Named after Johann de Kalb, a German-born general of the American Revolution.
DeKalb Avenue honours Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), born Johann Kalb in Hüttendorf, a village near Erlangen in Germany. He served in the French army, was elevated to the nobility as a baron, and became a major general in the Continental Army. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina in 1780. Numerous American towns and counties also bear his name.