Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Despite the famous name associated with America's space program, there is no incorporated town or city named "Cape Kennedy" in Florida. The confusion stems from a brief historical renaming of the geographic cape itself.
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued an executive order renaming Cape Canaveral to "Cape Kennedy" in honor of the fallen president. The name change extended to the NASA launch facility, which became the "John F. Kennedy Space Center." However, the name "Cape Kennedy" proved unpopular with local residents and historical societies who favored the original Spanish name, "Cabo Cañaveral" (meaning "reed bed" or "sugarcane plantation").
In 1973, the Florida Legislature passed a law restoring the original name "Cape Canaveral" to the geographic cape, though the space center retained the Kennedy name. Today, Cape Canaveral is a city located in Brevard County on the Atlantic coast, adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center. It is a distinct municipality with a population of around 10,000, known for its maritime industry, cruise port terminal, and proximity to space launch operations.
So, while you can visit the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, you won't find a town named Cape Kennedy on any modern map of Florida.