Hoboken
/ˈhoʊ.boʊ.kən/noun
A proper name used for a city in New Jersey and for a municipality near Antwerp, Belgium.
Did you know?New Jersey’s Hoboken was named after Hoboken near Antwerp, but the Belgian name’s own origin remains debated, with “high beeches” being one leading interpretation.
Etymological Timeline
Medieval period
Middle Dutch
Hoboken
“The name of a settlement near Antwerp; its internal origin is uncertain.”
Medieval period
Middle Dutch
hooghe beuken
““High beeches,” a proposed interpretation of the Belgian place-name, though not universally accepted.”
Late 16th–17th Century
Dutch
Hoboken
“A Dutch place-name referring to the settlement near Antwerp.”
Early 19th Century
English
Hoboken
“Adopted as the name of John Stevens’s planned settlement on the New Jersey waterfront, after the Belgian place-name.”
Modern English
English
Hoboken
“A city in New Jersey, and the name of the Belgian municipality.”