Talk:Washington metropolitan area

National Capital Region ^[1]:
District of Columbia
Maryland
Virginia

Outlining Subdivisions:
West Virginia

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The Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia^[2] portions of the metropolitan area is also sometimes referred to as the National Capital Region, particularly by federal agencies such as the military^[3] and Department of Homeland Security.^[4] Another term for the region is the D.C. Area and a nickname is "DMV", which means "District, Maryland, Virginia."^[5] The area in the region that is surrounded by Interstate 495 is also referred to as being "Inside the Beltway". The city of Washington, which is at the center of the area, is referred to as "the District" because it is the federal District of Columbia, and is not part of any state. The Virginian portion of the region is known as Northern Virginia. The Maryland portion of the region is sometimes know as the Maryland-National Capital Region, but is not widely used by the general public ^[6][7]. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Llakew18 (talk • contribs) 16:01, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

Regarding the alternative addition and removal of "DMV" as an alternative name for the Washington metropolitan area: different sources discuss the fact that it means different things to different people, and doesn't necessarily coincide with the Washington metro area. For example:

One point of disunity? Just how far the DMV extends geographically. According to 20Bello, M and V refer to the entire states; Dre All Day limits his notion of DMV to the I-95 corridor north to Baltimore and south to Richmond and even Norfolk. Galloway, the original coiner, was calling out only as far as the Beltway.^[1]

D.C. is the heart of the DMV. Almost everyone familiar with the term considered all of DC as being in the DMV. Almost everyone feels that the areas immediately surrounding DC are part of the DMV. ... Most feel that the DMV expands beyond the areas bordering D.C. ... Some think the DMV expands to include the entirety of the counties surrounding DC, plus some of the counties beyond that. ... A few people feel it expands to include all of the counties mentioned above and further. This include areas like Baltimore, MD, Fredericksburg, VA, and almost all the way until Harper’s Ferry, WV. ...^[2]

Largoplazo (talk) 19:39, 7 May 2022 (UTC)

@Largoplazo: These are very interesting articles. I feel like these articles do indeed show that the DMV coincides with the DC metro area as a nickname. No doubt that it's disputed how far the "DMV" reaches, but that doesn't mean it should be excluded from the article. I think it's significant. My suggestion is to include the DMV term somewhere in the lead paragraph alongside a note that includes some of these statements (importantly the people who coined it), as well as include them in the body of the article as well. Sekyaw (talk) 21:15, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

I believe that's a level of detail that calls for it not to be covered in the lead. For one thing, the area is defined up front as "all of the District of Columbia and parts of the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia". No part of West Virginia is in the DMV, so the names are already mutually exclusive on that account. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Largoplazo (talk • contribs) 22:24, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

However, none of the above demonstrates that DMV is (per MOS) a significant alternative name. It seems that the incidence of its use for that purpose is a few orders of magnitude less than the existing names (frankly "DC Area" or "DC Metro" are more likely). TEDickey (talk) 22:58, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

Getting reliable sources that could demonstrate that the DMV is "really" the Washington metropolitan area of course is hindered by the fact that most uses of "DMV" refer to various Department of Motor Vehicles. TEDickey (talk) 23:04, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

And predictably, a recent edit to DMV abuses the reader's understanding by listing the link to this topic first. Or perhaps that was intended to provide amusement to someone. TEDickey (talk) 23:06, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

The term has nothing to do with a "metro" area. The DMV is an actual place where DC, Maryland, and Virginia are very close together. It has nothing to do with a "metro" area. I don't like when these Wikipedia articles make up nonsense. You can literally cross the border of all three areas in less than 5 minutes when you hit the actual DMV area. You'll see the signs. 69.148.198.138 (talk) 15:23, 20 July 2025 (UTC)

A metropolitan area is a place, and the place where DC, Maryland, and Virginia are very close together is the Washington metro area. Largoplazo (talk) 15:35, 20 July 2025 (UTC)