Yes, You Can Name a Street After Yourself in PA; Here's How

I always thought it would be cool to have a street named after myself. "Kayla Nicole Street" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Renaming a street has been done before. It actually happens all the time, but the process is tedious. You have to reeeaaalllly want it to go through all the time and stress.

So before you get too excited about renaming the Pennsylvania street you live on after your grandma, let's see if you meet the criteria first. The requirements vary slightly according to the city you are in, but overall they're pretty much the same across the board.

Let's use your grandmother as an example in this scenario. In order for you to apply to have a street named after her, her name must be appropriate and easy to read, according to the Huntingdon County Street Naming and Addressing Ordinance and Policy. Your grandmother's name must also hold some type of weight within the community. "...should add to community pride; promoting local heritage, history and traditions and reflecting local geography and character," the ordinance states.

You also have to make sure the name you are choosing aligns with the city or town's theme. For example, Philadelphia has a lot of streets named after trees like Chestnut, Walnut and Spruce Streets, so your grandmother's name might not fit in.

Chapter 420 in Pittsburgh's' Code of Ordinance states that the name you choose must be unique and can't look or sound like any other street name that exist in the city.

Here is what you will need to fill out on your application, according to the state's Street Naming Ordinance.

(a) Name of the applicant(s);

(b) Existing street name;

(c) Proposed street name;

(d) Location of the street and legible map;

(e) Reason for request;

(f) Written consent from a majority of the people owning property or living on the street stating they agree with the proposed street name.

(g) An agreement to pay for all necessary changes required for official documentation and street name signage required to implement the new street name. These fees will be waived when an existing name for a particular street does not meet the standards of NENA and this ordinance.

After all that, your request will be reviewed by a committee. If the committee finds that the name you choose holds more weight then the historical value of the current street name, then the street is all yours!

Now that's not all. This is gonna cost you so money. According to residents who have gone through the process before, you're looking at about a thousand dollars spent. Maybe less. It all depends on if the street you a renaming is in a neighborhood, a small cult-de sac, or an intersection. You are going to have to pay to have the new sign made, the labor to change it out, and of course the application and processing fees which will be around 200 dollars depending on the city.

Good luck!