Luxembourg 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 Luxembourg settlements.

Luxembourg City simply describes itself as 'the little town'.

Diekirch refers to this place as home to 'the people's church'.

Wiltz is a name derived from the time when the Celts were dominant here, for this means 'on the creek'.

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

Lithuania 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 Lithuanian cities.

Vilnius derives its name from the Vilnia River, itself from Lithuanian vilnis or vilnyti meaning 'a surge' and 'to surge' respectively. Clearly this is a warning the river can rise quickly and without warning.

Kaunas is probably from a personal name, other forms in Polish, Russian and Yiddish very much support this, but what that name was and what it represents are unknown.

Klaipeda has only been the official name since 1945, it is from Lithuanian klaidyti 'obstruct' and peda 'foot' and understood as a reference to the boggy ground here.

Panevezys is first recorded in 1503, its name meaning 'alongside the Nevezis River'. While it is often said to mean 'a river without crayfishes', the river does boast a sustainable population of crayfish. The confusion is down to this not being from the Lithuanian vezys 'crayfish', but from the Finnic nevo 'swamp'.

Maryampol is named after the Virgin Mary Marya with the addition of the Greek suffix pol 'town'.

Mazeikiai is undoubtedly named after a person known as Mazeika.

Taurage is comprised of two words, tauras 'aurochs' and ragas 'horn', both are found on the town's coat of arms.

Ukmerge was originally known as Vilkmerge from the river of the same name. According to tradition the name means 'she wolf', this based on the idea that Vilkmerge was raised by wolves. While vilkas 'wolf' and merga 'maiden' are possible, the real suffix is likely to be merg 'to dip'.

Silute gets its name from an inn, one offering hospitality to travellers as this place is halfway between Memel and Tilsit.

Radviliskis took its name from the family of nobles, the Radziwill, who ruled here for more than two centuries from the middle of the 16th century.

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

Costa Rica 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 continue an alphabetical search of the countries and their significant settlements. This time Costa Rica and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

San Jose, as with so many settlements named by the Spanish, is simply the name of the saint associated with area, and here that is St Joseph.

Heredia gets its name from a corrupted version of the name of the local tribe inhabiting this region when they arrived, the Huetares.

Nicoya is often held to come from Cacique Nicoa (or Nicoya), this the title and name of the supposed leader of the indigenous people who welcomed the Spanish to this arwa. However the real origin is from the native Nahuati tongue where Necoc iauh describes its position between two significant rivers perfectly as 'on both sides its waters'.

Tirrases takes its name from the local Tirra tree, ulmus mexicana, thought to be the tallest of all elms when reaching a height of 273 feet. It is easily identified by its deeply fluted grey trunk, this also making it disliked by those in the timber trade and, while areas have been felled, the species is not considered under threat.

Puerto Limon, most often known simply as Limon, gets its name from the important port and the Spanish for 'lemon', although it was founded to allow the export of coffee, not lemons.

Siquirres is from a native word, one describing the soil as 'reddish coloured'.

Puntarenas is from the Spanish for 'sand point'.

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

Bahrain 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. This time a look at the Bahrain and some of the largest settlements and most interesting names.

Manama is the capital city, with a name derived from the Arabic word al-manama perhaps used to describe 'the place of rest' or alternatively 'the place of dreams'. The capital is by far the largest being the only place to boast a population of over one million.

Muharraq was Bahrain's capital until replaced by Manama in 1923. Its name comes from the Arabic, quite literally meaning 'burned down'

Isa Town is named very recently, remembering the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999, one Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah.

Jidhafs has been defined by Bahraini historians as 'the coast of Hafs'.

Sanabis has uncertain origins, although traditionally this is held to be named after the Qahtanite Tavy who migrated to the general area and who were also known as the Sinbas.

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

Place Names of the Bahamas 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. This time a look at the Bahamas and some of the largest settlements found on this nation comprisiing more than 700 islands.

Nassau was originally known as Charles Town, named to honour the English king, but after being destroyed by fire in 1684 it was rebuilt and renamed. Again it was an English king who proved the inspiration, this time William III, who was of the Dutch-German House of Orange-Nassau. The name of Nassau is derived from the German town and is also used in the names of ships, of buildings and a kind of bet used in golf. The latter comes from the Nassau Country Club on Long Island and is essentially three bets in one: matchplay over the first nine holes (or front nine), the second nine holes (or back nine), and over all eighteen holes.

Freeport is, as the name suggests, a free trade zone established by the government in 1955.

West End is aptly named as it is the further west of the islands, indeed it is just 50 miles from the coast of the United States of America. It is also known as Settlement Point.

Marsh Harbour is another name of obvious origin, the waterfront still the main attraction for tourists.

Andros takes the name of the island. Originally known as Espiritu Santu by the Spanish, this was known as Andrews Island under early British Colonial rule, with the present name thought to be named after Sir Edmund Andros, Commander of Her Majesty's Forces in Barbados in 1672 and later governor of New York, then Massachusetts, and finally New England.

Spanish Wells was perfectly named as the last stopping place for Spansih vessels heading home, where they replenished their fresh water supplies.

Matthew Town was named after Bahamian Governor George Matthew, who held the position from 1844 to 1849.

Other place name which are self-explanatory but well-worth mentioning are High Rock, Rock Sound, Snug Corner and Pirates Well. Duncan Town on Ragged Island is the 25th most populous settlement on the islands and Albert Town on Crooked Island following at 26th. At the census of 2009 Duncan Town boasted 63 individuals and Albert Town just 23.

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

Antigua and Barbuda 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 began looking elsewhere. This time to the Caribbean and the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, although the settlements are not quite on the scale of those covered in previous posts. Indeed it is interesting to note the ten largest settlements have a combined population of just 39,160 and over half of those are in the capital of Saint John's. These figures are based on the census of 2012.

Saint John's is, somewhat predictably, after the dedication of its principal place of worship. The white baroque towers of St John's Cathedral dominate the skyline of a city where the two other major contructions are two sporting arenas used almost solely for cricket.

All Saints is another named for its church, although this is by no means on the same scale as St John's as the population here numbered just 3,412 at the last census.

Liberta is began when former slaves bought up small parcels of land from the estate owner, she having fallen into financial problems. Splitting their time between working their own property, the docks and the plantations, their income enabled a community to spring up virtually instantaneously. Very soon this community had its own shops and in 1842, just seven years after their emancipation, the place erected the first written evidence of the name on the sign showing one had just entered "The Village of Liberta" of 'liberty'.

Potter's Village is near the above-mentioned All Saints, itself a settlement famed for its pottery and this is where Potters Village gets its name. That this, the four largest settlement in terms of population, is still a village is down to it being the only other place, other than the above, to have a population in excess of 2,000.

Bolans was named after the Boland estate, John Boland having staked his claim to this place in 1749. By 1872 the estate, by then known as Bolans, had been split into five smaller estates and the village of Bolans existed by the 1850s.

Swetes, sometimes given as Sweet's, was named after the plantation owner in the early eighteenth century, one Main Swete. He arrived in Antigua having travelled from Modbury in South Devon, United Kingdom. He was a member of the House of Assembly by 1715 and died here twenty years later.

Sea View Farm is a settlement which seems to be named rather badly. For one thing the name seems rather odd considering this place has a population of 1,486, although that can be explained through the growth of the settlement over the years, predominatly through the making of pottery for which this area is well known. However no rational explanation can be found for the name of 'Sea View', especially when we consider the other claim to fame here is the village is ostensibly the exact centre of the island of Antigua. However as one can never be more than 6 miles from the sea in Antigua this place was probably named ironically. Sea View was also known as King Village, again because of its pottery.

Piggotts was named after the Piggot family. They came here from Ireland and built the first sugar mill towers on Antigua.

Codrinton is the largest settlement on the island of Barbuda, here the population reached 1,325 in 2012. It is named after the man who founded the place in 1674, Sir Christopher Codrington, whose family took their name from the village of Codrington in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. One part of the town, founded as part of a sugar plantation, is still named Betty's Hope and was named after Sir Christopher's daughter, Elizabeth Codrington.

Parham is the oldest town on Antigua, sharing its name with Parham Hill and Parham Harbour, a natural and well-protected anchorage which made this choice a simple one. Parham was the name of the Wesleyan family who came here by 1701 when a record refers to "Parham, our second town of trade. We have no guns." Today the place is associated with obeah, a religion of sorcery or folk magic found solely in the Caribbean.

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