Myanmar 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 Myanmar's cities.

Yangon is a combination of the Burmese words yan and koun meaning 'enemies' and 'run out of', most often translated as 'end of strife'. Note during the colonial period the name of Rangoon is simply an Anglicised version of the local pronunciation.

Mandalay was originally the name of the nearby hill. Three rather different explanations have been offered for this place name. One suggests it comes from an unknown Pali word, which is not much help. At least the others have a common theme in topography, at least loosely. Perhaps this is mandala, a reference to 'circular plains', or even a name of Mandara, this a mountain mentioned in Hindu mythology.

Naypyidaw is the Burmese for 'the abode of the king' and generally accepted as 'capital'.

Taunggyi is 'huge mountain' in Burmese, a ridge with a high point named Taung-chun 'the spur'.

Mawlamyine is from Moulmein 'damaged eye' or perhaps 'one-eyed man'. This name is born of a legend, one where a Mon king had a third eye in the centre of his forehead, through this he could see events in neighbouring kingdoms. Unhappy with this advantage, one neighbouring ruler gave his daughter in marriage and she managed to destroy the all-seeing third eye.

Myitkyina is Burmese for 'near the big river'. Said river is indeed big, for the Ayeyarwady (most often seen as Irrawaddy) and is from Pali for the name of the elephant mount of Sakka, the ruler of Trayastrimsa Heaven.

Pathein is thought to come from an Old Mon name meaning 'river' or 'sea', perhaps even 'big sea'.

Pyay is Burmese for 'country', but refers to the ruins of the city some five miles away known as Sri Kstera from the Sanskrit for 'blessed place, country'.

Meiktila comes from Mithila, the name of an ancient Indian kingdom.

Taungoo is Ketumadi and translates to 'possessed of the royal standard'.

Sittwe comes from the Burmese Saite-Twey and trranslates as 'the place where the war meets'. This is a reference to when the Burmese King Bodawpaya, whose forces invaded the Mrauk U Kingdom in 1794 and fought a successful battle on land and water.

Sagaing was Zeyapura which translates as 'city of victory'.

Dawei comes from the Mon language and means 'to sit cross-legged' and a reference to Buddha's posture on the throne.

Bhamo is from the Shan language and means 'village of the potters'.

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

Japan 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 Japanese cities.

Tokyo has been known as such only since 1868, it translates as 'east capital'. As many crossword addicts will know it was previously known as Edo, itself aptly describing the location of a place beginning as a small fishing village for it means simply 'estuary'.

Yokohama has a long history and is another beginning as a fishing village. The sandbar gave it its name for it means 'horizontal beach'.

Osaka translates from the Japanese as either 'large hill' or 'large slope'.

Nagoya was written in two different ways but both read the same, the most likely interpretation is as 'peaceful'.

Kyoto, the former capital, has a name meaning 'capital'. After the capital was moved to Tokyo this place was known as Saikyo for a short time, a name meaning 'western capital'. To confuse matters still further, Kyoto is sometimes referred to as the thousand year capital.

Saitama comes from the district of Sakitama and can be interpreted as 'colourful promontory'.

Chiba is a name meaning 'thousand leaves', not particularly appropriate today but would certainly have been when named as such more than a thousand years ago,

Niigate is first recorded in 1520, it translates as 'new lagoon city'.

Shizuoka has been populated since prehistory and always known as 'the calm hills'.

Ota is the abbreviated form of Ota-ku, literally 'big rice field'.

Edogawa is simply 'the estuary river'.

Suginami is a part of Tokyo named for its 'cedars avenue'.

Itabishi translates as 'plank bridge', a wooden crossing of the Shakujii River dating from some 1,200 years ago. That the name has survived is testament to how striking the bridge would have been in its day.

Higashiosaka literally translates as 'east Osaka city',

Matsuyama translates as 'pine mountain'.

Koto translates as 'river east'.

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

Vietnam 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 a tour of the world and a look at the largest of Vietnam's settlements.

Ho Chi Minh City is the capital and, as many will know, named after the first leader of Vietnam after the communist takeover of South Vietnam, this adopted in 1976. Prior to this the city has been known by many names including Saigon. Here Sino-Vietnamese Sai meaning 'firewood, twigs, palisade' and Gon or 'stick, bole, pole' and understood as 'cotton stick'. This is not named after something used for personal grooming but to the kapok trees, a common sight in the area.

Hanoi is on the banks of the Red River, hence its name meaning 'the river within'. Historically there have been many official and unofficial names of the place: Long Bien 'dragon edge'; Tong Binh 'song peace'; Long Do 'dragon belly'; Dai La 'big net'; Thang Long 'ascending dragon'; Dong Do 'eastern metropolis'; Dong Kinh 'eastern capital'; Dong Quan 'eastern gate'; Ke Cho 'marketplace'; Trang An 'long peace'; and Thu Do ''capital'.

Haphong translates as 'coastal defence'.

Da Nang sits on an estuary and its name means 'opening of a large river'.

Hoi An translates as 'the peaceful meeting place'.

Bac Giang means 'north of the river' in Sino-Vietnamese.

Cai River means 'mother river' in Vietnamese.

Ha Long is Sino-Vietnamese for 'descending dragon'.

My Tho is named after its river, itself named for the local fauna as it means 'beautiful tree'.

Phan Thiet is a Vietnamese name, the latter an abbrivated form of Lihit or 'near the sea' with the addition of Phan, a family name.

Da Lat refers to itself as 'the stream of the Lat', these the local ethnic group. This does not prevent the story of this being of Latin origin in Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperiem. which translates as "It gives pleasure to some, freshness to others".

Bac Ninh is sino-Vietnamese for 'northerrn serenity'.

Nha Trang is claimed by some as a spelling error and should be Ya Trang or 'the reed river'.

Vung Tau transaltes as 'anchorage'.

Cao Bang refers to itself as 'the high plateau'.

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

Asian Capital Cities – Etymologically speaking (M to Z)

Following on from last week a look at the origins of the capital cities of the Asian countries. Again I shall use the alphabetical order of the nations, as it makes it easier to compare the two and as the names of the capital cities will not be as well known.

Malaysia – where Kuala Lumpur is the capital city, a name from the Malay tongue referring to its location at the mouth of the River Kelang with kuala lumpur telling of ‘the estuary of mud’.

Maldives – the capital of Dhivehi shares an origin with the name of Maldives. Here Sanskrit dwipa is understood as ‘islanders’.

Mongolia – until 1924 the capital was known as Urga, a Mongolian name meaning ‘abode, place’. Since then it has been Ulan Bator, again from the Mongolian where ulan ‘red’ bator ‘warrior’ honours the founder of the modern republic in 1911. Dandimy Suhbataar (1893-1923) was born at, what was then, Urga.

Myanmar – has the capital city Nay Pyi Taw, which translates as either ‘royal capital’, seat of the king’ or ‘abode of kings’.

Nepal – the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu comes from the native language where kath mandir describes ‘the wooden temple’. This a reference to the temple said to have been constructed from the wood of a single tree by Raja Lachmina Singh in 1596.

Oman – Muscat’s origins are uncertain and have a number of suggested meanings. Perhaps this is Arabic from moscha and describes ‘an inflated hide or skin’; there are others who suggest this is ‘where to drop anchor’; maybe this is Old Persian meaning ‘strong-scented’; or other Arabic words giving ‘falling-place’ or even ‘hidden’.

Pakistan – the capital of Islamabad means ‘the capital of Islam’, the suffix abad Iranian for ‘city’.

Palestine – while the nation claims Jerusalem, the de facto capital is Ramallah. Here is a combination of Aramaic ram meaning ‘high place’ or ‘mountain’ with Allah being the Arabic for God.

Philippines – the capital is Manila, originally recorded as Maynilad, from the native Tagalog may ‘to be’ and nila ‘indigo’. This is understood as ‘the place where there is indigo’.

Qatar – the capital city of Doha either comes from the Arabic Ad-Dawha or ‘the big tree’, a marker for the original fishing village and possibly used as a marker by the fishermen, or from dohat the Arabic word for ‘bay’ where the fisherman cast their nets.

Russia – and Moscow is named after the River Moskva. The river name has a number of possible meanings depending upon the language: Salvonic Moskva gives ‘damp, marshy’; Slavonic mostkva results in ‘bridge water’; and Finno-Ugrian moska va would describe ‘the ford where calves are seen’.

Saudi Arabia – where the capital of Riyadh is a corruption of the Arabic Ar-Riyad and means ‘the grassland’. Anyone who has seen the area here will know there has not been grass here in recorded history and thus the name seems to have been ironic – much as the island of Greenland is nearly all glaciers.

Singapore – as a city-state the capital city is the state of Singapore, hence the meaning of ‘lion town’, understood as ‘strong town’ from Sanskrit singa pura is also applicable.

Sri Lanka – where Columbo is probably a Portuguese name derived from the Sinhalese name of Kolon thota meaning ‘the port on the river Kelani’. There are also those who maintain this is Sinhalese Kola-amba-thota or ‘the harbour with leafy mango trees.

Syria – where Damascus is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and thus has one of the oldest names. Thus it is no surprise to learn the origin of the name is uncertain and has a number of suggested meanings including ‘dwelling’, ‘a well-watered place’, ‘the land of the Levant’ or simply ‘industrious’.

Tajikistan – where the capital of Dushanbe may not be the best-known city in the world, but certainly should be lauded for having an origin describing the development of the place. Dushanbe is a Tajik word meaning ‘Monday’ and named such as this was the site of a marketplace held on Mondays. Possibly even more interesting is the origin of the Tajik word for ‘Monday’, where du ‘two’ went with shanbe ‘Saturday’ and thus Monday is described as ‘the second day after Saturday’.

Thailand – has its capital of Bangkok, a name thought to come from bang ‘village’ or ‘district’ with makok ‘wild plums’. However the Thai people call this Krung Threp the ‘city of angels’.

Timor – where the capital city id Dili. Settled by the Portuguese, who first recorded this name, it was not named by them but would seem to be a Portuguese version of an existing name. However it is impossible to define the name with any certainty until we know the original language. Having said that, and I do not offer this as an origin, it seems every potential avenue I explored were linked and had a theme suggesting the name meant ‘contemplation’, ‘thought’, ‘consider’ and other synonyms. Hence with tongue very firmly in cheek I wondered if the answer to “What is the name of this place?” could have been ‘we are still thinking about it’.

Turkey – another ancient name and one which perhaps came from a Phrygian ank ‘angled, crooked’ maybe a reference to the gorge. The Arabic name is Qal’at as-Salasil or ‘the fortress of chains’.

Turkmenistan – where we find Ashgabat, which links Turkmenian iskh ‘pleasant’ and Iranian abad ‘town’.

United Arab Emirates – where the capital city is Abu Dhabi and a known meaning of ‘father of deer’ the reason for the name is not so clear. Bedouins refer to this as Umm Dhabi or ‘mother of deer’, while the original name was Milh meaning ‘salt’, a reference to the salt marshes around the city.

Uzbekistan – where Tashkent comes from Turkish tash ‘stone’ and Iranian kent ‘town’.

Vietnam – where Hanoi describes itself as ‘surrounded by a river’, although this has only been the name since the nineteenth century. Prior to this the city was known as Kecho meaning simply ‘capital’.

Yemen – where the capital of Sana’a is one of the oldest inhabited places in history, legend has it founded by Shem, the son of Noah. The current name comes from the Arabian word for ‘well-fortified’, while the earliest name was Azal, said to be after Uzal, son of Qahtan and great-grandson of Shem.

On the subject of place names, places much nearer to home, two new books out this week. Both published by Sigma Press I am delighted to see County Durham Place Names and Northumberland Place Names on the shelves.

Asian Capital Cities – Etymologically speaking (A to L)

The last couple of weeks I have looked at the origins of the names of the nations of Asia, the largest continent on the planet. As previously I shall continue by looking at the origins of the capital cities of those countries, again split into two groups. I shall use the alphabetical order of the nations, as it makes it easier to compare the two – especially as the names of the capital cities will not be as well known.

Afghanistan – the capital city is Kabul, which shares its name with the River Kabul. The river was certainly named first but, unless this is an Iranian word meaning ‘red’, the origins are unknown.

Armenia – and the capital is Yerevan, one of the oldest continually inhabited city in the world and thus one of the oldest names. This does not seem to be from the Armenian king Yervand, although possibly from the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni which did stand around the same area by 782 BC. As two languages blended the pronunciation evolved from Erebuni to Yerevan and thus likely to be ‘abode of Aru’ a local god. Note the Armenian phrase yerevan is used to mean ‘to appear’ and has led to suggestions this came from the words spoken by Noah as it was the first city to emerge, from his perspective on Mount Ararat, resting place of the ark, from the receding flood.

Azerbaijan – where the capital is Baku and a name of uncertain meaning but not without a couple of ideas. Perhaps this is of Arabic and/or Persian derivation where baadku or ‘mountain wind’ gives ‘windswept’, or if this is Iranian abad ku this would speak of ‘town of fire’ and refer to a culture of fire-worshippers.

Bahrain – where the capital city of Manama comes from the Arabic al-manama referring to either ‘the place of rest’ or ‘the place of dreams’, depending upon one’s interpretation.

Bangladesh – has Dhaka as its capital and largest city. A name of uncertain etymology, there is certainly no shortage of suggested origins. Locally the dhak tree is a common sight and perhaps the most likely source. There is also the goddess Dhakeshwari, there is a shrine to her in the city. A dhak was also a musical instrument, held to have been played when the Bengali capital was inaugurated in 1610 under the orders of Subahdar Islam Khan I. Lastly there is the Prakit dialect, where Dhaka Bhasa or Shakka is used for a ‘look-out point’.

Bhutan – has a recent capital named Thimphu, itself from a district name already in use by the fourteenth century and of unknown etymology.

Brunei – with its capital and largest city of Bandar Seri Begawan has a name from two sources. Originally this was Bandar Brunei or ‘Brunei town’, the addition comes from the Sulatan’s late father Seri Begawan, itself from the Sanskrit bhagavn or ‘god’.

Cambodia – the capital is Phnom Penh which, in the Khmer language, means ‘mountain of abundance’.

China – and today the capital is correctly said to be Beijing, this from Chinese bei ‘north’ and kintsing ‘capital’, a comparison with Nanking or ‘southern capital’.

Cyprus – has the capital Nicosia, a corruption of the Greek name of Lefkosia meaning ‘grove of poplars’.

Georgia – the city of Tbilisi is derived from the Georgian tbili meaning ‘warm’ and referring to the local mineral springs.

India – has the present capital of New Delhi, named from what is officially known as Old Delhi, becoming capital in 1947. The name began as a territory, the origins uncertain but possibly from Hindi dilli or ‘threshold’ and a reference to it being close to Hindustan.

Indonesia – the capital city is Jakarta, either from Sanskrit jaya-kerta ‘the place of victory’ or Iranian kert ‘built place’.

Iran – and its capital is Tehran, named from the Old Persian teh ran or ‘warm place’.

Iraq – Baghdad is thought to come from the Iranian words bag dad to describe ‘God’s gift’.

Israel – Jerusalem has been found in Assyrian cuneiform as Urusalimmi, this from Old Hebrew shalem ‘peace’ and from the root ‘stone’ ieru ‘house’ or perhaps ‘people’. Thus it is difficult to know if this is ‘house of peace’ or, if earlier, ‘house of stone’.

Japan – as crossword buffs will know this was formerly known as Edo, literally ‘estuary’. The modern name is from the Japanese to kio ‘the eastern capital’, a comparison with ‘the western capital’ of Kyoto.

Jordan – has its capital city named after the Egyptian god Ammon, used in the sense of ‘protected by Ammon’.

Kazakhstan – has Astana from an early Proto-Indo-European word sta ‘to stand’ shared with the suffix for the country, the Iranian stan ‘land’.

Korea (North and South) – two countries and two capital cities. Pyongyang is the centre for North Korea, a name literally meaning ‘flat land’ and understood as ‘peaceful land’. In South Korea it is the city of Seoul, another literal name translating as ‘capital city’.

Kuwait – shares an origin with the country. Kuwait City is also from Arabic Al-Kuwayt and refers to the former Portuguese fort as ‘the enclosed’.

Kyrgyzstan – the capital is Bishkek, traditionally from the Kyrgyz word for a churn used in the fermentation of mare’s milk, the national drink. Such etymology seems at the very least creative and designed to deflect from the name of Frunze in the Soviet era, itself coming from Mikhail Frunze, a close associate of Lenin who was born in Bishkek.

Laos – the capital is Vientiane, or in the local form Viengchan, meaning ‘town of sandalwood’.

Lebanon – the capital is Beirut which has two equally plausible explanations. Either this represents the Roman Berytus, the Latin version of the hoenician word beroth meaning ‘wells’ or it is directly from Aramaic berotha or ‘pine trees’.

As previously M to Z will follow next time.

Capital Cities of North and South America – etymologically speaking.

Previously I looked at the origins of the names of the countries of (what was once known as) the New World. In there I mentioned defining their capital cities, so I do and in the same alphabetical order of the countries.

Antigua and Barbuda – capital city is St John’s which, as with every other parish on the islands, is named after the dedication of the parish church.

Argentina – where the capital city is Buenos Aries, named by Spanish settlers who arrived here in 1536. Fortunately, at least for the Argentinian postal service, the modern version is an abbreviation of the original name of Ciudad da la Santisima Trinidad y Puerto de nuestra senora la virgin Maria de los beunos aries. The name meaning ‘City of the Most Holy Trinity and port of Our Lady the Virgin Mary of the Good Winds’ has nothing to do with local weather or climate but has a beginning referring to Trinity Sunday, the day on which the settlement was founded, the remainder reminds us the Virgin Mary is the patron saint of sailors.

Bahamas – today the capital is Nassau but, when founded in 1729, was known as Charlestown to honour the English king Charles II. When William III took the throne, he of the House of Orange-Nassau, the name was changed. Incidentally the name of the royal house comes from the Germany duchy of Nassau, itself from Old High German naz ‘damp or marshy’ and augia ‘land’.

Barbados – when discovered by the British they found the remains of a primitive bridge across the Careenage swamp, this built by the Arawak people. This led to them knowing the place as Indian Bridge and yet very soon the place was officially known as the Town of Saint Michael from the dedication of the church. Later, when the same church was given cathedral status, the name was officially changed to the somewhat oxymoronic City of Bridgetown.

Belize – has the capital city of Belmopan, the name only existing since 1967. The capital replaced the former capital, also Belize, destroyed by a hurricane in 1961. The new city was built 50 miles inland on a tributary of the River Belize, the River Molpan, and named as part of the former city and the river.

Bolivia – the constitutional capital is La Paz, an abbreviation of the original name of Pueblo Nuevo de Nuestra Senora de la Paz. Given by the Spanish in 1548, it was named to mark the peace between themselves and the locals and means ‘new town of Our Lady of Peace’.

Brazil – has a capital named Brasilia, a new city founded as recently as 1960 to move the seat of government in this huge country to a more neutral and central location. It is named from a tree, not that which bears brazil nuts but from brazil-wood. The wood was a source of a red dye, known to the Portuguese as braza literally ‘heat’ or ‘coals’. This was used prior to the discovery of the Americas to refer to a red dye obtained from the Far East and known by the Latin brasilium. The earlier name for this region was also Portuguese, named by Cabral in 1500 Vera Cruz meant ‘true cross’. The previous capital, and one still often mistakenly said to have that status, is Rio de Janeiro. It was named as such by the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who thought the bay on which the city stands to be the estuary of a large river and thus called it ‘the January river’, it being New Years’ Day in 1502.

Canada – has the capital city of Ottawa, taken from the tribe known as the Outaouacs or Outaouais who came here from the around Lake Huron and whose name is thought to mean ‘traders’. Earlier it was known as Bytown, named after Colonel John By, an English soldier who organised the building of the Rideau Canal.

Chile – its capital Santiago was founded in 1541 by Pedro de Valdiva as Santiago del Nuevo Extremo ‘Santiago of the new frontier’. Named in honour of St James, San Jago to the Spanish, is said to have preached in Spain and his body brought there following his martyrdom in Jerusalem.

Colombia – had its capital founded and named by the Spanish explorer Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada on January 6th 1538 as Santa Fe de Bogota. Here Santa Fe means ‘holy faith’, a reference to January 6th being the Feast of the Transfiguration, while Bogota is a Spanish rendering of the name of the tribal chief Bacata.

Costa Rica – where the capital is San Jose, the Spanish for Saint Joseph. When founded it was known as Villa Nueva, simply ‘new town’.

Cuba – the capital of Havana is of uncertain origins, possibly a tribal name or that of a Taino chieftain known as Habaguanex. It is first recorded when the Spanish explorer Diego Velasquez named if San Cristobal de la Habana (St Christopher of Habana) to honour Christopher Columbus.

Dominica – where the capital city is Roseau, named after the River Rouseau, itself named by French explorers from the reeds known as phragmites which grew there.

Dominican Republic – dating from the Spanish settlement of 1496, the capital of Santo Domingo can claim to be the oldest European city in the Americas. The name either means ‘Saint Dominic’ or ‘holy Sunday’, depending upon one’s interpretation as to whether this is after Domenico Columbus (father of Christopher) of Saint Dominic (Domingo de Guzman) and founded on a Sunday. Briefly, from 1936 to 1961, it was known as Ciudad Trujillo after dictator Trujillo Molina, while the native Taino people had known it as Quisqueya or ‘mother of all islands’ before the Europeans arrived.

Ecuador – has the capital city Quito. This was also the name of the entire country until 1830, it was named by Spanish explorers after the local Quitu tribe who were extinct by the nineteenth century.

El Salvador – has the capital city San Salvador, Spanish for ‘holy saviour’ as it was founded on the Feast of Transfiguration August 6th 1525.

Grenada – has the capital St George’s, named after the patron saint of England. Prior to this the settlement was French and named Saint Louis after King Louis IX and then, when rebuilt on higher ground, was renamed Fort Royale.

Guatemala – the name which started it all off, where the capital is Guatemala City. This is a Spanish version of the original Tuendal name uhatzmalha or ‘the mountain that gushes water’.

Guyana – the capital is Georgetown, founded in 1781 and named by the British in honour of George III. Shortly afterward, in 1784, the Dutch gained control and renamed it Stabroek or ‘little pool’, with this returning to Georgetown in 1812.

Haiti – has the capital city Port-au-Prince. Meaning ‘the port of the Prince’ it is held the bay, and later the port and city, were named after a vessel which took shelter here, that vessel named Prince.

Honduras – has the capital city Tegucigalpa, named from the local Nahuatl language where Taguz-galpa apparently means ‘the hills of silver’. However this is disputed as the locals were seemingly unaware of this precious metal being available here. Other explanations, which suggest this came from other languages, provide the alternative meanings of ‘painted rocks’, a Mexican dance, ‘place of residence of the noble’, ‘place on the home of the beloved master’, and ‘in the homes of the sharp stones’.

Jamaica – has the capital Kingston, named to honour the English king William III.

Mexico – was named for its capital city Mexico City, itself named Metzlianan by the Aztecs and coming from the lake named from metz-tli ‘moon’ and atl ‘water’.

Nicaragua – has the capital city Managua, which comes from the local Nahuatl tongue meaning ‘adjacent to the water’ or perhaps ‘surrounded by water’. Ironically this name has also been given to Lake Managua, itself the ‘water’ which gave the settlement its name.

Panama – the country is named from the capital, Panama City. This name was discussed last time, where all theories agree it comes from a native language but the question of which language, and therefore which word, is disputed. Some point to the local trees growing in the forest, others suggest this came about when the first settlers arrived in August, a time when butterflies abound, and called it the place of ‘many butterflies’. Most often cited is the story of the fishing village known by this name which was supposed to mean ‘abundance of fish’. Panamanians, eager to produce something from this confusion, have officially adopted the meaning of ‘abundant with fish, trees, and butterflies’, a tourist winner if ever there was one. This does not take into consideration the native Kuna word bannaba meaning ‘distant’ or ‘afar’.

Paraguay – had its capital Asuncion named by Spanish explorers on August 15th 1536, the feast day of the Assumption or, to the Spanish, Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion ‘Our Lady of the Assumption’.

Peru – has the capital Lima, a city founded in 1535 by Franciso Pizzaro who called it Ciudad de los Reyes ‘city of the kings’. As the years passed it slowly became more often referred to by the same name as the river on which it stands. The River Rimac takes the name of a god whose name means ‘he who speaks’.

St Kitts and Nevis – the capital of Basseterre, a name which is derived from the French for ‘low land’ or ‘down land’. This term is seen several times around the Caribbean.

Saint Lucia – the settlement founded by the French in 1650 was known as Carenage or ‘safe anchorage’. Renamed Castries in 1756, this honoured the commander of the French expeditionary force Eugene Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – has the capital Kingstown, named to honour the ruling monarch both by the original French and the British who came afterwards.

Suriname – Paramaribo is the capital city, named by the local tribe where para maribo describes ‘the dwellers by the sea’.

Trinidad and Tobago – was settled by the Spanish, hence the capital city being Port of Spain. Previously this settlement was known as Cumucurapo by the local people, this meaning ‘the place of the silk cotton trees’.

United States of America – has the capital Washington, D.C. It is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States of America and a man whose grandfather was lord of the manor of Sulgrave in Northamptonshire and also my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.

Uruguay – can boast the southernmost capital city of all the Americas. Montevideo comes from the Portuguese, possibly named by Magellan, monte vidi eo or ‘I saw the mountain’. Another idea of monte VI de O, where ‘VI’ is a Roman numeral and ‘O’ the Portuguese abbreviation for oeste ‘west’ seems highly contrived, especially when defined as ‘sixth mountain from the west’.

Venezuela – has the capital city Caracas. Named by Spanish explorers after the local tribe, it was originally known as Santiago de Leon de Caracas where Saint James, the patron saint of Spain, preceded Don Pedro Ponce de Leon, the provincial governor.

Origins of African Capital Cities (M to Z)

Last week I followed up a post from more than two years ago and looked at the origins of the names of the countries of the African continent. My original posts were split into A to L and then M to Z. It makes sense to use the same split for the capital cities of these nations and therefore this week the remaining nations beginning M to Z are covered.

Madagascar is governed from Antananarivo, formerly known as Tananarive, and both have the same origin with the modern form featuring the prefix an meaning ‘at’. The original is from a Malagasy word tanana with the prefix speaking of ‘a thousand villages’.

Malawi’s capital is Lilongwe, itself the name of the river on which it stands and a has the expected simplistic meaning of ‘big river’.

Mali’s capital is Bamako, itself named after a Soninke chief named Bamma who lived here. The suffix ko means ‘behind’ and thus this place was ‘behind Bamma’s village’, that village being Motibadougou.

Mauritania is governed from Nouakchott. This we know to mean literally ‘one who has no ears’ and understood to refer to someone with small ears rather than non-existent ones. The individual is unknown but must have been of importance and likely a chief.

Mauritius has the capital named Port Louis from Louis XV as this was a French colony.

Morocco’s capital is Rabat, derived from the Arabic word ribat remembers this was found as a fortress in the 12th century for the name means ‘fort’.

Mozambique’s capital is named after the river Maputo, both therefore carry the name of one son of Nuagobe, an eighteenth century chief. Prior to 1975 the city was known as Lourenco Marques, also named after an individual, the Portuguese navigator who first mapped this region in the sixteenth century.

Namibia’s capital of Windhoek still shows the Dutch influence in a name meaning ‘windy cape’. Prior to the Dutch local tribes referred to this as ‘the fire water’ and ‘place of smoke’, both a reference to the steam of the hot springs.

Niger takes the name of the river. Its capital, Niamey, refers to where the local tribe drew water ‘to the left of the tree’.

Nigeria’s capital is Abuja, itself named from the Hausa emirate which derived its name from a fortification founded in 1828 by Abu Ja, literally ‘Abu the Red’.

Rwanda’s capital is Kigali, a name comes from a Kinyarwanda term loosely transalted as ‘those who fight together’.

Sao Tome and Principe was named by Portuguese sailors after St Thomas who landed here on his feast day. The capital is also known as Sao Tome.

Senegal is governed from Dakar, a name from the Wolof word describing the ‘tamarind tree’.

Seychelles is governed from Victoria which, rather predictably, is named after Queen Victoria.

Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown was founded 1787 by the British as a home for liberated slaves.

Somalia’s capital is Mogadishu, thought to come from the Arabic Maq’ad Shah or ‘the seat of the Shah’ and a reminder of the Persian influence.

South Africa has three ‘capital’ cities. Cape Town takes its name from the Cape of Good Hope; Pretoria was named to honour its founder, Andries Pretorius; and Bloemfontein, from the Dutch ‘spring among the flowers’.

South Sudan has the newest capital city in the world. Juba coming from Djouba, a people also known as the Bari.

Sudan has the capital Khartoum, an Arabic name Al-Khurtum meaning ‘elephant’s trunk’. This refers to the shape of the area, a headland formed by the White Nile and Blue Nile.

Swaziland is one of those countries with more than one capital city. Lobamba has never been adequately explained but Mbabane is named after the chief Mbabane Khunene, who lorded it here before the arrival of the Europeans, and whose name comes from the local river and means ‘the thing that crushes’, an excellent description of the erosive power of this river in spate.

Tanzania’s capital is Dodoma and means, in the native Gogo tongue, ‘it has sunk’.

Tunisia is named after its capital, with Tunis of unknown origin. Often said to represent the Phoenician goddess Tanith, the name is known to pre-date the arrival of the Phoenicians.

Uganda has the capital city Kampala, itself named after the hill on which it stands and named as ‘the impala hill’. This does not show wild impala grazed here, although the animals were seen here they were quite tame.

Zambia is governed from Lusaka, named after the former chief Lusaakas who was here at the end of the nineteenth century.

Origins of African Capital Cities - Part 1

A look at my website will show more than half of my published works have been on the subject of place names. Etymology is a subject which has always fascinated me and this blog has reflected such most weeks. As it has been a good while since I have looked at toponymy (the study of place names), I thought it time to put that right.

It was over two years ago I looked at the origins of the names of the names of the African continent. There were two posts looking at first A to L and then M to Z. It makes sense to use the same split for the capital cities of these nations and therefore this week we shall examine A to L with the remainder to come next week.

Algeria is first alphabetically, with the nation named after its capital. Algiers comes from the Arabic al-Jaza'ir which means 'the islands' and reminds us this city was built on four islands which were joined to the mainland in 1525.

Angola’s capital is Luanda, thought to be a reference to the earliest inhabitants for lived on the island of Luanda and describes ‘the place of the net’ and of course this refers to the number of fishermen who lived here. As a Portuguese territory it was known as Ilha dos Cabras or ‘place of goats’.

Benin is another influenced by Portuguese, for the capital of Porto Novo gets its name from the Portuguese for ‘new harbour’. It was they who founded the port in the sixteenth century.

Botswana’s capital is Gaborone, named after Chief Gaborone Matlapin who ruled when the town was founded in the late nineteenth century.

Burkina Faso’s capital is Ouagadougou, a name dating from the fifteenth century when the area was inhabited by Ninsi tribes who referred to the area as Kumbee-Tenga. When, in 1441, the Yonyonse hero Wubri led the tribe to victory over the Nunsi, he renamed the settlement Wage sabre soba koumbern tenga meaning “the village of the head war chief’. The modern spelling is entirely down to French colonial influence.

Burundi’s capital, largest city and chief port is Bujumbura. Known as Usumbura until independence in 1962, when the earlier name meant ‘place of confusion’, the change of name was inspired by two territories in the west of Burundi. Both mean the same thing, the change simply phonetic differences between Swahili and a closely related tongue.

Cameroon’s capital is Yaounde, When occupied by the Germans it was known as Jaunde, Yaounde is the French version, both from the Yaunde or Ewondo people native to this part of the continent.

Cape Verde is governed from the city of Praia, this former Portuguese colony taking the Portuguese word for ‘beach’.

Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui stands on the Ubangi River. Both names come from the Bobangi (also related) word for ‘rapids’ and also marks the upriver navigable limits.

Chad is governed from N’Djamena, a capital city named from the Arabic Nijamina or ‘place of rest’.

Comoros’ largest city and capital is Moroni is near Mount Karthala, an active volcano giving the meaning of ‘in the heart of the fire’.

Cote d'Ivoire’s administrative capital city is Yamoussoukro, a taken from the name of Queen Yamouusso and the former village of N’Gokro. The economic capital is Abidjan, a name with an obscure etymology and thus has seen a creative explanation for its origin. It seems an old man from here was carrying a load of branches when he met a European explorer. In a language the local man had no chance of understanding the explorer enquired as to the name of the local village. Misinterpreting the question as a challenge he took to his heels and shouted min-chan m’bidjan which the European noted as Abidjan. Unfortunately the phrase was not the name of the village, for min-chan m’bidjan is, in the Ebrie language, telling him “I just cut the leaves!”

Democratic Republic of the Congo has the capital Kinshasha, this a version of a village named Kinchassa which once stood near this site. Both are from a Bantu word of unknown meaning. As a city Kinshasha was founded as Leopoldville, named after King Leopold of the Belgians.

Djibouti was originally known as French Somaliland although today it is known by the same name as its capital city, itself from an Afar word gabouri meaning 'plate'. This is a ceremonial plate, woven from palm fibres and placed on a pedestal.

Egypt may be an ancient name but its capital was named as recently as 969. We can be certain of this date as it was when the city was conquered by the Arabs who called it Misr-al-Qahirah or ‘Mars the victorious’ as the Roman god of war was visible on that night.

Equatorial Guinea has the capital Malabo, a city founded by the British in 1827 as Port Clarence. Reverting to Spanish control in 1969 it was named Santa Isabel only to be changed four years later when President Francisco Macias Nguema arbitrarily decided to rename the place with an ‘authentic’ African name of no etymological value.

Eritrea means we need to look at Asmara, a name translating as ‘the four made them unite’. The four were women, living around here some 2,500 years ago. It is said the population were formed of four clans who lived in four communities. These four were forever arguing and fighting and it was not until the women of the respective clans sat down and decided the only way forward was to unite that peace reigned and the new name was coined.

Ethiopia has the capital Addis Ababa, this from Amharic addis ‘new’ and abeba ‘flower’.

Gabon’s capital of Libreville was founded in 1848 for free slaves and is named from the French libre ville ‘free town’.

Gambia’s capital is Banjul was formerly called Bathurst but when, in 1973, it took a local name it was decided to revive Banjul which is said to mean ‘rope mats’.

Ghana’s capital of Accra is thought to derive from the Akan nkran meaning ‘black ant’. This name was originally applied to the Nigerian tribesmen who settled this region in the sixteenth century.

Guinea is governed from Conakry, a city named by the native Susu people as being ‘over the waters’ or ‘on the opposite bank’.

Guinea Bissau’s capital is Bissau, a city named from the island on which the original settlement began, itself from the tribe who lived here, and who were named from their former chief.

Kenya’s Nairobi is thought to be named from a small stream known to the Masai people as Enkare Nairobi ‘cold water’.

Lesotho’s capital of Lesotho grew from small beginnings in the middle of the nineteenth century. The name means ‘place of red sandstone’, the original settlement stood on a rocky sandstone headland.

Liberia is from the Latin liber 'free' for this was where American slaves were allowed to return to their homeland and freedom from 1822. Monrovia, the capital, is named after the 5th president of the USA, James Monroe, who was in office in 1822 when the settlement was founded.

Libya is the oldest name on the continent and the capital of Tripoli is not so very far behind. Named after the the three component cities of Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna, it comes from the Greek tripolis or ‘three towns’.

Etymology of European Capital Cities (M to Z)

Following on from the previous post, the completion of the alphabetical list of European capital cities with their meaning.

Madrid, Spain - a Moorish fort once stood here named Majrit. While the modern name certainly comes from this early name the meaning has never been understood.

Minsk, Belarus - undoubtedly a lost river name related to Men, Mena, Menka, and Main, all ultimately from the Indo-European moinia or 'marsh'. The modern river through Minsk is the Svisloch, so perhaps this represents an early or alternative name.

Monaco, Monaco - during the sixth and seventh centuries BC the rock on which the city now stands was home to a Greek temple to the god Hercules the Hermit. Here is the link to the name coming from the Greek monoikos speaking of the 'hermit, monk'.

Moscow, Russia - coming from the Moskva river which flows through the city, there are several suggestions for the origin of the river name. If this is Slavonic moskva, which does seem the most likely, this is 'damp, marshy'; Slavonic mostkva describes 'bridge, water'; while Finno-Ugrian moska va refers ro 'the ford where calves are raised'.

Nicosia, Cyprus - it seems this is a result of the French-speaking Crusaders who pronounced the Greek name of Lefkosia as Nicosie, seemingly Italian influence giving the modern Nicosia. The Greek name comes from the man who rebuilt it in 300BC, Lefkonas being the son of Ptolemy I.

Oslo, Norway - once thought to be a name from Indo-European os with the River Lo giving 'the mouth of the Lo', this is now seen as an early error and the river name is derived from the place. Today it is generally accepted to be either 'the meadow by the hill' or 'the meadow where gods are worshipped' and derived from Old Norse.

Paris, France - this comes from the tribe who lived here, the Parisii. This raises the question as to the origin of the tribal name. Possibly this represents Gaulish par 'ship', suggesting these men were known as sailors or perhaps ship-builders.

Podgorica, Montenegro - situated close to Gorica, a hill name meaning simply 'hill', this place name describes its location 'under the hill'.

Prague, Czech Republic - while the name is disputed, the most popular derivation is from the Czech praziti 'place where wood is burned'. A second definition gives Slavonic prati, literally 'to work' it would refer to the dykes constructed in the river to hold fish.

Reykjavik, Iceland - an island known for its hot geysers and this is the meaning of the name. Here Icelandic reyka precedes Old Norse vek to refer to 'the smoke of the inlet'.

Riga, Latvia - founded in the twelfth century this is from Slavonic reka meaning 'river'. Note the river through Riga today is the Dvina, however there was once another called the Reka which silted up and no longer flows.

Rome, Italy - the city stands on the Tiber, a river previously known as the Ruma. This is thought be of Etruscan origin meaning 'to flow'.

San Marino, San Marino - a republic founded around the end of the third century as a religious communiy by St Marinus, a stone cutter whose name in Italian becomes San Marino.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - comes from Bosnian saray evo giving 'the field around the palace'. It could be argued the first element represents Persian shahr or Turkish sehir, however neither change the meaning greatly as they both refer, albeit indirectly, to a centre of government.

Skopje, Macedonia - a site which has been inhabited for at least 6,000 years and known by the Latin name of Scupi. The meaning is uncertain, however it seems this has remained largely unchanged for millennia, certainly in use when this was a Greco-Roman fortress town. Considering its strategic importance this is the most likely origin of the name.

Sofia, Bulgaria - a place where the name has changed depending upon who was in control here. When first settled by the seventh century BC it was called Serdica, the Thracian tribe called the Serds founding the settlement. When the Slavs moved here over a thousand years later, they mistook the name to be from sered, the Slavonic for 'centre'. Move forward to the eleventh century AD and the Byzantine empire referred to the place as Triaditsa, a religious reference to the Holy Trinity. That religious idea is perpetuated in the modern name, itself from the Greek meaning 'wisdom' in a theological sense.

Stockholm, Sweden - whereas the suffix is undoubtedly holm 'drier raised land', the first element is by no means certain. It may represent stak 'bay' or stock 'post, pole' and a marker of some description.

Tallinn, Estonia - prior to the First World War this was known as Revel, thought to be from Danish revele or 'sandbank'. The Danish connection is seen in the modern name, itself from Estonian taani linna 'the town of the Danes', the area ruled by the Danes from 1227 to 1346.

Tblisi, Georgia - from the Georgian word tbili meaning 'warm', a reference to the warm mineral springs found here.

Tirana, Albania - from the ancient name for Tuscany, which came from the Greek and still seen in the name of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Clearly an early link with the Etruscans.

Vaduz, Lichtenstein - possibly Romanesque avadutg 'water' or from Latin vallis 'valley'.

Valletta, Malta - for once we not only know the meaning but also the man himself. Following victory over the Turks in 1565, this city was founded by, and named after, Jean Parisot de la Vallette, Grand Master of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem.

Vatican City, Vatican City - represents the Latin name for the hill on which this place stands. Mons Vaticanus took its name from vaticinia 'the place of divination', which shows the holiest place in Catholicism was named after a pagan shrine.

Vienna, Austria - is named after the River Vienna, it meets the Danube here. The river name is from Celtic, possibly vedunia meaning 'tree' or vindo 'white' and thus pointing to a stone building. Either way it is clear reference is to a very short section of riverbank in a river some 21 miles long, hence this name was relevant to only a small part and would have had other names elsewhere along its course, as indeed would apply to any river or stream.

Vilnius, Lithuania - another from the local river. Here the River Viliya (also known as the Nyaris) is derived from a Slavonic word meaning 'winding'.

Warsaw, Poland - it would be a surprise if a capital city anywhere on the globe has more stories told about its origins. The most likely origin is Warsz ev 'belong to a man called Warsz', although Hungarian varos or 'fortified town cannot be ruled out entirely. We can be sure it does not come from the twins War and Sawa, said to have been found by the king and his hunting party. Neither does it originate in the supposed cry by those on the cargo rafts to their cooks in "Warz, Eva!" meaning "Broth, Eve!"

Yerevan, Armenia - the only thing certain about this name is its great age. Of the many suggestions only two seem realistic: either 'the abode of the god Aru' or perhaps from Armenian yerevan meaning 'to appear', when the sense would be a mystery.

Zagreb, Croatia - while often said to be from German graben 'trench, ditch', it seems more likely to be from a related Slavonic word saying this settlement lay 'beyond the ditch'.

Etymology of European Capital Cities (A to L)

With Europe very much in the news over recent months, from finances to the February freeze, I have heard the names of many capital cities mentioned. Inevitably I was soon distracted by the origins of these names, rather than showing interest in the news.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - no surprise to find this is 'the dam on the River Amstel' on which the city stands and itself from Old Dutch aerne stelle meaning 'the area abounding with water'.

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - undoubtedly a very old place name and thus of very uncertain origins. The best explanation offered to date is the suggestion this is related to Basque andurrial meaning 'heath'.

Ankara, Turkey - by the seventh century BC this was known by the Phrygian name Ankire, perhaps featuring the Indo-European root ank 'angled, crooked'

Astana, Kazahkhstan - in the native tongue astana means 'capital', but this is itself derived from Persian for 'threshold, border point' and here understood to refer to where the court or ruling body is to be found.

Athens, Greece - ask any Greek or Athenian and they would have said it was named after the goddess Athene. However there is good reason to believe it is older and taken from the Pelasgians who occupied much of the Balkan peninsula more than five thousand years ago, in which case this means 'height, hill'.

Baku, Ajerbaijan - two possible origins for Baku, although neither is certain. The popular explanation is from Arabic through Persian, where baadku describes 'a mountain wind'. Another suggestion is Iranian abad ku, literally 'town of fire' and referring to some supposed worship of fire.

Belgrade, Serbia - the first stronghold was built here by a Celtic tribe around 2,500 years ago. This is from a Slavonic word meaning 'white fortress', telling us (rather unusually for the time) it was made from stone.

Berlin, Germany - another very old place name and again one where the origin is uncertain. Suggestions include the popular idea this contains an early word for 'bear', although there has also been 'evidence' showing diverse meanings as 'lake, hill, dame, court, customs, sandy', the list seemingly endless.

Bern, Switzerland - no surprise to find the first element is compared to the previous name, although this is no evidence this represents anything to do with the German for 'bear'. A more likely origin is the Indo-European ber or 'marshy place'.

Bratislava, Slovakia - its location means it has been influenced by many peoples and thus many languages, resulting in the place known by a number of different names. Bratislava was only offically adopted in 1919, although the name was first seen eighty years earlier when scholar Pavel Jozeg Safarrik suggested earlier names showed an association with Bohemian ruler Bretislav I.

Brussels, Belgium - a name from bruoc sella and a reminder this was 'the settlement in the marshes'.

Bucharest, Romania - traditionally held to be named after its found, a fifteenth century shepherd named Bucur. However the city was certainly established well before this and, while the origin is not certain, is related to Albanian bucur for 'pleasant beautiful' or the Romanian definition 'to rejoice'.

Budapest, Hungary - as many will be aware Budapest was two towns before the official merging in 1872. Not that this could ever be a physical merger as they lie on opposing banks of the Danube. Buda, on the right bank, and Pest, on the left, are of Slavonic origin and both have two equally plausible meanings: buda is either 'building' or 'water'; while pest is either 'cave' or 'hearth'. It is certainly not connected with the name for the Roman encampment here, their Aquincum speaking of 'ample water'.

Chisinau, Moldova - as with many names in areas which have been influenced by many peoples and languages, there are disputes over this name. If this is Romanian, then chisla noua speaks of 'the new spring'; if the Romanian name was originally Hungarian then this represents kis Jeno' the small place of the Jeno tribe'. There is alos the Russian version of Kishinev, which was how the name was introduced to English.

Copenhagen, Denmark - finally a name where we can be certain of the origins, this is from Danish kiopman havn 'the harbour of the merchants'.

Dublin, Republic of Ireland - and another name where the origins are certain. Here Irish dubh linn tells us the place was built at 'the black lake'. The contemporary Irish name is Baile Atha Cliath meaning 'the town of the ford of the hurdle'.

Helsinki, Finland - founded as a town by the Swedes in 1550 it was then known as Helsingfors, Helsing being the name of the tribe and fors the Swedish for 'waterfall'. They relocated the entire settlement to its present site in 1648, hence the 'waterfall' on the River Wanda is no longer really relevant, while Helsinki is simply the Finnish version of the original name.

Kiev, Ukraine - for once the traditional narrative appears to be correct. Legend has it the ferryman Kiy founded this settlement on the River Dnieper, although others claim one Prince Kiy gave his name to the place he captured in the ninth century.

Lisbon, Portugal - the Phoenician's were probably behind the name of Lisbon. However it is difficult to see if this is derived from ippo 'fence' or alis ubbo 'joyful bay'. We can be certain the traditional story of being named after the founder Ulysses, even though his Phoenician name was Olisipo.

Ljubljana, Slovenia - the most likely explanation is this place was named after the Ljubljanica river which flows through it, although back formation certainly cannot be ruled out. The version is from Laibach, as both city and river were known by the Middle Ages (and in use until 1918), itself from Old High German and speaking of 'the standing water liable to cause much flooding'.

London, United Kingdom - all will be aware to the Romans this was Londinium. However this is not the origin, the name was certainly much earlier and, as with the vast majoirty of apparently 'Roman' place names is simply a 'Latinicised' version of the existing name, best guess at which would be a tribal name, maybe Londinos.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg - as with many English place names this is derived from the Saxon peoples who referred to this place as Lucilinburhuc. Here Old Saxon luttil burug speaks of this as 'the little town'.