I’ve recently learned that Occidental College was named for being the westernmost institution of higher learning in the United States at the time of its establishment in 1887.
Occidental (from the root occident) means “the countries or lands of the West” (in contrast to “Oriental,” which implies countries or lands of the East).
This strikes me as a short-sighted and fairly presumptuous name, particularly since it is no longer the westernmost institution of higher learning.
Unless you are absolutely sure that no college will ever be established west of your position, naming your college based upon its far western position is destined to look silly when someone builds something a block farther west than you.
