Named after an old colonial road whose royal name has more than one explanation.
Kings Highway began as a Native American trail, recorded in a 1652 deed as ‘Mechawanienck’, ‘the ancient pathway’. One account says colonists named the road after Kings County, itself named in 1683 after King Charles II of England; NYC Parks notes that ‘Kings Highway’ was a common name for public highways in colonial times. The road once ran from Brooklyn Ferry to Flatlands, then west through New Utrecht.