Saint Kitts and Nevis 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 St Kitts and Nevis' cities.

Saint Thomas Lowland is a parish named after the dedication of the first church built here.

Gingerland is named after the most valuable crop grown here.

Charlestown took its name from Fort Charles, itself named to honour King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland (1630 to 1685).

Newcastle is clearly a transferred name and an early remnant of British colonialism.

Basseterre served as the capital of the French colony here, the name translating as 'low land' in English.

Dieppe Bay Town takes its name from the French place, also a coastal area named from the Dutch diep and related to the Old Scandinavian djupr and Old English deop all meaning 'deep' and all telling this is a deep water harbour.

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