"Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon," Groening said—and Simpsons fans everywhere exhaled.

Plus, the sitcom mastermind added, he lived on a street called Evergreen Terrace growing up!

"The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show Father Knows Best took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do."

Speaking of which, are you surprised that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie (not to mention all their crazy friends neighbors) live in Oregon?

Normally, this sort of Sex and the City, Big's-real-name reveal would have us wondering if Groening is getting ready to pack it in. But Fox has already renewed The Simpsons for seasons 24 and 25, so maybe it just means that Oregon will finally be getting a shout-out!