Venezuela 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 Venezuelan cities.

Caracas, the capital city, 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.

Maracaibo is held to be from the brave cacique or chief named Mara, who resisted and was killed fighting the Spanish. Legend says the name comes from Mara kayo meaning 'Mata fell!. Others give the originas maara iwo or 'place where serpents abound' - you can see why the legend is preferred.

Valencia is clearly a transferred name from Spain. While the Spanish origin is clearly irrelevant here, it is noted the name means 'strength, valour'.

Barquisimeto comes from the local Caquetio people who describe the region of 'the ash-coloured river'.

Barcelona, like Valencia, is a name transferred from Spain where the name is said to remember Hamilcar Barca, supposed founder of the place in the 3rd century BC.

Maturin was named after the Indian chief El Indio Maturin.

Merida is named after the home town of founder Juan Rodriguez Suarez. The Spanish place name comes from the Latin emerita meaning 'retired, veteran'.

Ciudad Bolivar is 'the city Bolivar'. Simon Bolivar was a Venezuelan military and political leader known as The Liberator.

Barinas comes from the local tongue and describes a seasonal strong wind.

Los Teques takes its name from the indigenous tribe Aroctoeques Carabs.

Punto Fijo was said to refer to a place where travellers and fishermen stopped, for it means 'the fixed point'.

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

Suriname 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 Suriname's cities.

Kawemhakan comes from the Wayana language and means 'high riverbank'. Locals still refer to the place as Anapaike, the name of the last granman or chief of the Maroon nation.

Witagron comes from the local tongue and means 'land of my forefathers'.

Brokopondo Reservoir is a misnomer, named as such for the dam stands close to the village of Brokopondo. Correctly this is the Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. von Blommenstein Meer and named after the Dutch engineer who desiged it.

Sipaliwini is the name of a district, a village and, originally, a river. The river's name comes from the thornback ray, known as the sirari in the local tongue.

Friendship took this simplistic name from the plantation established here before the town developed.

Lelydorp is named after the Dutch governor of Suriname in 1905, Cornelius Lely.

Onverwacht is the Dutch word for 'unexpected', and your guess as to what they had not expected to discover is as good as mine.

Paramaribo is named from the tribe who, in turn, take their name from the Tupi-Guarani words para 'large river' and maribo 'inhabitants'.

Tepu takes its name from the Tiriyo language and means 'high'.

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

Nicaragua 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 Nicaraguan cities.

Managua has two equally plausible origins. The local Nahuatl language being one and where mana-ahuac translates as '(place) by the water' or perhaps '(place) surrounded by water'. Alternatively this may represent the Mangue tongue, where managua means 'place of the big man', effectively 'chief'.

Leon was founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de Leon in 1524, courtesy of Franciso Hernandez de Cordoba. The original located some 20 miles east of the present city. Named after the Spanish city which, in turn, is dervived from the city's Latin name coined during the Roman occupation of Castra Legionis or 'the camp of the legion'.

Monimbo comes from the Nahuatl and means 'close to the water', that water is Lake Masaya, itself perhaps meaning 'joyful, happy' or similar.

Matagalpa, like Managua, has two suggested origins. This may come from the local tongue meaning 'leading town' for maika is 'head' and calpul 'town'. Alternatively this is from the Sumo language and translates as 'let's go where the rocks are'. Other explanations are 'here next to the water' and 'among the mountains'.

Chinandega's origins are uncertain, although most often explained as from the Nahuatl chinamitl-tacalt 'the place surrounded by reeds'.

Granada was a thriving community when the Spanish arrived and renamed it Granada in 1524. The Spaniards took the name of the city of Granada in Spain, itself derived from its earlier Arabic name of Garnatah thought to translate as 'hill of the strangers'.

Tipitapa is another with two possible origins. This could either be from a Mexican relpe-petiat-pan, literally 'stone, bedroll, place' and understood as 'place of stone backpacks'; or perhaps this is tpitzin apan 'small place' and understood as meaning 'the place of a small river'.

Juigalpa either means 'land abundant of jicaro' (otherwise known as the calabash tree) or, and I do so hope this can be shown to be the true origin, in 'place of the black snails'.

Boaco is composed of two words, boaj 'enchanters' with the suffix o 'place, town'. It seems this is probably from some long-forgotten piece of folklore, maybe related to the name of the nearby peak of El Cerro de la Vieja 'the old woman's hill'.

Bluefields was named after the Dutch pirate Abraham Blauvelt, he using this bay as a hiding place in the 17th century. The Bluefields River, an oxymoron if ever I heard one, comes from the same source.

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

New Zealand 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 New Zealand cities.

Auckland was named in 1840 by William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand. He chose the name of George Eden, Earl of Auckland and British First Lord of the Admirality. His title came from Auckland in Durham, correctly Bishop Auckland to show the area was held by the Bishop of Durham. The main part of the name comes from Cumbric, describing 'the rock on the Clyde'. Today the local river is the Gaunless but changes in river names and even different names for the same river were not only common in history but to be expected. Further details on the place name can be found in my County Durham Place Names. For the Maori this was known as Tamaki Makaurau, or 'Tamaki with a hundred lovers' and a reference to a fertile place where many rivers converge.

Wellington is named after Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington. His name chosen in 1840, not because of his earlier victory at Waterloo but, for his support for the New Zealand Company and their principles of colonisation. His title comes from the Somerset town, a name meaning 'the farmstead associated with a man named Weola'. Further details on the place name be found in my Somerset Place Names. For the Maori the area now occupied by the modern city had been known by three names. Te Whanganui-a-Tara, this the harbour area, refers to 'the great harbour of Tara'; Poneke is the transliteration of Port Nick or Port Nicholson, the central and sacred part of the city; and Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui or 'the head of the fish of Maui' and a reference to the demi-god who is said to have fished the island from the sea.

Christchurch officially took its name on 27 March 1848. Founder John Robert Godley suggested uit as he was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. The Maori know the place as Otautahi 'the place of Tautahi', a seasonal home of chief Te Potiki Tautahi and known as such since the 1930s. Earlier the name of Karaitiana, a transliteration of the English 'Christian'.

Hamilton was found 24 August 1864 by Colonel William Moule, who named the place to honour Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, commander of HMS Esk, killed at the Battle of Gate Pa, Tauranga in 1864.

Tauranga retains its original Maori name, it refers to the natural harbour as 'the place of rest or anchorage'.

Napier is today officially joined with Hastings, but as a place name it stands alone. It is named after the British army officer General Sir Charles Napier (1782-1853).

Hastings is a name transferred from the place on the south coast of England which comes from 'place of the family or followers of a man called Haesta', further information can be found in my East Sussex Place Names. However the name was brought here as a personal name, he Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal. Some sources suggest the place had earlier been known as Hicksville, named after Francis Hicks who bought a one hundred acre plot which now forms the centre of the city.

Dunedin is another colony established by the New Zealand Company, here many came from Scotland and they chose to name the place for the Gaelic name for Edinburgh Dun Eideann and meaning 'the stronghold of Eidyn'.

Palmerston was known as Papa-i-Oea, 'how beautiful it is', until colonists arrived in the middle of the 19th century and renamed it in honour of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston who served two terms as Britain's prime minister.

Nelson is, somewhat predictably, named after Admiral Horatio Nelson. Yet he is not the only combatant at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, many roads and areas in the city also remember people and ships involved in the defeat of the French and Spanish fleets. The Maori name is Whakatu and means 'build, establish, raise'.

Rotorua takes its name from the Maori Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe 'the second great lake of Kahumatamomoe', he the uncle of the Maori chief Ihenga and this the second great lake he discovered and thus named to honour his uncle.

Whangarei is another Maori name, it is derived from two words whanga 'harbour' and rei 'cherished possession'.

New Plymouth, named because it was not the original, took its name from the English city as this was where the first English settlers both migrated and arrived, just as had happened with North America. Plymouth has a rather complex origin, one explained in detail in both my Cornwall Place Names and South Devon Place Names. Briefly, it is named as being at the mouth of the River Plym, itself named for Plymstock. The Maori name was Ngamotu.

Invercargill is a created 'Scottish' place name, where the Gaelic inbhir, used in a number of Scotland place names and meaning 'river mouth' precedes the surname of Captain William Cargill, then the Superintendent of Otago.

Whanganui is the modern accepted spelling, officially changed in 2009 from Wanganui although both spellings are acceptable. The Maori whanga nui means 'big bay' and retained its original name even though the New Zealand Company called it Petre after Lord Petre who worked for the company.

Gisborne was known to the Maori as Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa or 'the great standing place of Kiwa'. In 1870 the name changed to Gisbourne to honour New Zeland Colonial Secretary William Gisborne (1825-1898).

Haast was named after Julius von Haast, a German geologist who was knighted for his services to geology in New Zealand.

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

Mozambique 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 Mozambique settlements.

Maputo, the capital and largest city of Mozambique, was known as Lourenco Marques until 1976, this the name of the Portuguese navigator who explored this area in 1544. Maputo shares its name with the Maputo River, itself formerly known as the Suthu River, itself from suthu and either refers to the Basotho people or the colour of the muddy waters of the river. The present names of both were derived from the link to the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO and, from the etymologist's point of view, of little interest.

Angoche, like the capital, had been known by a different name prior to independence in 1976. Earlier the name of Antonio Enes referred to the 19th century Portuguese journalist and colonial administrator Antion Jose Enes.

Beira was named to honour the Portuguese Crown Prince Dom Luis Filipe, prior to that it was known as Chiveve after the local river. Beira is also the name of a rare antelope, it is not clear if this is why the name was chosen and the origin of the river name is unknown.

Catandica took its name from the son of a local chief who served in the army.

Chimoio is taken from one of the sons of Ganda, a chief of the Moyo clan. Chimoio was a great hunter, he once killed an elephant while on land held by a neighbouring tribe. This was considered a crime punishable by death. His father agreed to the execution but requested his family be allowed to settle close to the grave to watch over the remains. This gave the name of Chimoio or 'little heart' to the region.

Chinde shares a name with the Chinde River on which it stands, the meaning of the name is unknown.

Cuamba was originally named Nova Freixo, this taken from the name of Freixo de Espada a Cinta in Portugal, this the birthplace of Sarmento Rodrigues, the governor general of Mozambique. Cuamba is the original name of the place and of uncertain origin.

Gurue had earlier been named Vila Junqueiro, this taken from the name of a company producing tea Plantacoes Manuel Saraiva Junquiero. This is only slightly more unusual than the name Gurue, this a local tribal dialect either the name of a local tribal chief or their name for the peccary, a pig-like animal.

Inhambane had been known as Terra de Boa Gente by the Portuguese, this meaning 'the Land of the Good People'.

Lichinga was known as Villa Cabal to the Portuguese, this translates as 'full house' as it was designed to become a fast growth urban centre.

Manica takes its name from the Kingdom of Manica, its origins are unknown.

Matola is from the name of the kingdom here when colonists arrived, it continues to be a common surname locally.

Maxixe is named after an African chief.

Nampula is held to be from the word whampula, the name of a legendary tribal chief in this area.

Pemba was founded as Porto Amelia by the Niassa Company in 1904, named after the Queen of Portugal.

Ponto da Ouro translates as 'tip of gold', referring to the beach at the tip of the cape.

Quelimane has two explanations, neither of which are particularly convincing. Some suggest the Portuguese found an Arab here when they arrived, he acted as interpreter and the place named from the Swahili for 'interpreter'. An alternative explanation speaks of a visit from Vasco da Gama who, on reaching here in 1498, asked "Who are you?" and heard the reply kuliamani. Unfortunately the people misunderstood the question and thought he had asked "what are you doing?" to which they responded "we are cultivating", which is exactly what kuliamani means.

Tete comes from the local Nyungwe word mitete meaning 'reed'.

Vilankulo is named after tribal chief Gamela Vilankulo Mukoke, with some of the districts here named after his sons.

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