Good evening, Are intersections named at random, or is there some coded reasoning behind the naming of intersections? Thanks for any repliesJ.C. (MYNN)ASEL, AMEL

I have heard that they were named by the people who use them, normally the area controllers. They are often named for local landmarks or features and sometimes designed to be easy to remember. One approach uses intersections named ITAWT, ITAWW, APUDY, TAATT (no promises on the spelling). Sorry but I don't remember the airport. R-

They're named by the folks who do the route mappings - they reflect the area they're in and a good sense of humor!DJ

We have some around here named after obvious things:COYOT - Phoenix Coyotes NHL TeamDBACK - Arizona Diamondbacks - MLB TeamHATRK - A play in sportsGDALE - City of GlendaleMINGY - Mingus MountainPLSNT - Lake PleasantSUNSS - Phoenix Suns NBA teamHOOPS & DUNKK & BBALL - NBA ReferenceDRYHT - Dry heat! :-lol I just picked up on that!

I often wonder too.North of me in Denver is one called TOMSN, in fact a STAR from the north-west has this name too. TOMSN is over the Big Thompson river, so there's one with a meaning.They are all 5 character names that are pronouncable, although I do wonder with some of the recent GPS approach names. Just as TOMSN is a logical choice for a name, south of Denver is one called HOHUM, goodness knows how that one came about! :)Bruce.

In Philadelphia we have the Schuylkill Expressway as one of the main Philadelphia highways. The waypoints on the BOJID One RNAV arrival is SKOOL KYILL EXPRS WHEYY. I got a chuckle out of that one.

>I have heard that they were named by the people who use them,>normally the area controllers. They are often named for local>landmarks or features and sometimes designed to be easy to>remember. One approach uses intersections named ITAWT, ITAWW,>APUDY, TAATT (no promises on the spelling). Sorry but I don't>remember the airport. R-The Aiport is KPSM the RNAV GPS RWY34 reads:ITAWT ITAWA PUDYE TTATT with the missed approach hold at IDEEDCheers

There's a few around Detroit Metro named after Detroit Tigers players tycob, etc.BlairCYOW

Most are random letters to make a 5 letter identifier, but some are given clever names at the request of locals.----------------------------------------------------------------John MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private ASEL 141.2 hrs, 314 landings, 46 inst. apprs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

Some in the UK are named after nearby geographic locations.BEXIL - BexhillDORKI - DorkingBIG - Biggin HillTANET - ThanetPOMPI - Pompey (naval slang for Portsmouth)There are also TIMBA and LUMBA which are co-locatedIn the English Channel there are DRAKE, HAWKE, BENBO, HARDY named after famous sailors. There is also CAMRA, which is the acronym of the Campaign for Real Ale!

Here in the United States intersections are all named by the FAA. At one time the intersections were named for what was below them. But in recent years the FAA has changed to names which can be used by computers and so now the intersection names are all supposed to be pronounceable "words". Sometimes they are random words, sometimes humorous (probably the only time the FAA ever shows a sense of humor), and sometimes named after landmarks or people. My daughter-in-law has one named after her (her father ran that section of the FAA for a while).Doug

If they were random letters than you would have fixes that you would not be able to pronounce like XZYQQ.

And of course, we have the GOOFY2 Arrival into KMCO. :D. There are other fixes named after Disney characters in the area, for obvious reasons.

I think it's RNAV(GPS)RWY 16, and there's also an IAF called SATAN on that chart

Some of the fixes on GPS approaches seem to be random letters, but most of the established intersections and fixes that have been around are usually named after local landmarks. One intersection/fix on an approach where I did my instrument training was SKENE intersection. When practicing the approach, when you reached SKENE, you could look down and see a water tower with Skene printed on it. Skene is just some little farm town in the middle of nowhere, there's not much there other than the water tower. I always thought it was cool how the intersection was right over the water tower. I wonder if it was just a coincidence or if the put it there on purpose.