How do new streets get their names?

Since 1998, Lorrie Parise has come up with the names for hundreds of streets, roads, driveways and pathways that crisscross two Houston-area planned communities, The Woodlands and The Woodlands Hills. At some point it occurred to her that naming a baby was easier than naming a street.

“You have to find the right balance,” said Ms. Parise, now regional director of public and community relations for Howard Hughes Holdings, a real estate development and management company. “You want the street name to be something people could be proud of. But you shouldn’t try too hard with the name. If it’s too complicated or too hard to spell, you’ve gone a little too far.”

Sometimes Ms. Parise loses sleep trying to sum up the name. Sometimes it helps to look at the area on a map, as well as the name of the neighborhood. For Prelude Woods, a section of the Woodlands Hills, Ms. Parise chose music-themed names like Pastoral Medley, Calmato Woods Way and Lontano Path. The road leading to Woodlands College Park High School is Honor Roll Drive.

According to the United States Postal Service, the most common street names in the country are a little less whimsical (take our quiz to find out what they are). But whether imaginative or pragmatic, they have a job to do. While it’s unlikely that homebuyers would put a down payment on a home or walk away just because they love (or hate) the idea of ​​living on Pastoral Medley, names often play a role in the decision, albeit subtly.

“You’re buying a house and everything that comes with it,” said Aren Bazzocco, the Sacramento division manager of home builder Taylor Morrison. “You buy the neighborhood, the environment, the whole package – and that includes the name.”