Originally named Slaughter, after a US Army lieutenant who was killed fighting hostile Indian tribes in the region. City founders approved the name in 1884 in honour of Lt. Slaughter, but over time the community became concerned over the name's negative connotations, especially in regard to an early hotel in the city called "Slaughter House." While old-timers fought to keep the name, a majority of citizens approved changing the name to Auburn, derived from the following poem:
"Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain.
Where health and plenty cheered the labouring swain,
Where parting spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summers' lingering blooms delayed."