Denton is the county seat of Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 113,383 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located 38 miles (61 km) south of the border between Oklahoma and Texas and 39 miles (63 km) northwest of Dallas.

A Texas land grant led to the formation of Denton County in 1846, and the city was formed in 1857. Both were named after pioneer and Texas militia captain John B. Denton. The establishment of the University of North Texas in 1890 and Texas Woman's University in 1901 distinguished the city from neighboring regions. With over 45,000 students enrolled at the two universities, Denton is often characterized as a college town. As a result of the universities' growth, educational services play a large role in the city's economy.

Denton is known for its active music life. The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo and the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival attract over 300,000 people to the city each year. In 2006, Money magazine named it one of the "Top 100 Best Places to Live in America."

Texas (ⁱ/ˈtɛksəs/) (Alibamu: Teksi ) is the second most populous and the second most extensive of the 50 United States, and the most extensive state of the 48 contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas. Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²), and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.

During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas. Antonio Margil de Jesús was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.