This list covers English language national capital city names with their etymologies. Some of these include notes on indigenous names and their etymologies. Some of these etymologies are uncertain. The former capitals also have their etymologies listed in this article.
C
Cambodia:
- Phnom Penh (1434–1505 and 1865–present): "Penh's Hill" in Khmer. Phnom Penh City takes its name from the present Wat Phnom or Hill Temple. Legend has it that in 1372, an old nun named Penh went to fetch the water in the Mekong river and found a dead Koki tree floating down the stream. The hole of that dead Koki tree contained four bronze and one stone Buddha statue.
- Oudong (1505–1515 and 1618–1865): Named after King Uthong. The city's name is derived from the Sanskrit word: उत्तुङ्ग uttuṅga, meaning "supreme."
- Lovek (1528–1566 and 1576–1594): Derived from Khmer ល្អូវអែ.្ក, meaning "Intersection" or "Crossroads."
- Pursat (16th century–1528): Derived from a type of tree. Another theory is that the name "Pursat" is derived from Bodhisattva.
- Tuol Basan (1431–1434): Etymology unknown.
- Angkor (802-1431 and 1566–1576): The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning "city".[22] Angkor is a vernacular form of the word នគរ nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word नगर nagara meaning capital or city.
Cameroon:
- Yaoundé (1922–1940 and 1946–present): The name of Yaoundé is a deformation of the name of the Ewondo, originally ethnic groups residing here. Ewondo-speakers call Yaoundé "Ongola".
- Douala (1916–1922 and 1940–1946): Named after the native Duala people.
Canada:
- Ottawa: Named after the Odawa people whose name probably means "traders." Derived from "aadwe" meaning "to trade" or "to buy and sell."
- Kingston (1841–1843): Contraction of "King's Town, named for King George III".
- Montreal (1843–1849): Derived from Mont Réal meaning "Mount Royal" in Middle French. (Mont Royal in Modern French)
- Toronto (1849–1859): Derived from Iroquois word "tkaronto" meaning "place where trees stand in the water."
- Quebec City (1859–1867): Derived from the Algonquin word kébec meaning "where the river narrows."
Cape Verde:
- Praia: "Beach" in Portuguese and Cape Verdean creole. The city was known as Villa de Praia ("Village of the Beach") from 1769 to 1974.
- Cidade de Ribeira (1462–1769): "City of Riverside" in Portuguese. The current name is Cidade Velha meaning "Old City." The official name for the city was Ribeira Grande meaning "Large River" in Portuguese.
Central African Republic:
- Bangui: Named after the Ubangi River.
- Abiras (1894–1906): Etymology unknown.
- Fort de Possel (February 11–December 11, 1906): Named in honor of René de Possel, a French commander killed in action in 1899.
- Fort Crampel (1900–1940): Named after Paul Crampel.
Chad:
- N'Djamena: Taken from the Arab name of a nearby village, نجامينا Niǧāmīnā, meaning "place of rest." Known as Fort Lamy (Named after Amédée-François Lamy) from 1900 to September 6, 1973.
Chile:
- Santiago de Chile: "Saint James of Chile"
- Valparaíso (legislative capital since 1987): Derived from Spanish Valle Paraíso meaning "Paradise Valley."
China:
- Beijing: From the pinyin (Mandarin) spelling of Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, meaning "Northern Capital".
- Chungking (1939–1946): The Wade-Giles transliteration of simplified Chinese: 重庆; traditional Chinese: 重慶; pinyin: Chóngqìng, meaning "Double Celebration."
- Hankou (1937–1938): From the pinyin (Mandarin) spelling of simplified Chinese: 汉口; traditional Chinese: 漢口; pinyin: Hànkǒu, meaning "Mouth of the Han." The Wade–Giles spelling is Hankow.
- Nanking (1928–1937): The Wade-Giles transliteration of Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng, meaning "Southern Capital."
Colombia:
- Bogotá: Bogotá was originally called "Bacatá" (which means "enclosure outside the farm fields") by the Muisca.[23]
Comoros:
- Moroni: "Heart of Fire" in Comorian.
- Dzaoudzi (1887–1962)
- Chingoni (1841–1887): Named after the Ngoni/Nguni people.
Republic of the Congo:
- Brazzaville: Named after Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. The town's former name is Nkuna.
Democratic Republic of the Congo:
- Kinshasa: Named for a village named Kinchassa that once stood near the site. The city's former name is Léopoldville named in honor of King Leopold of Belgium. The city was given that title from 1923 to 1966.
- Boma (1886–1923): "Fort" in Kongo.
Costa Rica:
- San José: "St. Joseph" in Spanish.
Côte d'Ivoire:
- Yamoussoukro: Named after Queen Yamousso.
- Abidjan (1934 – March 21, 1983; current administrative capital): Supposedly, when the first colonists asked native women the name of the place, the women misunderstood and replied "T'chan m'bi djan": "I've just been cutting leaves".
- Bingerville (1900–1934): Named after Louis-Gustave Binger.
- Assinie (1889–1893)
- Grand Bassam (1843–1889 and 1893–1900): On the origin of the name of Bassam, there are several theories. According to Professor Niangoran Bouah, ethno-sociologist Bassam was not a village, which the very first capital of the Ivory Coast has given its name.[clarification needed] He has two hypotheses for the origin of the word Bassam. On the one hand, it could descend from the N'Zima word Bazouam, which is a cry for help. One woman called out N'Zima to a European, and this was mistaken for the name of the place. The second thesis stems from the language of Abour, from the word alsam (Abour for: dusk) developed by linguistic convenience to Abassam and later Bassam. Niangoran Bouah tends to attach more weight to the second thesis.
Croatia:
- Zagreb: The name Zagreb appears to have been recorded in 1094, although the origins of the name Zagreb are less clear. The Croatian word "zagrabiti" translates approximately to "scoop", which forms the basis of some legends. One Croat legend says that a Croat ban (viceroy) was leading his thirsty soldiers across a deserted region. He drove his sabre into the ground in frustration and water poured out so he ordered his soldiers to dig for water. The idea of digging or unearthing is supported by scientists who suggest that the settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or graba and that the name derives from this. Some suggest that the name derives from the term 'za breg' or beyond the hill. The hill may well have been the riverbank of the River Sava, which is believed to have previously flowed closer to the city centre. From here, the words may have been fused into one word and, thus, the name Zagreb was born. According to another legend, a city ruler was thirsty and ordered a girl named Manda to take water from Lake Manduševac (nowadays a fountain), using the sentence: "Zagrabi, Mando!" which means, Scoop it, Manda!. A less probable theory is that the name Zagreb is believed to be related to the Zagros mountains of Iran. The name probably comes from "zagrabiti" (Eng. draw (water). Conscience) According to sources, Zagreb means "behind the mountains" (Croat. "za grebom)". Agram is the historic Austrian German name of the city. That was its official name from 1557 to 1918.
- Varaždin (1767–1776): Derived from the fortress called Garestin, built some time before the 12th century.
- Knin (925–10??): Etymology unknown and disputed.
- Nin (625–925): The German name is Fleissenberg meaning "Castle of Diligence".
Cuba:
- Havana: Of obscure origin, possibly derived from Habaguanex, a native American chief who controlled that area, as mentioned by Diego Velázquez in his report to the king of Spain.
- Baracoa (1511–1514)
- Santiago de Cuba (1514–1589): St. James of Cuba.
Cyprus:
- Nicosia: Mispronunciation of the city's Greek name Λευκωσία Lefkosia (Turkish form 'Lefkoşa'), which means "White City".
Czech Republic:
- Prague: The name Prague comes from an old Slavic root, praga, which means "ford", referring to the city's origin at a crossing of the Vltava River. The native name of the city, Praha, is also related to the modern Czech word práh ("threshold"). A legendary etymology connects the name of the city with duchess Libuše, a prophetess and a wife of the mythical founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. She is said to have ordered, "the city to be built where a man hews a threshold of his house". Czech práh should be understood here as to be in the river, rapids or cataract: its edge as a passage to the other riverside. Contrarily, although there are a few weirs nowadays, no such geological threshold was discovered in the river under the Prague Castle. Thus some derive the name Praha from the stone of the hill, where the original castle was built: na prazě, the original term for shale rock. (In those days, there were forests around the castle, on the nine hills of the future city: the Old Town on the other riverbank as well as the Lesser Town underneath the castle appeared later.)
E
East Timor:
- Dili
- Lifau (1695–October 10, 1769)
- Solor (1642–1695)
Ecuador:
- Quito: Named after the Quitu tribe. The name is a combination of two Tsafiki words: "Quitso" ("center") and "To" ("the world"); hence, therefore "Quito" probably means "center of the world."
- Riobamba (November 4, 1859 – January 12, 1960): The Rio part of the name means "River" and the Bamba part of the name has an unknown meaning.
Egypt:
- Cairo: From Arabic القاهرة al-Qāhira, meaning "The Victorious."
- al-Fustat (905–969): The city's name comes from the Arabic word فسطاط fusṭāṭ which means a large tent or pavilion. According to tradition, the location of Fustat was chosen by a bird: A dove laid an egg in the tent of 'Amr ibn al-'As, the Muslim conqueror of Egypt, just before he was to march on Alexandria. His camp at that time was just north of the Roman fortress of Babylon.[24][25] Amr declared this as a sign from God, and the tent was left untouched as he and his troops went off to battle. When they returned victorious, Amr told his soldiers to pitch their tents around his, giving his new capital city its name, Miṣr al-Fusṭāṭ, or Fusṭāṭ Miṣr,[26] popularly translated as "City of the tents", though this is not an exact translation. The word Miṣr was an ancient Semitic root designating Egypt, but in Arabic also has the meaning of a large city or metropolis (or, as a verb, "to civilize"), so the name Miṣr al-Fusṭāṭ could mean "Metropolis of the Tent". Fusṭāṭ Miṣr would mean "The Pavilion of Egypt".[27] Egyptians to this day call Cairo "Miṣr", or, colloquially, Maṣr, even though this is properly the name of the whole country of Egypt.[28] The country's first Islamic mosque, the Mosque of Amr, was later built on the same site of the commander's tent, in 642.[26][29]
- al-Qatta'i (868–905): From Arabic القطائـع, meaning "The Quarters" in Arabic.
- al-'Askar (750–868 AD): From Arabic العسكر, meaning "The Guard" or "The Soldier."
- Alexandria (332 BC–641 AD): Named after Alexander the Great.
For older capitals and their etymologies, see List of historical capitals of Egypt.
El Salvador:
- San Salvador: "Holy Savior" in Spanish, referring to Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Equatorial Guinea:
- Malabo: After Malabo Lopelo Melaka (1837–1937), last king of the Bubi. The city was known as Santa Isabel (Saint Elizabeth) from 1855 to 1973 and Port Clarence from 1827 to 1855.
- Bata (1959–1963): "Possibly" from Spanish "bata" meaning "gown."
Eritrea:
- Asmara/Asmera: "Live in Peace" in Tigre.
- Massawa (1890–1935)
Estonia:
- Tallinn: The Estonian name Tallinn is generally believed to be derived from Taani linn (originally meaning "Danish Castle", now "Danish Town") after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian Lindanise stronghold of Revala county. However, it also could have come from Talilinn ("Winter Castle" or "Winter Town"), or Talulinn (originally "Home Castle or "Home Town", now "Farm Town"). See etymology of Tallinn. The German name Reval is derived from the adjacent Revala county.
Eswatini (Swaziland):
- Mbabane: It derives its name from a chief, Mbabane Kunene, who lived in the area when British settlers arrived.
- Bremensdorp (1890–1906): "Bremer's Village" in Afrikaans.
- Elangeni (1818–1893): "The Sun" in Swazi.[30]
- Lobamba (royal legislative capital): Etymology unknown.
Ethiopia:
- Addis Ababa: From Amharic ኣዲስ ኣበባ, meaning "New Flower."
- Entoto (1880–1889): Named after Mount Entoto.
- Magdala (1855–1880): (from Aramaic מגדלא Magdala, meaning "elegant", "great", or "magnificent"; and Hebrew מגדל Migdal, meaning "tower"; Arabic قرية الممجدل, Qaryat Al Majdal)
- Gonder (1636–1855): Etymology unknown.
- Danqaz (?–1636): Etymology unknown.
- Tegulat (1270–?): Etymology unknown.
- Lalibela (11??–12??): From Amharic ላሊበላ, meaning "A person who talks too much."[31]
- Nazaret (????–????): Named after Nazareth, Israel.
- Axum (250–?): Etymology unknown.
M
Madagascar:
- Antananarivo: "City of the Thousand" from the number of soldiers assigned to guard it. The name was given to the city by King Adrianjaka. Known as Tananarive from 1630 to December 30, 1975. Tananarive serves as the city's French name and is still in use today.
Malawi:
- Lilongwe: Named after the Lilongwe River.
- Zomba (1889 – January 1, 1975)
Malaysia:
- Kuala Lumpur (كوالا لومڤور): "Muddy Confluence" in Malay. The original name for this city was "Pengkalan Lumpur", which means bundle of mud.
- Putrajaya (administrative capital since 2002): Named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. The city is situated within the Multimedia Super Corridor, beside the also newly developed Cyberjaya. The development started in 1995 and today major landmarks are completed, and the population is expected to grow in the relatively new city. The "jaya" (जय) part of the city's name means "victory" in Sanskrit.
Maldives:
- Malé: Derived from Sanskrit महालय Mahaalay meaning "Big House".
Mali:
- Bamako: "Crocodile River" in Bambara.[52]
- Kayes (1880–1908): The name "Kayes" comes from the Soninké word "karré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season.
- Dakar (1959–1960; now in Senegal): See Dakar below.
Malta:
- Valletta: The city is named for Jean Parisot de la Valette, the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (crusader knights), who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion in 1565.
- Mdina (?–1566): Derived from Arabic مدينة "Medina" meaning "Old Town."
Marshall Islands:
- Majuro
Mauritania:
- Nouakchott: Believed to have been derived from Berber Nawākšūṭ meaning "The place of the winds".
- Saint Louis, Senegal (1903–1960)
Mauritius:
- Port Louis: Named after King Louis XV.
- Port-Napoléon (1806–1810): Named after Napoleon Bonaparte.
- Port-de-la-Montagne (1792–1795): "Port of the Mountain" in French.
Mexico:
- Mexico City: See Toponymy of Mexico.
Federated States of Micronesia:
- Palikir
- Kolonia (till 1989)
- Colonia (1887 – November 4, 1889): Named after Cologne, Germany.
Moldova:
- Chişinău: According to one version, the name comes from the archaic Romanian word chişla (meaning "spring", "source of water") and nouă ("new"), because it was built around a small spring. Nowadays, the spring is located at the corner of Pushkin and Albişoara streets.
Monaco:
- Monaco-Ville: Monaco's name comes from the nearby Phocaean Greek colony, in the 6th century. Referred to the Ligurians as Monoikos, from the Greek μόνοικος "single house", from μόνος "alone, single" + οίκος "house", which bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. Another Greek word etymologically related to the name of this principality is μόνaκος which means "alone" from which the word monastery and monasticism are derived. According to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the "House" of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.
Mongolia:
- Ulaanbaatar: From Mongolian Улаанбаатар, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ, meaning "The Red Hero." Ulan Bator has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706, it was known as Örgöö (also spelled Urga) (Mongolian: Өргөө, residence), and from 1706–1911 as Ikh Khüree (Mongolian: Их = "great", Хүрээ = "camp"), Da Khüree (also spelled Da Khure) or simply Khüree. Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name changed to Niislel Khüree (Mongolian: Нийслэл = "capital", Хүрээ = "camp").
- When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар, classical script:, Ulaγan Baγatur), literally "red hero"), in honor of Mongolia's national hero Damdin Sükhbaatar, whose warriors, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soviet Red Army, liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops and Chinese occupation. His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square.
- In Europe and North America, Ulan Bator was generally known as Urga (from Örgöö) or sometimes Kuren (from Khüree) or Kulun (from 庫倫, the Chinese transcription of Khüree) before 1924, and Ulan Bator afterwards, after the Russian: Улан-Батор.[citation needed] The Russian spelling is different from the Mongolian because it was defined phonetically, and the Cyrillic script was only introduced in Mongolia seventeen years later. By Mongols, the city was nicknamed Aziin Tsagaan Dagina (White Maiden of Asia) in the late 20th century. It is now sometimes sarcastically called Utaanbaatar (Smog Hero), due to the heavy layer of smog in winter.
- Khuree: (Mongolian: Хүрээ, Khüree, camp or monastery, simplified Chinese: 库伦; traditional Chinese: 庫倫; pinyin: Kùlún, also rendered as Kure, Kuren and other variants) (1706–1911)
- Karakorum (1220–1267): From Mongolian Хар Хорум Каракорум, meaning "Black Mountain / Black Rock / black scree."
Montenegro:
- Podgorica/Titograd: "Under the Small Hill" in Montenegrin. Known as Titograd (Named in honor of Josip Broz Tito) from 1946 to 1992.
- Cetinje (1482–1946; Historic capital since October 12, 1992): Named after the River Cetina which runs through the city.
- Obod (1475–1482)
- Zabljak (1474–1475): The first Slav name of the place was "Varezina voda" (Варезина вода) possibly because of the ample source of drinkable water nearby, making a settlement possible. Later, the town was renamed "Hanovi" (originally "Anovi") because it was where caravans rested. The modern name dates from 1870, when in a single day the building of a school, church and captain's home began. However, almost all the original buildings were destroyed during the Balkan Wars. All that has remained is the old church of Sv. Preobraženje (Holy Transfiguration), built in 1862 as a monument to a Montenegrin victory in the battle against the Turks. After Žabljak was established as a town, stores and cafés were opened. As such, in the 1880s Žabljak became a market town, leading it to become administrative center of the region.
- Antivari (1403–1408): In Serbian and Montenegrin, the town is known as Bar (Бар), in Italian and Greek as Antivari. The name of this city is connected to Bari, Italy as those cities are located on the opposite side of the Adriatic Sea.
- Ulcinj (1385–1403): Named after the Olciniates tribe.
- Prapratna (?–1042)
Morocco:
- Rabat: From Arabic الرباط, meaning "Fortified Place."
- Fez (1472–1524): From Arabic فاس, meaning "Walled City."
- Meknes: Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which was known as Miknasa (native name: Imknasn) in the medieval Arabic sources.
- Marrakesh (1524–1631): The probable origin of its name is from the Amazigh (Berber) words mur (n) akush (ⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⵅⵓⵙⵂ), which means "Land of God". (The root "mur" is used now in the Berber languages mostly in the feminine form "tamurt"). The same word "mur" appears in the country Mauritania, but this interpretation is still unproven to this day.[53]
- Tafilalt (1631–1666): The name Tafilalt is a Berber name meaning "the Country of the Hilali", as its inhabitants are called, because they were descended from the Arabian tribe of Banu Hilal, who settled here.[citation needed]
- Asilah (1465–1472): From Arabic أصيلة، أرزيلة, meaning "authentic."
- Tetouan: The Berber name means literally "the eyes" and figuratively "the water springs".
Mozambique:
- Maputo: Named after the clan M'Pfumo. The city was known as Lourenço Marques (1897 – February 3, 1976).
- Sofala (1512–1554): Derived from the Swahili word "Cefala" meaning "River"
- Kilwa (1501–1512): "With the Market" in Swahili.
Myanmar:
- Naypyidaw/Nay Pyi Taw (Administrative capital since March 27, 2006): From Burmese နေပြည်တော်; translates as: "Great City of the Sun" or "Abode of Kings".
- Yangon/Rangoon (1753–1760 and 1886–present): From Burmese ရန်ကုန, meaning "End of Strife." Compound of yan (ရန) "enemies" and koun (ကုန) "run out of".
- Sagaing (1315–1364 and 1760–1764): Etymology unknown.
- Ava (1364–1750 and 1764–1782): (Burmese: အင်းဝမြို့; MLCTS: ang: wa. mrui.; formerly Ava, and sometimes Ainwa) is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma (Myanmar), situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura (ရတနာပူရ; Pali: ऋअतनपुर), which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in (အင်း), meaning lake, and wa (ဝ), which means mouth. Known as Ava to the British and A-wa (ဗ-တေ; mouth) in Burmese, it evolved to its modern name Innwa.
- Amarapura (1782–1823 and 1841–1857): From Pali आमरपुर, meaning "City of Immortality."
- Mandalay (1857–1886): The city gets its name from the nearby Mandalay Hill. The name is likely a derivative of a Pali word although the exact word of origin remains unclear. The root word has been speculated to be: Mandala (meaning, circular plains), Mandare (believed to mean "auspicious land"), or Mandara (a mountain from Hindu mythology).
- When it was founded in 1857, the royal city was officially named Yadanabon (ရတနာပုံ), the Burmese version of its Pali name Ratanapura (ऋअतनपुर) which means "The City of Gems". It was also called Lay Kyun Aung Myei (လေးကျွန်းအောင်မြေ; Victorious Land over the Four Islands) and the royal palace, Mya Nan San Kyaw (မြနန်းစံကျော်; Famed Royal Emerald Palace).
- Shwebo (1750–1753): Etymology unknown.
N
Namibia:
- Windhoek: The city of Windhoek is traditionally known by two names: /Ai//Gams, (Khoekhoe: hot springs) and Otjomuise (Otjiherero: place of steam). Both traditional names reference the hot springs near today's city centre.
- Theories vary on how the place got its modern name of Windhoek. Most believe the name Windhoek is derived from the Afrikaans word Wind-Hoek (windy corner). Another theory suggests that Captain Jan Jonker Afrikaner named Windhoek after the Winterhoek Mountains, at Tulbagh in South Africa, where his ancestors had lived.
- Grootfontein (May–July 1915): "Big Spring" in Afrikaans.
- Otjimbingwe (1884–1891): The city's name is of Herero origin and is used to describe the Herero people.
Nauru:
Yaren
Nepal:
- Kathmandu: The city of Kathmandu is named after a structure in Durbar Square called the Kasthamandap. In Sanskrit, Kasth (काष्ठ) is "wood" and Mandap (मंडप/मण्डप) is "covered shelter." This unique temple, also known as Maru Sthal, was built in 1596 by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two-story pagoda was obtained from a single tree.
- Kathmandu is also sometimes called Kantipur. Kanti is an alternate name of the Goddess Lakshmi, and "pur" means the place where such a goddess resides. Thus, the name Kantipur demonstrates the ancient belief that it is the place where Lakshmi dwells.
Netherlands:
- Amsterdam: Derived from Amstellerdam, meaning "A Dam on the Amstel River" in Dutch. The Amstel's name is derived from Aeme stelle, old Dutch for "area abounding with water".
- The Hague: Derived from its Dutch name Den Haag, abbreviation for 's-Gravenhage, meaning "The Count's Woods".
New Zealand:
- Wellington: Wellington was named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. The Duke's title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. In Māori, Wellington goes by three names. Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara refers to Wellington Harbour and means "the great harbour of Tara". Pōneke is a transliteration of Port Nick, short for Port Nicholson (the city's central marae, the community supporting it and its kapa haka have the pseudo-tribal name of Ngāti Pōneke). Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, meaning The Head of the Fish of Māui (often shortened to Te Upoko-o-te-Ika), a traditional name for the southernmost part of the North Island, derives from the legend of the fishing up of the island by the demi-god Māui.
- Auckland (1841 – February 1865): Named in honor of George Eden, Earl of Auckland, then Viceroy of India. In Māori, Auckland is Tamaki Makaurau, which means 'strategic features desired by many'.
- Old Russell (1840–1841): Named after Lord John Russell.
Nicaragua:
(1821–1857 alternating between
Conservative govts.: Granada
and Liberal govts.: León)
- Managua: The name Managua originates from Mana-ahuac, which in the indigenous Nahuatl language translates to "adjacent to the water" or site "surrounded by water". The city stands today on an area historically inhabited by indigenous people centuries before the Spanish conquest of Central America in the 16th century.
- Granada, Nicaragua: Named after Granada, Spain. The etymology of the name is disputed and could come from either Arabic (جران Gar-anat, "pilgrims hill" or Latin granatum, "pomegranate". The city's Latin name was Medina Garanata.
- León (1524–1821): "Lion" in Spanish.
Niger:
- Niamey (1903–1910; 1926–present): The quarter-Mouray Kwaratagui is the historic center of the city of Niamey. The region of Niamey was inhabited for a very long time by people like Voltaic Gourmantchés. But the founders of the village would be Maouri Niamey, Matankari from the late nineteenth century. They were installed on an island called Neni Goungou facing the current Niamey, before coming to settle on the left bank of the Niger, beside a tree that the village would later call Nia Niam ("The name of the tree and me" in Djerma), meaning shore where it draws water. The village of Niamey was inhabited by about 600 people in 1901 when the Lenfant mission arrived. With the arrival of French rule, the city began to prosper. Niamey was then the chief town of the circle Djerma which includes the area between the river and the Dallol Bosso. Niamey became Niger's capital December 28, 1926, replacing Zinder.
- Zinder (1911–1926): Etymology unknown.
- Sorbo Haoussa (1900–1903): Sorbo means "Service Tree" or "Sorb Apple" in Italian. Haoussa derives from the Hausa tribe.
Nigeria:
- Lagos (1914 – December 12, 1991): "Lakes" in Portuguese.
North Macedonia:
- Skopje: The name of Skopje derives from an ancient name that is attested in antiquity as Latin Scupi, the name of a classical era Greco-Roman frontier fortress town.[54] It may go back further to a pre-Greek, Illyrian name.[55] In modern times, the city was known by its Turkish name Üsküp (Ottoman Turkish: اسكوب) during the time of Ottoman rule and the Serbian form Skoplje during the time of the First Yugoslavia between 1912 and the 1940s. Since the 1950s, the official name of the city in Macedonian has been Skopje (Скопје), reflecting the Macedonian Cyrillic orthography for the local pronunciation. The city is called Shkup or Shkupi in Albanian, Skopie (Скопие) in Bulgarian and Skopia (Σκόπια) in Greek.
- Ohrid (992–1018; now in North Macedonia): Named after Lake Ohrid which is of unknown origin.
Norway:
- Oslo (1299–1624 and 1925–present; known as Christiania from 1624 to January 1, 1925): During the Middle Ages the name was initially spelt "Áslo" and later "Óslo". The earlier spelling suggests that the first component refers either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town ("ås" in modern Norwegian), or to the Aesir. The most likely interpretations would therefore be either "the meadow beneath the ridge" or "the meadow of the gods". Both are equally plausible. See History of Oslo's name
- Christiania: Named after King Christian IV.
- Bergen (1070–1299): "Mountains" in Norwegian.
- Trondheim (997–1070): "A good place called home" in Norwegian.
S
Saint Kitts and Nevis:
- Basseterre: "Low Land" in French.
- Old Road (1623–1727)
Saint Lucia:
- Castries: Castries was founded by the French in 1650 as Carenage (meaning safe anchorage), then renamed in 1756 after Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries, commander of a French expeditionary force to Corsica that year.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
- Kingstown: "King's Town".
Samoa:
- Apia
San Marino:
- San Marino: Named in honor of Saint Marinus.
São Tomé and Príncipe:
- São Tomé: "Saint Thomas" in Portuguese.
- Santo António (1753–1852): "Saint Anthony" in Portuguese.
Saudi Arabia:
- Riyadh: The city's name is derived from the Arabic word رياض riyadh, which means "gardens", plural of "rawdha" روضة. particularly those formed in the desert after rains.
- Jiddah: There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name Jeddah, according to Jeddah Ibn Helwaan Al-Qudaa'iy, the chief of the Quda'a clan. The more common account has it that the name is derived from جده Jaddah, the Arabic word for "grandmother". According to eastern folk belief, the tomb of Eve (21°29′31″N 39°11′24″E), considered the grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah. The tomb was sealed with concrete by the religious authorities in 1975 as a result of some Muslims praying at the site.
- Ibn Battuta, the Berber traveller, visited Jeddah during his world trip. He wrote the name of the city into his diary as "Juddah".
- The British Foreign Office and other branches of the British government used to use the older spelling of "Jedda", contrary to other English-speaking usage, but in 2007 changed to the spelling "Jeddah".
- T. E. Lawrence felt that any transcription of Arabic names into English was arbitrary. In his book Revolt in the Desert, Jeddah is spelled three different ways on the first page alone.
- On official Saudi maps and documents, the city name is transcribed "Jeddah", which is now the prevailing usage.
Senegal:
- Dakar: The name appeared as Dakar for the first time on a map in 1750 when French botanist Michel Adanson made a sketch of Cape Vert. Dakar could be a Frenchified version of ndakarou, the local name, whose etymology remains uncertain, perhaps derived from the Wolof phrase deuk raw, meaning "who settled there will be peace" or raw-Dekker, an association of Dekker (country) and raw (escape). It could also be from the Wolof term dakhar, which means "tamarind".
- The town is mentioned in some documents under the name of "Accard", a reference to a Frenchman of the late 17th century named Accar or Accard.
- Saint Louis (1959–1809, 1817–1904, and 1817 – January 8, 1958)
- Freetown (1809–1817; now in Sierra Leone)
Serbia:
- Belgrade (1817–1818, 1283–1430, and 1915–present): From Serbian Београд Beograd meaning "White City".
- Kragujevac (1818–1841 and 1914–1915): The name of the town derived from the archaic Serbian word Крагуј kraguj, which is a name used for a hunting hawk, thus the name means "hawk's nesting place". Old maps show the name as Krakow.
- Smederevo (1430–1453): Derived from Serbian Смедереву meaning "Brown Revue".
Seychelles:
- Victoria: "Victory" in Latin.
- Établissement (1778–1814): "Establishment" in French.
- Mahé (1770–1778): The island was named after Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, a French governor of Mauritius.
Sierra Leone:
- Freetown: Known as Granville Town (named in honor of English abolitionist Granville Sharp) from 1787 to 1789 and again from 1791 to 1792.
Singapore:
- Singapore (1837–1946; still the capital today): Derived from Sanskrit सिंहपुरं Simhapuram meaning "Lion City". Compound of Sanskrit: सिंह(siṃhá, "lion") and पुर(pura, "city").
- Penang (1826–1837; now in Malaysia): Derived from the Malay name Pulau Pinang which means "island of the areca nut palm". (Areca catechu)
Slovakia:
- Bratislava: Named in honor of Prince Bräslav. Bratislava literally means "Braslav's Glory". The city was known as Pozsony when it served as the capital of Hungary from 1536 to 1848. The name is derived from the Hungarian personal name Poson.
Slovenia:
- Ljubljana: The origin of the city's name is unclear. In the Middle Ages, both the river and the town were also known by the German name Laibach, which was in official use until 1918. For most scholars, the problem has been in how to connect the Slovene and the German names. A common folk etymology has traditionally connected the name to the Slovene word ljubljena 'beloved'.[citation needed] The origin from the Slavic -ljub 'to love, like' was in 2007 supported as the most probable by the linguist Tijmen Pronk, a specialist in comparative Indo-European linguistics and Slovene dialectology from the University of Leiden.[69] He supports the thesis that the name of the river derived from the name of the settlement.[70] The linguist Silvo Torkar, who specialises in Slovene personal and place names,[71] argued at the same place for the thesis that the name Ljubljana derives from Ljubija, the original name of the Ljubljanica River flowing through it, itself derived from the Old Slavic male name Ljubovid, "the one of a kind appearance". The name Laibach, he claimed, was a hybrid of German and Slovene and also derived from the same personal name.[72]
- Kranj (?–1335): Probably derived the Slavic root word "krai" meaning "on the edge".
Solomon Islands:
- Honiara: From Nagoniara, the original name of the area in the northern Guadalcanal languages, meaning "in front of the wind".
- Tulagi (1893–1952): Etymology uncertain.
Somalia:
- Mogadishu: The name "Mogadishu" is held to be derived from the Arabic ماقد شاه Maq'ad Shah ("The seat of the Shah"), a reflection of the city's early Persian influence.[73] The city went by its Italian name Mogadiscio from 1889 to 1960.
South Africa:
- Pretoria (administrative capital): Named in honor of Andries Pretorius, the father of the Voortrekker leader Marthinus Pretorius.
- Cape Town (legislative capital): Named because of its location on the Cape of Good Hope.
- Bloemfontein (judicial capital): "spring of Bloem (bloom)", "flower spring" or "fountain of flowers" in Dutch. The city's Sesotho name is Mangaung, meaning "place of cheetahs."
South Sudan:
- Juba: The name is derived from Djouba, another name for the Bari people.
Spain:
- Madrid (1561–1600): There are several theories regarding the origin of the name "Madrid". According to legend Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor (son of King Tyrrhenius of Tuscany and Mantua) and was named "Metragirta" or "Mantua Carpetana". Others contend that the original name of the city was "Ursaria" ("land of bears" in Latin), due to the high number of these animals that were found in the adjacent forests, which, together with the strawberry tree ("madroño" in Spanish), have been the emblem of the city from the Middle Ages. The ancient name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a fortress built on the Manzanares River in 9AD, and means "Place of abundant water".
- Nevertheless, it is now commonly believed that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river. The name of this first village was "Matrice" (a reference to the river that crossed the settlement). Following the invasions of the Germanic Sueves, Vandals and Alans during the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire could not defend its territories on the Iberian Peninsula, and were therefore overrun by the Visigoths. The barbarian tribes subsequently took control of "Matrice". In the 7th century the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the name changed to "Mayrit", from the Arabic term ميرا "Mayra" (referencing water as a "trees" or "giver of life") and the Ibero-Roman suffix "it" that means "place". The modern "Madrid" evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic. Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudaina, was built. Near that palace was the Manzanares, which the Muslims called al-Majrīṭ (Arabic: المجريط, "source of water"). From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which later evolved into the modern-day spelling of Madrid.
- Toledo (1479 – May 1561): It was first written as Toletum in the work of Roman historian Livy, where Tollitum/Toletum would originate, which would become Tollitu, Tollito, Tollet, Tolledo and finally Toledo. Its meaning would be "up, up." Martin Gallego contains the version of "double turns or bend of the river that encircles". The writer of the twelfth century, Ab-Din Abu al – Ayyubid, says طليطلة Tulaytulah means "happy", without giving an explanation.
- Valladolid (1600–1604): One suggestion for the origin of Valladolid's name comes from its apparent similarity with "BaladulWalid" (in Arabic بلد الوليد) meaning The City of Walid in memory of one of the Ummayad dynasty's greatest caliphs in Damascus; but no good reason has been given as to why the Moors should have given such a grand title to what was then a remote village on the much contested frontier of their empire. A more likely suggestion is a conjunction of the Latin vallis, "Valley", and Celtic tolitum, "place of confluence of waters". Ruins of a Roman settlement have been found in the area and the area was occupied by Celtic tribes when it was conquered by the Romans. Another suggestion is valla ("fence" in Spanish) "de" (of) Olid (Spanish family name).
- It is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but probably refers to a few knights who accompanied Joan of Arc. Another theory tells that it was called Pucela because Pozzolana cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that did.
- Valencia (November 1936 – October 1937): The original Latin name of the city was Valentia (Classical Latin: [waˈlɛntɪ.a]), meaning "strength", "valour", the city being named for the Roman practice of recognizing the valour of former Roman soldiers after a war. The Roman historian Titus Livius (Livy) explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against local Iberian rebel Viriatus.
- During the rule of the Muslim Empires in Spain, it was known as بلنسية (Balansiya) in Arabic. By regular sound changes, this has become Valencia [baˈlenθja] in Spanish and València [vaˈlensia] in Valencian.
- Barcelona (October 1937–1939): The name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Barkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription in Iberian script as ,[74] in Greek sources as Varkinòn, Βαρκινών;[75] and in Latin as Barcino, Barcelo[76] and Barceno.[77]
- During the Middle Ages, the city was variously known as Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelona, and Barchenona. Some sources say that the city could have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, who supposedly founded the city in 3 BC.[78]
- Burgos (July 1936 – October 1939): There are several versions of its etymology. Most derive it from Low Latin Burgus, Greek Πύργος pyrgos, which mean "tower" and would refer to the two towers built on the hill del Castillo. Others believe it comes from the German Berg, mountain. Vegetius states that Bergus, Burgus, means small castle. Guadix adds that the Arabic بورجوا burgo, "thatched house, borough" means that the name could have been taken from the Goths.[79]
Sri Lanka:
- Colombo: The name "Colombo", first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505, is believed to be derived from the classical Sinhalese name ඛොලන් ථොට Kolon thota, meaning "port on the river Kelani". It has also been suggested that the name may be derived from the Sinhalese name ඛොල-අම්බ-තොට Kola-amba-thota which means "Harbour with leafy mango trees". However, it is also possible that the Portuguese named the city after Christopher Columbus,[citation needed] the sailor who lived in Portugal for many years before finding the Americas on behalf of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. His Portuguese name is Cristóvão Colombo. Columbus set sail to look for India westwards around the same time Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama set sail eastwards, landing at the Port of Calicut in India on 20 May 1498. Columbus came to the Caribbean six years before that on 12 October 1492 and was already a famed sailor and explorer, celebrated both in Portugal and Spain by the time Dom Lourenço de Almeida accidentally landed in the port of Galle in 1505.[80]
- Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (Legislative capital since April 29, 1982): "Resplendent City of Growing Victory" The ancient name, Jayawardenepura, is hardly different from the city's present name. Though during those times, it referred to the area outside the inner moat called Pitakotte (outer fort) and the area inside, Ethul Kotte (inner fort). The word Kotte is derived from the Tamil word கொட்டெஇ Kottei (fortress). Jayawardhanapura (ජයවර්ධනපුර) meaning "victory enhancing city" in Sinhala, was the name assigned to the place by its founder Alagakkonara.[81]
Sudan:
- Khartoum: The word 'Khartoum' is derived from Arabic Al-Jartūm الخرطوم meaning "end of an elephant's trunk", probably referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles.[82] Captain J. A. Grant, who reached Khartoum in 1863 with Captain Speke's expedition, thought that the derivation was most probably from the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) which is called 'Gartoon,' and which was cultivated extensively in Egypt for its oil, used in burning.[citation needed]
- Omdurman (1881–1898): Omdurman was originally known as Wen-Dhurman in the Dinka language. The phrase 'Wen-Dhurman' means "Son Mourning his Mother." This is so because history has it that a mother of Deng Abuk, the legendary ancestry of the Dinka tribe, drowned when they were crossing the River Nile while migrating southwards. But her eldest son could not accept this tragedy, and thus remained on the river crying for days, until passers-by found him. When asked why he was crying, he responded that he was mourning his mum; and hence this became the name of that place.
Suriname:
- Paramaribo: Named after the Carib tribe Parmirbo.
Sweden:
- Stockholm (1419–present): "Log Islet" in Swedish.
- Göteborg (1621–present): "Geat stronghold" in Swedish.
- Malmö (1353–present): Malm, meaning "ore" in modern Swedish but in this case referring to sand, and hög meaning "mound". The words eventually merged from Malmhög to Malmö, and formed the modern name.
- Uppsala (ca 900–present): "Upper halls" in Swedish.
Switzerland:
- Bern (1803–present): Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen founded the city on the River Aare in 1191 and allegedly named it after a bear (Bär in German) he had killed.
- Aarau (May–October 1798): Named after the Aar River which runs through the city, with the German word Au, meaning "floodplain".
- Lucerne (October 1798–1803): From French luzerne ("lamp"), because of its bright seeds.
Syria:
- Damascus: From Latin Damascus, which was imported from Ancient Greek Δαμασκός (Damaskos), which originated in Aramaic דרמשק (darmeśeq, "well-watered place").
T
Taiwan (Republic of China):
- Taipei: From Chinese 臺北, meaning "Northern Taiwan."
Tajikistan:
- Dushanbe: From Persian and Tajik Душанбе, meaning "Monday."
Tanzania:
- Dar es Salaam (1891–present): From Arabic دار السلام, meaning "House of Peace."
- Bagamoyo (1885–1891): In the late 18th century, Muslim families settled in Bagamoyo, all of which were relatives of Shamvi la Magimba in Oman. They made their living by enforcing taxes on the native population and by trading in salt, gathered from the Nunge coast north of Bagamoyo. In the first half of the 19th century, Bagamoyo became a trading port for ivory and the slave trade, with traders coming from the African interior, from places as far as Morogoro, Lake Tanganyika and Usambara on their way to Zanzibar. This explains the meaning of the word Bagamoyo ("Bwaga-Moyo") which means "Lay down your Heart" in Swahili. It is disputed whether this refers to the slave trade which passed through the town (i.e. "give up all hope") or to the porters who rested in Bagamoyo after carrying 35lb cargos on their shoulders from the Great Lakes region (i.e. "take the load off and rest"). Since there is little evidence to support that Bagamoyo was a major slave port (Kilwa, much further south, has earned this status), and that tens of thousands of porters arrived at Bagamoyo annually in the latter half of the 19th century, it is more likely that the name of the town derives from the latter interpretation.
- Dodoma (Legislative capital since February 1996): "It has sunk" in Gogo.
Thailand:
- Bangkok: It is believed that "Bangkok" derived from either Bang Kok, kok (กอก) being the Thai name for the Java plum (ma-kok, มะกอก), one of several trees bearing olive-like fruits; or Bang Koh, koh meaning "island", a reference to the area's landscape which was carved by rivers and canals. The city's Thai name กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep means "City of the Deity."
- Sukhothai (1250–1350 or 1250–1371): From Thai สุโขทัย, meaning "Dawn of Happiness."
- Ayutthaya (1350–1463 and 1488–1767): The name Ayutthaya derives from the Ayodhya of the Ramayana epic.
- Phitsanulok (1463–1488; 1371–1378): From Thai พิษณุโลก, meaning "Vishnu's Heaven."
- Thonburi (October 1767–1782): From Thai ธนบุรี, meaning "Bank Town".
Togo:
- Lomé (1897–present): Lomé comes from Alotimé which in Ewe means "among the alo plants" (the Alo is a tree whose trunk is still the main source of toothpicks in South Togo). The hunter Dzitri, who founded the city, established himself among the trees, which at the time dominated the site.
- Sebe or Aného (1886–1897)
- Bagid (1884–1886)
Tonga:
- Nuku'alofa (1799–1812, 1845–1847, and 1851–present): "Residence and Love" in Tongan.
- Lifuka (1812–1845 and 1847–1851)
Trinidad and Tobago:
- Port-of-Spain
Tunisia:
- Tunis: The name possibly derives from either the Phoenician goddess Tanith,[83] the ancient city of Tynes[84] or the Berber root word ens, which means "to lie down".[85]
Turkey:
- Ankara (1920–present): Derived from Ἄγκυρα (Ánkyra, meaning Anchor) in Greek.
- Constantinople (1453–1920): Named after the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The modern name Istanbul is derived from the Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" [is tin ˈpolin] or in the Aegean dialect "εἰς τὰν Πόλιν" [is tan ˈpolin] (modern Greek "στην Πόλη" [stin ˈpoli]), which means "in the city", "to the city" or "downtown". To this day, Greeks often refer to Istanbul as 'tin Poli' (the City).[citation needed] A version found in Western languages, Stamboul, was used in lieu of Istanbul until the creation of the modern Turkish language by Atatürk after 1932. Before that time, English-speaking sources used Stamboul to describe the central parts on the historic peninsula between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara.
- Adrianople (1365–1453): The city was founded as Hadrianopolis (Ἁδριανούπολις), named for the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This name is still used in the Modern Greek (Αδριανούπολη). The name Adrianople was used in English, until the Turkish adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1928 made Edirne the internationally recognized name. The Turkish Edirne, the Bulgarian Одрин (Odrin), and the Serbian Једрене (Jedrene) are adapted forms of the name Hadrianopolis.
- Bursa (1335–1365): Derived from the Latin word "bursa", meaning "purse."
Turkmenistan:
- Ashgabat (1918–1919; 1927–present): Ashgabat is Aşgabat in Turkmen, Ашхабад (Ashkhabad) in Russian, and عشقآباد (UniPers: Ešq-âbâd) in Persian. From 1919 until 1927, the city was renamed Poltoratsk after a local revolutionary. Before 1991, the city was usually spelled Ashkhabad in English, a transliteration of the Russian form, which was itself from the original Persian form. It has also been variously spelled Ashkhabat and Ashgabad.
- Ashgabat derives from a folk etymology suggesting that the name is a dialect version of the Persian word of عشق (eshq meaning "love") and Persian آباد (ābād meaning "inhabited place" or "city", etymologically "abode"), and hence loosely translates as "the city of love" or "the city that love built".[86]
- Merv (1855–1881): From Persian مرو (Marv, "ready").
Tuvalu:
- Funafuti:[87] As was the case with Vaitupu, the founding ancestors were Telematua and his two wives Futi (meaning banana) and Tupu (meaning "holy" or "abundant"). The Futi part of the name means "banana" and funa is a feminine prefix.[88]
U
Uganda:
- Kampala (1890–1905; 1958–present): Derived from Impala, which means "gazelle" in a number of Ugandan Bantu languages, including Luganda which is spoken by the Ganda people whose kingdom included all the area on which the whole Kampala metropolitan area sits.
- Entebbe (1905–1958): "A Seat" in Luganda.
Ukraine:
- Kyiv: From Ukrainian Київ, meaning "Belonging to Kyi."
United Arab Emirates:
- Abu Dhabi: From Arabic أبو ظبي Abū ẓabī, meaning "Father of Gazelle".[89]
United Kingdom:
- London: See Etymology of London.
United States of America:
- Washington, D.C. (1800–present): Named after George Washington. The D.C. Stands for District of Columbia, which was named in honor of Christopher Columbus.
- Philadelphia (1774–1776, 1778–1783, and 1790–1800): From Greek Φιλαδέλφεια, meaning "Brotherly Love" in Greek. A compound of φίλος (philos, love), and ἀδελφός (adelphos, brother).
- New York City (1785–1790): See "York, Pennsylvania" below.
- Trenton, New Jersey (1784): Named after William Trent.
- Annapolis, Maryland (1783–1784): From Greek Αννάπολις, meaning "City of Grace" in Greek, but named after Anne, Queen of Great Britain.
- Princeton, New Jersey (1783): "Prince Town probably after William, Prince of Orange".
- York, Pennsylvania (1777–1778): Named after the city of York, United Kingdom. The word 'York' is derived from the Latin name for the British city, variously rendered as Eboracum, Eburacum or Eburaci. The first mention of York by this name is dated to c. 95–104 AD as an address on a wooden stylus tablet from the Roman fortress of Vindolanda in Northumberland. The toponymy of Eboracum is uncertain because the language of the pre-Roman indigenous population of the area was never recorded. These people are thought to have spoken a Celtic language, related to modern Welsh. Therefore, it is thought that Eboracum is derived from the Brythonic word Eborakon, meaning either "place of the yew trees" (cf. efrog in Welsh, eabhrac in Irish Gaelic and eabhraig in Scottish Gaelic, by which names the city is known in those languages) or perhaps "field of Eboras". The name Eboracum was turned into Eoforwic by the Anglians in the 7th century. This was probably by a conflation of ebor with a Germanic root *eburaz (boar); by the 7th century the Old English for boar had become eofor, and Eboracum Eoforwic. The wic simply signified 'place'. When the Danish army conquered the city in 866, the name became rendered as Jórvík. This was gradually reduced to York in the centuries following the Norman Conquest, moving from the Middle English Yerk through to Yourke in the 16th century and then Yarke in the 17th century. The form York was first recorded in the 13th century.
- Baltimore, Maryland (1776–1777): The city is named after Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords, the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore himself took his title from a place in Bornacoola parish, County Leitrim and County Longford, Ireland.[90] Baltimore is an anglicized form of the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "Town of the Big House",[91] not to be confused with Baltimore, County Cork, the Irish name of which is Dún na Séad.[92]
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1777): named after Lancaster in UK – Loncastre (1086) "Roman Fort on the River Lune", a Celtic river name probably meaning "healthy, pure." The Lancastrians in the War of the Roses took their name from their descent from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.[93]
Uruguay:
- Montevideo: It is not in dispute that Monte comes from the hill which faces the bay, the Cerro de Montevideo, but there are at least two explanations of the origin of the name Montevideo:
- The first says that the name comes from the words in Portuguese "Monte vide eu", meaning 'I saw a mountain', a phrase uttered by a seaman on the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan when he saw the hill of Montevideo; this comes from the boatswain, Francisco Albo, referring in his journal to "a mountain like a hat which we named Montevidi", but the origin in the seaman's exclamation is not mentioned there and would require a strange mixing of dialects.
- The second says that the Spanish recorded the location on a map as the sixth hill going from east to west (Monte VI De Este o Oeste). There is no conclusive evidence for this.
- A third, less popular theory is that it derives from a religious name, Ovid Monte (Monte Santo Ovidio). Ovidio or Ovid was the third bishop of the Portuguese city of Braga and was revered; a monument was erected to him in 1505. Albo's account mentions a corruption of the name into Santo Vidio. There is no evidence for this etymology, but it is attractive enough that it has appeared on some maps of the region.
Uzbekistan:
- Tashkent: Derived from Uzbek Toshkent, meaning "Stone City". Tash means "stone" in Turkic languages and is derived from Proto-Turkic *tiāĺ (reconstructed form). Kent means "city" in Turkic languages.