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Springfield is a common name and known, in part, for being a common place-name in the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey there are currently 34 populated places (in 25 states) named Springfield in the United States^[1] — at least four in Wisconsin, and no fewer than nine Springfield townships in Pennsylvania. On the other hand, database studies suggest that there are many more common place-names, including Fairview, Midway, and Oak Grove; accounting for all the place-names in the United States is made difficult by database ambiguities, but the reality seems to be that the popularity of "Springfield" relative to other names is more legend than fact.^[2] The name "Springfield" is also quite common in the British Isles with a notable example being on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

The television show The Simpsons is set in a town generically named "Springfield", without indicating a state. Creator Matt Groening has suggested in interviews that he chose the name because of its ubiquity; the show's intentionally contradictory information about the location of Springfield has prevented matching the fictional Springfield to a real one. Springfield was also the setting of the early 1950s radio and television program, Father Knows Best, as well as the 1950s soap opera The Guiding Light, which continued as the CBS soap opera Guiding Light through 2009.

Historically, the first American Springfield was Springfield, Massachusetts. As of 2007, with an estimated population of 149,938, it places a very close second to the most populous city with this name, Springfield, Missouri, with an estimated 154,777 people.

Springfield, Illinois, the former home of Abraham Lincoln, is the only state capital with this name. As of 2006, it has an estimated population of 116,482.

External links

• Website with a list of many Springfields, illustrated by postcards.

References