Welcome to L.A. Street Names, the origin stories of street names across Los Angeles County, from the shortest cul-de-sacs to the longest boulevards. Mysteries solved, myths debunked, scandals exposed, history revealed. This is an ongoing project with more than 1,700 streets – and growing. See FAQ for more information.
Featured Major Street
Bonnie Brae Street
It’s not named for a woman. Bonnie brae is Scottish Gaelic for “pretty hill”. That’s enough to explain the etymology of the Bonnie Brae tract, which opened in 1886: its ads did promise a “panoramic view” and an “elevated location”. But the tract’s developers George A. Dobinson and John A. Fairchild – neither of whom was Scottish – might have also been inspired by a lemon, of all things. The prizewinning Bonnie Brae lemon came from the Bonnie Brae Ranch in Bonita, near San Diego. As lemons go, it was all the rage in the 1880s, and Southern Californians were certainly not averse to naming streets after fruits. Whatever its origins, today’s Bonnie Brae Street once consisted of at least six smaller streets with various names. City Council cleaned up the mess in 1889 by decreeing that they all be renamed Bonnie Brae.