Brentwood International

Many  place names started off as descriptions with definite articles. For example, the city of Bath, England, famous for its purportedly health-supporting natural spring, was referred to as "The Bath" until the 19^th century. The town of Devizes, about 20 miles east of Bath, used to be called "The Devizes," because it once divided the estates of two large landowners. In these cases, the definite articles dropped off when the locals started thinking of their town's name as more than a mere descriptor. But people in The Hague have stuck with the original phrase—even to the point of using the longer "Counts' Hedge" title from time to time. 

Not all place names using the come from these sorts of phrases. Place names that indicate plurality—usually referring to a collection of islands, mountains, or other geographic features—also tend to take the definite article. The Netherlands (the "low countries") and the Bahamas (referring to the collection of islands) are well-known examples. The city of The Dalles, Ore.—familiar as the last stop on the Oregon Trail to anyone who played the eponymous computer game—is named for rock formations along the Columbia River. And a town in Virginia goes by the name The Plains, while the city of White Plains in upstate New York seems to have lost the definite article very early on.

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