Niger 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 Niger's cities.

Niamey refers to where the local tribe drew water 'to the left of the tree' from the river which gave Niger its name, the river Niger coming from the Tamashek language where gher n-gheren means 'river among rivers'.

Birni-N'Konni is derived from the Hausa language and refers to 'the walled town of Konni'.

Dogondoutchi, usually reffered to as simply Doutchi, is derived from a local phrase meaning 'high hill'.

Doro is a Beri-Beri name simply meaning 'fishing port'.

Tchintabaraden translates as 'the valley of the young girls', named because young women and girls were once forced to head to a large well on a daily basis for water. Since running water has been installed, this is no longer necessary.

Mayahi or Mayaki, is from the Hausa people's name for their ruler.

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

Emperor Claudius is Dead

On this day in 54AD Emperor Claudius was poisoned in suspicious circumstances and his 17 year old stepson Nero succeeds him. Never being the greatest student of Latin – I gave up after a year of mindless chanting of ‘amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant’ and all the other verbs I’ll never remember – I do have an interest in links between Latin and Old English, Middle English and Modern English. And I began to think about the meaning of the names of the Roman emperors.

The first emperor was Augustus, whose full name of Imperator Gaius Julius Divi Filius Caesar Octavianus Augustus included Augustus, a title more than a true name, which comes from Latin augere (meaning ’to increase’). This is translated as ‘the illustrious one’ and a title which comes from religious beginnings and a symbol of the holder’s authority over the populace but one which exceeded constitutional status while falling short of god-hood. He is recorded as dying from natural causes.

Tiberius followed, whole ruled as Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus. The origin of the name is obscure, although it seems impossible if Tiberius is not from the river Tiber or the city of Tibur. Tiberius is sometimes said to have died of natural causes, others point to assassination and likely at the hands of his successor.

Caligula was that successor, his full name Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus did not include the name by which he is remembered. This is derived from the footwear worn by his father’s soldiers, the caliga. Hence Caligula means ‘little soldier’s boot’ and doubtless a name which he resented. We do know he was assassinated, although the conspiracy involved so many it encompassed several senators and members of the Praetorian Guard.

Claudius was next in the line. Full name of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Claudius is derived from claudus meaning ’lame, crippled’. As stated his death was most suspicious. It is generally thought his wife was to blame, Agrippina wanting to see her son Nero in charge.

Nero’s reputation has not improved with the centuries. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, he was named as a baby when his mother clearly had his future well-planned for his name means ‘great and powerful’. He certainly remained in full control of his own destiny to the very end for he committed suicide when he heard the senate declared him an enemy of Rome.

Galba was next in the year known for having four emperors. Galba Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus, his name meaning ‘paunchy, fat’, seized power in January and was murdered by the Praetorian Guard led by his successor seven months later.

Otho only lasted three months. Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus, his name meaning ‘wealth’, committed suicide after defeat in the Battle of Bedriacum to his successor.

Vitellius was the victor at the Battle of Bedriacum. Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus, his name means ‘calf’ (and probably more suitable for Nero considering his mother’s actions), and was murdered by Vespasian’s troops.

No points for guessing Vespasian was the next holder of the office. Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus was the first emperor for 65 years (since Augustus) known to have died from natural causes. Less is known of the origin of his name, which could either represent vesper ‘evening, west’ or vespa ‘wasp’.

Titus is also said to have died from ‘natural causes’, although this simply means nobody killed him nor did he take his own life but died from the plague - which sounds anything but natural. Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus can define every one of his names but for the one he was given at birth. The origin is obscure, all we do know is it was in use by the time Romulus founded the city in the eighth century BC.

Domitian was next, something of a traditional emperor in that he was assassinated, this time by members of the court. Known as Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus, his birth name means ‘tamed’.

Nerva followed, his name meaning ‘strength’. In full Marcus Cocceius Nerva Caesar Augustus, this emperor died from natural causes just over a year after he became emperor.

Caesar Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Augustus also died from natural causes. Trajan, as he is remembered, is a name understood to mean ‘the kind-hearted soldier’.

Caesar Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, another who died from natural causes, is better known as Hadrian. Sadly his name does not mean ‘builder of walls’ but ‘from Hadria’. This town in northern Italy has a name which is also seen in that of the Adriatic Sea.

Thereafter the emperors are not as well known or remembered, thus I shall stop here – and not because Antoninius shares an origin with the modern Anthony in coming from the Greek anthos for ‘flower’. However, as ever, I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

The Etymology of the Names of the World's Ancient Kingdoms

An interest in etymology is fundamentally a walk back through the development of language. Theoretically tracing these tongues back we would arrive at an original language, such as the Proto-Indo-European held to be the ancestor of the many languages across Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

That journey can be followed in part through basic words. Water for example, although not in the words for water itself for they are often little more than a vowel sound and they are the most easily changed. Better to trace the names of rivers, for while they are often simplistic they change little over centuries. Tree names can also be a good trail to follow for most are named for the use of the wood. Through these it is possible to see links between the Germanic and Latin groups and even parallels with Sanskrit. For there to be a language there has to be people. Those people have their community and territory, their cultures and languages, all of which contribute to the names of the nation and people. Here we examine those ancient kingdoms and empires to see why they were so named and see what is revealed.

Among the earliest are those of the Near East. Sumer describes 'the land of the civilised lords'. In the Bible Shem's eldest son gave his own name to the country of Elam. Medes took the name of Medea, the sorceress daughter of the King of Colchis who features in the Greek mythological story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Achaemenid derives its name from the dynasty's founder Achaemenes, a name describing him as 'having a friend's mind', certainly a good start in any diplomatic negotiations.

Across to the African continent and the ancient name of Egypt has many suggestions, most often given as from the Greek for 'the land below the Aegean Sea'. Greece itself is named from the people, the Greeks were held by Aristotle to be the original people of Epirus, itself meaning simply 'mainland'. The modern capital of Athens and the ancient city state are named from the goddess Athena. It's great enemy of Sparta was the name of the daughter of Eurotas and wife of Lacedaemon, who bore him Amyclas, Eurydice and Asine - note the city is recorded as often by the name of the king as it is his wife, unlike the state which is always Sparta.

The Minoans was a term coined by a historian, named from the mythical King Minos, it is not known how the Minoans referred to themselves. The city of Mycenae gave its name to the civilization whose name in Greek was Mukanai and comes from one of the tongues formerly spoken in Greece but which are unknown.

Alexander the Great hailed from Macedon, from the Greek meaning 'highlander' or 'tall one', suggesting they were noticeably taller than their neighbours. One of Alexander's generals took control of the Seleucid Empire, that man being Seleucus. Similarly Ptolemy left his mark on Ptolemaic Egypt. Carthage takes its name from the city, established by those great seafarers the Phoenicians who simply referred to it as khadash 'new town'.

India had a succession of powerful empires and nations. Mahajanpadas is from Sanskrit maha janapanda 'the great foothold of the tribe'. Most of the others take the name of the ruling family, and include Nanda, Maurya, Sunga, Satavahana, Kushan, and Gupta. The Roman Empire covered the largest area of any, named after the place traditionally founded in 753BC by Romulus. The eastern Roman Empire became known as the Byzantine and outlasted Rome itself by a thousand years, this coming from Byzantium, the city named after King Byzas, the mythological son of the god Poseidon. That was a part of modern Turkey, the Turks had their own empire and a name derived from the Turk's Head (or fez) cactus.

One of the invading forces which ravaged the Roman Empire were the Huns, whose own empire stretched from their homeland in the east where they took the name of the Hun River, itself meaning 'muddy'. China itself comes from a Sanskrit word for the tribe of Qin, a royal clan name of unknown etymology. The Franks, and of course France, are derived from the people whose name comes from a Proto-Germanic word frankon meaning 'javelin, spear'.

Three famous peoples dominated the Americas. Unfortunately the Mayan civilizations were named by Europeans and related to both Poseidon and Atlas. Some maintain this is evidence that European voyagers reached the Americans many years before either Columbus or the Vikings, however this does not stand up to scrutiny. The Mayans were connected by the family of languages which came under this banner, the original people are now referred to as the Olmecs, itself meaning 'rubber people', ie those who produced rubber.

Inca is different, Inka means 'lord, ruler' in the Quechua tongue. The natives referred to the empire as Tawantinsuyu meaning 'the four parts' and showing it consisted of four nations. Lastly the Aztecs, a Nahuatl word for 'the people from Aztlan', itself a mythological place in the early religion of the people.

To trace language family tree of the names of the people and places would take more room than we have here. When discussing the evolution of modern speech the length of time is often underestimated. Farming is about fifteen thousand years old, writing about half as old. With humanity spread across vast swathes of the planet differences in pronunciation would soon creep in and before long the language would be mutually unintelligible to two groups with a common ancestry.

If this comes as a surprise consider this. The north/south split in England which amounts to a length of some four hundred miles and yet there are a great deal of differences in regional accents and dialects. Furthermore listen to the generation before, or more so the younger generations - they use words and expressions which we have to learn before we understand what they are saying.

This is all during an age when language should be less susceptible to change as the vast majority today are literate and have the benefit of a good education.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.