Editing North Bethesda, Maryland (section)

==Disputed name==
The use of the name North Bethesda for this census-designated region has in the past been questioned by local residents and online commenters.<ref name="moco360">{{cite news|url=https://moco360.media/2016/09/28/since-you-asked-where-exactly-is-north-bethesda/|title=Since You Asked: Where Exactly Is North Bethesda?|work=MoCo360|first=Andrew|last=Metcalf|date=September 28, 2016}}</ref> Skeptics have dismissed the census-designated place as just a southern portion of Rockville or the region north of Bethesda rather than a defined place<ref name="moco360 2">{{cite news|url=https://moco360.media/2014/01/21/north-bethesda-or-rockville/|title=North Bethesda Or Rockville?|first=Aaron|last=Kraut|date=January 21, 2014|work=MoCo360}}</ref> and the name as a [[neologism]] coined by realtors to bestow the cache of Bethesda on a less well-known area.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mocoshow.com/blog/north-bethesda-and-north-potomac-you-mean-rockville-and-gaithersburg-html/|title=North Bethesda and North Potomac "You mean Rockville and Gaithersburg?"|date=July 28, 2017|work=The MoCo Show}}</ref>

The reason for the misconception includes its location between more well-known areas, especially as most of North Bethesda lies in the 20852 ZIP code it shares with Rockville<ref name="moco360"/> and uses the Rockville postal address, whereas the eastern part of the CDP uses the [[Kensington, Maryland|Kensington]] address and ZIP code, and the southern regions has the 20814 zip code of Bethesda proper.<ref name="wapo 2014">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/as-white-flint-north-bethesda-transform-officials-wonder-what-to-call-the-area/2014/05/25/da96977e-e10c-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html|title=As White Flint, North Bethesda transform, officials wonder what to call the area|first=Katherine|last=Shaver|date=May 25, 2014|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

Adding to the confusion, the county's growth plan for the area was titled "White Flint," the name used by the demolished [[White Flint Mall]] and the since renamed White Flint (now {{wmata|North Bethesda}}) station of the [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Washington Metro Red Line]].<ref name="wapo 2014"/> Beginning in the mid-2010s, developers sought to rebrand the area around the metro station as "Pike District".<ref name="moco360"/> In addition, North Bethesda Middle School is located in [[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]].<ref name="moco360"/>

Despite the accusation that the real estate business uses "North Bethesda" to associate the area with the ritzier Bethesda rather than Rockville, some realtors point out that customers and agents don't always search for "North Bethesda", and the inconsistency between the place name and postal address can be a liability.<ref name="moco360 2"/>