
> Recorder's records as "Sea Bluff." A few weeks ago, another house was identified  
> as "La Casa de las Siete Candelas" (house of seven candles). Has anyone out  
> there got ideas on why and when people named houses? Why dont we see this  
> anymore? Is there a cultural or historical root to this practice of naming  
> houses?
>  
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.