Well, as far as LnC is concerned, numerous occasions indicate that Metropolis is New York and New Try is New York state. There's Centennial Park, the map shown in one of the S1 episodes that clearly depicts Manhattan, Hobbs River and West River as stand-ins for Hudson River and East River. And the only time New York is mentioned in the scripts is when Wanda Detroit mentions her past career and that she's played in New York. So, Lois probably came up with the name 'New York' as a stand-in for Metropolis.
Michael
