Lingo, New Mexico

Lingo is a populated place in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States, located at latitude 33.7884278 and longitude -103.1146674, at 3,986 feet of elevation.[1] The original name given the settlement in 1916 was “Need”, but U.S. postal authorities said that was too much like “Weed” in Otero County,[2] so in 1918 the name was changed to "Lingo".

Lingo, New Mexico
Populated place
Lingo Location within New Mexico Lingo Location within the United States
Coordinates: 33°47′18.6″N 103°6′54″W
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Roosevelt
Founded	1916 (as "Need")
Elevation	3,986 ft (1,215 m)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (Mountain)

The community post office was originally located three miles south of the current location on New Mexico State Road 114, seven miles south of Causey and five miles from the Texas border.[3]

An early authority on New Mexico place names states the name was derived from the Southwestern colloquial term "lingo" (from Latin lingua tongue),[2] but a later authority states that the name more likely resulted from a family name.[3]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lingo, New Mexico
2. Pearce, T.M. (editor) with Cassidy, Ina Sizer and Pearce, Helen S. (1965) "Lingo" New Mexico Place Names; A Geographical Dictionary University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, page 88
3. Julyan, Robert Hixson (1998) "Lingo" The Place Names of New Mexico (second edition) University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, page 204, ISBN 0-8263-1689-1