Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
'' (
proper names
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of any
geographical feature
A feature (also called an object or entity), in the context of geography and geographic information science, is a discrete phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Ea ...
, and full scope of the term also includes proper names of all
cosmographical features.
In a more specific sense, the term ''toponymy'' refers to an inventory of toponyms, while the discipline researching such names is referred to as ''toponymics'' or ''toponomastics''. Toponymy is a branch of
onomastics, the study of
proper names
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
of all kinds. A person who studies toponymy is called ''toponymist''.
Etymology
The term toponymy come from grc, τόπος / , 'place', and / , 'name'.
The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' records ''toponymy'' (meaning "place name") first appearing in English in 1876. Since then, ''toponym'' has come to replace the term ''place-name'' in professional discourse among
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
s.
Toponymic typology
Toponyms can be divided in two principal groups:
* geonyms - proper names of all
geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
features, on planet
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
.
* cosmonyms - proper names of
cosmographical features, outside Earth.
Various types of geographical toponyms (geonyms) include, in alphabetical order:
* agronyms - proper names of fields and plains.
*
choronyms
Choronym (from gr, χώρα "region" or "country" and gr, ὄνομα "name") is a linguistic term that designates a proper name of an individual region or a country. The study of regional and country names is known as choronymy, or choronymics. ...
- proper names of regions or countries.
* dromonyms - proper names of roads or any other transport routes by land, water or air.
* drymonyms - proper names of woods and forests.
*
econyms
An oeconym, also econym, or oikonym (from el, οἶκος, , 'house, dwelling' and , , 'name') is a specific type of toponym that designates a proper name of a house or any other residential building, and in the broader sense, the term also refer ...
- proper names of inhabited locations, like houses, villages, towns or cities, including:
** comonyms - proper names of villages.
** astionyms - proper names of towns and cities.
*
hydronyms
A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a ...
- proper names of various bodies of water, including:
** helonyms - proper names of swamps, marshes and bogs.
** limnonyms - proper names of lakes and ponds.
** oceanonyms - proper names of oceans.
** pelagonyms - proper names of seas.
** potamonyms - proper names of rivers and streams.
* insulonyms - proper names of islands.
* oronyms - proper names of
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
features, like mountains, hills and valleys, including:
** speleonyms - proper names of caves or some other subterranean features.
** petronyms - proper names of rock climbing routes.
* urbanonyms - proper names of urban elements (streets, squares etc.) in settlements, including:
** agoronyms - proper names of squares and marketplaces.
**
hodonyms
A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as hodonyms (from Greek ‘road’, and ‘name’). The street name usually forms part of the address ...
- proper names of streets and roads.
Various types of cosmographical toponyms (cosmonyms) include:
* asteroidonyms - proper names of asteroids.
* astronyms - proper names of stars and constellations.
* cometonyms - proper names of comets.
* meteoronyms - proper names of meteors.
* planetonyms - proper names of planets and planetary systems.
History
Probably the first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of specific place names as part of their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for their
etiological
Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...
legends. The process of
folk etymology usually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds. Thus, for example, the toponym of
Hellespont was explained by Greek poets as being named after
Helle, daughter of
Athamas
In Greek mythology, Athamas (; grc, Ἀθάμας, Athámas) was a Boeotian king.Apollodorus1.9.1/ref>
Family
Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the bro ...
, who drowned there as she crossed it with her brother
Phrixus
In Greek mythology Phrixus (; also spelt Phryxus; el, Φρίξος, ''Phrixos'' means "standing on end, bristling") was the son of Athamas, king of Boeotia, and Nephele (a goddess of clouds). He was the twin brother of Helle and the father of ...
on a flying golden ram. The name, however, is probably derived from an older language, such as
Pelasgian
The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...
, which was unknown to those who explained its origin. In his ''Names on the Globe'',
George R. Stewart
George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1959 book, ''Pickett's Charge'', a detailed history of the final ...
theorizes that ''Hellespont'' originally meant something like 'narrow Pontus' or 'entrance to Pontus', ''
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
'' being an ancient name for the region around the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, and by extension, for the sea itself.
Especially in the 19th century, the age of exploration, a lot of toponyms got a different name because of national pride. Thus the famous German cartographer
Petermann thought that the naming of newly discovered physical features was one of the privileges of a map-editor, especially as he was fed up with forever encountering toponyms like 'Victoria', 'Wellington', 'Smith', 'Jones', etc. He writes: "While constructing the new map to specify the detailed topographical portrayal and after consulting with and authorization of messr.
v heodorv[onHeuglin.html"_;"title="n.html"_;"title="heodorv[on">heodorv[onHeuglin">n.html"_;"title="heodorv[on">heodorv[onHeuglin_and_count_:de:Karl_Graf_von_Waldburg-Zeil.html" ;"title="n">heodorv[onHeuglin.html" ;"title="n.html" ;"title="heodorv[on">heodorv[onHeuglin">n.html" ;"title="heodorv[on">heodorv[onHeuglin and count :de:Karl Graf von Waldburg-Zeil">Karl Graf von Waldburg-Zeil I have entered 118 names in the map: partly they are the names derived from celebrities of arctic explorations and discoveries, arctic travellers anyway as well as excellent friends, patrons, and participants of different nationalities in the newest northpolar expeditions, partly eminent German travellers in Africa, Australia, America ...".
How difficult it was to create a global system of naming toponyms was shown in the 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica:
‘Another form of the terminological problem, to which reference was made above, is found in the transliteration of foreign names, and the conversion of the names of foreign places and countries into English equivalents. As regards the latter, there is no English standard which can be said to be universal, though in particular cases there is a convention which it would be absurd to attempt to displace for any reason of supposed superior accuracy. It would be pragmatical in the extreme to force upon the English-speaking world a system of calling all foreign places by their local names, even though it might be thought that each nationality had a right to settle the nomenclature of its country and the towns or districts within it. In general the English conventions must stand. One of these days the world may agree that an international nomenclature is desirable and feasible, but not yet; and the country which its own citizens call Deutschland and the French l'Allemagne still remains Germany to those who use the English language. Similarly Cologne (Köln), Florence (Firenze), or Vienna (Wien) are bound to retain their English names in an English book. But all cases are not so simple. The world abounds in less important places, for which the English names have no standardized spelling; different English newspapers on a single day, or a single newspaper at intervals of a few weeks or months, give them several varieties of form; and in Asia or Africa the latest explorer always seems to have a preference for a new one which is unlike that adopted by rival geographers. When the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was started, the suggestion was made that the Royal Geographical Society of London — the premier geographical society of the world — might co-operate in an attempt to secure the adoption of a standard English geographical and topographical nomenclature. The Society, indeed, has a system of its own which to some extent aims at fulfilling this requirement, though it has failed to impose it upon general use; but unfortunately the Society's system breaks down by admitting a considerable number of exceptions and by failing to settle a very large number of cases which really themselves constitute the difficulty. The collaboration of the Royal Geographical Society for the purpose of enabling the Encyclopædia Britannica to give prominent literary expression to an authoritative spelling for every place-name included within its articles or maps was found to be impracticable; and it was therefore necessary for the Eleventh Edition to adopt a consistent spelling which would represent its own judgment and authority. It is hoped that by degrees this spelling may recommend itself in other quarters. Where reasonably possible, the local spelling popularized by the usage of post-offices or railways has been preferred to any purely philological system of transliteration, but there are numerous cases where even this test of public convenience breaks down and some form of Anglicization becomes essential to an English gazetteer having an organic unity of its own. Apart from the continuance of English conventions which appeared sufficiently crystallized, the most authoritative spelling of the foreign name has been given its simplest English transliteration, preference being given, in cases of doubt, to the form, for instance in African countries, adopted by the European nation in possession or control. In the absence of any central authority or international agreement, the result is occasionally different in some slight degree from any common English variant, but this cannot well be helped when English variants are so capricious, and none persistent; and the names selected are those which for purposes of reference combine the most accuracy with the least disturbance of familiar usage. Thus the German African colony of Kamerun is here called Cameroon, an English form which follows the common practice of English transliteration in regard to its initial letter, but departs, in deference to the official nomenclature, from the older English Cameroons, a plural no longer justifiable, although most English newspapers and maps still perpetuate it.’.
Toponyms may have different names through time, due to changes and developments in languages, political developments and border adjustments to name but a few. More recently many postcolonial countries revert to their own nomenclature for toponyms that have been named by colonial powers.
Toponomastics
Place names provide the most useful geographical reference system in the world. Consistency and accuracy are essential in referring to a place to prevent confusion in everyday business and recreation.
A toponymist, through well-established local principles and procedures developed in cooperation and consultation with the
United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. Ev ...
(UNGEGN), applies the science of toponymy to establish officially recognized geographical names. A toponymist relies not only on maps and local histories, but interviews with local residents to determine names with established local usage. The exact application of a toponym, its specific language, its pronunciation, and its origins and meaning are all important facts to be recorded during name surveys.
Scholars have found that toponyms provide valuable insight into the historical geography of a particular region. In 1954,
F. M. Powicke said of place-name study that it "uses, enriches and tests the discoveries of archaeology and history and the rules of the
philologists
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...
."
Toponyms not only illustrate ethnic settlement patterns, but they can also help identify discrete periods of immigration.
Toponymists are responsible for the active preservation of their region's culture through its toponymy. They typically ensure the ongoing development of a geographical names database and associated publications, for recording and disseminating authoritative hard-copy and digital toponymic data. This data may be disseminated in a wide variety of formats, including hard-copy topographic maps as well as digital formats such as
geographic information systems,
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
, or thesauri like the
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (abbreviated TGN) is a product of the J. Paul Getty Trust included in the Getty Vocabulary Program. The TGN includes names and associated information about places. Places in TGN include administrative politi ...
.
Toponymic commemoration
In 2002, the
United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names acknowledged that while common, the practice of naming geographical places after living persons (toponymic commemoration) could be problematic. Therefore, the
United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. Ev ...
recommends that it be avoided and that national authorities should set their own guidelines as to the time required after a person's death for the use of a commemorative name.
In the same vein, writers Pinchevski and Torgovnik (2002) consider the naming of streets as a political act in which holders of the legitimate monopoly to name aspire to engrave their ideological views in the social space. Similarly, the
revisionist practice of
renaming streets, as both the celebration of triumph and the repudiation of the old regime is another issue of toponymy. Also, in the context of
Slavic nationalism, the name of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
was changed to the more Slavic sounding ''Petrograd'' from 1914 to 1924, then to ''Leningrad'' following the death of
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
and back to ''Saint-Peterburg'' in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. After 1830, in the wake of the
Greek War of Independence and the establishment of an independent Greek state, Turkish, Slavic and Italian place names were Hellenized, as an effort of "toponymic cleansing." This nationalization of place names can also manifest itself in a
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
context.
In Canada, there have been initiatives in recent years "
to restore traditional names to reflect the Indigenous culture wherever possible".
Indigenous mapping is a process that can include restoring place names by
Indigenous communities
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
themselves.
Frictions sometimes arise between countries because of toponymy, as illustrated by the
Macedonia naming dispute
The use of the country name "Macedonia (terminology), Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the North Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Balkans#W ...
in which
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
has claimed the name ''
Macedonia'', the
Sea of Japan naming dispute
A dispute exists over the international name for the body of water which is bordered by Japan, Korea (North and South) and Russia. In 1992, objections to the name Sea of Japan were first raised by North Korea and South Korea at the Sixth Unit ...
between
Japan and
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, as well as the
Persian Gulf naming dispute
The Persian Gulf naming dispute is concerned with the name of the body of water known historically and internationally as the Persian Gulf, after Persia (the Western exonym for Iran). This name has become contested by some Arab countries since t ...
. On 20 September 1996 a note on the internet reflected a query by a Canadian surfer, who said as follows: 'One producer of maps labeled the water body
"Persian Gulf" on a 1977 map of Iran, and then "Arabian Gulf", also in 1977, in a map which focused on the
Gulf States. I would gather that this is an indication of the "politics of maps", but I would be interested to know if this was done to avoid upsetting users of the Iran map and users of the map showing Arab Gulf States'. This symbolizes a further aspect of the topic, namely the spilling over of the problem from the purely political to the economic sphere.
Geographic names boards
A geographic names board is an official body established by a government to decide on official names for geographical areas and features.
Most countries have such a body, which is commonly (but not always) known under this name. Also, in some countries (especially those organised on a federal basis), subdivisions such as individual states or provinces will have individual boards.
Individual geographic names boards include:
*
Antarctic Place-names Commission
*
Commission nationale de toponymie (National toponymy commission -
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
)
*
Geographical Names Board of Canada
*
Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority of the Department of Customer Service in the Government of New South Wales, is the official body for naming and recording details of places and geographical names in the s ...
*
New Zealand Geographic Board
The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...
*
South African Geographical Names Council
The South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) is the official government body of South Africa that advises the executive branch of the central government (in the form of the Minister of Arts and Culture) on new geographical names as well as ...
*
United States Board on Geographic Names
Notable toponymists
*
Marcel Aurousseau
Marcel Aurousseau BSc ( Syd.) MC '' C. de G.'' (19 April 1891 in Woollahra, Sydney – 22 August 1983 in Sydney) was an Australian geographer, geologist, war hero, historian and translator. (1891–1983), Australian geographer, geologist, war hero, historian and translator
*
Andrew Breeze (born 1954), English linguist
*
William Bright
William O. Bright (August 13, 1928 – October 15, 2006) was an American linguist and toponymist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics.
Biography
Bright earned a bachelor's degree in lingui ...
(1928–2006), American linguist
*
Richard Coates
Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristo ...
(born 1949), English linguist
*
Joan Coromines
Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (; also frequently spelled ''Joan Corominas''; Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, by Joan Corominas icand José Antonio Pascual, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, . Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 1 ...
(1905–1997), etymologist, dialectologist, toponymist
*
Albert Dauzat (1877–1955), French linguist
*
Eilert Ekwall (1877–1964, Sweden)
*
*
Henry Gannett
Henry Gannett (August 24, 1846 – November 5, 1914) was an American geographer who is described as the "father of mapmaking in America."Evans, Richard Tranter; Frye, Helen M. (2009).History of the Topographic Branch (Division) (PDF). ''U.S. Geo ...
(1846–1914), American geographer
*
Margaret Gelling
Margaret Joy Gelling, (''née'' Midgley; 29 November 1924 – 24 April 2009) was an English toponymist, known for her extensive studies of English place-names. She served as President of the English Place-Name Society from 1986 to 1998, and ...
(1924–2009), English toponymist
*
Michel Grosclaude
Michel Grosclaude (; oc, Miquèu; 1926–2002) was a philosopher and French linguist, and an author of works on grammar, lexicography and Occitan onomastics.
Biography
Born on 8 July 1926 in Nancy at (Meurthe-et-Moselle). He was the
son of ...
(1926–2002), philosopher and French linguist
*
Erwin Gustav Gudde
*
Ernest Nègre (1907–2000), French toponymist
*
W. F. H. Nicolaisen (1927–2016), folklorist, linguist, medievalist
*
Oliver Padel
Oliver James Padel (born 31 October 1948 in St Pancras, London, England) is an English medievalist and toponymist specializing in Welsh and Cornish studies. He is currently Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, an ...
(born 1948), English medievalist and toponymist
*
Robert L. Ramsay (1880–1953), American linguist
*
Adrian Room
Adrian Richard West Room (27 September 1933, Melksham – 6 November 2010, Stamford, Lincolnshire)''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2002; accessed 20 May 2013. was a British toponymist and onomastician, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical So ...
(1933–2010), British toponymist and onomastician
*
Charles Rostaing (1904–1999), French linguist
*
Henry Schoolcraft
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...
(1793–1864), American geographer, geologist and ethnologist
*
Jan Paul Strid (1947–2018), Swedish toponymist
*
Walter Skeat (1835–1912), British philologist
*
Albert Hugh Smith
Albert Hugh Smith OBE (24 February 1903 – 11 May 1967) was a scholar of Old English and Scandinavian languages and played a major part in the study and publication of English place-names.
Hugh Smith was the son of Albert John Smith, a butler ...
(1903–1967), scholar of Old English and Scandinavian languages
*
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton, FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945).
The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was edu ...
(1880–1967), historian of Anglo-Saxon England
*
George R. Stewart
George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1959 book, ''Pickett's Charge'', a detailed history of the final ...
(1895–1980), American historian, toponymist and novelist
*
Isaac Taylor
Isaac Taylor (17 August 1787 – 28 June 1865) was an English philosophical and historical writer, artist, and inventor.
Life
He was the eldest surviving son of Isaac Taylor of Ongar. He was born at Lavenham, Suffolk, on 17 August 1787, and m ...
(1829–1901), philologist, toponymist and Anglican canon of York
*
James Hammond Trumbull
James Hammond Trumbull (December 20, 1821 – August 5, 1897) was an American historian, philologist, bibliographer, and politician. A scholar of American Indian languages, he served as the first Connecticut State Librarian in 1854 and as Secr ...
(1821–1897), American scholar and philologist
*
William J. Watson (1865–1948), Scottish scholar
See also
Related concepts
*
Anthroponymy
*
Demonymy
*
Ethnonymy
*
Exonym and endonym
*
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region, or con ...
*
Lists of places
*
Oeconym
An oeconym, also econym, or oikonym (from el, οἶκος, , 'house, dwelling' and , , 'name') is a specific type of toponym that designates a proper name of a house or any other residential building, and in the broader sense, the term also refer ...
Toponymy
*
Toponymic surname
A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.
*
Planetary nomenclature
Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. Since the invention of the tel ...
Hydronymy
*
Latin names of European rivers
*
Latin names of rivers
*
List of river name etymologies
This article lists the various etymologies (origins) of the names of rivers around the world.
Africa
* Apies: from Afrikaans meaning "little apes".
*Berg: from Afrikaans meaning "mountain".
*Blood: from the Battle of Blood River, where 600 voo ...
*
Old European hydronymy
Regional toponymy
*
Biblical toponyms in the United States
*
German toponymy
*
Germanic toponymy
*
Historical African place names
*
Japanese place names
Japanese place names include names for geographic features, present and former administrative divisions, transportation facilities such as railroad stations, and historic sites in Japan. The article Japanese addressing system contains related infor ...
*
Korean toponymy and list of place names
Korean place name etymologies are based upon a large linguistic background of Chinese, Japanese and Old Korean influence and history. The commonplace names have multiple meanings in Korean, Chinese, and when transliterated to English as well. The ...
*
List of English exonyms for German toponyms
This list is a compilation of German toponyms (i.e., names of cities, regions, rivers, mountains and other geographical features situated in a German-speaking area) that have traditional English-language exonyms.
Usage notes:
* While in the case o ...
*
List of French exonyms for Dutch toponyms
This list of French exonyms for Dutch toponyms shows the French names of cities and villages in the Netherlands (french: les Pays-Bas) used by the French and ''francophones'' living outside France.
Provinces
Cities
See also
*List of French e ...
*
List of French exonyms for German toponyms
This list shows the French exonyms for German toponyms. french: l'Allemagne
{{compact ToC, side=yes, top=yes, num=no
A
*Aachen Aix-la-Chapelle
*Aargau Argovie
*Aschaffenburg Aschaffenbourg
*Augsburg Augsbourg
B
*Bad Iburg Ibourg
*Bad Kreuznach Cr ...
*
List of French exonyms for Italian toponyms
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List of Latin place names in Europe
This list includes European countries and regions that were part of the Roman Empire, or that were given Latin place names in historical references. As a large portion of the latter were only created during the Middle Ages, often based on scholar ...
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List of modern names for biblical place names
While a number of biblical place names like Jerusalem, Athens, Damascus, Alexandria, Babylon and Rome have been used for centuries, some have changed over the years. Many place names in the Land of Israel/Holy Land/ Palestine are Arabised forms of ...
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List of renamed places in the United States
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List of U.S. place names connected to Sweden
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List of U.S. state name etymologies
The fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the five inhabited U.S. territories, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. The names of 24 states derive from indigenous languages of the Am ...
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List of U.S. state nicknames
The following is a table of U.S. state, federal district and territory nicknames, including officially adopted nicknames and other traditional nicknames for the 50 U.S. states, the U.S. federal district, as well as five U.S. territories.
St ...
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Maghreb toponymy
The place names of the Maghreb come from a variety of origins, mostly Arabic and Berber, but including a few derived from Phoenician, Latin, and several other languages. This is well illustrated by the three largest cities of Algeria, for instanc ...
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Names of European cities in different languages
Many cities in Europe have different names in different languages. Some cities have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons. This article attempts to give all known different names for all major cities that are geographically or ...
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New Zealand place names
Most New Zealand place names have a Māori or a British origin. Both groups used names to commemorate notable people, events, places from their homeland, and their ships, or to describe the surrounding area. It is unknown whether Māori had a nam ...
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Oikonyms in Western and South Asia
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Place names of Palestine
Many place names in Palestine were Arabized forms of ancient Hebrew and Canaanite place-names used in biblical times or later Aramaic formations. Most of these names have been handed down for thousands of years though their meaning was understood ...
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Hebraization of Palestinian place names
Hebrew-language names were coined for the place-names of Palestine throughout different periods: under the British Mandate; after the establishment of Israel following the 1948 Palestinian exodus and 1948 Arab–Israeli War; and subsequent ...
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Place names in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan place name etymology is characterized by the linguistic and ethnic diversity of the island of Sri Lanka through the ages and the position of the country in the centre of ancient and medieval sea trade routes. While typical Sri Lankan pl ...
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Roman place names
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Toponyms of Finland The toponyms of Finland result mainly from the legacy left by three linguistic heritages: the Finnish language (spoken as first language by about 93% of the population), the Swedish language (about 5.5%) and Sami languages (about 0.03%). Finland’s ...
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Toponymy in the United Kingdom and Ireland Great Britain and Ireland have a very varied toponymy due to the different settlement patterns, political and linguistic histories. In addition to the old and modern varieties of English, Scottish and Irish Gaelic and Welsh, many other languages and ...
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Celtic toponymy
Celtic toponymy is the study of place names wholly or partially of Celtic origin. These names are found throughout continental Europe, Britain, Ireland, Anatolia and, latterly, through various other parts of the globe not originally occupied by ...
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List of British places with Latin names
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List of generic forms in British place names
This article lists a number of common generic forms in place names in the British Isles, their meanings and some examples of their use. The study of place names is called toponymy; for a more detailed examination of this subject in relation to Br ...
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List of places in the United Kingdom
A gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's county, unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates.
__NOTOC__
;Location names beginning with A:
* Location names beginning with Aa–Ak
* Location nam ...
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List of Roman place names in Britain
A partial list of Roman place names in Great Britain.
This list includes only names documented from Roman times. For a more complete list including later Latin names, see List of Latin place names in Britain.
The early sources for Roman names ...
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Place names in Irish
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Welsh place names
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Territorial designation
In the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation proclaims a relationship with ...
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Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom
This toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales it includes ancient and contemporary counties.
Background
Throughout the histories of the four ...
Other
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Labeling (map design)
Typography, as an aspect of cartographic design, is the craft of designing and placing text on a map in support of the map symbols, together representing geographic features and their properties. It is also often called map labeling or letteri ...
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List of adjectival forms of place names
The following is a partial list of adjectival forms of place names in English and their demonymic equivalents, which denote the people or the inhabitants of these places.
Note: Demonyms are given in plural forms. Singular forms simply remove th ...
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List of double placenames
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List of long place names
This is a list of long place names.
Single-word names 25 letters or more
20-24 letters
14–19 letters
Names with spaces or hyphens
* Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udom ...
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List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations
This is a set of lists of English personal and place names having spellings that are counterintuitive to their pronunciation because the spelling does not accord with conventional pronunciation associations, or because a better known namesake wit ...
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List of places named after peace
The following is a list of geographic names denoting the concept of peace, in their respective language.
Languages in this list
* ''makmur'' – Arabic (’tranquility’)
* ''salaam'' – Arabic
* 安平 – Chinese, Mandarin (''an’ping'') or ...
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List of places named after Lenin
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List of places named after Stalin
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List of places named for their main products
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List of political entities named after people
There are a number of places named after famous people. For more on the general etymology of place names see toponymy. For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see eponym.
Continents
* Americas (North America and South America) – ...
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List of short place names
This is a list of short place names, natively in Latin characters or romanized, with one or two letters.
One-letter place names
* A, a former village in Kami-Amakusa city, Kumamoto, Japan
*Á, a farm in Dalabyggð municipality, Dalasýsla, I ...
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List of tautological place names
A place name is tautological if two differently sounding parts of it are synonymous. This often occurs when a name from one language is imported into another and a standard descriptor is added on from the second language. Thus, for example, New ...
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List of words derived from toponyms
This is a list of English language words derived from toponyms, followed by the place name it derives from.
General
* agate — after ''Achates'', ancient Greek name for the river Dirillo on the Italian island of Sicily
* Alberta clipper — ...
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Lists of things named after places
* List of chess openings named after places
* List of foods and drinks named after places
* List of inventions named after places
This is a list of inventions and foods named after places.
A-G
* Adirondack chair – Adirondack mountain ...
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List of geographic acronyms and initialisms
This is a list of geographic acronyms and initialisms. That is, it's a list of the names of cities, towns, lakes, and other geographic places that are derived from acronyms. Acronyms are abbreviations formed by the initial letter or letters of the ...
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List of geographic portmanteaus
This is a list of geographic portmanteaus. Portmanteaus (also called blends) are names constructed by combining elements of two, or occasionally more, other names.
For the most part, the geographic names in this list were derived from two other n ...
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List of geographic anagrams and ananyms
These are geographic anagrams and anadromes. Anagrams are rearrangements of the letters of another name or word. Anadromes (also called reversals or ananyms) are other names or words spelled backwards. Technically, a reversal is also an anagram, ...
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United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. Ev ...
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UNGEGN Toponymic Guidelines
The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) is one of the nine expert groups of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and deals with the national and international standardization of geographical names. Ev ...
References
Sources
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Further reading
* Berg, Lawrence D. and Jani Vuolteenaho. 2009. ''Critical Toponymies (Re-Materialising Cultural Geography)''.
Ashgate Publishing.
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* Cablitz, Gabriele H. 2008. "When 'what' is 'where': A linguistic analysis of landscape terms, place names and body part terms in Marquesan (Oceanic, French Polynesia)." ''
Language Sciences
''Language Sciences'' is a peer-reviewed journal published six times a year by Elsevier. The editor is Sune Vork Steffensen of the University of Southern Denmark
The University of Southern Denmark ( da, Syddansk Universitet, lit=South Danish ...
'' 30(2/3):200–26.
* Desjardins, Louis-Hébert. 1973. ''Les nons géographiques: lexique polyglotte, suivi d'un glossaire de 500 mots''. Leméac.
* Hargitai, Henrik I. 2006.
Planetary Maps: Visualization and Nomenclature" ''
Cartographica
The ''Cartographica'' is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed academic journal and the official publication of the Canadian Cartographic Association,
in affiliation with the International Cartographic Association.
''Cartographica'' is published four ...
'' 41(2):149–64
*Hargitai, Henrik I., Hugh S. Greqorv, Jan Osburq, and Dennis Hands. 2007.
Development of a Local Toponym System at the Mars Desert Research Station" ''Cartographica'' 42(2):179–87.
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* Hercus, Luise, Flavia Hodges, and Jane Simpson. 2009. ''The Land is a Map: Placenames of Indigenous Origin in Australia''. Pandanus Books.
* Kadmon, Naftali. 2000. ''Toponymy: the lore, laws, and language of geographical names.'' Vantage Press.
External links
Who Was Who in North American Name StudyForgotten Toponymy Board (German)The origins of British place namesAn Index to the Historical Place Names of CornwallThe Doukhobor Gazetteer Doukhobor Heritage website, by Jonathan Kalmakoff.
*O'Brien Jr., Francis J. (Moondancer
“Indian Place Names—Aquidneck Indian Council”Ghana Place NamesIndex Anatolicus: Toponyms of Turkey*The
University of Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
's
Key to English Place-namessearchable map.
The Etymology of Mars crater names
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Place names