The City of Lake Worth considering a name change

What's in a name? After 100 years of being known as the City of Lake Worth, residents could soon decide to call it something else.

The coastal city is considering a change to its name to 'Lake Worth Beach'.

"Lake Worth Beach rolls off our tongues just as easily as Lake Worth does," said Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, who is behind the proposal. Maxwell says there is confusion about the city's western limits, an area often referred to as 'suburban' Lake Worth.

"We've been dealing with a number of folks who don't live in the city who kind of think they do live in the city," he said. Adding 'Beach' to the name, Maxwell says, will help clarify who is a resident and who is not.

"Lake Worth Beach?" asked Josephine Eaves. "It's all right but what's the point of changing it," she said while closing up her downtown Lake Worth business for the day.

Drawing people in is one of the aims of the plan. Letting out-of-towners know that the city - with its renovated waterfront casino - can be a beach-goers delight.

"It doesn't really make that big of difference but the 'beach' part might draw more people in," said Lake Worth resident Jessica Larkin.

Maxwell believes the name change will re-energize the city.

"Maybe Lake Worth will be something that sticks out in their mind as a place to go where they hadn't thought about that in the past," he said. Maxwell, who is also a commissioner in the city of Lake Worth, has not pinpointed the price of a name change.

He says costs would likely be limited to updating signage at city boundaries and at city hall.

City commissioners are set to vote on this potential name change Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m.  If approved, it could be placed on the ballot in November.

Residents would then decide if they want to live in Lake Worth or 'Lake Worth Beach'. "Some people will like having the word 'beach' in where they live and some people will just won't want to change the name," said resident Laura McClure.

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