Yishun Natura, Fernvale Foliage, Alkaff Vista. If you live in a public housing estate in Singapore, chances are its name draws on nature or views.
There are more than 29 developments called “Vista” across the island – from Jurong East (Jurong East Vista) to Dawson (Dawson Vista) to Punggol (Punggol Vista). But some estates stand out with unexpected monikers like “Portico” (Sembawang Portico), “Pride” (Keat Hong Pride) and “Aranda” (Aranda Breeze @ Yishun).
The Housing Board started naming public estates in the early 2000s, after the Build-To-Order (BTO) scheme was launched. Under this scheme, flats are built only when there is sufficient demand. Before that, public housing estates were simply known by their block and street name, like Block 204 Toa Payoh North.
Names can tell us a lot about our city, says Peter Tan, a lecturer with the English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies department at the National University of Singapore (NUS). “Signs, names and advertisements – they all tell us how a city operates, and different cities do these things differently.”
We can try to understand a city through reading its text, and the names of buildings are just one entry point.
We analysed more than 500 public housing estates which were completed after 2000 to see what their names say about Singapore’s values and aspirations.
What’s in an HDB estate name?
Let’s start with structure. HDB estates’ names are typically made up of two words: a town, district or street name, followed by a descriptive word. More than 60 per cent of the HDB estate names we looked at have this structure.
But 18 per cent, especially those in newer estates, follow another structure: a descriptive word and the “@” symbol, followed by the town or precinct name. The first example of this was The Pinnacle@Duxton, which was completed in 2009.
Some HDB estate names are coined by combining two words, like EastBank. There are also EastBrook, EastCreek and EastCrown, all belonging to a cluster of HDB flats in Canberra.
Of all the descriptive words used with estate names, the top three most commonly used ones are “Green”, “View” and “Vista”.
We also found several words that one would not typically associate with homes, such as “Linear”, “Rail” and “Blue”.
Some foreign words are also used in the names. “Casa”, for instance, means “house” in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, while “Belvia” is believed to derive from “beautiful” in Latin. This trend is also seen in private housing, with many condominium names drawing inspiration from foreign languages.
What makes an estate sound more like a condo than a HDB estate? We analysed HDB and condo names to identify the key naming patterns of each housing type, and created a scale that calculates whether an estate name sounds more like an HDB or a condo based on those patterns.
For example, these estate names have the “@” symbol, a town or MRT station name or a compound word, which are more common in HDB estate names.
Meanwhile, these HDB estate names incorporate features commonly found in condo names, such as “The”, romantic words, numerals or one-word names.
This trend of naming public housing estates and developments is relatively recent. But private housing developments in Singapore, such as condos, have a long history of being named. Take, for instance, Villaea Vista in Bukit Timah, which was completed in 1959.
So how do HDB names compare with condo names? We looked at condos in several areas to find common naming patterns.
Some older condo names could pass off as HDB estate names, says Tan. One of his main areas of research is onomastics, the study of names. “Condo names have been in existence for much longer, so the old, traditional condo names have become a kind of pattern that HDB uses for naming BTO flats.”
Older condos in Ulu Pandan – completed between 1978 and 2004 – showcase the naming patterns now commonly seen in BTO flats.
However, condo names – which are named by private developers and architects, and then approved by SBNB – are also more varied.
Aside from the older condo or HDB-style naming patterns, other patterns emerged. For example, several condo names were derived from the names of the streets they were built on, such as Newton 18 at 18 Newton Road. It is also common for a condo to be named after the developer, like High Oak Condominium in Bukit Timah by High Oak Properties.
Some condos have shortened, stylised and abstract names, such as 2 RVG at 2 River Valley Grove and 833 MB Residences at 833 Mountbatten Road.
Other condos, such as these ones at Pasir Panjang, display other creative naming features.
Some developments adopted deliberately unconventional spellings to make their projects stand out: using “z” instead of “s” in The Levelz in Farrer Road, and replacing “k” with “q” in Aspen LinQ in River Valley.
All these add prestige and a sense of foreignness to the development, says Tan. “You’re trying to sell something, so you want to create something that is seen as valuable.”
It is an example of linguistic capital – the idea that language and naming can be used to convey status and increase perceived value. It is sometimes less about the actual meaning of the word, and more about the connotations that the word brings, he adds.
“‘Regency’ and ‘Regent’ seem to come up a lot. They bring to mind a British or foreign connection.”
While most HDB estate names are straightforward, some of them use creative words like condos.
Some condo names have been mocked online for sounding overly pretentious or grammatically awkward. Similarly, online commenters have criticised HDB estate names for sounding more like condos, while others complain that certain words are overused.
HDB explains that its BTO names are crafted together with its architectural consultants. These names must then be approved by the Street and Building Names Board (SBNB). The SBNB was set up in 2003 and is responsible for evaluating and approving street, building and estate name applications.
The SBNB has a detailed handbook which outlines guidelines for the naming of buildings and estates. For example, “Hills” can be used only for developments that are located on hilly terrain. A development can have “Peak”, “Tower”, “Pinnacle”, “Apex” or “Summit” in its name only if it is higher than 30 storeys.
Here are some other common themes we observed in HDB names.
We grouped the descriptive words HDB estates use into nine categories – from flowers and seasons, to design elements, to gems and light – to find out how these names have changed over time. Let’s have a look.
The biggest group is greenery and gardens, which aligns with Singapore’s long-time aspiration to be a “garden city” or “City in Nature”.
Another common theme is water and breeze. Such words are typically in the names of estates located near lakes or rivers.
Words related to feelings, such as “bliss” or “heart”, have also been used in HDB estates completed from the 2010s.
When we group them by years, we see that unconventional words have been used since the early 2000s, including the likes of “Arcadia”, which originates from ancient Greece and refers to an idealised and harmonious vision of rural life.
However, while the overarching themes are the same, HDB has expanded the vocabulary within each theme. For example, besides “Heights”, words such as “Apex”, “Summit” and “Vantage” have appeared in HDB estate names.
Likewise, under the flowers and seasons category, on top of classics like “Spring” and “Bloom”, names of plants like “Oleander” or “Miltonia” began to appear.
The shift towards using different words is a way to help developments stand out, says Cherise Teo, an English language and literature lecturer at the National Institute of Education. “Many estates look the same, so I think HDB is trying to distinguish each estate.”
The words, while having the same connotations, have slightly different meanings, says Tan. For example, “Apex” refers to the topmost point, so it differs from “Heights”.
Here’s a look at the top 10 most commonly used words over the years.
Naming estates is one of the ways each town’s identity can be strengthened and residents’ sense of belonging to their home can be deepened, says HDB. Each town is planned with its own features that reflect the town’s history, physical environment and community, it adds.
Eugene Lau, a 33-year-old business analyst, thinks that the name of his BTO development – Woodleigh Hillside – gets the job done: “I think it accurately reflects the land that the estate sits on.”
Content creator Charmaine Lim, 29, who lived at Rivervale Crescent from 2023 to 2025, and has since moved to an unnamed estate, said: “I kind of miss living in a place with a name. It felt a little fancy.”
So what do our estate names say about our Singaporean identity?
Naming is part of the process by which we make things belong to us, says Tan. Home ownership is a central part of the Singapore dream, so in a way, the names of our homes are a mirror of our society.
Identity is also not static and can evolve over time, he adds. As Singapore transforms and continues to look ahead, the use of unique, aspirational names could reflect that evolution.
However, while a lot can be said about a city’s identity through its names, HDB or private developers come up with these names – so they reflect what HDB or developers think Singaporeans might aspire to be, not necessarily what Singaporeans actually want, says Teo.
Naming is ultimately also a marketing strategy, adds Teo, who has done textual analysis on public and private housing advertising.
For BTO flats in particular, the brochures – which include elements like names, logos and artist impressions – help buyers visualise and imagine something that isn’t built yet. They are trying to help you imagine the kind of people living there, she says.
“The brochures aren’t persuading people to buy the property. What they are selling is an ideology,” Teo adds.