United Arab Emirates 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 United Arab Emirates cities.

Dubai has a number of explanations: an Arabic proverb daba dubai or 'they came with a lot of money'; or Arabic yadub meaning 'to creep' and a reference to the slow flow of the Dubai Creek; or yadub used to mean 'baby locust', as these insects dominated the area before settlement.

Abu Dhabi comes from Arabic, where abu means 'father' and dhabi 'gazelle'. Aside from the number of gazelles in this area, the 'father of the gazelle' may also be a reference to folklore and a story involving Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan.

Sharjah is said to be the name of an idol worshipped in ancient times or, alternatively, from the Arabic sharq or 'east'.

Al Ain is Arabic for 'the spring'.

Umm Al Quwain has had a couple of suggestions: either from umm al quwatain 'mother of the two powers' or quwain 'iron'.

Khor Fakkan is Arabic meaning 'creek of two jaws'.

Jebel Ali uses the Arabic for 'mountain'.

Madinat Zayed is Arabic for 'city of Zayed', the town established by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1968.

Ar-Ruwais, most often given as simply Ruwais, is Arabic and describes 'the small head'.

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

Sudan 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 Sudan cities.

Omdurman is from the Arabic Umm Durman and translates as 'mother of Durman', however we have no idea who she may have been and what role she played.

Khartoum's origins are uncertain, although most often given as from Arabic khutum meaning 'trunk' or 'hose' and thus referring to the strip of land between the Blue Nile and White Nile before they meet. Others cite the Dinka tongue, where khar-toum would refer to 'where the rivers meet' and thus the same geographical feature, albeit looked at from a different angle. Captain J. A. Grant thought the name came from the Arabic qurtum 'the safflower', known to science as Carthamus tinctorius, grown extensively here as it was used as a fuel. Some point to the Nubian word Agartum 'the abode of Atum', while others look to the Beja language and see hartoom 'meeting'.

Nyala comes from the Daju tongue and means 'the place of chatting'.

Port Sudan takes the name of the nation, itself coming from Arabic bilad as-sudan and meaning 'the land of the blacks'.

El-Obeid comes from the Arabic al-Abyad meaning 'white'.

El-Gadarif is derived from the Arabic Alli qada-Ye-rif meaning 'he who has finished selling or buying should leave'. This comes from the announcement at the end of market day, when Arab noamdic tribes would return to the plains.

Al-Fashir took its name from the word fashir, an itinerant court.

Ar-Rahad is from the Arabic and means 'the water shrine'.

Kosti was founded shortly after 1899 by the Greek merchant Konstantinos 'Kostas' Mourikis and named in his honour.

Suakin was known as U Suk which may be from the Arabic suq or 'market'.

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

Laos 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 Laos cities.

Vientiane has a rather uncertain origin. Some maintain this comes from the Pali language of Theravada Buddhism, pictographs showing the original name meant 'city of sandalwood'. However others point to 'city of the moon' as the true origin. The disagreement is to be expected for it is unclear whether this comes from Sanskrit chandra 'sandalwood' or Sanskrit chandana 'moon', for both are pronounced and written phonetically as 'chan' in modern Lao.

Pakse comes from the Laotian describing its location at 'the mouth of the river', actually at the confluence of the Xe DOn and Mekong rivers.

Kaysone Phomvihane has only been known as such since 2005, it named after the man born here and later became the first leader of Laos independence. Earlier it had been known as Savannakhet, itself from the province of Savanh Nakhone and meaning 'heavenly district' or 'fertile land of agriculture'.

Luang Prabang literally translates as 'royal Buddha image', an appropriate name for there are numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries here.

Xam Neua, like all good place names, describes its location and translates as 'the northern swamp'.

Muang Xay apparently owes its name to an event from the year 1323. The inhabitants of Takka Sila, as it was known at the time, were in the forest cutting bamboo when they came upon a monk named Paxay. He asked them what they were doing cutting down bamboo to make a fishing basket. He offered them food and refreshment and they changed the name to Muang Xay in his honour.

Xiangkhouang is the name of a province with a name translating as 'horizontal city', this whole area a plateau.

Bokeo is the name of a province meaning 'gem mine', the area known for its sapphire mines.

Mekong is an Anglicised river name from the Lao Mae Nam Khong where mae nam refers to 'the mother of waters' and is used to describe virtually every major river hereabouts, while Khong is its proper name. However khong is an archaic word meaning 'river' or 'the river' and showing both effectively mean the same thing.

Note the spellings 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.