Anatomy of Street Names
A complete street name consists of as many as four parts, which for this discussion are the prefix, specific name, generic name, and suffix. Seldom, and never within Hamden, are all four parts used, but there are nearly always both the specific and generic names.
The prefix, if present, is usually one of the four cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West. Hamden has a few instances of the prefix Old, indicating the original route of a street that has been relocated, for example Old Dixwell Avenue. A direction at the start of a street name is not necessarily a prefix. “West” is a prefix in West Todd Street, because it is a western extension of Todd Street, but it is part of the specific name in West Woods Road, because there is no Woods Road.
The specific name is the most essential part, such as Benham, Dixwell, Ridge. The Postal Service prefers there not be duplication of the same specific name with different generic names within a municipality, but there are many such cases in Hamden. In some cases, they are connecting streets (Washington Avenue, Road, and Court); in others, they are in different neighborhoods (Park Road and Park Avenue).
The specific name is followed by a generic name (which is alternately called a suffix). Examples of generic names are Street, Avenue, Road, and Drive. These are not usually arbitrary but have some relation to the nature of the thoroughfare, as will be discussed in the next section. Hamden has one single-word street name, Broadway, which combines the specific “broad” and generic “way”.
The generic name is sometimes followed by a suffix, which is also most often one of the four cardinal directions, as in Forest Court North and South. “Extension” is another common suffix (Denslow Hill Road Extension).
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