Nashville is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The city is the county seat of Davidson County and is located on the Cumberland River. With a population of 689,447 as of the 2020 United States census, it is the 21st most-populous city in the United States and the third most populous in the Southeastern United States. Named for Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779.