You’ll be surprised to learn how these 12 countries got their names

6/9/2018

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Geography Story: You’ll be surprised to learn how these 12 countries got their names

Do you know why Italy is called "Italy"? And how does Venezuela relate to Venice? Find out right now!

While traveling we discover new countries, their sights and traditions. But have you ever thought why countries are named as they are?

#1 Spain

Carthagian came to this land around 300 b.c. and called it “Ispania” - "the land of rabbits" (from Phoenician “Sphan” - “rabbit”). Later the Romans preserved this name, calling it "Hispania". In the course of time the name was transformed into "España".

#2 Venezuela

The Spanish expedition that sailed in 1449 near the northern coast of South America named that land "Venezuela" (“little Venice” in Spanish). Local houses reminded them of Venice: they were built on water and connected by tiny bridges.

#3 Burkina Faso

This country has a special name. It originates from 2 different languages which people speak here. “Burkina” (Mossi language) means “upright”. It means that people are proud of their integrity. “Faso” (Dyula language) means “father’s land”.

#4 Mexico

According to one theory, “Mēxihco” derives from 2 words of nahuatl language: “mētztli”- "moon" and xīctli - “navel”. These words put together mean “a place at the center of the moon”.

#5 Nauru

Nauru is the smallest country in the Pacific Ocean. Its name comes from Nauruan word “Anáoero” which means “I go to the beach”.

#6 Iceland

There’s a legend that says a Norwegian man Naddodd was the first who visited Iceland and named it “Snow Land”. Later the Norseman Flóki Vilgerðarson sailed to that land and named it "Island" (Iceland) because of its severe climate.

#7 Japan

The Japanese word for Japan is "日本". It is pronounced as "Nihon". "日" means "sun" , "本" - "origin". Both words mean "origin of the sun". That is why people call this country “land of the rising sun”

#8 Cyprus

There’s a suggestion that the name of this country comes from a Sumerian word that was used for copper (“zubar”) or for bronze (“kubar”), from the large deposits of copper that were found on the island. This island gave its name to the latin “aes Cyprium” - "metal of Cyprus". Later it was shortened to “cuprum”.

#9 Monaco

Its name is associated with an ancient myth about Hercules. He constructed the path that passed through this region from Spain to Italy. The only temple was constracted on the rock. It had the name “Hercules Monoikos”. "Monoikos" means "Single House".

#10 Italy

One theory states that the word “Italia” comes from the Oscan (an extinct language of southern Italy) word “Víteliú” which means “land of calves”.
In fact, the bull was a symbol of the tribes that lived on the southern region of Italy.

#11 Chile

In Mapuche language the word “chilli” means "where the land ends”. Another theory states that this country got its name from a Native American word which has a very similar meaning – “where the land ends”.

#12 Canada

There’s a lot of theories but only one is generally accepted today. The word “Canada” comes from the word “Kanata” - "village". First, it was the name only for one village, then region and finally for the whole country.

Have you ever wondered why countries have their names? Do you know the etymology of any other ones? Share in comments!

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#Geography #Culture #History #funny

What are your thoughts on this subject?

24 Comments

marciogerep

It helps to explain that CHINESE gave the name to Japan, because seen from China, the sun appears to be rasing in Japan. The Japanese evidently loved the name and kept it as written by Chinese but the same characters (with same meaning) have different sounds in Japanese No wonder Nihon doesn't even sound close to Japan, which is close to the Chinese pronunciation of those characters Ri Ben - chinese pronounce Ri sounds more like Ji and P and B sounds almost the same in Chinese, making Jipen what most foreign people heard. Japan...

Caren Rounthwaite

A Spanish expedition to South America in 1449? Are you sure? Did Columbus know about this?

Bob Gorby

No, the locals were stumped 🤔 for a name for Canada, so they held a lottery. One by one, letters were drawn from a “shuffled tumbler. As the National Secretary, the Master of Ceremonies called out: “C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?” And That is how Canada 🍁 🇨🇦 got its name!

konrad

Actually, lads, rabbits are original of Spain. So, there couldn't be a Phoenician word for "rabbit", but rather similar small rodents called, yes, them, "sphan". Rabbits and poplar tress are both original from Spain.

c grhm

#6. Dead wrong. Generally accepted today that the namers of Iceland and and Greenland very confused, drunk whatever. Iceland is beautiful, lush and green. Greenland is barren and has no sustainability for greenery. Whoever first name the two really was very confused.

Louis Nardone

Very informative. So if Italy is the land of calves, I'm Italian or I should say Calvian

konrad

Rabbits are native to Spain, and didn't exist anywhere else before their discovery by the Phoenicians. They called them Ispahan, because they were similar to some Asian rodents, but "sphan" couldn't mean "rabbit" in Phienician. There were no rabbits in Asia.

sekrob

Jamaica comes from an Arawak word "xaymaca", land of wood and water

Elsy O. Stromberg

Euan: Spain is English translation for Espanya.

Carlota Gamarra

Had great time reading all the interesting data about the origin of these countries' names, even if some of them might be slightly inaccurate. Thanks a million!!! Keep on enlightening us all.

bettyschierloh

This was wonderfully interesting. Thank you.

ninakamwene

Informative. Thank you.

conchita

Sacha Birnbaum Adams, La date était 1499 pas 1449.

BigSky1470

How did the Spanish see little houses in Venezuela in 1449 when Columbus was the first European to discover the Americas in 1492?

Bob Gorby

Canada was really named by lottery. They decided to put all the letters of the alphabet into a Bingo tumbler, and name the country as letters were removed from the tumbler. It went like this: “C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?”