York (disambiguation) - Definition and Overview

York is the name of a number of places around the world. It is also a surname (sometimes spelt Yorke), an English royal house, a dukedom and an archbishopric.

The original York is York, England, which derives its name from the Viking Jorvik. The city gives its name to the traditional county of Yorkshire, and hence also to the modern counties of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and the region of Yorkshire and the Humber. It is the site of the University of York and the home of York City association football club.

The House of York was a fifteenth century dynasty of English kings. The Duke of York is a title traditionally given to a younger son of the English (and, later, British) monarch. Several notable historical figures have held this title; the current duke is Prince Andrew. The Archbishop of York is the junior of the two archbishops in the Church of England; the current archbishop is Dr David Hope.

Several ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS York.

The York Rite is a branch of freemasonry.

Places named York

The City and Dukes of York have given their name to a number of places:

• in Canada:
  • York, Upper Canada is the former name (until 1834) of Toronto, Ontario. The township and county then surrounding the city retained the original name of York; they eventually became the Cities of York and North York and the Borough of East York (all of which were amalgamated into Toronto in 1998 but survive as informal place names), and the Regional Municipality of York (immediately north of Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area). Yorkville, once a village adjacent to Toronto, is also now a district of the city. Toronto also has a York University.
• in the United States of America
  • New York City and New York State, named for King James II of England, who was Duke of York at the time of their establishment (see also New York (disambiguation))
  • York, Alabama
  • York, Maine
  • York, Nebraska
  • York, New York
  • York, Nebraska
  • York, North Dakota
  • York, Pennsylvania
  • York, South Carolina
  • York, Wisconsin (three places):
    • York, Clark County, Wisconsin
    • York, Dane County, Wisconsin
    • York, Green County, Wisconsin
  • York Beach, Maine
  • York Harbor, Maine
  • York Charter Township, Michigan
  • York Township, Minnesota
  • York Springs, Pennsylvania
  • East York, Pennsylvania
  • York Haven, Pennsylvania
  • Little York, Illinois
  • Little York, Indiana
  • York County, Maine
  • York County, Nebraska
  • York County, Pennsylvania
  • York County, South Carolina
  • York County, Virginia

• in Australia:
  • York, Western Australia
  • Cape York, a peninsula in Queensland

• Also various places called Yorktown, Yorkton, Yorkville and York County.

People named York and Yorke

York and Yorke are also common surnames:

• Alvin York (US war hero and subject of the film Sergeant York)
• Dick York (US actor)
• Herbert York (US physicist)
• Michael York (British actor)
• Susannah York (British actress)
• Charles Yorke (18th century British historian and politician)
• Charles Philip Yorke (19th century British politician)
• Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke (19th century British politician)
• Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago footballer)
• James A. Yorke (US mathematician and physicist)
• Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke (18th century British lawyer and politician)
• Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke (18th century British historian and politician)
• Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (18th and 19th century British politician)
• Thomas (Thom) Yorke (British musician)

"York" was also the only given name of the black manservant William Clark brought with him on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.