FARGO - On what used to be farmland, near Davies High School, contractors are building a residential development around a large man-made pond.

Like any new development, vacant lots outnumber houses, and it's still possible to stare off into the distance at trees 1,000 yards away.

So it might seem a little odd to see signs at one of the entrances that says "Crofton Coves" - a cove is a sheltered bay by the sea or on a lake - with the white silhouette of a sea bird for effect.

Steve Iverson, the developer, said the name was inspired by the use of coving, a suburban layout with winding roads and lots of varying shapes and sizes. From there, it was natural to evoke a nautical theme, he said.

"Even though we're flood prone and water isn't always a positive thing when you're in the bottom of a big valley, a lot of people are lake people and like the water," he said.

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Crofton Coves is one of many subdivisions in Fargo-Moorhead with names that don't match their geography, such as Fargo's South Beach Townhomes or West Fargo's Brooks Harbor-a name that will soon grace the city's new elementary school. It's not a trend isolated to the area. Home builders all over want to remind home buyers of elsewhere.

Why? Part of it is marketing but, mostly, developers just like to have a little fun.

Widespread phenomenon

Names that blatantly evoke faraway geography seem like a universal phenomenon these days.

At the entrance to a Longmont, Colo., development is a sign that says "Sonoma Village at Ute Creek" with a bunch of grapes on it. This city in the shadow of the Rockies is nearly 1,000 miles from the vineyards of California.

Tropic Isles Estates in Medford, Ore., has streets named Bora Bora Way and Tahitian Avenue but is located some 19 degrees latitude north of the tropics.

In Atlanta, a development called Sherwood Forest has streets named Robin Hood Road and Lady Marian Lane.

It's not just an American phenomenon. India's developers favor western names such as Hamilton Heights or Casa Essenza or Mayfield Garden. Russians can live in developments such as Roman House or Little Italy.

In China, there's a "Thames Town," with architecture that could've been plucked from London and a "Hometown, U.S.A.," modeled after Jackson Hole, Wyo.

So it's little wonder that developers in Fargo-Moorhead would want names that sound a bit aspirational. Many subdivisions use words that evoke forests, high elevation or lakes, all things lacking here. Consider Forest Island Estates in Moorhead, Prairie Heights in West Fargo and Woodcrest in Fargo.

Drain 17 Parkway?

But where do these fanciful names come from?

"There's not a lot of science to it," Iverson said of picking names for his developments. "Just throw them all out there, see what everybody likes."

Once Iverson got the nautical theme from the use of coving, he said, he wanted to a historic connection of some kind. He eventually went back to the mid-19th century when the Red River Valley belonged to the British and a Lt. Col. John F. Crofton was essentially governor of the area.

It's a somewhat ironic name because Crofton, according to historians, desperately wanted to leave the area. He didn't feel his assignment here contributed to his career. Modern homeowners, though, seem to like Crofton Coves. Half the lots are already spoken for.

In Brooks Harbor, which lies along the Sheyenne Diversion, developer and Realtor Randy Cramer described a similarly loose naming process. He and a couple of guys were brainstorming, he said, and the landowner suggested "harbor." The diversion protects residents from flooding the way harbors protect ships from storms, he said. And brooks?

"It's just a couple of little brooks that run through there," he said.

Many other developers in the area also try to invent names that do bear some connection to their developments. A subdivision with a retention pond, or that's just near one, might be called "Westlake." A development near some trees, or where there used to be trees until they were clearcut to make way for homes, might be called "Goldenwood." One that's near a drainage ditch might be called "Creekside."

Sometimes a developer landscapes to fit the name. West Fargo's Maple Ridge, for example, features maple trees that appear to have recently been planted.

Fargo City Planner Jim Gilmour gets a lot of applications for subdivision and street names. He understands why developers would use fancy names.

"Rose Creek, the official name for that is Drain 17. Who wants to live on Drain 17 Parkway?" he said.

Dawn Morgan, a Fargo history buff and former historic preservation commissioner with the city, said it's funny to her how "ridge" is so favored by developers now. When she was young, places called "ridge," such as Golden Ridger, were at edge of town and home to people who couldn't afford to live closer in, she said.

From names to brands

The earliest subdivisions in Fargo-Moorhead are usually named after people such as Peterson's or Kirkham's, which isn't that different from how the cities got their names. Fargo and Moorhead were named by the Northern Pacific Railroad for two of its directors, William G. Fargo and William G. Moorhead.

More evocative, fanciful names didn't emerge until the 1950s and 60s, such as Forest Island Estates, a thin wooded peninsula on the Red River in Moorhead, or Knollbrook, which is near a drain but about as hilly as any other place in Fargo.

"It does seem the subdivisions are named more in terms of what they want to brand the development," Gilmour said.

When suburbanization was just getting started after World War II, he said, builders usually built maybe 20 homes at a time so there was never really a big development to name. Now, developments are more like mini-neighborhoods, he said. Crofton Coves, for example, has 132 lots now and that's just the first phase, Iverson said. The second phase would have 150 to 200 lots.

Morgan said she has long found the names of subdivisions appalling.

"They have nothing to do with place," she said.

Developers should name developments as Indians once did, focusing on the real nature of the place, Morgan said.

Locally, there are places such as the Buffalo and Wild Rice rivers, both translated Ojibwe place names that came from the abundance of bison and wild rice at those rivers.

Some developments do have fairly literal names. Near the old toll bridge that's at a bend in the river, also known as a pointe, is Moorhead's Bridgeview Pointe subdivision. In what used to be an open field on the west side is Fargo's Westfield subdivision.

Iverson has one of those, too. It's called Prairie Farms.

For developers, the name seems like more of a fun exercise than a serious business decision.

"I suppose there are names you could give things that are detrimental but I don't know if there's a name that actually helps sell it," Cramer said. "People might go, 'Ugh, I don't want to live there because of that name.' But I'm not sure people say, 'I'm going to live there because I love that name.'"

Frequent flights of fancy

Evocative names are common in real estate developments, but some subdivisions are especially evocative-though not necessarily geographically accurate. Here are the names of many such subdivisions in the Fargo-Moorhead area:

• South Beach Townhomes in Fargo is two-thirds of a mile east of the Sheyenne River and half a mile west of a drain. One might think this refers to the edge of glacial Lake Agassiz but, no, the beach is west of Casselton.

• Brooks Harbor in West Fargo has a waterway, but you won't find an actual harbor as that waterway is the Sheyenne Diversion. The developer said it provides safe harbor for residents. Now the development is providing the name for a new elementary school.

• Westport Beach in West Fargo is also on the banks of the diversion but, alas, there is no beach. The dictionary tells us a beach has sand or pebbles rather than mud.

• Crofton Coves in Fargo is not home to a small sheltered bay. It was named for its coving, which is what developers call a winding layout of streets. There is a large pond, though.

• Chateau Cheyenne in West Fargo is between a stockyard and an industrial park is by the Sheyenne River, but it lacks a chateau, which is an aristocrat's mansion.

• Highland Park in Moorhead is about 905 feet above sea level, a similar elevation as the rest of town.

• Bluemont Lakes in Fargo does have water features, they are more pond-sized.

• Eagle Pointe, Fargo. A pointe is a bend in the river but this development is not on one. There is a large pond though.

• Cobblestone Court in Fargo, luckily for the residents of this area, has streets made of asphalt.

• Oakhaven in West Fargo may have once been a refuge for oak trees, but it isn't anymore. There are few trees of any kind there.

• Timberline in Fargo features some trees, but they were planted on the former farmland and are still very small. And technically, a timberline is the line on the tundra or a tall mountain where the trees won't grow anymore, which is not true here.

• West Lake in West Fargo is north of a subdivision that has a pond. So there is neither a lake nor is this place west of one.

On the other hand, there are some subdivisions with literal names:

• Bridgeview Pointe in Moorhead is at a bend in the river and within sight of the 15th Avenue North bridge.

• Oak Grove in Fargo is near a grove of oak trees.

• Urban Plains in Fargo is an urban area on the plains.

• West River in West Fargo is on the west side of the Sheyenne.

• Prairie Sun is in both Moorhead and West Fargo, and both developments are in the sun on the prairie.

• Morningside in Moorhead is on the east side of town and probably sees the morning sun first.