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U.S. Cities by Letter - M

Use the clues to identify the correct U.S. city whose name begins with M.

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Answers only include incorporated places with a population of at least 100,000 as of 1 July 2022 (based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates).
Quiz by arjaygee
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Last updated: May 23, 2024
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First submittedSeptember 14, 2023
Times taken51
Average score72.7%
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Clue
Answer
The second most populous city in Tennessee, the “Home of the Blues,” is also the location of Graceland.
Memphis
The largest city in Wisconsin is a center for German-American culture.
Milwaukee
The third largest city in Arizona is named for the plateau-like formation on which it stands.
Mesa
The second most populous city in Florida is known for its art deco architecture. Its name was used in the title of a 1980s crime drama television series.
Miami
The “City of Lakes” is the largest city in Minnesota.
Minneapolis
The capital of and second largest city in Wisconsin is named after the fourth President of the United States.
Madison
The name of California’s nineteenth largest city commemorates (in Spanish) the modesty of one of the city’s founders who declined the honor of having the city named after him.
Modesto
This California city was once the site of the Riverside International Raceway. Its name has two words. The first is a Spanish word that can be translated as “brunet,” “brown,” or “dark,” and is also the surname of actress Rita, who played Anita in the original film version of West Side Story. The second word, an English one, means “a low area of land between hills or mountains.”
Moreno Valley
Both Collin County, Texas and its county seat are named after the same man, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence (from Mexico). The county uses his given name; the city uses his surname, which is shared by actor Bill, who played the perverted mountain man in the 1972 film Deliverance.
McKinney
The capital of and third most populous city in Alabama was named for a major general in the Continental Army, was the first capital of the Confederate States of America, and was a center of Civil Rights Movement activity.
Montgomery
Alabama’s second most populous city was founded in 1702 by French colonists as Fort Louis de la Louisiane. Its present-day name is the word used for “cell phone” in British English.
Mobile
Clue
Answer
The sixth largest city in Tennessee served as the state capital from 1818 to 1826. Its name sounds a bit like “Murphysborough,” but that’s not what it is.
Murfreesboro
Known as “The Heart of Georgia,” this city consolidated with Bibb County in 2014, making it Georgia’s fourth largest city. Its name rhymes with one of the three principal ingredients of a BLT sandwich.
Macon
The self-proclaimed “Rodeo Capital of Texas” was named after a river, although its name also refers to a spiny tree whose bark is burned as barbecue flavoring.
Mesquite
The 22nd most populous city in Texas was named after one of its founders. Its name begins with the two-letter prefix meaning “son” or “son of” that is found in many Irish surnames. It ends with the surname of filmmaker/comedian/actor Woody, who directed the films Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Hannah and Her Sisters.
McAllen
The eleventh largest city in Florida is named after a neighborhood in Havana, Cuba. Its name translates from Spanish as “look at the sea.”
Miramar
Beginning its life as “Midway Station” in 1881, this Texas city is the location of the George W. Bush Childhood Home. It was a former home to both George W. and George H. W. Bush.
Midland
This Idaho city sits on “a circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth's surface and the terrestrial poles” and its name directly reflects that fact.
Meridian
In a bit of aspirational naming, the most populous city in New Hampshire honors the English city considered to be the world’s first industrialized city.
Manchester
This is a tough one if you’re not familiar with this city! Hot springs helped make this California city a resort town until trains stopped servicing it in 1935. It is named after one of its founders, a Spaniard. To approximate its pronunciation, combine the following.
1. The first three letters of a word that means “a painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall.”
2. A common prefix meaning “again.”
3. The vowel in “bed.”
4. The last two letters of a Spanish word meaning “nap.”
Murrieta
This city’s name originated from the local name for Florida State Road 860. The first word of its name is also the name of the art deco city that was an answer to a previous question in this quiz. The second word is the plural form of a word meaning “a small piece of ground used to grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, or flowers.”
Miami Gardens
This California city, which sits in a valley of the same name, bears the middle name of a man who discovered a gold-bearing quartz ridge in the area in 1883. To spell its name, you must combine the following.
1. The plural of “man.”
2. The only vowel in “blintz.”
3. The word that means “a payment made to a professional person or to a professional or public body in exchange for advice or services.”
Menifee
2 Comments
+2
Level 90
Sep 15, 2023
That hint for Murfreesboro is pretty strong.
+1
Level 69
Sep 15, 2023
I wasn’t sure how well-known Murfreesboro would be, so I may have erred on the side of too much information. I suspect that people who have never heard of it still won’t get it, but that it might ring a bell for someone with a passing knowledge … or an addicted quiz taker.