The Hull Hub Issue 22

PART SIX: 40 COUNTRY PLACE NAMES A-Z
I am addicted to place name origins. Each name has a story of
its own – even without going into the history of the place itself –
but many are mired in mystery.
In five previous issues of Hull Hub, I explored British place
names. We began with names linked to the Celtic Britons, the
impact of the Anglo-Saxons, then the invading Vikings, the
conquering Normans, and finished with the diversity of the
four separate countries that make up what is called the United
Kingdom.
Now, after our recent covid lockdowns, I would like to travel
and go around the world in 80 place names. Come and join
me. Let’s start with forty colourful country names (in English
and alphabetical order). In another issue,
we will explore 40 city names around the
planet.
Dr. Alec Gill MBE
ILLUSTRATIONS: As one of
the earliest and long-standing
contributors to the Hull Hub
Magazine, I wish to take a
liberty with this article about
Global Place Names. That is, I
intend to use personal pictures
from my young hitch-hiking
and travelling days. They are
presented in date order, rather
than by country.
FORTY COUNTRIES
ARGENTINA - Spanish
meaning the Silver Republic. In
the early 1500s, early Spanish
explorers navigated along the
Rio de la Plata meaning ‘River of
Silver’. It became widely known
in 1939 for the naval Battle of the
River Plate and the sinking of
the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee.
BRAZIL - claims to be the only country in the world named after a tree. Portuguese
merchants arrived in the 1500s and began logging trees (even back then). There
was one particular type they described as ‘ember-coloured wood’ and called
it pau-brasil. The reddish colour was used to create a dye that became popular
throughout Europe. This was such a lucrative product that the Portuguese began
to refer to their newly-found colony as Brazil. It became the only Portuguesespeaking
country in South America (Spain took the rest).
CANARIES - Latin for dogs – as in canines - not for the birds. The name comes
from the ancient Romans who first visited the islands and referred to them as the
‘Island of the Dogs’. One legend held that the natives worshipped dogs – but that is
pure speculation by someone.
CHILE - a native Araucanian word meaning ‘end of the land’ which it certainly is
at the southernmost tip of South America.
COSTA RICA - Spanish for ‘rich coast’. Christopher Columbus sailed close by this
Central American land in 1502 and noted how the natives wore golden jewellery.
CUBA - a local Carib tribe called it a ‘place where gold is found’. Other sources
claim the name means ‘where fertile land is abundant’.
CYPRUS - Greek word for ‘copper’. The locals had been mining this precious metal
for over 6000 years – long before the Greeks set foot in the place.
DJIBOUTI - (on the Horn of Africa) has various meanings, but two key ones are:
an animal that preyed on livestock or after an ancient tribe in the region called
Gabouti – which referred to the flatlands. When it came under French control, they
opted for Djibouti.
EL SALVADOR - is Spanish for The Saviour as a tribute to Jesus Christ.
ETHIOPIA - Greek word for ‘burning face’ or ‘black-skinned people’.
FIJI - is one of only three
countries in the world
beginning with the letter “F”
– the other two are Finland
and France. The native name
for this Pacific island was Viti
Levu which translates as ‘the
great island’ – there being two
islands with one being bigger
than the other. The name
mistakenly ended up as Fiji
(not Viti) due to Yorkshireman
Captain James Cook
mispronouncing the original
name when he described the
place to outsiders.
GERMANY - the English name derives from the Latin Germania. Julius Caesar
used this name to define the peoples east of the River Rhine. The word Germania
was said to describe the fertile land behind a line of Roman forts stretching along
the Rhine from the North Sea to the River Danube. I read somewhere that German
came from Herman which linked to the word for warrior.
HUNGARY - the name dates back to around 895 AD when the land was conquered
by the Ungari people from the Steppes. Hungary is the Latin / English name given to
this central European country; whereas they call themselves Magyar. The Magyar
were the most prominent of several Hungarian tribes who conquered this region
around the River Danube.
ISRAEL - Hebrew meaning ‘wrestles with God’ – perhaps linked with Jacob who
‘wrestled with the angel’ and thereafter he was called Israel.
JAMAICA - native Arawakan word for ‘well-watered’ or a ‘land of wood and water’.
JAPAN - comes from ‘land of the rising sun’ which, seen from the Chinese
perspective, the sun rose over the island in the east. The Japanese themselves prefer
the name Nippon. Yet again, this
is rooted in the similar meaning
of ‘the sun’s origin’ – thus their
flag depicts the red sun disc.
KUWAIT - is an Arabic name
that means ‘a fortress built near
water’.
LEBANON - the ancient
Semitic Canaanite name was
first recorded in the Epic Poem
of Gilgamesh from 2900 BC
and means white or milk. This
denoted the snow-capped
Mount Lebanon – the White
Mountain.
LIBYA - comes from the
Egyptian word Libu. They were
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