News & Politics

What Should We Call the Prince of Petworth, Now That He’s Left Petworth?

Farewell to the beautiful life. Photograph by Flickr user Elvert Barnes.

Dan Silverman, the author of popular restaurant-evangelizing and pet-photo-collecting blog PoPville, confesses a shocking development in a post today: He no longer lives in Petworth, the fast-developing neighborhood where he launched his site—originally called Prince of Petworth—in 2006. Silverman writes that he has recently taken up residence on the far side of Rock Creek Park.

Silverman moved for school reasons: He’s got a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and another on the way (Mazel tov!), and last year’s revision of DC Public Schools’ boundaries moved him out of his “preferred elementary school,” he writes.

We wish Silverman all the best in raising his family, but this move raises a serious issue: We can’t call him the Prince of Petworth now that he’s moved away. And because DC neighborhood nerds dispute whether or not “Van Ness” is a legitimate neighborhood (the titular Metro station is in Forest Hills), here are several options for Silverman to consider:

  • Viscount or Viceroy of Van Ness
  • Friar of Forest Hills
  • Treasurer of Tenleytown
  • Commandant of Cleveland Park
  • Knave of North Cleveland Park
  • Marshal of McLean Gardens
  • Archduke of American University Park
  • Sir Dan of Spring Valley
  • Proconsul of the Palisades
  • Privy Counsellor of Potomac Heights
  • First Lord of Foxhall
  • Friar of Friendship Heights
  • Grand Moff of Glover Park
  • Khal of Kent
  • Warrant Officer of Wesley Heights
  • Warren of Wakefield
  • Chancellor of Chevy Chase
  • Baron of Barnaby Woods
  • Holy Roman Emperor of Hawthorne
  • Usher of Upper Caucasia
  • Wizard of the Wilson High School Boundary

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.