At The Volokh Conspiracy:  The question is asked “What do Jamestown (Virginia), San Diego and New York have in common?”

If you wish, you may follow the link and scroll through the comments to find the answer.  OR… read through to the end of this post and I will provide the answer.  The question caught my eye as I am a bit of a history buff and have been to all three places.  They are quite different from each other.

Jamestown isn’t really a city at all, rather it’s more of a historical archaeology site.  It is the site of the first permanent English settlement in America, dating back to 1607.

New York is ,well, New York.  It’s a helluva town;  The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down.  The area was first visited by Europeans in 1524 (Spain) but not settled until 1624 by Dutch fur traders.

San Diego is regarded as the birthplace of California and is it’s second largest city.  It is spectacularly situated on the Pacific coast and has a beautiful climate.  It was first visited by Europeans (Spain) in 1542, but not permanently settled by Europeans until 1769.

So, what do they have in common?  They all were named after a “James”.  Jamestown, obviously named after a James, that is King James I of England.  New York, not so obviously was named after The Duke Of York (later King James II).  Finally, San Diego was named after Sebastian Vizcaino’s flagship San Diego, which is in English Saint James.