Philippines 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 Philippines' cities.

Quezon City takes its name from its founder, Manuel L. Quezon, 2nd President of the Philippines. It became the nation's capital in 1948, replacing Manila which returned the compliment in 1976 but Quezon City remains the largest in terms of population.

Manila comes from the Filipino may nila meaning 'where indigo is found'. Several plant species can be used to produce this colour dye, and undoubtedly one or more were once found here.

Davao City comes from the indigenous Bagobo language and named from the Davao River, itself having three slightly different names depending upon which dialect is spoken. Despite the differences the meaning largely remains the same in 'a place beyond the high grounds'.

Caloocan is from the Tagolog language where kalook lookan means 'innermost area'.

Cebu City comes from the Cebuano word sibu 'trade' and has clearly also given the people their name. Previously the area was known as Sugbu, itself describing the region as 'scorched earth' or perhaps 'great fire'.

Zamboanga City is the Spanish pronunciation of the earlier Somboangan itself meaning 'mooring place'.

Taguig comes from the Tagalog mga taga gilk and means 'rice thresher'.

Antipolo was named after the tipolo or 'breadfruit tree' which grows in great numbers hereabouts.

Cagayan de Oro is from the Spanish and speaks of 'the river of gold'.

Paranaque has several suggested origins. Most popularly said to be from a local feature used to locate the mouth of the river and thus from palayag or 'point of navigation'.

Dasmarinas was named after the 7th Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, Gomez Perez Dasmarinas. He served from 1590 to 1593when his son Luis Perez Dasmarinas took over until 1596. The surname means 'of the shore'.

Valenzuela took the name of Pio Valenzuela, a physician and leading member of the Katipunan, a secret society who fought against colonial Spain.

Bacoor is said to remember when the Spanish first arrived and they asked the name of the place. The man they spoke to, who was constructing a bamboo fence, misunderstood and answered bakood 'bamboo fence'.

General Santos took the name of the former commander of the Philippine Army, General Paulino Santos.

Las Pinas is named for - well it depends whether you think it means 'pineapples' or 'the rocks'.

Makati is the Tagalog makati or 'ebbing' as in the tide.

Bacolod comes from bakolod, the Old Ilongg for 'hill, rise'.

Muntinlupa is the smallest of the cities with a population in excess of half a million at the last census. Three possible origins here: either referring to 'topsoil', the card game played by locals when the Spanish arrived, or a reference to the mountainous country.

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

Peru 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 Peru's cities.

Lima had been known as Limaq which, in the Quecha tongue then spoken in this area, meant 'the talker' or perhaps 'the speaker'. This referred to a famous oracle destroyed by the Spanish but not forgotten by the locals. There is little weight given to the idea the name comes from the Spanish for 'lime'. The same is true of the Lima River, not named for being 'the talking river' but an example of back-formation from the place name.

Arequipa has long been said to come from a conversation between the Inca leader Mayta Capac and the people. The latter wished to remain in the valley they had just reached and were told Ari qhipay or 'yes, stay'. Alternatively the story speaks of the Europeans arrival and, when they asked for the name of the country around there, were misunderstood and thought to be asking for permission to sit, with the same answer. A third possibility is the Aymara phrase qhipaya ari or 'behind the peak' and referring to the nearby volcano.

Chiclayo has several explanations, most often a local man who once transported plaster between nearby cities'. Another idea gives this as from the Mochican language meaning 'green that hangs', a reference to the fruit that frows here. Or we also find the Moche language, where the word cheqta refers to 'the property of'.

Piura is from the Quechuan word pirhua meaning 'abundance' - presumably referring to the vegetation.

Iquitos is a city named by the Spanish, it is also their name for the indigenous people.

Juliaca takes its name from the Quechua words xullaskca kaipi meaning 'it had drizzled' and a reference to when Inca troops arrived here, how they had noticed the weather. Perhaps a little more credible is shulla qaqa or 'roquedal dew' and a description of the small pieces of quartz in the hills which, it may be suggested, resemble early morning dew.

Cajamarca is known as kasha marka in the Quechua language and describes 'the town of thorns'.

Pucallpa or puka allpa in Quechua describes the soil as it means 'red dirt'.

Ayacucho comes from Quechua aya kuchu or 'death corner' to remember the casualties of the battle fought here in 1825.

Chincha comes from the Quechua word chincay or 'ocelot' as these people worshipped a deity in the form of an ocelot.

Huaraz is another from the local Quechua language, where waraq means 'dawn'.

Tumbes is named after the people who lived here prior to the Inca rule, the Tumpis's settlement had a population of around 175,000.

Huaral either comes from the leader here in the 16th century, one Martin Guaral Paico, or from the Aymara word of unknown meaning.

Andahuaylas is from that Quechua language again, here anta waylla describes the 'copper meadow'.

Abancay is a corruption of the Quechua amankay or 'lily'.

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

Paraguay 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 Paraguay's cities.

Asuncion was named by the Spanish conquistador Juan de Ayolas. In August 1537, he used this bay of the Paraguay River to resupply his ships when passing. He built a fort here and named it Nuestra Senora Santa Maria de la Asuncion 'Our Lady Sain Mary of the Assumption' and, as the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption on the 15th August, we must assume this was close to the day the Spanish were here.

Ciudad del Este is Spanish for 'City of the East', although this has only been the official name since 1989. Founded in February 1957 as Puerto Flor de Lis and later known as Puerto Presidente Stroessner to honour the dictator Alfredo Stroessner, late settlement is very much down to the dense jungle in the area which took some clearing.

Luque is first mentioned in 1635 when a Spanish captain named Miguel Anton de Luque came here. However, it was another Miguel de Luque (a descendant) who donated a sum of money around 1750 to build a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary. It was later the name was applied, first recorded in 1781.

Lambare is an Spanish form of the local Guarani tongue where Ambare meant 'the land of shadows'.

Fernando de la Mora had formerly been known as Zavala Cur, later taking the name of a leading figure in getting independence from Spain.

Limpio was founded on February 2nd 1785 by Friar Luis de Bolanos as San Jose de los Campos Limpios de Tapua. Earlier it had been Campos Limpio de Tapu'a 'the clean fields of Tapu'a'.

Pedro Juan Caballero is named after the man who was a leading figure in gaining Paraguayan independence from Spain.

Villa Elisa migrants to this area in the late 19th century came under the leadership of the Dane Emilion Johansen. He named it Colonia Elisa to honour his wife, Ms Elisa Von Poleski.

Coronel Oviedo was founded as Nuestra Senora del Rosario de Ajos or 'Our Lady of the Rosary of Garlic' (for garlic was an important local cash crop). In 1931 the present name was adopted to honour Coronel Florentin Oviedo, a hero of the War of Triple Alliance.

Hernandarias was named to honour Hernando Arias de Saavedra, whose sole claim to fame is as the first governor in South America to be born in the Americas. Of much greater interest is the former name, for Tacuru Pucu translates as 'long ant place'.

Presidente Franco, or Manuel Franco, served as president of Uruguay from 15 August 1916 to 5 June 1919, with the place named in his honour in 1918.

Itaugua is one of the few place names to retain its indigenous original. It comes from the local river, the Ytay, and is from ita meaning 'stone' and the suffix gua 'belonging' and thus 'of the place of stone' describes the location. Itaugua is the name of the district in which the settlement of Ita can be found, the latter sharing an origin with the river name.

Pilar was founded in 1779 by Pedro Melo de Portugal. Originally known as Catedral Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar, in English 'the Basillica of Our Lady of the Pillar'.

Villa Hayes was named to honour Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States. Previously it was known as the City of the Five Names.

Minga Guaza comes from two local words, where Quechua minga 'co-operative work (for improvement)' and the Guarani guasu 'big' suggest a meaning of 'big work in the community'.

Ayolas was named after Juan de Ayolas, right hand man of the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza. Together they explored the region in 1534 with a view to settlement.

Villeta, literally 'the great villa', is a later name for a settlement named to honour King Felipe II when named San Felipe de Borbon del Valle del Bastan en los Compos del Guarnipitan or, if you really need the English version, Saint Philip of Bourbon of the Valley of Bastan in the Fields of Guarnipitan.

Aregua was named by the indigenous peoples, the Mbya Guarani, who spoke of this part of their region as Aregua 'those from above'.

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