Sao Tome and Principe 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 Sao Tome and Principe cities.

Sao Tome is simply the Portuguese for 'Saint Thomas'.

Ilheu Gabago translates from Portuguese as 'the bragging islander'.

Trindade is Portuguese for 'trinity'.

Santa Cruz is Portuguese for 'saint of the cross'.

Pantufo is simply the Portuguese word for 'slipper'.

Santo Antonio translates, somewhat predictably, as 'Saint Anthony'.

Santa Catarina is the portuguese for Saint Catherine.

Porto Alegre is Portuguese for 'happy port', although we have no idea why.

Sao Joao dos Angolares translates as 'Saint John' with Angolar a Portuguese-based creole language.

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