I think it started with Weston and Wayland:

"Høgsberg had the inspiration for Wayland while driving through the town of Wayland in Massachusetts, which gave the display server its name. Weston, the Wayland compositor, is named after a neighbouring town in the same state"

http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Wayland-Beyond-X-14320...

(As someone who lived in one of those towns it's always amused me when it comes up.)

I think the story is that an X developer was driving from Weston to Wayland when he had a lightbulb moment concerning how to radically simplify the graphics stack.

I grew up in the Boston area, but I didn't make this connection! Wakefield borders where I grew up, but I don't recall the others being super nearby (maybe they're south of Boston, since I'm not as familiar with that area, or maybe they're further west and I have an overly narrow idea of what "near Boston"means due to being so close)