What Is The Difference Between A Street, Avenue, Road, Boulevard, And More?

There are at least two parts to every street name — the name itself and a suffix. So, in the case of Oak Street, the name would be "oak" and the suffix is "street."

If we asked you to name a few suffixes that come to mind, you'd probably be able to name the heavy hitters: road, avenue, and boulevard, for example. However, there are also many more obscure choices, according to the United States Postal Service, such as Haven, Light, and Pine.

So, what's the difference between all the names? Do they actually mean anything? The answer is a little more complicated than you might think.

Typically, there's no real difference between these meanings, as any street can have any suffix. (And, in case you were wondering, it's generally developers who name streets, pending approval from local government officials, per Fox News.)

That said, many municipalities have their own rules when it comes to suffix conventions. For instance, Los Angeles County requires east and west thoroughfares to be called streets and north and south ones to be called avenues.

Another notable exception is state and interstate highways, which adhere to certain naming conventions — but that's regarding their numbering, per the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

Getting into semantics, most street suffixes ​do​ designate some specific type of thoroughfare. Whether or not they're used appropriately is another question.

Here are a few of the most common street suffixes and their formal meanings, based on their Merriam-Webster definitions. They're a bit generic, so you can see how there's no official standard!