If there is one thing D.C. residents really can’t agree on, it’s how to refer to neighborhoods. Some characterize neighborhoods based on their closest metro station. Others, especially those who live in large neighborhoods, pinpoint where they are on the map by identifying sub-neighborhoods, like Hill East or Barracks Row in Capitol Hill or Atlas District in NoMa.

These neighborhood names have evolved so much throughout the years that older neighborhood names like Swampoodle and Lily Ponds are nearly unrecognizable to some newer residents.

In a recent report, the Washington City Paper identified five neighborhood names that have emerged just in the past few years, and how they came about. 

North End Shaw

Developer J.B. Cos (Now J.B. Smith) identified this area around the 9:30 Club and the Atlantic Plumbing Project, where more new bars and restaurants have begun to pop up. 

North Capitol

Residents may recognize North Capitol as the name of the street that divides D.C.’s Northeast and Northwest quadrants, but it also refers specifically to parts of Bloomingdale and Truxton Circle between New York Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue NW. It appeared in a Washington Post real estate article, which branded the area as having a “neighborhood feel in the big city.”

North District

Although not technically inside district lines, North District refers to an area within Arlington, Virginia’s Crystal City. The developer behind many of the area’s projects said creating neighborhoods treats Crystal City more like a city. 

East End

Many residents are familiar with West End, the area where Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, and Dupont intersect. But the former mayor and current City Councilmember Vince Gray is running a campaign to introduce East End in the area many residents currently refer to as “east of the [Anacostia] river.”

“I'm rebranding Wards 7 & 8 as ‘East End,’” Gray tweeted in September. “We have a ‘West End’ of DC & ‘East of the River’ has been used to demean & separate.”

Twin Oaks

Originally proposed in 2015 by former Washington City Paper staff Aaron Weiner, Twin Oaks is North of Columbia Heights and West of Petworth. It even has its own Twitter account.