Madagascar Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Madagascan settlements.

Antananarivo, the capital, was founded in the early 17th century when Merina King Andrianjaka defeated and expelled the Vazimba people of what was then known as Analamanga. Tradition has it that he depolyed a thousand soldiers to capture and then guard the place. Then, some fifty years later, it was during the reign of King Andriamasinavalona the place took its present name which refers to 'the city of a thousand' to honour those soldiers.

Toamasina means 'like salt' or perhaps 'salty'. Situated on the coast and protected by a coral reef, this produces increased salinity through evaporation and hence the name.

Antsirabe is a Malagasy name and, as with the previous name, means 'the plae of much salt'. However here the reference is to the brine springs in the area as Antsirabe is about as far from the coast as it is possible to get.

Fianarantsoa is a cultural and intellectual centre for the entire island nation and fully merits its meaning of 'good education'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Macedonia Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Macedonian places.

Skopje is not only the largest city but also the nation's capital. Its name comes from the Paeonian language (here around 2,400 years ago) and probably refers to these people as 'watchers, observers', a reference to this being at a high place and thus not saying they were observant but that they could be.

Bitola is from the Old Church Slavonic word meaning 'monastery, cloister', this city long associated with its monastery.

Kumanovo is from the Cumans, a branch of the Kipchaks, who invaded this region in the early 12th century. While the name of the Cumans is difficult to define, it may be a Turkic word describing these people as 'sallow, pale' as they had a lighter skin colour than most in this region. The Kipchaks report their name comes from 'hollow tree', for their original ancestor gave birth to her son inside a hollow tree. Other suggestions include origins such as 'angry, unfortunate, good fortune, and unlucky'.

Prilep is from a Macedonian word meaning 'sticky', said to be a reference to the method used to construct the first homes here - presumably something akin to wattle and daub.

Ohrid is thought to originate from the ancient Greek Lychnis or 'city of light'. Later Latin and Byzantine writers and Macedonian speakers changed this through Lychnidos, Lychnos, Lichnidion and eventually the modern form.

Strumica was originally known as Astraion or 'starry' by the Greeks, later as Tiberiopolis by the Romans, with its present name developing through Slavic settlers during the Middle Ages.

Kicevo is first recorded as Uskana, the name used by the Illyrian inhabitants, used until the Slavs arrived in the 7th century when the modern name appears. This Brsjaci tribe clearly named it but just what they were referring to is unknown.

Struga certainly originates from the Old Church Slavoinic tongue, but what it means is disputed. Three theories have thrown up such explanations as its location in the valley means it tends to be quite windy and thus the Macedonian meaning 'it blows wind'; or perhaps it from a word meaning 'cross'; or even something describing the area as 'water branch'.

Radovis is known, but again there are two quite different explanations. Traditionally it comes from a princess here around a millennium ago who was looking over the wall of the fortress when her fiancee cried out Rado vish 'Rada look', for the enemy were approaching from a different direction. Others point to a personal name Radu, a pet form of several names and therefore impossible to say who it may have been named after.

Kriva Palanka takes its name from the River Kriva, this referred to as 'the curved river'.

Sveti Nikole is the Macedonian term for Saint Nicholas.

Delcevo takes its name from more recent times. In 1950 the town was renamed after revolutionary hero Gotse Delchev.

Vinica is named for its vineyards.

Demir Kapija is from the Turkish Demir Kapi or 'iron gate'.

Demir Hisar is also Turkish and means 'iron town'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Macau Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Macau places.

Ilha Verde is simply 'the green island'.

Toi San translates to 'table hill'.

Hipodromo or 'horse farm' would more likely be seen as 'Hippodrome' in Europe.

Areia Preta tells us it can be found in 'black sand'.

Bairro Fai Chi Kei is, rather intriguingly, from 'chopsticks base'.

Iao Hon translates as 'blessing the Han'.

Taipa comes from the Chinese pronunciation of tiam-a, originally meaning 'cess pit'.

Coloane is from the Portuguese influence of the name Gwo Lou Waan 'passing road ring'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Luxembourg Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Luxembourg settlements.

Luxembourg City simply describes itself as 'the little town'.

Diekirch refers to this place as home to 'the people's church'.

Wiltz is a name derived from the time when the Celts were dominant here, for this means 'on the creek'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Lithuania Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Lithuanian cities.

Vilnius derives its name from the Vilnia River, itself from Lithuanian vilnis or vilnyti meaning 'a surge' and 'to surge' respectively. Clearly this is a warning the river can rise quickly and without warning.

Kaunas is probably from a personal name, other forms in Polish, Russian and Yiddish very much support this, but what that name was and what it represents are unknown.

Klaipeda has only been the official name since 1945, it is from Lithuanian klaidyti 'obstruct' and peda 'foot' and understood as a reference to the boggy ground here.

Panevezys is first recorded in 1503, its name meaning 'alongside the Nevezis River'. While it is often said to mean 'a river without crayfishes', the river does boast a sustainable population of crayfish. The confusion is down to this not being from the Lithuanian vezys 'crayfish', but from the Finnic nevo 'swamp'.

Maryampol is named after the Virgin Mary Marya with the addition of the Greek suffix pol 'town'.

Mazeikiai is undoubtedly named after a person known as Mazeika.

Taurage is comprised of two words, tauras 'aurochs' and ragas 'horn', both are found on the town's coat of arms.

Ukmerge was originally known as Vilkmerge from the river of the same name. According to tradition the name means 'she wolf', this based on the idea that Vilkmerge was raised by wolves. While vilkas 'wolf' and merga 'maiden' are possible, the real suffix is likely to be merg 'to dip'.

Silute gets its name from an inn, one offering hospitality to travellers as this place is halfway between Memel and Tilsit.

Radviliskis took its name from the family of nobles, the Radziwill, who ruled here for more than two centuries from the middle of the 16th century.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.