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Place names in India are usually in Indian languages. Other languages include Portuguese, Dutch, English and Arabic.

Since Indian Independence, several Indian cities have adopted pre-English names, most notably Chennai (formerly Madras), Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), Visakhapatnam (formerly Waltair), and Pune (formerly Poona).

Common place names

Most place names are named after prominent geographical features, such as rivers and lakes. Others are named after personalities such as kings or historical figures. Although Hindu history was a main influence, Islamic and Christian influences are present, particularly in central and northern India.

Anglicized names

Some anglicized names have been officially changed to reflect native pre-colonial spellings. The names of the cities, towns, and villages are usually in Indian languages, while most street names carry English names. Examples: Washermanpet, George Town, Chennai

Variations

Certain names have variations in different languages. Oor/Ooru is a common Dravidian name which means a place, also known as Oor in Tamil and Malayalam, whereas it is called Ooru in Telugu and Kannada.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Common suffixes include, -ooru, -palli, -pudi, -peta, etc.

Suffix Meaning Etymology Examples
-abad city Urdu آباد < Persian ـآباد/آباد < Middle Persian ʾp̄ʾt' (ābād, “populous, thriving, prosperous”). < Proto-Iranian *āpāta-, < Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect”) Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Nizamabad
-bagh town Urdu باغ ("garden") < Persian باغ‎ bâğ < Middle Persian 𐭡𐭠𐭢‎ (bāɣ, “garden, orchard”) < Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰāgá- (“portion, share, allotment”) < Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- (“to divide, distribute, allot”) Suryabagh, Nausena Baugh
-cherla town Telugu చర్ల (charla "town") Macherla, Chengicherla
-guda/-gudem/-gudemu village Telugu గూడ (gūḍa "village. hamlet") < Telugu గూడెం (gūḍem) గూడెము (gūḍemu) Tadepalligudem, Galigudem, Dumbriguda
-kot/-kota fort Telugu కోట (kōṭa "fort, fortress") < Proto-South-Dravidian *kōṭṭay ("fort, castle). Samalkot, Kasimkota,

Sriharikota

-nagar/-nagaram/-nagaru town Telugu నగర్ (nagar), నగరం (nagaraṁ), నగరు (nagaru) < Proto-South-Dravidian *nakar ("town, city").[4] Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Vizianagaram,
-ole/-olu town Anglicized Telugu -ole < Telugu ఓలు (ōlu "town") < Old Telugu ప్రోలు (prōlu "city, town") Ongole, Nidadvolu
-ooru/-oor/-ore/-ur/-uru village Anglicized Telugu -ore < Telugu ఊరు (ūru "village") < Proto-Dravidian *ūr ("village, habitation") Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Eluru, Anantapur
-palem/-palemu/-palle/-pallem/-pallemu/-palli village Telugu పాలెం (pāleṁ), పాలెము (pālemu), పల్లె (palle), పల్లెం (palleṁ), పల్లెము (pallemu) < Telugu పల్లి (palli "village") పల్లీ (pallī "village") < Proto-Dravidian *paḷḷi ("(small) village")[4] Peddapalli, Madanapalle, Nadimpalle
-patnam/-patnamu port city Telugu పట్నం (paṭnaṁ "patnam") Vishakhapatnam, Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam
-pedu Yerpedu
-pudi village (Old?) Telugu పుడి (pudi "village") Kuchipudi
-pur/-puram/-puramu/-puri city Telugu పూర్ (pūr) పూరం (pūraṁ) పూరము (pūramu) పూరి (pūri) < Sanskrit पुर (pura) < Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁- (“stronghold”) Markapur, Hindpur, Atchutapuram
-put/-puttu village Telugu పుట్టు (puṭṭu "village, put") < Proto-Dravidian (?) Manchingiput, Jalaput,
-seema region Telugu సీమ (sīma "region, kingdom") < Sanskrit सीमा (sīmā "border, region") Rayalaseema
-vada/-wada area, place Telugu వాడ (vāḍa "area, place") Vijayawada, Vemulawada
-vaka/-waka town Telugu వాక (vāka "town") Gajuwaka, Hanumanthavaka
-valasa town Telugu వలస (valasa "town, migration") Thangarapuvalasa, Palavalasa

Arunachal Pradesh

Namdapha National park, Roing, Tezu, Sakteng Wildlife sanctuary, Namsai, Parsurum Kund, Bhairabkunda, Khonsa, Jairampur, Bhismaknagar, Changlang, Hawai, Nampong, Koloriang, etc.[5]

Assam

Suffix Meaning Etymology Examples
-gā̃o village Sanskrit (ग्राम, grāma) Bongaigaon, Chaygaon, Morigaon, Nagaon
-hāṭ/hāṭī market Sanskrit (हाट, hāṭa) Guwahati, Jorhat, Moranhat
-pāṛā neighbourhood Sanskrit (पद्र, padra) Bilasipara, Goalpara, Rangapara
-pur settlement Sanskrit (पुर, pura) Badarpur, North Lakhimpur, Tamulpur, Tezpur

Bihar

Bodh Gaya, Patna, Rajgir, Gaya, Raxaul, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Pawapuri, Sasaram, Hajipur, Bihar Sharif, Kesaria, Sonpur, Munger and Bhagalpur Division.

Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Jagdalpur, Bilaspur, Durg, Kanger Ghati National Park, Bhilai, Sirpur, Ambikapur, Korba, Kawardha, Raigarh, Dongargarh, Tirarthgar, Atal Nagar, Mainpat, Indravati National Park, Ratanpur, Rajim, Chitrakoot, Rajnandgaon, Dhamtari, Kanker and Champa.

Delhi

New Delhi, Gurugram, Mehrauli, Karol Bagh, Delhi, Rohini, Chanakyapuri, Sonipat, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj, Pitam Pura, Bahadurgarh, Greater Kailash, Delhi Cantonment, Shahpur Jat, Shahdara, Najafgarh, Badarpurh, Nangloi Jat, Saidul Ajaib and Bawana.

Goa

Panaji, Calangute, Palolem Beach, Anjuna, Baga, Old Goa, Candolim, Margao, Vagator, Colva, Dona Paula, Vasco Da Gama, Mandrem, Morjim, Canacona, Mapusa, Arpora, Bogmalo Beach, Benaulim, Cavelossim, Ponda, Varca, Bardez, Majorda, Mobor, Dabolim, Agonda and Mormugao.

Gujarat

Common suffixes[6]
Suffix Examples
-padra Vaṭapadra, Vaḍapadra
-vadra Jaravadra, Phalavadra
-pallī/-pallīkā Ābhīrapallī, Āśāpallī
-valī/-valli/-vallikā Kacchāvalī
-sthalī
-hrada
-draha Vaṭa-draha
-sara Jaṁbu-sara
-pāṭaka Aṇahila-pāṭaka
-vāṭaka
-ijya/-ijja Avayānijya,, Karkijja
-vasaṇa Caṇḍāvasaṇa
-vasahikā/-vāsaka
-vāḍā Ādhivāḍā
-vaḍa
-pura/-purī/-nagara/-paṭṭana Ānandapura, Nāndipurī, Girinagara
-siddhi/-sāḍhi

Jammu and Kashmir

Pangong Tso, Zanskar, Nyak Tso, Samba, Ramban, Khardong, Manikiala and Ranjit Sagar Dam Lake.

Jharkhand

Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Purulia, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Maithon, Hazaribagh, Netarhat, Bokaro Steel City, Ghatshila, Giridih, Rajmahal, Dumka, Parasnath Hill, Rajrappa, Medininagar, Patratu, Chaibasa, Panchet, Betla, Deoghar, Sahebganj, Pakur, Kodarma and McCluskieganj, Gumla.

Karnataka

Common endings are Ooru, Palaya, Halli, Pete, Seeme. Less common are prefixes such as Sri.

Suffix meaning Common place names
Bhavi well Arabhavi, Sulibhavi, Bilebhavi, Nagarbhavi, Thondebhavi
Gud habitation Nanjangud, Handigud
Halli village Kanchamaranahalli, Arehalli
Keri colony Madikeri, Tallikeri
Kote fort Bagalakote, Jangamakote
Ooru/uru village Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Kitturu. Emmiganuru,
Pete town Chikkupete, Hosapete
Nagara town Vijayanagara, Jayaprakashanagara
Pura city Kundapura, Narasimharajapura, Kanakapura

Kerala

Common suffixes include Angadi, Athani, Ur, Cheri/Shery, Kulam, Kad, Nad, Pally, Kode/Code, Kara, Mangalam, Kal, Puram, and Puzha.

Suffix Meaning Common place names
Ur Shire Nilambur, Tirur, Thrissur, Kannur, North Paravur.
Cheri/Shery Street Thalassery, Cherpulassery, Kalpakanchery, Manjeri, Thamarassery.
Nad Village Eranad, Kuttanad, Wayanad, Thondernad.
Kulam Pond Ernakulam, Kunnamkulam, Kayamkulam, Mararikulam, Mankulam, Unnikulam, Punnayurkulam, Muthukulam.
Angadi Market Parappanangadi, Tirurangadi, Pazhavangadi, Melangadi.-
Athani Athani, Puthanathani, Karinkallathani
Kad Forest Puthukkad, Purakkad, Thalakkad, Palakkad, Vadakkekad.
Puzha River Alappuzha, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Cherupuzha, Noolpuzha.

Maharashtra

Common suffixes include Pur, Ner, Gav, Abad, Khed, Oli, Wadi, Nagar, Tur, Vali, and Ra.

Manipur

Imphal, Loktak Lake, Moreh, Moirang, Ukrhul, Andro, Bishnupur, Shirui, Kakching, Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Thoubaul, Khangkhui, Jiribam, Leimaram, Khonghampat, Khongjom, Leimakhong, Tengnoupaul, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Senapati, Nambol, Nony, Jessami, Singda, Thanga and Khayang.

Mizoram

Aizawl, Lunglei, Champhai, Thenzhal, Murlen National Park, Serchhip, Murlen, Siaha, Kolasib, Hmuifang, Vairegte, Mamit, Saitual, Lengteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Zokhawthar, Baktawng, Farkawn, Phulpui, Sialsuk, Khawnlung, Tlabung, Lengpui and Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary.

Orissa

In Odisha (formerly known as Orissa) common suffixes are Pur, Garh, Gada.

Suffix Meaning Common Place names
Pur City Sambalpur, Berhampur, Rairangpur, Subarnapur, Puri
Garh Fort Bargarh, Debagarh, sundergarh, Nayagarh

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, common suffixes are Oor, Nagaram, Puram, Kudi, Cheri, Paakkam, Pattinam, Palayam, Kaadu, Pettai, Mangalam, Seemai, naththam, palli and Kuppam. One common prefix is Thiru. The majority of names are in Tamil language. Telugu and Kannada place names can be seen in border areas. Sanskrit names are found because of the historical relationship of Sanskrit with Hinduism.

Suffix Meaning Common Place names
Oor/ur/ore Village Ambattur, Thanjavur, Karur, Hosur, Tirupur, Coimbatore, Vellore.
Kaadu Forest Yercaud,
Pattinam Coastal area Nagapattinam
Puram ectal Kanchipuram, Ramanathapuram, Viluppuram
Nagaram City Vanagaram
Ni bee Theni
Kal paving stone namakkal
Kudi settlement karaikkudi, paramakudi, thoothukkudi

Tripura

Common suffix include mura.

suffix meaning common places
assa Ambassa, Bagbassa
bari house Churaibari, Jolaibari
chhara stream Laxmanchhara, Nabinchhara, Karaichhara, Bagaichhara, Dhanichhara, Sanichhara
mura Teliamura, Sonamura
pur Udaipur, Amarpur, Madhupur,
nagar town or city Ampinagar, Dharmanagar, Jubarajnagar

West Bengal

Global Indian influence in place names

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2019)

See Indosphere, Sanskritization, Indianization of Southeast Asia.

In the Indianised cultures outside India, places were given Sanskritised names to make them sound more noble. Examples include:

Indonesia

Indonesia, as a hugely Sanskrit and Indic-influenced country, contains many Sanskrit-named cities and placements:

Malaysia

Rajwada

Thailand

See also

References

  1. ^ "Untitled".
  2. ^ "Untitled".
  3. ^ "Untitled".
  4. ^ a b Southworth, Franklin (2005). Linguistic Archeology of South Asia. RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 74, 76.
  5. ^ https://www.google.com.au/destination/compare?q=places+in+arunachal+pradesh&site=search&output=search&dest_mid=/m/018ckn&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUyu-G777fAhXGuI8KHSDcDiYQ6tEBCDEoBDAA
  6. ^ Sankalia, Hasmukh D. (1949). Studies in the Historical and Cultural Geography and Ethnography of Gujarat. Deccan College. pp. 51–80.
  7. ^ "Things you should know before visiting temples in Bali". The Jakarta Post.
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