Mali 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 of Mali's cities.

Bamako is held to be the fastest-growing city in Africa and sixth in the entire world. A far cry then from its origins in the Bambara word meaning 'crocodile tail'.

Segou is disputed, some say it comes from Sikouro 'to the foot of a shea butter tree'; others from the supposed founder, one Cheikou; or perhaps named by fisherman, although we have no notion as to why they came up with this name should this be true.

Kayes is named for its location, for karre is a Soninke word telling us this is 'a humid place which floods in the rainy season'.

Mopti comes from the Fulfulde word for 'a gathering', a reference to its importance as a market town.

Bla is an excellent name for the place which began as an outpost for the Bamana Empire. The name comes from Bamana ka bila 'to leave behind' and refers to arms, grain and other supplies left here for later use.

Kolondieba is from the local language and means 'big white well'.

Timbuktu is undoubtedly the most famous place in Mali despite having a population of little more than 50,000 (compared to 1.3 million for the capital, Bamako). There are four equally plausible explanations offered for the name and start with Songhay tin butu or 'wall of Butu', although we have no idea who Butu was. If of Berber origin it would represent tim bouctou 'place covered by small dunes'. If the Tuareg named it they would have spoken of a slave woman of theirs named Tinbuktu who looked after their wares when the Tuareg were away. And finally the Zenaga origin meaning 'hidden' and Timbuktu does lie in a hollow. The reason for the very different explanations is that the place has been recorded with so many diverse spellings over the centuries.

Kita is named after Mount Kita.

Haayre is derived from a word meaning 'rocky place'.

Bandiagara translates as 'large eating bowl' as there is a tradition to dine from a communal bowl.

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

Maldives 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 the Maldives settlements.

When it comes to the place names, many are named after the island or atoll on which they stand. 'Atoll', now used as a term throughout the world to refer to a ring-shaped coral reef that encircles a lagoon, sometimes completely. The word is from the Dhivehi of Maldive word atholhu and has the same meaning. Traditionally Maldivians do not add 'atoll' to the end of the names.

Kulhudhuffushi is named after its most famous feature, the kulhi or 'mangroves'.

Fuvahmulah is from the Dhivehi tongue and means 'island of the Areca nut palm'. The palm nut has a number of uses and is used across Asia.

Gan comes from a Sanskrit word Grama meaning simply 'village'.

Hilhumeedhoo is an amalgamation of Meedhoo and Hulhudhoo.

Male is named after the island and has also given its name to the nation, for dives means 'islands'. Its name is said to come from the time of early settlement where freshly caught tuna were cleaned after being landed. The large amount of offal and blood stained the sandbank and waters and resembled a large pool of blood or maa ley gandeh 'big blood'.

Fasdhuthere Atoll describes itself as 'what lies between five islands' and refers to its location.

Huvadhu Atoll has a name referring to 'the forbidden place'.

A few British names can also be found, Malcolm Atoll, Horsburg Atoll, Ross Atoll, all named around 1835 by Robert Moresby to honour famous commanders of the British Empire.

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

Malaysia 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 Malaysian cities.

Kuala Lumpur is from the Malay language where it means 'muddy confluence', although some sources refer to earlier names such as Sungai Lumpur 'muddy river' and Pengkalan Lumpur 'muddy landing place'. In truth it should probably be known as Kuala Gombak as this is where the rivers Gombak and Klang meet and as one river is larger should be referred to as a kuala.

George Town was named as such in 1786 in honour of the British monarch, King George III.

Ipoh takes its name from a local tree, once referred to as Pohon Epu and more recently as Pokok Ipoh. Those indegenous peoples of Malay used the poisonous sap of the tree to tip their blowpipe darts when hunting.

Kota Kinabula is named after Mount Kinabalu, itself describing 'the revered place of the dead'. The additional Kota means 'fort, town, city'.

Alor Setar is from two Malay words, Alor or 'small stream' combines with Setar the marian plum or plum mango.

Kuala Teregganu has the same elemnt as the capital city, although here it may be seen as 'estuary' of the river named from the Malay for 'bright rainbow'.

Kuching has a number of theories as to how it got its name. Among these is the suggestion this is from Kucking the Malay for 'cat' or transferred from the Malabar Coast and the Indian port of Cochin.

Miri takes the name of the local group known as the Jatti Meirek or simply Mirek.

Serebang Perai was originally named Province Wellesley after Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley who served as Governor General from 1797 to 1805. The present name refers to the northern banks of the Perai River, the name originating from the Thai plai meaning 'end' and a reference to this being a boundary between two provinces.

Kajang, as a name, is disputed but generally held to refer to the scew pine found here which the Temuan people used in constructing the roofs of their hames.

Klang, as a place name, takes its name from the Klang River. If this is so then it likely comes from the Mon-Khmer word Klong 'canal, waterway'. However, should the river have taken the name from the place then this is probably the Malay word Kilang and likely referred to the huge number of warehouses once found here, although today modern usage defines kilang as 'factory'.

Sandakan was named by a Glaswegian arms smuggler by the name of William Cowie, who used this Suluk term meaning 'the place that was pawned'. I would doubt a more unlikely source for a place name exists.

Padawan is said to be a combination of the Bidayuh words Padja Birawan, said to recall the story of an elder named Kinyau who discovered some beads nearby. When it transpired these beads had magical properties he named them Birawan and added the suffix to the name of his eldest son, Padja.

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

Malawi 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 Malawi settlements.

Livingstonia was founded by missionaries from the Free Church of Scotland and named after perhaps the most famous missionary to Africa, David Livingstone who died in 1873.

Lilongwe is named after the Lilongwe River, itself likely meaning simply 'the big one'.

Bangula is a delightful name describing this part of Malawi as 'where lions roar', although Panthera leo has not been seen in the area for decades.

Blantyre is named after Blantyre in Scotland, birthplace of David Livingstone.The name is ultimately from Cumbric blaen tir 'top of the land'.

Monkey Bay is, as the form suggests, a very modern name and it is no coincidence this place, named because of its primates, is also the major tourist area of Malawi.

Nkhotakota is from Chichewa meaning 'corner corner'. Undoubtedly named for some obvious feature in the landscape, just what that was is difficult to know and thus impossible to say why it is plural.

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