Do you know the meaning of the name of the place you live in?

Question

I mean the meaning of the name of your town/city, state/province and the most important of all, your country.

Answer 1

I live in Brazil, I dont know the meaning of the name, but I know of the city I live in, Manaus (it means the mother of gods, and has this name because of an indian tribe called Manoes that used to live in this area).

Answer 2

Salem, WV, USA
Salem means Peace
West Virginia-the western part of the colony that was named for the Virgin Queen.
United States of America-the combined states (or small political entities) in the American countinent, which was named for an explorer.

Answer 3

Lived near Dead Mans Bottom (Named after a nasty little battle fought in a fog during wars of the roses)

Answer 4

Winnipeg. It means muddy waters. Canada means village.

Answer 5

I live in Monticello, MN Monticello means "little mountain" in native American but i am not sure which language it is

Answer 6

i live in Mandeville who is named after a person.
it is right outside of New Orleans which is also named after a person.
They are both in Louisiana which is named after two people combining their names.
and La is in the USA which means United states of america...
America = named after someone.

Answer 7

The City of Chicago's Name

Most people believe that the name Chicago came from Indian tribes meaning 'skunk' or 'wild onion' but there are also historians who have looked at other Indian tribes and found out that Chicago means great and powerful. They say Chicago was a word when referring to the Mississippi River, thunder, and a God of theirs.

Here are opinions and insights from FAQ Farmers:

The name "Chicago" in the language of the Pottawatomie Indian tribe means, "Wild Onion, wild and smelly."

In my own opinion, the word 'Chicago' is a French word and not Amerindian. It seems unlikely that an Amerindian word would include the first five letters of the French words: '[chica]ne' defined as 'chicanery'; and '[chica]ner' defined as 'vex', 'annoy', 'play tricks upon'. It may be a word the early French explorers and traders used to describe the difficult passage through the waterways of Chicago Portage.

I once saw a documentary on public television about the history of Chicago, in part, the documentaries suggested that the name did come in part from the constant awful odor that came from large portions of the land. In addition they believe it was derived from the apparent uselessness of some of the land. However they didn't compare the stench to onions. These historians claim that the name was derived from "s**t" as in Chicago > Shicago > Shitcago. Nobody seems to believe it...

I have heard, since childhood, that Chicago comes from a native term for a variety of wild onion which was marked by it's smell. As common as it sounds, it seems to be very reasonable and often what is reasonable is the fact over far-fetched and novel tales. As is the nature with many Midwestern native words, the word would have first been transcribed by the French according to what their ear heard and by their language's phonetic rules "shee-cah-GO"... Then, as is common in this region, it would be semi anglicized by the second wave of Euro settlers (anglos), to fit their linguistic sensitivities. Here one can reasonably expect that the i vowel was shortened to accommodate English phonetics yet the soft ch would have remained since, at the beginning of the word, it dominated the word's pronunciation and was not easy to ignore. Native word? some may ask. It's clear by knowing how the French would have heard and transcribed native Great Lakes regional tongues, that the vowel and consonant sounds in French "Chicago" can be found in the region's native languages. "Michigan" for example is the French transcription of a native word. Here we hear the soft ch "sh", the long i,in French: "ee", the g,"g", and the long a, in French: "ah". All these sounds belong also to the way the French would have heard and repronounced Chicago. Other regional Native words transcribed by the French are: Michilmackinac, Charlevoix, Muskegon, and Leelanaw, to name a few. Why name a region after a wild onion? Understand, it is well known that the mouth of the Chicago River was surrounded by marsh. In wild portions of the Great Lakes region one will see how, where a river lets out, on approach inland FROM the lake, one passes first a sandy beach, then a natural dyke of dune, then there is often marsh before solid land is again regained. Spring Lake, off the Grand River, Grand Haven, MI; and Oxbow Lake, (on a much smaller scale), off the Kalamazoo river in Saugatuk, MI, are good examples of the beach,dyke,marsh progression. Such a marsh is rich in habitat and very valuable to a hunting/fishing people. A marsh as rich as the Chicago marshland would have been well known, widely discussed and require a name. Those who have lived close to nature know that people in a region may often refer to a land feature by plants encountered there; Briar Hill, Cedar Lake, and the Oak Woods. In addition, sometimes the most pernicious plants will be the ones to mark the identity of the area. We had "the pricker field" on our land. We grew many things there but since the prickers were the most unpleasant feature it was often referred to as the pricker field. If one has ever walked through a patch of skunk cabbage one can imagine hunting or fishing in a marsh abundant in wild onions, one breaks the stalks while moving through and by the end of the day is covered in the scent of onion. would that not be Smelly and thus noteworthy?. "I know where you went today," says the squaw to her brave, "you were in stinky onion land, Chicago." Anyone who's marched through a lage patch of skunk cabbage knows what I'm saying here... All this explored, I personally don't hold a document in hand saying that "Chicago" is old Pottawatomi for place of the stinky onion however, all that is stated above gives good reason for not doubting this commonly held belief.

Chicago was founded by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who was 1/2 French and 1/2 African. However, he married a Pottawatomie woman and had his family there. I know that the name is indigenous American, and not French, so he probably knew Pottawatomie language (since he probably wanted to talk to his wife) and named Chicago for either "smelly onion" or "garlic place" (I have heard of both, not sure what the direct translation is considering that indigenous languages often have words for things that we do not have words for exactly).

I love Chicago!!! ;)

Answer 8

it's chumash for resting place...........hueneme