# What does your city name mean?



## ssiguy2 (Feb 19, 2005)

What does your city name mean? 

I'm not taling about nick-names like New York's "Big Apple" would not count nor does it's actual name becuase it is named after another place with New York simply mean the new city of York after the city of York in England. 
Los Agelas has a true meaning " City of Angels" does count. 

I'll start off................Toronto means " the meeting place" not due to it being Canada's biggest city but rather it is the native term which refers to the number of rivers that merge in Toronto on their way to lake Ontario. 

Calgary is the native name for " clear running water'.


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## Delirium (Oct 8, 2005)

Bristol-

orginally

Bryscgstow/Bristow

meaning _bridge place_, it changed its name because of the local accent. (which had a tendency to add an extra L at the end of certain words)


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## gladisimo (Dec 11, 2006)

Hong Kong - fragrant harbour in Chinese, there are a few theories as to how it was named this way. The only one I remember from the top of my head is a waterfall that sailors used to get freshwater from. 

San Francisco - named for St. Francis, like every Californian city, its name is derived from a mission some Spanish priest established there.


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## karim aboussir (Dec 4, 2006)

CASABLANCA MEANS white house in spanish it is a major metropolis of 4 million people that includes the city and all surrounding suburbs 
back in 1706 I think the portuguese settled there and built a big white house and called it 
CASA BRANCA , it was just a little village , the village of casabranca was very little and destroyed by an earthquake , later on in late 1700 they renamed it casablanca but it did not become a major city until the 1920''s and the french planed it into a bigger city


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

Copenhagen is 'København' in Danish

In short it used to be just 'Havn' back in the Viking times ( meaning "Habour" ) but when the city was fortified it became a merchant port and got "Købmand" ( "Merchant" ) added in front making it 'Købmans Havn' - in time that changed to "København"


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

The Potawatomi indian tribe called the marshes on which Chicago was built "Checagou," which translates to "wild onion" or "garlic" (also referred to as "skunk cabbage").

European explorers assigned the name to the Chicago River, followed by settlers' who used it as the name of the settlement in the 1830's. 

Prior to Chicago's founding, the name of the river was spelled several ways, including "Chetagu" and "Shikago."

The most common explanation as to the origin of Chicago's nickname "The Windy City" is that the phrase was created by New York newspapers in the 1880s during a national debate over which city would host the 1893 World's Fair. 

However, "Windy City" was used before this by the Cincinnati Enquirer at least as early as 1876. 

Ironically, the citizens of Chicago turned the intended slight into a compliment of the city's new life and vitality following a quick recovery from the Great Chicago Fire.


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## spongeg (May 1, 2006)

Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver

Coquitlam means - smelly fish - its a native american word/term/name


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## Wuppeltje (Jan 23, 2008)

Amsterdam --> comes from a dam on the river Amstel. Amstel + dam = Amsterdam. We call the Damsquare, just "Dam". Around it Amsterdam was founded.


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## TU 'cane (Dec 9, 2007)

"Tallasi", meaning "old town" in the Creek language, which later became "Tulsa".

So basically Tulsa means "Old Town"


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

I actually don't know what Hartford means. It's an English name though. :dunno:

I think that it's a corruption of Hertford in the UK, however there is a Hartford there too, so I'm not too sure.

BTW: Hertford is our twin city.


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## canadave87 (Oct 8, 2007)

Ottawa was named after the Ottawa River, which, in turn, was named after the Ottawa language group of Native American tribes.


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## Alphaville (Nov 28, 2007)

Some Australian city meanings:

*Canberra* - Derived from the First Australian Ngabri language "Kanbarra" - which means *"meeting place."* "karra" denotes a place or location in the language. 

*Melbourne* - Named after Queen Victoria's first PM, Viscount Melbourne (1779). Melbourne's native name in the Kulin dialect is Wurundjeri - and this is now finding various uses.


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## sc4 (Apr 6, 2006)

I think we already have a thread on this previously. Try digging out the archive.


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## soup or man (Nov 17, 2004)

Los Angeles means 'The Angels'. But LA's full name (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula) means The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula.


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## GustavoMG (Feb 24, 2008)

Belo Horizonte (third largest brazilian city) means: beautiful horizon!!! The city is up on the mountains


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## krudmonk (Jun 14, 2007)

It is named for Saint Joseph...in Spanish.


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## OakRidge (Mar 9, 2007)

Sacramento: 



> In either 1799 or 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga "discovered" and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River after the Spanish term for 'sacrament', specifically, after "the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ", referring to the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.


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## Xelebes (Apr 1, 2007)

ssiguy2 said:


> Calgary is the native name for " clear running water'.


False. Calgary is a Gaelic name, I believe it was named after a Scottish hamlet or estate.

Edmonton was named after a suburb of London, which means "Edmond's Farm".


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## Xelebes (Apr 1, 2007)

10ROT said:


> I actually don't know what Hartford means. It's an English name though. :dunno:
> 
> I think that it's a corruption of Hertford in the UK, however there is a Hartford there too, so I'm not too sure.
> 
> BTW: Hertford is our twin city.


Hartford means "Deer River Crossing".


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

I'm not sure what the name "Austin" means but it's named after Stephen F. Austin who is known as the "Father of Texas." 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Austin


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## LMCA1990 (Jun 18, 2005)

Santiago de Cali (Santiago = the saint, Cali derrived from what the natives called the nearby Calima lake).


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

Detroit is named after the french _Rivière du Détroit_, which means River of the Strait. So, Detroit is the french word for "strait".


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## Dezz (Mar 11, 2005)

Rotterdam means: dam in the Rotte river. Simple


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## cees (Jun 25, 2006)

what about new york, when founded by the dutch they named it 'New Amsterdam'. Where does the 'York' came from?

Capetown in South africa is named after the 'cape' ( inner bay ) where ships found some safe waters after the diffuculties in the see elsewhere in that area.

And almere is named to a village from an old civilisation in the southernsea area, there used to live people somehow in midievel times.


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## fettekatz (Oct 17, 2007)

Berlin: name most likely derived from 'berl' = swamp and not 'Bär' = bear


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## dhuwman (Oct 6, 2005)

Seattle : from Chief Seattle aka Chief Sealth of the local Suquamish and Duwamish Native American tribes.

Portland : Named after the hometown of the first claimer to the land who was from Portland, ME.

Los Angeles : duh!!

Seoul : Korean term for "Capital City"


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## flesh_is_weak (Jun 16, 2006)

*Cebu:* from _Sugbo_ which either meant:

1. "to wade in water" since travellers had to wade through the shallows as the harbor wasnt very deep back then, thus making it impossible for trade boats and ships to dock
2. "meeting place of the currents" from its location on the harbor

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=330651


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## Wuppeltje (Jan 23, 2008)

cees said:


> what about new york, when founded by the dutch they named it 'New Amsterdam'. Where does the 'York' came from?


The English city York, when New Amsterdam came in British hands. :bash:'


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## Cherguevara (Apr 13, 2005)

Actually New York was named in honour of the Duke of York (and future King James II) rather than the city of York itself which had declined in significance within England during the 16th and 17th centuries. Although obviously his title came from that city. York itself has a fairly interesting etymological history (from Wikipedia):



> As York was a town in Roman times, its Celtic name is recorded in Roman sources as Eboracum and Eburacum; after 400, Anglo-Saxons took over the area and adapted the name by folk etymology to Old English Eoforwīc, which means "wild-boar town", and the Vikings, who took over the area later, in turn adapted the name by folk etymology to Norse Jórvík meaning "horse bay."


So New York 'means' in the loosest sense New Horse Bay.


The city of Manchester where I am from is named for Mamcumium, which was the latin name for the Roman settlement and fort in the city's Castlefield quarter. This name was taken from the 'breat like hill' that the orignal fort was thought to have been built upon. The 'chester' part is (obviously) from an anglicised form of the latin castra meaning 'camp' or 'fort')

So Manchester means Breast-shaped-hill-fort.


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## Wuppeltje (Jan 23, 2008)

^^

Interesting, didn't knew that. There are enough colonies named after cities and provinces in those days.


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## ov_79 (Mar 21, 2008)

*Praha* (english equivalent = Prague)
from czech "práh" 
= in modern czech a grounsel, door-step
= in ancient czech a ford, wade; a shallow ford of the Vltava river

*Bratislava*
derived from Vratislav II the duke, probably


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Frankfurt, from what I understand comes from the term Franks and furt. Franks being the Western Germanic tribe and furt is German for "ford", as in, a shallow river crossing - in this case on the river Main. So, Frankfurt was a place with shallow water where the Frank people would cross the river Main.

These days the river is much deeper and navigable, so there is no ford anymore.


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

I am not sure why my hometown is called Pleasantville. My guess is the typical village style of being pleasant in the village, which could be the most likely answer. According to ePondunk, it was originally called Clark's Corners. Another one could be that it was part of the hamlet known as Mt Pleastant, but I am guessing here b/c I couldn't find any results for it.


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## urbanfan89 (May 30, 2007)

Waterloo: place where Napoleon was defeated

Kitchener: was originally named Berlin after the German settlers in the late 19th century, but was changed during WW1 to the general in this picture









Toronto: named after tkaranto, which means "place where trees stand in water" in Mohawk


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Minnea is the word for water in Ojibwe.
Polis is Greek for city.

Minneapolis means water city, there are lots of lakes in the city plus the Mississippi River.


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## waccamatt (Mar 7, 2004)

Columbia was the first city in the United States named for Christopher Columbus (1786) who was then believed to be someone special. "Columbia" was a feminization of his last name first used in a poem by Phyllis Wheatley of Massachusetts.


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## kazetuner (Jan 27, 2008)

Buenos Aires = Fair Winds


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## Metropolitan (Sep 21, 2004)

Paris has been named after the celtic tribe of the _Parisii_, which may be derived from _kwarisi_ meaning the stone quarries tribe. That would make sense considering the Paris area is known for its quarries (explaining the extensive use of stone façades in Paris).

As a matter of fact, the Parisii's oppidum (their capital city) wasn't actually located in central Paris as initially expected, but not so far from La Défense, in the current municipality of Nanterre. This has been discovered only in 2004, during the construction of a 10 km long two-level tunnel meant to host the last section of the A86 circle motorway.


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## Dan B (Jul 9, 2006)

Bradford is a derivative of its original name Broadford, essentially a self explanatory name, a 'broad' 'ford' as in a crossing on a river. I guess there must have originally been one on the Beck, a poluted river that now travels under the city's streets and occasionally emerges at certain points. 

Stoke-on-Trent is the culmination of 6 towns, Hanley, Stoke (or Stoke-upon-Trent), Fenton, Longton, Burslem and Tunstall, sited on and around the River Trent. The city takes its name from Stoke, the centre for administration, the railway station and as the most historic place in the city, although the main shopping and commercial town is Hanley. Stoke as a name comes ''originally from the Old English 'stoc' meaning 'place', it came to be used in two special senses, i) a religious place and ii) a secondary settlement'' (Wikipedia). So essentially 'place', religious or secondary settlement on the River Trent.

Here's an educational song about it:







And there we have the etymological construction and development of the names of the two cities I represent.


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## ssiguy2 (Feb 19, 2005)

Wow! Just started this thread yesterday and I'm amazed it has had so much imput. 

Another one for Canada....... Montreal is actually a basterization of the city's main Mount Royal but when spoken in Quebecous it is pronounced "mon ree al". 

Canada means the village, the houses


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## JloKyM (Mar 3, 2007)

Sofia=София means WISDOM


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## Rebasepoiss (Jan 6, 2007)

Tallinn is Taanilinna or Danish town


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## Positronn (Jan 25, 2008)

My city, Joinville, was named after the Joinville prince has received the land where the city is today because his wedding. Remembering that I live in Joinville, Brazil, and the prince was from Joinville-le-pont, in Paris metro. But why the name is this way I dunno, maybe it is "ville de Join", but I didn't find any information about.


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## kalabaw (Apr 19, 2005)

lochinvar said:


> Manila, Philippines. Manila came from May (There are) Nilad (Water Lilly). Philippines came from Roy Felipe de Espana (King Philip of Spain). Hence there are water lillies in the islands of King Philip.


I don't think Nilad means water lily. Based from what I read, Nilad was a tree which grew abundantly in the present day Manila. Having said that, Manila means There is Nilad.

Anyways, I came from San Pedro, Laguna. San Pedro is Spanish for Saint Peter, while Laguna is Spanish for Lagoon. Nothing much special. Hahaha!


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## Onoudidnt (Feb 24, 2008)

dublin is derived from the irish, "dubh linn" meaning black pool. this was where the vikings landed first and founded the city.(i think)


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## Arizona92 (May 30, 2008)

Some random cities:

Courbevoie (inner Paris suburb - where La Défense is situated) comes from the Latin "Curba Via" (the curved/winding road)

Rishon LeZion, IL (a large city not far from Tel-Aviv): First for Zion

Constanta, RO (city on the Black Sea coast) : from the Byzantine emperor Constantin - an important figure in Christianity. The name "Constantinopole" has the same origin.


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## TohrAlkimista (Dec 18, 2006)

Onoudidnt said:


> dublin is derived from the irish, "dubh linn" meaning black pool. this was where the vikings landed first and founded the city.(i think)


Really? Weird, because, when I was i Dub, I remember, that all the cars had (I suppose) the translation in Gaelic of the city name. 

In the case of Dublin, if I remember well, was Baile Atha Cliath.


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## JohnnyMass (Feb 6, 2005)

Porto means port.


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## TohrAlkimista (Dec 18, 2006)

...and Porto, the wine?


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## Amrafel (Nov 26, 2006)

Bratislava, originally Bresalauspurc, its probably "Vratislavs castle"


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## zwischbl (Mar 12, 2005)

Munich/München----> Munichen----> 'Bei den Mönchen'- 'with the monks'


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## Stormwatch153 (Feb 17, 2007)

Subotica means Little Saturday.


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## filipe_ft (Dec 6, 2006)

Istanbul comes from the greek istimboli, that means "in the city"
it used to be Constantinople, named after roman emperor Constantine I
and before that was Byzantium, named after Doric king Byzas


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## Monkey9000 (May 3, 2007)

Glasgow = Glascheu = Dear green place in Gaelic


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## The Knowledgeable (Nov 8, 2007)

Tel Aviv - Hebrew for "hill of spring". It was coined by some Jewish poet who took it from somewhere in the Bible and it represents the Jewish renaissance. 

Haifa - Unknown. The most probable theory is that it comes from Hebrew _hof_ or Arabic _haffa_ both meaning "beach".

Binyamina - Named after Baron Abraham Benjamin Edmond James de Rothschild, a Jewish banker who funded the wine industry in the region. Benjamin was a Biblical figure whose name means "a right-handed man".


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Are there kurkar in Kharkur, Israel?


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## l'eau (Jul 7, 2008)

izmir is a warior woman's name who is married with lydia's king.

smyrna-->symirny--->zmyrni------>izmirny---------->izmir.


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## K14N (Jun 23, 2008)

The name of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is derived from a hero's name of Jayakarta, which means _Victory_...


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## ace4 (Dec 12, 2006)

^^
the complete meaning is "Great/Grand Victory", isn't it? :yes:


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## System_Halted (Aug 14, 2004)

Ankara comes from the "anchor"









An Early Roman Coin of Ankara featuring the anchor.

There are few legends about the derivation of the name. 

Ankara was first established by early Hititians as Ankuwash.

Later on, according to one of the legends, Midas the King of Phrygians (a central Anatolian civilization) sees a dream telling him that he should establish a new city in where he will find an anchor, and he finds this anchor in the seats of today's Ankara Citadel, which is 600km to the nearest sea.

Another more likely thing to happen is that, Galatians a Celtic race who settled in Anatolia for a while fights with Egyptians and beat their navy, with their symbol of victory (the anchors of Egyptian ships) they come to Ankara to establish their capital city, and use that symbols for their capital, and name their capital after their victory symbol. After Romans come and conquer the city, they keep the name.

In years, the name derives from language to language,most popular ones are Ancrya, Anküra, (also called as Engürü by middle-easterns, name deriving from "grape") later Angora and finally Ankara.


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## K14N (Jun 23, 2008)

ace4 said:


> ^^
> the complete meaning is "Great/Grand Victory", isn't it? :yes:


Ehmmm, I think so...


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## DShoost88 (Nov 1, 2005)

Oh, great! I'm so glad they made a thread for this.

Boca Raton, Florida --> Its direct Spanish to English translation is "Mouth of the Rats". HOWEVER, the meaning is a little deeper than that. Back in the 19th century when geographers were mapping Florida's coastline (during the US Civil War), there was an inlet off of Biscayne Bay (present day Miami Beach) that had washed-up prisoner ships and pirate ships, washed ashore from Hurricanes. An inlet acts as a mouth between two bodies of water, hence "mouth"--> "Boca". Prisoners and pirates were considered the lowest form of life--garbage, low-lives--hence rats--> "Ratones". "Boca de Ratones

Several decades later, when Palm Beach architect and socialite Addison Mizner planned a major resort town south of Palm Beach, he put it at an inlet 40 miles north of the original "Boca de Ratones". The name, though, made its way north and was permanently associated with the place we call "Boca Raton" today!


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## DShoost88 (Nov 1, 2005)

double post.


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## The Knowledgeable (Nov 8, 2007)

lochinvar said:


> Are there kurkar in Kharkur, Israel?


The name is *K*arkur and there is limestone (_kurkar_) a few kilometres to the west.


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Rancho Cucamonga, CA is a local Indian word for Sandy Place for it is located in a semidesert area.


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## Deanb (Jun 7, 2006)

ZOHAR said:


> Netanya-named after Nathan Strauss
> Tel Aviv-Spring Hill
> Ramat Gan=Garden's level


Netanya, also contains the name of god in it - "ya"...


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## future.architect (Jun 10, 2004)

manchester: started by the romans in 78 AD, the name mean, 'breast shaped hills'


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## Giorgio (Oct 9, 2004)

filipe_ft said:


> Istanbul comes from the greek istimboli, that means "in the city"
> it used to be Constantinople, named after roman emperor Constantine I
> and before that was Byzantium, named after Doric king Byzas


Where is the Turkish history. :lol:


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## Onur (Dec 2, 2004)

^^ Konstantiniyye and Kon*stantinopol*is


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## Intoxication (Jul 24, 2005)

I don't know what London means. But Islamabad means: "Abode of Islam".


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

So polis and boli means the same?


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## ambiente2008 (Aug 22, 2008)

*LISBOA - LISBON*

LISBOA

Lisbon was under Roman rule from 205 BC; Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo.

The Greeks knew Lisbon as Olissipo and "Olissipona", a name they thought was derived from Ulysses.

Later on, the Greek name was corrupted in vulgar Latin to Olissipona.

In 585 the Suebi kingdom was included in the Germanic Visigothic kingdom of Toledo, that comprised all of the Iberian Peninsula. Lisbon was then called Ulishbona.

In approximately 711 Lisbon was taken by the Moors (it was called al-ʾIšbūnah in Arabic الأشبونة)

In 1147, as part of the Reconquista, crusader knights led by Afonso I of Portugal, sieged and reconquered Lisbon. Lisbon was now back in Christian hands.


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## nestor morales (Feb 1, 2008)

My city is called Temuco an araucanian voice that means:
temu :an autoctone tree very common in this area also called in spanish "temo" or "palo rojo"(red stick)
co:it means water
When founded the city in 1881, the place was full of those trees and natives called it "temuco".


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## l'eau (Jul 7, 2008)

Giorgio said:


> Where is the Turkish history. :lol:


here is the turkish history, we conquered "konstaninopolis"!:yes:
now, it's istanbul:lol:

et:sad for you but it's true:yes:


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## Marco_ (Jan 15, 2006)

There was a river (Amstel) and one day some fishermen build a dam on it, and *voila* there was Amsterdam


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## tHOmMY777 (Feb 9, 2007)

Bologna was founded in 534 b.C. with the name *Felsina* (literally *Velzna*) that it means "_fertile ground_" or similar.
During the Roman Empire the name was "latinized" and changed to *Bononia*, which comes from the celtic word *Bona*, _fortified place_.


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## persy (Jul 20, 2007)

*Gdańsk* was mentioned as "Gyddanyzc urbs" for the first time in 999 A.D. and its name is derived from "swampy place". Other version says, that the name came from "Gdania" river which is a branch of Vistula river and today is called Motlawa, or from Gothic name of the area - "Gutiskandja".

On special ocasions the extended name of the city is used: Królewskie Miasto Gdańsk which means The Royal City of Gdańsk to commemorate strong relationship beetween Gdansk and Polish kings as well as the strenght and wealthy of the city during XV~XVII-th century.

Some names of Gdansk in other languages: Gdanzc, Dantzk, Dantzig, Dantzigk, Danzig, Dantiscum


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## Izumo (Sep 28, 2005)

Nijmegen - derivative of "Novio Magusanus". Magusanus was the Roman name of Donar. Nijmegen was the heart of the Batavian cult of the god Donar. Nihjmegen had two temples dedicated to Donar


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## Cymen (Jan 27, 2003)

Marco_ said:


> There was a river (Amstel) and one day some fishermen build a dam on it, and *voila* there was Amsterdam


So, but why isn't it called Amsteldam then? Also, the river Amstel used to be called Amstelle back then. 






But so did Amsterdam, it used to be called Amstelledam. So in the end we can also say pronunciation is what made the name. :cheers: on Amstel beer!


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## Dinivan (Apr 9, 2007)

The name of *Barcelona*:

The current place where the city lies was populated by an iberian tribe called Laietans since around 700 BC. During the second punic war the settlement was conquered by Carthaginians and renamed after Anibal's father, Amilcar *Barca*. Then the city was conquered by Rome and renamed to *Barcino* in the third century BC. From there the named evolved to the current name, *Barcelona*.


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## nestor morales (Feb 1, 2008)

Dinivan said:


> The name of *Barcelona*:
> 
> The current place where the city lies was populated by an iberian tribe called Laietans since around 700 BC. During the second punic war the settlement was conquered by Carthaginians and renamed after Anibal's father, Amilcar *Barca*. Then the city was conquered by Rome and renamed to *Barcino* in the third century BC. From there the named evolved to the current name, *Barcelona*.


^^
I have a question:what does it mean "lona" in catalonian? I have seen another city name ended in "lona" ( Badalona). I imagine it must be something relationed with city, burgo,etc.?


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## freeksregistration (Dec 29, 2007)

brussels

the name has his origin in the latin laguage: bruocsella "bruoc" and "sella" wich means 'swamp" and "chappel". Buth after e while it became "broekzele", also two words, in old dutch (old flamish). it means "swamp" and i don't know what "zele" meant so . Buth than it became it's normal name "Brussel", later when it became the capital of Belgium more and more french speaking people wanted to live there so in french; Bruxelles (BXL) and english "brussels".


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

nestor morales said:


> ^^
> I have a question:what does it mean "lona" in catalonian? I have seen another city name ended in "lona" ( Badalona). I imagine it must be something relationed with city, burgo,etc.?


^^It has something to see with latin declinations: Barcino-Barcinona (Barcelona), Baetulo-Baetulona (Badalona), Tarraco-Tarracona (Tarragona), etc.


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## LordMarshall (Jun 26, 2005)

Sarajevo:

The origins of the word are no mystery. Sarajevo is a slavic word based on Saray, the Turkish word for the governor's castle. You can see the root in the Turkish name for Sarajevo, Saraybosna, and various areas of Turkey. The letter Y does not exist in the Bosnian version of the Latin alphabet, and "evo" comes from "Ovasi" ("Saray Ovasi"), giving the name the basic meaning "The field around the castle".

Regarding nicknames, although none is official, Sarajevo has had a vast number over the years. The earliest is Šeher, which is the term Isa-Beg Ishaković used to describe the town he was going to build. Literally it is a Turkish word indicating an advanced city of key importance (şehir) which in turn comes from Persian شهر Shahr "City" . As Sarajevo developed, numerous nicknames came from comparisons to other cities in the Islamic world, i.e. "Damascus of the North". The most popular of these was "European Jerusalem" which was a comparison given to the city by its Sephardic Jewish populace. Other more modern nicknames include "Olympic City" and "Rajvosa" (pig-Latin for "Sarajevo").

Some argue that a more correct translation of 'saray' is government office, or house; 'saray' is a common word in Turkish for a palace or mansion; a fortified government office, or house, though would still be called a saray, if it maintained the general look of an office, otherwise it would be called 'kale' (castle).


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Bachisaray; Eskisehir; Canakale; Kirikale; Pamukale


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## Sen (Nov 13, 2004)

Scion said:


> Literal translations of cities' names in China.
> 
> Shanghai - up/out to the sea
> Beijing - the northern capital
> ...


Tianjin stands for 天子津渡，which means heavenly son's (emperor) pass. it's where the emperor yongle crossed the hai river to fight his niece in Nanjing, he eventually won the battle that's why the name is given to Tianjin. Some of the other origins are wrong either.


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Why did Hong Kong become fragrant harbor?


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## DELCROID (Apr 9, 2006)

*Caracas* is named after the indian tribes who lived there in the past. The official name of the city is *Santiago de León de Caracas* - founded in March, 1567. 




Flag of the city:










Santiago the Apostle:






Coat of Arms:















Declaration of Independance, 1811:










Tiuna - an indian chief and warrior of the Caracas tribes:







.


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## Gid (Mar 31, 2005)

"Singapore" means Lion City. 
Singa = lion
Pore = city

Here's a brief gist of how Singapore got its name:

Long ago, an explorer (a prince of some sorts) came across a small tropical island. He landed on the island and spotted a lion. Thus, the name "Lion City". Rumours are...he mistook another animal for a lion. There's been no records of lion inhabitants on the island. 

Well things could have been much worse. If he had spotted a wild chicken first, we could have been named "Chicken City".


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## Capital78 (Jan 23, 2008)

*My town in Slovenia*

*Celje* 

Origin of the name Celje: Name derives from the tribe of Celts. The first urban settlement in the area of Celje appeared during the Hallstatt era. The settlement was known in the Celtic times as Kelea. Celts coined money in the region.

Once the area was incorporated in the Roman Empire, it was known as Civitas Celeia. The city was razed by Slavic tribes during the Migration period of the 5th and 6th century, but was rebuilt in the Early Middle Ages. The first mention of Celje in the Middle Ages was under the name of Cylie in Admont's Chronicle, which was written between 1122 and 1137. The town was the seat of the mighty Counts of Celje from 1341 to 1456. It acquired market-town status in the first half of the 14th century and town privileges from Count Frederick II on April 11, 1451. Since that date Celje is a town and it's the third biggest town in Slovenia.


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## Capital78 (Jan 23, 2008)

*Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia*

Origin of the name: Historians disagree about the origins of the city's name. Some believe it derives from ancient Slavic city called Laburus. Others think the word comes from the Latin Aluviana following a flood in the town. It could also come from Laubach ("marsh"). Finally, some hypothesize the Slavic word Luba ("beloved") as its origin. The old German name for the city is Laibach.

Around 2000 BC, the Ljubljana Marshes were settled by people living in wooden structures on pilotis. Around 50 BC, the Romans built a military encampment that later became a permanent settlement called Iulia Aemona (Emona). The name of the city, Luwigana, appears for the first time in a document from 1144. In 1220, Ljubljana was granted city rights.


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

Don't know if it has been posted before (by me );

*Hoofddorp* - Head village (actual translation) _* Hoofd -> Head (human or status) / Dorp -> Village *_


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## Argox (Dec 21, 2008)

freeksregistration said:


> brussels
> 
> the name has his origin in the latin laguage: bruocsella "bruoc" and "sella" wich means 'swamp" and "chappel". Buth after e while it became "broekzele", also two words, in old dutch (old flamish). it means "swamp" and i don't know what "zele" meant so . Buth than it became it's normal name "Brussel", later when it became the capital of Belgium more and more french speaking people wanted to live there so in french; Bruxelles (BXL) and english "brussels".


 interesting


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## Hotu Matua (May 8, 2007)

Mexico = Moon's navel


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## Izo (Aug 19, 2006)

*Barcelona*
From Iberian *Barkeno*, of unknown meaning. There's a theory that ties Barkeno to the Carthaginian general and statesman Hamilcar Barca, of the Barcid family, but this has not been proved and is rejected by many scholars.

In the times of the Hellenic influence there was a Greek settlement named _Kallípolis_, but its location is not known. In the plain of Barcelona we had a few Laietanian (an Iberian people) settlements: in Montjuïc, Puig Castellar, els Tres Turons... all of them important elevations (hills) that controled the whole plain and the coast. To the south of Montjuïc there was an Iberian port. It was used to export the Laietanian wine.

Iberian Barkeno was Latinized to *Barcino* (_Barcinone_ was the oblique case of _Barcino_). The new Roman city (that substitued the old one settled in Montjuïc) was named _colonia Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino_, placed in the Taber mount (a small hill where now we have Sant Jaume square, the political center of Barcelona and Catalonia).

After the Romans we had the Wisigoths and the Moors. During the Muslim dominion the city was known as *Barshaluna*.

In 801 the city was conquered by the Carolingians. In 985 restoring works were lead by count Borell II. The variants of the toponym in Old Catalan were *Barchinona* (XIV c.), a latinization, because in that epoch we find *Barcelona, Barçalona* (XIII c.), *Barchelona* (1432) and *Barchenona*, which was a vacillation between the erudite and the common forms.


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## girlicious_likeme (Jun 12, 2008)

YELLOWKNIFE:

This city was named after the Dene people who lived in this area hundreds of years ago. They carry copper knives, so that's where our city name came from.

In case if you don't know where Yellowknife is: here it is:









BONUS: weather!!! (typical for this time of year).








pictures courtesy of Environment Canada!


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## Sponsor (Mar 19, 2006)

*Koło* = wheel, circle.


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## Bob_Omena (Jun 10, 2007)

the city i was born Recife comes from "Reefs"

and Olinda the city i 'sleept' comes from the sentence ''oh how beautiful"
from the sentence "oh how beautiful situation to build a village"


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## PedroGabriel (Feb 5, 2007)

you mean: what a beautiful location to build a town. 
cidade ->city
vila -> town
aldeia --> village (rural community)


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## 5993 (Dec 22, 2008)

The name Ålesund is formed by to worlds: "ål", meaning eel, and "sund", meaning sound og seaway. So the name really means "the sound which is formed like an eel".

As you may know eels can bend and move themselves easily, and the name refers to the "bending" sound/seaway going right through the centre of the city. Here you can see it (very old picture):


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## TEHR_IR (Mar 1, 2008)

It means I Don't Care.... lol 

nothing special I think


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## weird (Feb 24, 2006)

My hometown Ponferrada means Pons Ferrata that is "Iron Bridge" in latin.


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## Federicoft (Sep 26, 2005)

Roma doesn't mean anything and the etymology of the name is obscure (the Romulus thing is a legend). But spelt backwards is, famously, amor (love).


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## salaverryo (Apr 3, 2008)

rosn19 said:


> My city of LAREDO, in northern Mexico, is of Basque origin of unkown meaning.


Your city is called NUEVO LAREDO. The city of LAREDO is on the U.S. side of the border.


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## weird (Feb 24, 2006)

Laredo is a city from Spain, so will be New Laredo and New New Laredo :rofl:

Btw, its not basque, it's in Cantabria.


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## Marni (Mar 14, 2008)

Tacloban - A Waray-Waray term that means "to cover"


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## Metropolitan (Sep 21, 2004)

Federicoft said:


> Roma doesn't mean anything and the etymology of the name is obscure (the Romulus thing is a legend). But spelt backwards is, famously, amor (love).


How romantic is this.


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## dollaztx (May 2, 2009)

Federicoft said:


> Roma doesn't mean anything and the etymology of the name is obscure (the Romulus thing is a legend). But spelt backwards is, famously, amor (love).


hmm, so I guess my city backwards is sallad or salad.


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## alheaine (Jan 11, 2009)

*Passi, Iloilo, Philippines*

Although its young destinction as a city, Passi is considered to be one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Iloilo. It was organized as a pueblo in 1766 with Don Martin Saligumba as its first leader.But the place has actually been settled by Malay migrants long before the arrival of the Spaniards.

According to popular legend, Spanish conquistadors stumbled on a small hut by the river’s bank where an old woman was fond winnowing pounded rice. One of them asked her, _“¿Cómo se llama este lugar?” _not knowing the native language, of course. Much to the old woman’s surprise and perhaps excitement, she replied without much ado, _“Ah, pasi,” _which means _some of the unhusked rice on her basket held in both hands_. She must have thought that they were eager to know what was in the basket and what she was doing, because she could not understand their language. From that time on, the Spanish begun to call the place _Pasi_ at first until it later evolved into _Passi_. Such legends about name origins are common throughout towns and cities in the Philippines, the core plot being a Spaniard asking the non-Spanish speaking natives what the name of the place is and the latter responding in what would end up, eventually, as the name of the place.

It is said that the first Spanish settlement was established in the area in 1766, marking the onset of Spanish colonial rule. In the traditional story, Spanish explorers anchored in Ansig, a place located at the mouth of Lamunan River. The name of the city is probably derived from _pasi_, a Hiligaynon word meaning _“unhusked grains of palay.”_:lol:


^^
wiki:banana:


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## Fab87 (Jul 16, 2008)

The origin of the name "Verona" is not certain:
-it could be related to "ver", that in old latin means "spring"
-it could be an etruscan personal name
-the legend says that the Gallic chieftain Brennus, who defeated the Romans and devasted the city of Rome in 387 BC, founded Verona with the name: "Vae Roma", that means "Damned Rome" :lol: Vae Roma became then "Verona". But this is just a legend.
Certain is that Verona is the second city in the world after Rome for Roman monuments and ruins.


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## eL yOrSh (Jul 22, 2008)

my city si Mexicali, is a city in the border of mexico

mexi-cali

mexi is for mexico and cali for california, 

and across the border is a town called Calexico, cal for california and xico for mexico n_n


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Texas and Mexico combined would be Texaco which is not a town in either places but a petroleum company.


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## rosn19 (Oct 10, 2008)

salaverryo said:


> Your city is called NUEVO LAREDO. The city of LAREDO is on the U.S. side of the border.


Same shit.

Also, nobody here calls it NUEVO LAREDO, we simply call it Laredo regardless of what side of the river; and we don't say U.S. side, we say "lado Texano" (Texan side) or "Laredo Texas", and the people on the Texas side call us Laredo Tamaulipas.

And the town in Spain, I am well aware that it's in the Comunidad Autonoma de Cantabria, but the etimology of the name LAREDO is of Basque origin, not Castilian. If one of you is so smart then try and tell me what it means, because as far as I know, there is no known meaning, just some theories.


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## eL yOrSh (Jul 22, 2008)

lochinvar said:


> Texas and Mexico combined would be Texaco which is not a town in either places but a petroleum company.


mmmmm no , *texa*s & *co*mpany wold be texaco not texas and mexico.


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## CofRed (Apr 10, 2009)

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Calgary was named by Colonel Macleod after Calgary on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. While there is some disagreement on the naming of the town, the Museum on the Isle of Mull explains that kald and gart are similar Norwegian words, meaning cold and garden, that were likely used when named by the Vikings who inhabited the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
(From Wikipedia)


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## provinciano (Mar 9, 2008)

São Salvador da Baía de Todos os Santos, in English: "Saint Savior of All Saints' Bay"

All Saints' bay is a Bay in my city.

And Saint Savior is because when portugueses arrived here,they were catholic


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## tj_alan90alan (Jan 22, 2008)

buenos aires means .. : good winds ..


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## provinciano (Mar 9, 2008)

^^wow!the secret of the year!

jaja =P


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## IllyaDe (Jul 9, 2008)

Zaporizhzhya (ukr.Запоріжжя) - place beyond the rapids on the river Dnipro in ukrainian


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Krivoy Rog, Ukraine is about some part of the head.


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## yaluman (May 9, 2009)

*Baguio*

My mom's birthplace which is also the summer capital of the Philippines - *Baguio* means _typhoon!_


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## yaluman (May 9, 2009)

*Baltimore in Maryland Along Chesapeake Bay*

*Native Americans*

The first inhabitants of *Maryland *were Paleo-Indians who came more than 10,000 years ago from other parts of North America to hunt mammoth, great bison and caribou. By 1,000 B.C., Maryland had more than 8,000 Native Americans in about 40 different tribes. Most of them spoke Algonquian languages. They grew corn, peas, squash and tobacco. They also hunted, fished and traded with tribes as far away as New York and Ohio. 

We do not know what the Native Americans called the *Chesapeake Bay. That name came from the Native American word "Chesepiuk," an Algonquian name for a village that the Roanoke, Virginia colonists discovered in 1585 near the mouth of the Bay. Later, mapmakers used the word to name the Bay. People have said that Chesapeake means "great salt water" or "great shellfish bay," *but no records exist to verify those definitions. 


On the map of the state, you'll see names of other places, such as Potomac, Piscataway, Accokeek and Choptank, that remind us of the Native Americans who lived here before there was a Maryland. 




*The First Colonists *


Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian explorer in the 1500s, was the first European to visit the Chesapeake. Later came English settlers, who left England for more economic opportunities and to escape religious oppression. In 1608, Captain John Smith thought there was "no place more perfect for man's habitation" than the Chesapeake Bay. Fur trader William Claiborne thought so, too, and set up a fur trading post on Kent Island in 1631. This was the first English settlement in the upper Chesapeake. 


*Maryland began as a colony when King Charles I promised George Calvert*, the first Lord *Baltimore*, a colony north of Virginia. Before he could visit the colony, *George Calvert died. His son, Cecilius, became the second Lord Baltimore and the Lord Proprietor of Maryland. He named his colony "Terra Maria," or "Maryland" in honor of the king's wife, Queen Henrietta Maria*. Because Cecilius Calvert had to remain in England, he sent his younger brother, Leonard, to accompany the colonists and to be the first governor.

Source: http://visitmaryland.org/students/pages/thefirstmarylanders.aspx


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## gramercy (Dec 25, 2008)

Tatabánya = Tata + bánya

Tata = medieval nearby town

bánya = literally means 'mine', as in coalmine


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## Hindustani (Jul 9, 2004)

*Hyderabad*

*"Hyder" *= Named after _'Hyder Mahal'_, Queen of 1st Sultan, Quli Qutub Shah, founder of the Qutub Shahi dynasty who renamed the original small town called _Bhagyanagar._

*"Abad"* = Persian for _'to prosper' or 'to florish' or 'to grow'_


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## Anderson Geimz (Mar 29, 2008)

correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't "bad" mean "city"?


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## LilMocr0 (Jan 30, 2009)

's-Gravenzande

's = des = "the"

Graven = Counts (from count dracula, you know?)

zande = litteraly sands, which represents the ending of the "Nieuwe Waterweg" which is actually the river "Maas" 

loosely translated it means the counts of the sands


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## Tiaren (Jan 29, 2006)

For Trier:

Founded by Roman Emperor Augustus in 16 B.C. as "Augusta Treverorum", the earliest city on German territory. "Treverorum" comes from the Celtic tribe settling there even before the Romans. They were called the "Treveri". The French name of the city (Trier belonged to France in the past) "Trèves" is still very close to the Celtic name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treveri

Edit:
I just found out, that the name of that Celtic tribe came from "Trebeta" (son of "Ninus", an Assyrian King), who was exiled (because of his stepmother, Queen Semiramis) from Mesopotamia to the region were todays Trier is located. Wow, actually very interesting...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebeta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiramis

Edit 2:
In the USA there are are two cities, that are named after Trier:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Trier_Township,_Cook_County,_Illinois
The New Trier High School has even the Porta ***** (Roman city gate in Trier) as it's logo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Trier,_Minnesota


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## Anderson Geimz (Mar 29, 2008)

LilMocr0 said:


> 's-Gravenzande
> 
> 's = des = "the"
> 
> ...


That would be "Sands of the Count"..

We also have 's Gravenhage (Den Haag --> The Hague) which is Hedge of the Count or "The Hedge".

And 's Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), Forest of the Duke.


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## domtoren (Jan 20, 2009)

Utrecht means "the passage, the ford", it comes from the Latin Trajectum ad Rhenum, which means place where you can cross the Rhine. 
Maastricht means Trajectum ad Mosam, where one could cross the river Maas (Meuse). 
Both were Roman settlements, in Maastricht remains of a Roman bridge were found in teh river bed. 
Amsterdam and Rotterdam mean "the dam on the Amstel / the Rotte", which are two small rivers, around these dams fishing and shipping and trade communities developed. 
In the delta of Rhine and Maas many places have water-related names.


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Could the word trecht/tricht be related to trek (which also refers to movement)?


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

The City of Columbus was named after Christopher Columbus, but that all I know.


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## Major Deegan (Sep 24, 2005)

*Almaty, Kazakhstan* is derived from the Kazakh word for "*appled*". Almaty is generally considered to be one of the birthplaces of *domestic apple*.


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## marvinganalon (Apr 12, 2009)

*manila*

the word manila comes from Filipino word maynilad were "May" is a filipino word for there is and "Nilad" is a small algae like plant that can be seen in bayshore of manila. Manila at all means there is nilad.


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## Srdjan Adamovic (Jan 25, 2009)

*Kragujevac,Serbia* is the name given by birds Kraguj,
that in the Middle Ages used for hunting,
and now occupies the honorary place in the city coat of arms.
Teachers talking to children that it was a harmless little birds who sang beautifully, teachers in high schools talking to the vulture in question, professors at the university claim that this falcon, mythological creatures and scholars identify kraguj with griffin. However, these birds are gone.


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## tiocesar (May 27, 2009)

(excuse my very bad english)

Hermosillo (México): named in 1828 in honor to the mexican independentist general José María Gonzáles de Hermosillo. Also, there´s an Hermosillo town in Avila, province of Spain, but it seems there's no relationship each one.
The original name it's "Pitic", a Seri tribe word for "where two rivers encounters", an undefinied place around the cross of the river San Miguel with Sonora; later the spanish conquest, it was named Santísima Trinidad del Pitic (Holly trinity of Pitic), and finally, Hermosillo.
Some people believes that Hermosillo cames from "little beatiful" city :lol:

actual population it's around the 800,000 innhabitants... it's small...


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Prestbury, Priests Bury (Town)


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## Taiki24 (Dec 1, 2008)

Reno was named after a Union General in the American Civil War by the name of Jesse L. Reno.


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## nacy.jame (Sep 3, 2009)

so great .how wonderful to have a look


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

There´s an Hermosillo town in Avila, province of Spain. Some people believes that Hermosillo cames from "little beatiful" city.

That town in Avila could really be a beautiful, little town. Or maybe it's bigger now.


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## MiamiMan305 (Oct 24, 2009)

Miami was the only major U.S city founded by a woman. Her name was Julia Tuttle and she was a wealthy citrus grower from Cleveland. 

In the midwest, the Miami were a tribe of Indians, and in their language Algonquin (spelling?) scholars think that it means "Downstream people".


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## gfd08 (Dec 11, 2008)

*Montevideo, URUGUAY*

*This is the Capital from Uruguay, a country in South America. It was the last Capital city founded by Spaniards, in 1724.
There are two possible origins for our city's name, both came after the first person who discovered the lands where the city now exists, the Portuguese explorer Fernando de Magallanes. 

1°= "Monte vi eu", which in Portuguese means: "I saw a hill".
2°= "Monte VI d E O", it is assumed that the hill that is close to Montevideo was the sixth one if you counted them from East to West (Monte= hill, VI= sixth in Roman figures, d= Direction, E= East, O= West)*


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## corredor06 (Oct 13, 2008)

Panama is a indigenous word meaning abundant fish.


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## UrbanPrincess (Jan 15, 2010)

ssiguy2 said:


> What does your city name mean?
> 
> 
> I'll start off................Toronto means " the meeting place" not due to it being Canada's biggest city but rather it is the native term which refers to the number of rivers that merge in Toronto on their way to lake Ontario.


Actually Toronto doesn't mean "the meeting place". If it did, your explanation would be wrong anyways. It's the meeting place because it was originally a major fur trading post and most of the shoreline was fortified. 

The origin of the name is said to have come from a Mohawk word meaning place where trees stand in water.


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## chapin908 (Feb 16, 2009)

Well, just to add my portion: the "Guatemala" name in Guatemala city comes from maya-toltec tongue, meaning land of the trees.


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## Newropean (Jan 15, 2010)

I've got several off the top of my head:

My hometown, Ravensburg, has several possible etymologies.
Burg means castle in German, so that part is quite clear. 

But the first part either refers to a "Lord Rabanus", who is said to have founded the castle (around which today's city developed) in the 10th century; or it refers to an area close to the castle, which is called "Rauenegg" ("Raw corner"), hence coming from the German "rau" (raw); or it comes from the House of Welf, who lived here and supposedly had very black hair. They where hence called "Raben" (ravens), thus making it "Ravens castle". 

Geneva (Genève) was called Genava in Latin, but I don't know more..

Prague (Praha) either comes from the Czech word "práh" (meaning threshold, as in the thing under a door). According to a legend, the clairvoyant duchess Libuse sent out her sentinels to search for a house on the top of a hill where a man will timber the threshold. A castle should be built there, and a city that will eclipse all the others in beauty will rise from there, etc.etc.
The other (more likely) explanation is the ancient slavic word "praga", meaning ford, referring to the city being near a river crossing.


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## CF221 (Mar 17, 2009)

The name of my country of birth, Cuba, comes from the Taino word Caobana (the indigenous name of Cuba), composed by the root word Cao- place and bana, big, large, or great. 

The name of my city of birth in Cuba, Puerto Padre, involves many legends and stories, as well as studies by many historians. It is widely believed that Puerto Padre's bay was the first bay to be visited by Colombus on his first trip, when he found Cuba. According to the "legend" it was one of Colombus's fellow sailors the one that, as he witnessed with his eyes the beauty of the bay, or port, exclaimed "Portus, Patris!" (as in: what a {beautiful}port, father!)to the priest on board. It is also important to note that Portus Patris was one of the three Cuban settlements that appeared on the first European map of the Americas, even before the current largest cities of Havana or Santiago, which gives the name and the story far more validity. The bay is one of the best natural bays in the country, and the city is one of the most beautiful as well.


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## חבר1.0 (Jan 19, 2010)

Tel Aviv

Tel= "Hill" (actually a mound)
Aviv= "Spring"
----------------------------
Tel Aviv= "Hill of Spring"


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

The Gold Coast, Australia



> The population grew steadily to support the tourism industry and by the 1940s, real estate speculators and journalists were referring to the area as the "Gold Coast." The true origin of the name is still debatable. The name was officially applied to the area in 1958, when the local government area covering Southport and Coolangatta was renamed "Gold Coast"


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## lochinvar (Jul 28, 2005)

Olongapo, Philippines means Ulo (head) ng (of) apo (tribal chief).


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

No-one knows what 'London' means for sure, but the Romans named it 'Londinium'

My favourite translation is from the Celtic 'Llyn' (lake, pool) + 'dun' (dark) = Llyndun

The stretch of the River Thames immediately downstream of Tower Bridge was the original port before the artificial docks started to be built, and even today is called 'The Pool', or 'The Pool of London'... The Thames, like any slow-moving tidal river, is dark and muddy.

being the furthest downstream crossing point of the river, I see no reason why there wouldn't have been a pre-Roman Celtic settlement here, or that the Roman city wouldn't have taken its name from it.


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## Bartolo (Sep 20, 2004)

Where I was born was called Milltown at the start. The name changed to Milton at some point in the mid 1800's. It was named after John Milton. He was a favourite of the children of the founders of Milton.

Hamilton where I lived now was named after the founder, George Hamilton.


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## vectom (Feb 19, 2009)

Niš is this city in southeastern Serbia, 3rd by size in Serbia proper, after Belgrade and Novi Sad. Nowdays, it has a bit less than 300,000 inhabitants. 

The word Niš (pronounced Nee-sh)) is Slavic derivation of previously Byzantine-Greek Nissos, that comes from Roman Latin Nais/Naissus, which comes from Celtic Navissos/Naissos. 

The etymology of the original name Naissos was derived from a mythical creature of Greek mythology - Naiad (from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νἃμα, "running water") which was the nymph of freshwater streams rivers and lakes. Niš is a possible location of Nysa, a mythical place in Greek mythology where the young god Dionysus was raised.

Literally, Naissus should be a "city of the nymphs".


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## pdxor (May 30, 2010)

dhuwman said:


> Portland : Named after the hometown of the first claimer to the land who was from Portland, ME.


Portland could have been named Boston had the flip of a coin gone the other way. Imagine a city named Boston Oregon.hno:


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Sint-Truiden named afther the saint Trudo witch first build the abby in the year 655.








This is our beautiful 16th century market sqaure


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## brazilteen (Mar 20, 2010)

*Sorocaba* means Terra Rasgada in Portuguese or Broke Land in English........the word Sorocaba come from Tupi-Guarani language that is a native brazilian indian language......and that is a broke land because in the midle of the city u can see the river which "broked the land".


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## socrates#1fan (Jul 1, 2008)

Indianapolis was chosen in 1821 when they planned the new capitol of Indiana.
It means Indiana (which means land of the Indians) city.


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## atmada (Jan 9, 2008)

*Solo*
you know what it means


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## Wey (Jul 8, 2008)

How come no one mentioned Idaho yet??


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## Resident (Aug 18, 2006)

Because nobody cares.


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## Wey (Jul 8, 2008)

Resident said:


> Because nobody cares.


I meant because of, you know, what people say about it being a hoax and stuff...


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