The location of Kansas City, Missouri has confused many people over the years. Why does a city in the state of Missouri share a name with the state of Kansas? Well, Kansas City isn’t named after its neighbouring state. It’s named after the Kansas River.

Kansas City was founded at the mouth of the Kansas River, right where it flows into the Missouri River (at the border between Missouri and Kansas). The Kansas River, in turn, was named after the First Nations tribe who lived there originally, the Kanza people.

Roughly two decades after the founding of Kansas City, Missouri, another Kansas City was formed in Kansas, right across the state border from the original Kansas City.

There are several different opinions on why Kansas City, Kansas was given the same name as its Missouri counterpart. Some believe it grew out of a suburb of the original KC, and others think the founders tried to capitalize on the growing popularity of Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City, KS is part of the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area, but it’s officially recognized as its own distinct city.