This article is about the origins of place names themselves. For a discussion of the scientific study of place names, see Toponymy.
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In much of the "Old World" (approximately Africa, Asia and Europe) the names of many places cannot easily be interpreted or understood;[1] they do not convey any apparent meaning in the modern language of the area. This is due to a general set of processes through which place names evolve over time, until their obvious meaning is lost. In contrast, in the "New World" (roughly North America, South America, and Australasia), many place names' origins are known.
Although the origin of many place names is now forgotten, it is often possible to establish likely meanings through consideration of early forms of the name.[1] Some general conclusions about the nature of place names, and the way in which place names change, can be made and are examined below. It is also possible to distinguish regional trends and differences in the naming of places, as is also discussed below.
^ abPerono Cacciafoco, Francesco; Cavallaro, Francesco Paolo (March 2023). Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108780384.
and 27 Related for: Place name origins information
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of the United States, there are many places in the country, mostly in the southwest, with names of Spanish origin. Florida and Louisiana also were at times...
the study of toponyms (proper names of places, also known as placenames and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym...
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Aboriginal people the name of a place, and named it accordingly. Where they did not ask, they may have heard the place was so-named. Due to language difficulties...
In Switzerland, the place of origin (German: Heimatort or Bürgerort, literally "home place" or "citizen place"; French: Lieu d'origine; Italian: Luogo...
of places in the U.S were named after places in England largely as a result of English settlers and explorers of the Thirteen Colonies. Some names were...
Georgia Florida Alaska Hawaii Several thousand placenames in the United States have names of French origin, some a legacy of past French exploration and...
itself is a distinct historical and political subject. The origins of Vietnam's placenames are diverse. They include vernacular Vietnamese language, tribal...
Anglo-Norman rive, meaning "riverbank." A further source of placenames of other origin is placesnames after religious sites outside Ireland. Examples are Lourdes...
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This is a list of Native American placenames in the U.S. state of Maryland. Accokeek, Maryland Anacostia River Aquasco, Maryland Catoctin Mountain Chaptico...
Japanese placenames include names for geographic features, present and former administrative divisions, transportation facilities such as railroad stations...
Bright (2004), p. 182. Katherine Long. "Historians Try To Trace Origins Of Indian-namedPlaces". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2016-10-27...
be included in this list, the place must have an article on Wikipedia or must have inline references showing the name is or was indeed Dutch. New Holland...
Origins, by Steve Roach, 1993 "Origin", by Neurosis from their 2007 album Given to the Rising Origin (magazine), an American poetry magazine Origins,...
are expressions in the Nahuatl language like "Place in the middle of the century plant" (Mexitli) and "Place in the Navel of the Moon" (Mēxihco), although...
List of placenames of Native American origin in the United States Bright (2004:265) Beauchamp, William Martin (1906). Aboriginal placenames of New York...
This is a list of short placenames, natively in Latin characters or romanized, with one or two letters. A, a former village in Kami-Amakusa city, Kumamoto...
number of places in the country have Spanish or Hispanic names. As with Filipino surnames and many other aspects of Filipino culture, placenames in the...
is a list of placenames in the United States that either are Dutch, were translated from Dutch, or were heavily inspired by a Dutch name or term. Many...
Places that have numerals in their names include: Nulde [nl], ('zero'), Netherlands, old name for a hamlet in Putten Nullarbor, locality in South Australia...
The region of New England in the United States has numerous placenames derived from the indigenous peoples of the area. New England is in the Northeastern...
C. R. (2005) Inn-vestigated. The Origins of Public House Names. Leicester: Reprint. Media related to Pubs by name at Wikimedia Commons The Inn Sign Society...
Retrieved 2012-04-18. List of Philippine provincial name etymologies List of Philippine city name etymologies List of Philippine placenames of Spanish origin...
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