Plano is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) north of downtown Dallas. The city of Plano is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Plano lies mostly within Collin County, but includes a small portion that extends into Denton County.
European settlers came to the area near present-day Plano in the early 1840s. Facilities such as a sawmill, a gristmill, and a store soon brought more people to the area. A mail service was established, and after rejecting several names for the nascent town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), residents suggested the name Plano (from the Spanish word for “flat”), as a reference to the local terrain, unvaried and devoid of any trees. The name was accepted by the post office.