It’s not often you hear it roll off the tongue of a native Bostonian, but the mythic address of “Midtown Boston” is definitely being used as a marketing tool for the real estate industry.

A Google search turns up dozens of listing pages for condos and luxury apartment in “Midtown.” The MLS Property Information Network even has an official “Midtown” designation for residential properties in Boston, comprising an area directly east of the Common.

MLS added the “Midtown” category in 2004 at the request of some Boston real estate brokers, said Kathleen Condon, CEO of the Shrewsbury-based real estate listing service. Condon admitted she’s a bit fuzzy on the borders of the district.

“When I pull it up (on the map), it almost looks like a subset of the Downtown Crossing area,” said Condon.

Hugh Geiger, CEO of First Boston Realty, said “Midtown” comprises such tony addresses as 45 Province, Tremont on the Common and the Ritz-Carlton. The company’s website defines “Midtown” as properties in the Financial District, Downtown Crossing and Government Center. Other real estate agencies define the Theater District as midtown as well.

Rosemarie Sansone, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, said it’s just another in a long list of virtually interchangeable names for the neighborhood.

“People call this downtown Boston, Downtown Crossing, the Ladder District, the Financial District,” said Sansone. “Everything is changing and evolving.”

If anything, the venerable Downtown Crossing name might be getting a boost from its signature property of the moment, the 60-story Millennium Tower. Developer Millennium Partners has embraced the Downtown Crossing address in marketing its 442 luxury condos now under construction, Sansone noted, suggesting the name of the neighborhood may be less important than what’s going on there.

Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com