Louisville was named for Louis XVI, the French king who was a great-grandson of Louis XIV.
The city was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark and named to honor Louis XVI of France for France’s assistance to the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. Louisville developed along the Falls of the Ohio, a navigational obstacle that encouraged boats to stop, unload, and transport cargo around the rapids. That location helped the settlement become an important inland port.
Louisville was Kentucky’s largest city and a major economic center, but it is not the state capital. Kentucky’s capital is Frankfort, a smaller city on the Kentucky River. Louisville’s name is pronounced “LOO-uh-vil” or “LOO-ee-vil,” depending on local usage. The honoree, Louis XVI, ruled France from 1774 until his execution during the French Revolution in 1793.