9. Kensington takes its name from a borough of London (but you wouldn’t be able to notice)

Kensington homes

Today, Kensington has a very diverse population with a mix of Orthodox Jews, South Asians, Russians, and Caribbeans, as well as a small immigrant community from Darfur, Sudan. Its name, however, as with quite a few neighborhoods nearby like Windsor Terrace, comes from the British. Kensington takes its name from a western borough of London that also includes Chelsea and is immediately west of Westminster.

Kensington got its name after the completion of Ocean Parkway, after which many Irish and Italians moved into the neighborhood. Though no resident would be able to trace much British history to the area, British names are reflected in roadways like Beverley and Albemarle Roads, as well as in some apartment complexes. The British names were meant to connote an air of sophistication. The presence of many Victorian homes and some Tudor-style apartments reveal the area’s early attempts to resemble a British community. The Hindi and Urdu on Church Avenue, Yiddish and Hebrew on Ocean Parkway, and spots like the Russian spa house Brooklyn Banya now give the neighborhood a much more diverse feel.