Origins of Major City Names

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  • čas přidán 6. 02. 2020
  • In this video, we discuss the origin of the names of the major cities of the planet Earth. How and why they're called what they're called.
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    www.etymonline.com/
    www.britannica.com/
    www.wikipedia.org/
    www.dictionary.com/
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    By Uwe Dedering - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
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Komentáře • 877

  • @Fireoflearning
    @Fireoflearning  Před 4 lety +352

    Bern is the capital of Switzerland, not Zurich. Thank you all for watching.
    Come join the Fire of Learning Discord server! discord.gg/YWscqva

    • @biliminsrlar5752
      @biliminsrlar5752 Před 4 lety +4

      Your videos are great,keep going please.

    • @jjnn2
      @jjnn2 Před 4 lety +11

      You don't know everything about a country you don't live in? smh smh unsubscribed

    • @mattihp
      @mattihp Před 4 lety +31

      Interestingly enough Switzerland has no capital. Bern is the site of government and is thusly considered de facto capital

    • @cycklist
      @cycklist Před 4 lety +19

      Also Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria. That's Abuja.

    • @abdelrahmanwael2551
      @abdelrahmanwael2551 Před 4 lety +7

      Technically there is no capital

  • @nbewarwe
    @nbewarwe Před 4 lety +1110

    Los Angeles: The Angels
    Philadelphia: Brotherly Love
    Chicago: *Onions*

    • @suchenzuehx192
      @suchenzuehx192 Před 4 lety +34

      n b the City of ONION

    • @lericthurston2543
      @lericthurston2543 Před 4 lety +58

      Was Chicago built on a swamp? In the swamps are the lairs of the creatures with layers. It is their swamp.

    • @MaliciousChickenAgenda
      @MaliciousChickenAgenda Před 4 lety +12

      @@lericthurston2543 I like to dwell in swamps sometimes. Seen a Sasquatch taking a piss in one during summer last year. I wanted to approach it to strike up a conversation but it appeared to be very grumpy so i thought it best to leave it alone

    • @jarskil8862
      @jarskil8862 Před 4 lety +13

      *Wild Shrek appears*

    • @MaliciousChickenAgenda
      @MaliciousChickenAgenda Před 4 lety

      @@jarskil8862 I shall peck this creature to inspect it and determine whether it's presence shall be allowed to continue in the swamp

  • @jameslucas129
    @jameslucas129 Před 4 lety +457

    Decently pronounces French "Détroit"
    Completely butchers Spanish "Los Angeles"
    Hmmm he must be Canadian

    • @lukethomeret-duran5273
      @lukethomeret-duran5273 Před 4 lety +30

      He butchered the french too. He said de-tra not dé-troi(t). But yes he butchered the Spanish 😂

    • @azzary8523
      @azzary8523 Před 4 lety +11

      And what about "Brouzel" for Bruxelles (wich in france we say "Brussel" or "bruqusel")

    • @suhasbelgur5364
      @suhasbelgur5364 Před 3 lety +15

      @エヴォルーシ本店 Lack of effort to know how to pronounce words of other language can be offensive. But here he most probably mispronounced due to lack of familiarity to the language or maybe just wasn't able to pull off the pronounciations as a native speaker of the language would.

    • @aquariusnymph
      @aquariusnymph Před 3 lety

      James Lucas correct. I live in LA. It’s actually pronounced “Los Aan-hey-lais”

    • @aawagga7099
      @aawagga7099 Před 3 lety +2

      @@aquariusnymph yeah your right, just because its Spanish doesn't mean it has to be pronounced as if it is because most people living there primarily speak English now.

  • @Robarm2
    @Robarm2 Před 4 lety +986

    A little known fact the major german city of Hamburg was named after the traditional American snack of the hamburger

    • @cosuinofdeath
      @cosuinofdeath Před 4 lety +27

      Robert Armstrong snack haha bruh

    • @sekai2982
      @sekai2982 Před 4 lety +22

      Bruh not snack...meal

    • @promeneuzivotu117
      @promeneuzivotu117 Před 4 lety +6

      Robert Armstrong since it got eaten by bombs in ww2 it makes sence.

    • @siemenvandcamp
      @siemenvandcamp Před 4 lety +44

      The city name hamburg means bend castle in old nedersaxen. The first time the city was named was in 825 (hammaburg) . The hamburger on the otherside is original mongolian the meat was round because the putted it under the saddle wenn they ride . In the 16th century it was with the trade of mongolse and russia very popular in hamburg and that name sticked wenn people moved to amerika.

    • @promeneuzivotu117
      @promeneuzivotu117 Před 4 lety +3

      @@siemenvandcamp 👏

  • @petroll.02
    @petroll.02 Před 4 lety +214

    "Sir would you like Chicagos on your burger?"

  • @vercingetorixsonofavernia6598

    Last time I was this early Istanbul was still called Constantinople

    • @gumbyshrimp2606
      @gumbyshrimp2606 Před 4 lety +16

      brian' make Byzantium Roman again

    • @ddwkc
      @ddwkc Před 4 lety +5

      Make Lygos Thracian again.

    • @jinkino
      @jinkino Před 4 lety +12

      “It’s Istanbul not Constantinople”

    • @biliminsrlar5752
      @biliminsrlar5752 Před 4 lety +10

      Did you mean Konstantiniyye?
      *Ceddin Deden Nesrin Baban intensifies*

    • @jjnn2
      @jjnn2 Před 4 lety +27

      The Turks straight up losers, Constantinople was a way cooler name

  • @johnnymorawski6543
    @johnnymorawski6543 Před 4 lety +461

    You’re wrong about the meaning of Las Vegas... it’s Spanish for “where one catches herpes”

  • @gilbertmcglurk2591
    @gilbertmcglurk2591 Před 4 lety +140

    Rest of World - names their cities after the local culture
    America - *Cleveland is named after Cleveland*

    • @darthXreven
      @darthXreven Před 3 lety +1

      America has no real culture though....the cowboys, rebelliousness, stubborn pride, the ability to tackle any problem head on and solve it, inginuity.....our deeds are our culture....
      and for those of us who are nerds, dorks geeks, comic books, sci-fi and fantasy are out culture....
      we don't descend down from a long line of kings or heroic warriors, that's sorta what the comic books are about....we don't have a robin hood but we know the story, we do have a Green Arrow though.....we don't have a King Arthur but we know the story and we have a Captain America.....
      😈
      like JRR Tolkein had to invent a great mythology for England we americans had to invent our own heroes.....it's just for some cops or soldiers, firefighters or paramedics are heroes, well some of us our heroes are superheroes....

    • @GreatNishanka
      @GreatNishanka Před 3 lety

      Mostly

    • @abrahamlincoln5177
      @abrahamlincoln5177 Před 3 lety +1

      I thought it was named after the show

    • @davidcruz8667
      @davidcruz8667 Před 3 lety +1

      Not really. There are cities like Santiago De Chile, Ciudad Juarez, Ciudad Mendoza, Zaragoza, etc, in other countries that are named after people. So saying "Rest of the world" is incorrect.

  • @sohopedeco
    @sohopedeco Před 4 lety +89

    In Portuguese, we use the name of the Syrian city of Damascus (Damasco) to refer to apricots. 🍑

  • @vanpaladin3630
    @vanpaladin3630 Před 4 lety +129

    Al-Qahera(Cairo) is the feminine way of saying the conqueror. Also, Arabs usually use feminine terms for cities.

  • @LouisHansell
    @LouisHansell Před 4 lety +35

    Los Angeles gets its name from "Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles", which means Our Lady Queen of the Angels. That is the name on the original mission which still stands in the heart of Los Angeles. FIFY.

    • @stscallop3254
      @stscallop3254 Před 3 lety +2

      It's actually "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula" meaning "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola".

    • @georgejcking
      @georgejcking Před 2 lety

      Both, San Gabriel Mission and San Fernando Mission are far from "the heart of Los Angeles". There was not an original ("21") mission in Los Angeles, Just a Presidio.

  • @Jacob-yg7lz
    @Jacob-yg7lz Před 4 lety +68

    Albuquerque is named after the Spanish Duke of Alburquerque, Viceroy of New Spain when the city was founded. The first R was dropped because the name was confused with that of Portuguese explorer Alfonso de Albuquerque.
    The town which both the Duke and Explorer were named after, Alburquerque, Spain, may have either come from Arabic for Cork Tree (Abu Al Corque) or Latin for White Oak (Albus quercus)

    • @aryyancarman705
      @aryyancarman705 Před 3 lety +2

      @Pierre Bezukhov would it be Albino Church in english

  • @Jfk2Mr
    @Jfk2Mr Před 4 lety +106

    4:40 According to legend, Warszawa (Warsaw) took its name as corruption of names of the couple that started settlement there, namely Wars and Sawa

    • @KF-bq4ik
      @KF-bq4ik Před 4 lety +8

      There's also another version of the legend in which Sawa was a mermaid

    • @angeloh.7746
      @angeloh.7746 Před 4 lety +14

      Stawa wars

    • @dorthusiast
      @dorthusiast Před 4 lety +6

      @@angeloh.7746 extremely unfunny

    • @stanislavkostarnov2157
      @stanislavkostarnov2157 Před 4 lety

      so it was not named after someone hairy 'Vorshavyy or some fleece (a 'Vortzs/Vortchsh')

    • @Jfk2Mr
      @Jfk2Mr Před 4 lety +1

      @@stanislavkostarnov2157 as far as I know, only "hairy" city known to me is Szczecin with connection to word "szczecina" (very short hair, usually used in context of beards/moustaches and pigs)

  • @nasirjames3014
    @nasirjames3014 Před 4 lety +64

    Los Ángeles. The “ge” combination in Spanish makes a “je” sound (“h-eh” in English)

    • @aawagga7099
      @aawagga7099 Před 3 lety +1

      yes but, the people there mostly speak English there, the American pronunciation of an American town is correct even if its corrupted off of the original Spanish pronunciation.

    • @lucasgildone2650
      @lucasgildone2650 Před 3 lety +2

      Addicting Video Game Hub but even in *english* it should be pronounced as a “je” sound. That’s basic grammar. For example, ‘angels’. No idea why he pronounced it that way.

    • @alexandradautriche2221
      @alexandradautriche2221 Před 3 lety +1

      @@lucasgildone2650 He first said it like normal, so I'm pretty sure the second time (when he said it weirdly) was him trying to say it on Spanish as in to say it from where it originated.

    • @zonaryorange8734
      @zonaryorange8734 Před 3 lety

      Addicting Video Game Hub The USA can’t even decide on how to pronounce caramel, the English pronunciation can never be correct. It’s just been peacefully accepted, which isn’t bad, but it’s not technically correct

    • @alexandradautriche2221
      @alexandradautriche2221 Před 3 lety

      @@zonaryorange8734 Pretty much, yeah. It's actually about accents. In Spanish the thing is very similar, but it's not so much about a specific words as the sound in general. So yeah, I think it's a English thing

  • @XDspacemanJD
    @XDspacemanJD Před 4 lety +63

    The flag for London in this video is actually the flag of the City of London, which is located within London itself. London itself doesn't have its own flag. Just something I thought I should mention. Anyway, great video Fire of Learning! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

    • @alexmorgan1667
      @alexmorgan1667 Před 4 lety +10

      so london is in london but london isnt london, got it

    • @blindtherapper2470
      @blindtherapper2470 Před 4 lety

      So is London also an area around the city then? And aren't we talking about cities? I'm confused.

    • @the_exegete
      @the_exegete Před 4 lety +14

      @@blindtherapper2470 The City of London (capitalized C) is the oldest part of the city of London (lowercase c) and has special status going back hundreds if not thousands of years. Think of it as a district of the city that operates under different rules from the other districts because of loads of historical factors, including the fact that it once was the whole city before the industrial revolution vastly increased the population which expanded outward. Ironically hardly anyone actually lives in the City anymore, but it's still the center of finance and government for the UK and people commute in for work.

    • @XDspacemanJD
      @XDspacemanJD Před 4 lety +1

      @k1w1 I mean the financial district that is called the City of London is located within the city that is London. I'm merely saying that the flag used is the flag of that specific district, as said district has its own peculiar history and status.

    • @XDspacemanJD
      @XDspacemanJD Před 4 lety +3

      @k1w1 I do agree that when it comes to flags associated with names, the City of London flag is the best to use. I just thought it was something worthwhile to mention, as he didn't make the distinction himself in the video. I just didn't want people to think that said flag was for London as a whole. Pure and simple. I didn't mean to come off as rude.

  • @AlphaNumeric123
    @AlphaNumeric123 Před 4 lety +74

    Cambridge Massachusetts, the home of the prestigious Harvard University and MIT, was named after Cambridge, England which in turn is home of the University of Cambridge one of the oldest (est. 1209 AD) and most prestigious universities (eg, 2nd most Nobel Prize recipients, behind only Harvard) in the world currently.
    Cambridge was named after the river Cam, which a bridge was built over. John Harvard attended Cambridge University (Emmanuel College, one of Cambridge’s constituent colleges) and later settled in America and was a benefactor of the college that now has his namesake. Funnily, John Harvard was not even the largest donor. Much of the collegiate architecture is inspired by the ancient university which lent it’s name to the colonial settlement town.

    • @farhanahmed2508
      @farhanahmed2508 Před 4 lety +5

      1209 BC?! I highly doubt that.

    • @AlphaNumeric123
      @AlphaNumeric123 Před 4 lety +6

      Farhan Ahmed haha whoops! I wrote that out quickly. Edited accordingly.

    • @the_exegete
      @the_exegete Před 4 lety +1

      @@farhanahmed2508 Nah, it's true, Cambridge was founded by the Sea Peoples.

    • @johnfraire6931
      @johnfraire6931 Před 4 lety

      @@the_exegete
      R/unexpectedseapeoples

  • @frigginjerk
    @frigginjerk Před 4 lety +25

    Even old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can't say. People just liked it better that way.

    • @andreipop5805
      @andreipop5805 Před 3 lety

      Now it's Istambul not Constantinople

    • @lawrencepack3624
      @lawrencepack3624 Před 3 lety +1

      They changed it when the Dutch and the English swapped territories, with the English receiving New Amsterdam and the Durch getting lands in South America.1625

    • @belland_dog8235
      @belland_dog8235 Před 3 lety +2

      @@lawrencepack3624 I don't remember them swapping territories, I think it was more like the Dutch weren't protecting New Amsterdam so the English just showed up and took it

    • @mikitz
      @mikitz Před 2 lety

      @@belland_dog8235 It came along the peace treaty.

  • @polytechnika
    @polytechnika Před 4 lety +35

    10:18 Lagos is not the Capital of Nigeria, it's Abuja.

  • @elizabethorman86
    @elizabethorman86 Před 4 lety

    Extremely illuminating and entertaining. Thank you for both the research and the presentation! I'm a big fan of your videos and always happy when I see you've posted a new one.

  • @andyjay729
    @andyjay729 Před 4 lety +18

    5:19 "According to the founding myth of the city by the Ancient Romans themselves,[17] the long-held tradition of the origin of the name Roma is believed to have come from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[18]
    However, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[19] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[20]
    from Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn has the same root as the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) and the Latin verb ruo, which both mean "flow";[b]
    from the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;
    from the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]"
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome#Etymology

    • @tassiek2450
      @tassiek2450 Před 3 lety

      Roma in aiolian/ Dorian dialects and Rome( Ρωμη) in the Ionian dialect.

    • @andreipop5805
      @andreipop5805 Před 3 lety

      You've no ideea how much I wanted to see this comment

  • @dr.woozie7500
    @dr.woozie7500 Před 4 lety +64

    11:18 Bern is the capital of Switzerland not Zurich (most populous city)

    • @mathewvanostin7118
      @mathewvanostin7118 Před 4 lety +5

      Yesterdoge no its Geneva the most populous city of switzerland. Its also the economic capital
      Zurich is the second city of switzerland and the leader of the german speaking part of switzerland

    • @mathewvanostin7118
      @mathewvanostin7118 Před 4 lety +2

      Vladimir Kichev no google it. Geneva. 495 000 population. Zurich 400 000 population 😂😂
      Geneva was always switzerland big city. Its just zurich got recently very popular because of its numerous mentions in hollywood movies giving the impression its the big city for foreigners especialy people outside europe 😂

    • @mathewvanostin7118
      @mathewvanostin7118 Před 4 lety +4

      Vladimir Kichev and you dare tell me to go read how hilarious. Even the personn who dont read know geneva is the big city of switzerland 😂 google both cities and go see yourself 😂

    • @mohamedhenni8664
      @mohamedhenni8664 Před 4 lety +1

      Vladimir Kichev lol he is right Geneva is bigger by 100 000 and most europeans know geneva is their big city, so no suprise

    • @mohamedhenni8664
      @mohamedhenni8664 Před 4 lety +3

      Vladimir Kichev you need to check what they mean for population for each city. Because some neibourhoods or small city that are part of geneva/zurich. Might not be added cause on paper they are independant city. But they are totaly part of geneva/zurich..if you include them geneva is bigger. Now if you want the official neibourhood only i am not sure
      But in general the metropolitan area of geneva is bigger metropolitan area of zurich

  • @mattihp
    @mattihp Před 4 lety +7

    2:23 Moskova is a finnic name and nor proto-slsvic. When the slavs ventured there the river was already named

    • @mattihp
      @mattihp Před 4 lety +3

      Last five years several online sources have seen this being edited due to russian nationalism. No printed source will claim a proto-slavic source.

    • @mattihp
      @mattihp Před 4 lety

      @Yaroslav L I hope this is satire! Funny stuff either way. Check russian sources on the etymology from the time before the 90s and you will get the same info.

    • @user-hv4et7dq2j
      @user-hv4et7dq2j Před 4 lety

      @Yaroslav L so you're saying that russia is not an evil Empire.

    • @user-hv4et7dq2j
      @user-hv4et7dq2j Před 4 lety

      @Yaroslav L Have you heard of the holodomor? Have you heard of serfdom? Have you heard of ethnic cleansing of Cossacks by Catherine the great, of banning/suppressing the use of Ruthenian dialects, the Russianizing of cultures all across Russia? Have you heard of the oppression against the people that has been brought on by the russian government for pretty much all of its history? Have you heard of the USSR placing machine guns behind the troops advancing so they couldn't retreat? Gulags? The great purge?Have you heard that the Romanovs owned Vodka distilleries (primarily used to suppress rebellion)? You being a Russian, i am pretty certain you haven't even heard of the words "liberty" or "freedom" as your government's policy primarily deals in oppression and suppression. Look now, Tchaikovsky and Chekhov were great but it would be better if you dogs never existed. The problems of the world would certainly be to a lesser extent.

    • @user-hv4et7dq2j
      @user-hv4et7dq2j Před 4 lety

      @Yaroslav L you can scream and cry all you want and call me a nazi. And i know america has done some unforgivable shit, but nothing compares to the extent of the Soviet Union with Moscow at its center. Call me ignorant, a nazi, go ahead, but with god as my witness, i know i'm right. Anyway, you should read The good Soldier Svejk but not the russian translation cause it is terrible. I suggest you learn Czech but the Ukrainian translation is also good lol.

  • @Bravo_116Cinema
    @Bravo_116Cinema Před 4 lety

    Very good video man this channel is probably one of the best channels on CZcams

  • @heronimousbrapson863
    @heronimousbrapson863 Před 3 lety +2

    George Vancouver was of Dutch ancestry; his grandfather came from the city of Coevorden in the Netherlands (which I believe means "cow ford"). The original form of the name was "Van Coevorden".

  • @ACHistory
    @ACHistory Před 4 lety +1

    Fantastic video! I love these unique topics that you cover! I have looked to see if anyone has any videos that are remotely similar to yours, but I cannot find any, which just demonstrates that this channel like the "one of a million" for historical-based channels. Your documentaries are very well-made, where I learn things when I expect that I already knew a lot. I love watching your videos, because of their detailed, expressive descriptions of LITERALLY everywhere. Keep up your impeccable work!.
    Thank you!
    -Andrew C.

    • @Fireoflearning
      @Fireoflearning  Před 4 lety

      Thank you Mr. C., I appreciate that and am glad my viewers find I add something new to the table.

    • @ACHistory
      @ACHistory Před 4 lety

      @@Fireoflearning Of course!, I thought that it was really cool how you showed the city flags in this video. I just noticed that you said that Lagos was the capital of Nigeria, it is the largest city, but the capital is Abuja. Oh and I have some possible video ideas. Maybe you could create a video about general historical figures' grave, although you already did generals, maybe other historical figures too. You could also make a video on what flags you like, and what flags you think are "disgusting". Thank you for replying!

    • @ACHistory
      @ACHistory Před 4 lety

      ​@@Fireoflearning Thanks for replying!. I noticed that you said the capital of Nigeria was Lagos, but it is just the largest city in Nigeria, let alone Africa..., but the capital of Abuja, but honestly, Lagos has more to do than Abuja. I have some video ideas: Historical and Recent Grave of Important Figures, although you already did generals, you could do a video on flags, like which ones you like, and which ones you think are "disgusting". Gracias!

  • @josiptito9412
    @josiptito9412 Před 4 lety

    this is much more well researched than another video that came out recently explaining the names of other major cities.

  • @MARTINREN1231
    @MARTINREN1231 Před 4 lety +28

    i felt like my country's capital became just a minor thing. IDK how people think globally about my city so . eh. ill just add this here for the curious people
    Philippines, Manila(or as locals and Spanish people call it, Maynila)
    came from the word "May nilad" which means "There is a nilad plant" because the plant can be seen along the manila bay and the pasig river.

    • @Perririri
      @Perririri Před 4 lety +1

      Quezon is named for #ManuelQuezon, the first President of the Philippines

  • @17ThomasMakhlouf
    @17ThomasMakhlouf Před 4 lety +4

    Make a part 2 (and maybe more).
    There are thousands of cities and I'm sure we can find their origins.
    Also, many cities have had multiple names during history; you can also cover that in a video. History of city names.

  • @mattykaimiponodacres3048

    AWESOME VID💯😎very cool and educational. Looking forward to seeing more like this. Thank you 🔥💜🔥

  • @kildasaints4014
    @kildasaints4014 Před 4 lety +19

    Thx FOL- Just wanted to let you know "Viscount is pronounced with a silent "s" eg "Vycount"

  • @jonster337able
    @jonster337able Před 3 lety

    Thanks for the great information! I've always wondered about so many of them....

  • @robertschlesinger1342
    @robertschlesinger1342 Před 4 lety +1

    Excellent and very interesting video that is worthwhile for all to watch.

  • @jacobparry177
    @jacobparry177 Před 4 lety +3

    I am so glad London wasn't just left at, 'Romans called it Londinium, so it is Latin'.
    Also, Eboracum comes from Celtic Eburauc- a type of tree or plant,, if I remember correctly.
    Edinburg was originally known as Din Eidyn, fort of Eidyn, from Old Welsh, Cumbric was merely a dialect of said language.

    • @ericmarseille2
      @ericmarseille2 Před 2 lety +1

      The yew...Plenty of French towns have a Celtic name coming from this root, Evreux, Evry, etc.

  • @Alexeiyeah
    @Alexeiyeah Před 3 lety +3

    Additional ones, for the curious.
    Cale was the name of the city of Porto given by the celtic-iberians of the area. When it became a province under the romans, the name given by them was Portus Cale. Caele and Portus both mean "port". So, Portugal's name, which comes from the latin name for the city of Porto, "Portus Caele", means "Port Port".
    In Brazil, the capital of the state of Maranhão is "São Luís". The name is derived from Saint Louis, the fort built by the french in their second attempt to have a colony in what is Southern America today.
    The Bahia's city "Porto Seguro" (Safe Port) is where the portuguese arrived in today's Brazil. The location was pretty safe to land, hence the name. I guess the fact that the fleet also passed through a storm and lost a ship also influenced the choosing of the name ahhahahaah
    Cabo Frio (Cold Cape) is a city in Rio de Janeiro, named after the waters on the place and the fact that it began on the cape.
    Niteroi, the second largest city in the Rio de Janeiro state, is named after tupi* words for "Hidden Water". The city was founded by settling a group of portuguese allied natives as a prize for fighting the french who settled in what today is the city of Rio de Janeiro.
    *tupi is a general term for a group of native tribes of Brazil and also is the term given to their language. As a side note of interest, during the XVIth century period of colonization, the portuguese called the tupi language "lingua geral" (general language) because the tupi dominated most of what today is Brazil's coast!
    The portuguese, and their cultural heirs in Brazil, were very catholic and named a lot of places after saints and special days, from landmarks to states. One of the first trends was to name places after looking a calendar with the special christian dates. For example, in the state of Bahia, there's Monte Pascoal (Mount of the Easter) because the portuguese found it in a day of easter.
    Salvador ("the Saviour"), the capital of Bahia, is named after one of Jesus Christ designations.

  • @sdluedtke3368
    @sdluedtke3368 Před 4 lety

    Thank you ... This was really interesting.

  • @SpaceExplorer
    @SpaceExplorer Před 3 lety

    great video!

  • @TTo-pr2vc
    @TTo-pr2vc Před 4 lety

    Atlantic City, Nj here great content

  • @archeofutura_4606
    @archeofutura_4606 Před 4 lety +8

    York came from the Norse name Jorvík. The Anglo Saxon name Eoforwic came from Eboracum

    • @stscallop3254
      @stscallop3254 Před 3 lety +2

      Fun Fact: The city of Évora, Portugal derives from Eboracum too.

  • @manuelenrique9220
    @manuelenrique9220 Před 3 lety +1

    Actually Buenos Aires's full name used to be Santa María de los Buenos Aires, which was one of the many epithets given to the Virgin Mary. "Buenos Aires", which literally translates as "good winds" is part of that epithet.

  • @serigotskrila6712
    @serigotskrila6712 Před 4 lety +1

    Favorite channel

  • @masterneo96
    @masterneo96 Před 4 lety

    Very interesting video :)

  • @TripNBallsGaming
    @TripNBallsGaming Před 4 lety +1

    Could you make a part 2 to this?

  • @dustin628
    @dustin628 Před 4 lety +9

    Aww I was writing why my hometown, Phoenix was named cause I was sure you wouldn't talk about it... but then you did! Thank you Justin! The city of Phoenix has been inhabited on and off for thousands of years 🏜

  • @teobtamous
    @teobtamous Před 3 lety +2

    On Barcelona: It was not named after or built by Hannibal, it was built by Hannibal's father, Hamilcar, and named after their dynasty, Barca/Baracids, hence the name Barcelona; i believe it was founded as a military fortification during the Punic wars, it's purpose was to garrison and supply the Punic navy and military from there so they could attack Rome from a better position.

  • @nicobambino191
    @nicobambino191 Před 4 lety

    We need like 10 of these videos

  • @nikolajankovic96
    @nikolajankovic96 Před 4 lety +1

    Good video, but you should do part 2 where you do some central Asian cities like Astana (Nur-Sultan), Almaty, Tashkent, Dushanbe, Samarkand, Bukhara, Ashgabat, Bishkek, Karagandy... This part of the world is offten forgotten in the west, but it is very interesting, as it was very important during silk road times. Also some other cities that might be interesting are Uranian cities like Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Karachi, Other Middle Eastern cities like Barash, Erbil, Aleppo, Beirut, Amman, Tel Aviv, Muscat. Some other random cities could be Lahore, Kabul, Kolkata, Urumqi, Baku, Yerevan (one of the oldest cities on Earth), Tbilisi, Batumi, Izmir, Bursa, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Skopje, Sofia, Varna, Bucharest, Zagreb, Budapest, Vilnius, Riga, Tallin, Helsinki... Also some more cities in Russia that would be interesting like Derbent (oldest city in Russia), Makhachkala, Sochi, Elista, Astrakhan, Kazan, Ufa, Barnaul, Abakan, Irkutsk... Also more African cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakesh, Luxor, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Accra... I know that you went for cities that are familliar to primarily western audience, but dont get me wrong, I think that these and other cities like this are far more interesting than many North American cities that have very boring etymology.

  • @bastaartp7855
    @bastaartp7855 Před 4 lety +1

    Captain Vancouver owes his name to the Dutch name "Van Coevoorde" which means "from the city of Coevorden" (founded sometime in the 11th century). Coevorden would be koe vaart in more "modern" Dutch, which is a place where farmers could lead their cows through the river to get to the other side.

  • @Silverfiddha
    @Silverfiddha Před 4 lety +5

    Madrid is based on the Arabic name "Majrit" (مجريط) which is a combination of "Majra" (Arabic for water course/stream) and "ito (Latin for abundance - although I couldn't find this). The final meaning being "Abundant water courses" in Arabic. It was founded in 855 AD by the Emir Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.

    • @yourboss001
      @yourboss001 Před 3 lety +2

      There's a lot of theories

    • @Ericson-vk6bx
      @Ericson-vk6bx Před 2 lety

      Your answer is not valid since Madrid, as far as I know, comes from the Celts, and the Spanish also have more Celtic blood than Arab or Roman

    • @justinnamuco9096
      @justinnamuco9096 Před 8 měsíci

      Prince Muhammad the son of the Slave of the Merciful?

  • @Ember-Rodriguez
    @Ember-Rodriguez Před 4 lety +3

    Thanks for throwing in Tucson, Phoenix always gets the spotlight for its current population but Tucson is one of the oldest continuously inhabited place in the Americas and a lot of history to show for it because it wasn't wiped off the map and replaced with stucco suburbs (well not entirely oro valley and Marana do exist haha).

    • @CSSUcommand
      @CSSUcommand Před 4 lety +2

      As a resident of Tucson. I say, the city was founded on August 20th, 1775 by Hugo O'conor. Believe it or not it was established as a Spainish Fort. It was formally called Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón. Hugo O'Conor was an Irish explorer who was paid by the Spanish crown to set up a fort in Apache Country.

    • @Heather-xm9ul
      @Heather-xm9ul Před 2 lety

      Gotta say, I despise the fact that so many decided that everything should be stucco! The whole east valley is beige and brown thanks to that moronic trend. At least the old buildings aren't all tan!

  • @ramonalonso3554
    @ramonalonso3554 Před 4 lety

    very interesting video

  • @fszocelotl
    @fszocelotl Před 4 lety +5

    Greetings to all form the hill surrounded by salt (Tequesquinahuac), in the municipality of the land in the middle (Tlalnepantla) at the northwest of the place at the moon's navel (Mexico City)

  • @HarJBeRw
    @HarJBeRw Před 4 lety +5

    11:13 Oof, that pronunciation was so off the mark I thought he was pronouncing Bruocsella at first

  • @oolooo
    @oolooo Před 4 lety +1

    6:23 Must correct you there .The settlement was originally called Santa María del Buen Ayre , after the advocacy of the Holy Virgin that guards over sea travelers .You get why .

  • @fsdds1488
    @fsdds1488 Před 4 lety

    As for Shanghai it has various theory of the meaning of its name, it could mean the place where people aboard the ship(it was said to be a makeshift port in the past), so literally "go to the ocean", or by a place called Shanghaipu, meaning upper ocean, the character Pu was then neglected and the name simplified to Shanghai.

  • @AndrewChicken
    @AndrewChicken Před 3 lety

    I'm surprised I knew a few of these correctly, like New York, Houston, London, and Philadelphia. Still, a lot of cities I had no clue about! Very fascinating :)

  • @wolfgirl535
    @wolfgirl535 Před 4 lety

    Really valuable to have this compiled all in one place for reference. Thank you for your hard work!

  • @khaineprice9118
    @khaineprice9118 Před 3 lety

    For Cardiff. Fort on the taff is a largely accepted etymology, the first castle and surrounding kingdom were largely based around the river Taff

  • @CupcakeExplosion
    @CupcakeExplosion Před 4 lety

    Thanks. I love this stuff.
    Yes, I probably need a hobby.

  • @yungstallion2201
    @yungstallion2201 Před 3 lety +1

    In Welsh we call London Llundain which translates roughly into lake fort

  • @olinayoung6287
    @olinayoung6287 Před 2 lety

    Interesting!

  • @agrippa6312
    @agrippa6312 Před 4 lety

    There’s a city in the north of Italy named Monza which seems to derive from the longobard queen Theodolinda. According to legend she saw in a dream a dove that said to her “modo” (meaning “here”) which means she had to found a city there and she answered “etiam”(“yes”). From the fusion of these two words Modoetiam it was born the city of Monza

  • @larsanderbulfin4236
    @larsanderbulfin4236 Před 4 lety +1

    Buenos Aires' name actually comes from "Santa María del Buen Aire" ("Our Lady of the Good Air")
    "Mary under this Marian title, is often portrayed carrying the Child Jesus, along with a golden sailboat and a candle in her right arm is invoked as the Patroness of Sardinia as well as Buenos Aires, Argentina, to which Pope Francis is also a known devotee."

  • @simplyaudrorable
    @simplyaudrorable Před 4 lety +9

    My city made it on the list! And admittedly I learned something new!

  • @Meladjusted
    @Meladjusted Před 2 lety

    No hate-the S is silent in "viscount" (vy-count), hehe. Love the vids!

  • @TheObsidianX
    @TheObsidianX Před 4 lety

    There’s actually a bar in Calgary called cold garden.

  • @TheTravelerww
    @TheTravelerww Před 3 lety

    Peterborough (England) is Peter's Borough meaning Peter's town named after St. Peter and Peterborough (Australia) is named after Peterborough UK. However, Peterborough England used to be called Medhamstead meaning Medow homestead referring to the large meadows that act as flood plains for the River Nene.

  • @victorgabrielbuena
    @victorgabrielbuena Před 4 lety

    Can you make one about countries, or have you already?

  • @artembentsionov
    @artembentsionov Před 3 lety +1

    Fun fact: many cities whose names mean “new cities” are now some of the oldest still-standing cities. This includes Naples, Novgorod, Nystad, Carthage (ok, I know that one isn’t standing)

    • @BurnBird1
      @BurnBird1 Před 2 lety

      Nystad is old at all. Nystad was founded in 1617

  • @chickey333
    @chickey333 Před 4 lety

    Flint, Michigan... of either Browning or Smith and Wesson decent meaning "we have lead in the air and the water Homey."

  • @jigzo78
    @jigzo78 Před 4 lety +1

    most of 'em: named after some guy who found it, the habits of the people that lived there or the nearest body of water
    the cool ones: named after mythical creatures and heroes

  • @randolphmabanta9723
    @randolphmabanta9723 Před 4 lety

    Can you do the "How great classical musicians died and their last words" ?

  • @Sbjweyk
    @Sbjweyk Před 4 lety +2

    The city of cologne has its name from the romans. They renamed the settlement Oppidum Ubiorum to Colonia Claudia ara Agrippinensium.
    The name Colonia stuck and evolved into cöln and later Köln or more prominent in the English name Cologne.

    • @UKChrisC
      @UKChrisC Před 3 lety +1

      Similar to Lincoln.
      Was Lindum in Latin, was granted colonia status and the two converged from lindum Colonia into Lincoln

  • @tanet
    @tanet Před 4 lety

    With toponymy it would be nice to continue with the etymology of the Founders' surnames...

  • @petesplacestuff4781
    @petesplacestuff4781 Před 3 lety

    I like how he does little Birmingham Alabama but not near by Atlanta.

  • @Blowingmind
    @Blowingmind Před 3 lety +1

    I find it interesting that you included Cincinnati and Birmingham but not Atlanta, Memphis, or other reasonably sized cities with more interesting etymology than just "it's from Britain" that are larger than those. I get you can't touch on every major city but the list of us cities seems somewhat arbitrary.

  • @JAGzilla-ur3lh
    @JAGzilla-ur3lh Před 2 lety +1

    Ah yes, the great cities of the world. Hallowed, storied names that loom large in the pages of history. Rome. Baghdad. Tokyo. Paris. London. Istanbul. Cleveland.

  • @richardhewitt
    @richardhewitt Před 4 lety

    I would like know about the city I live in Newport News, VA. I know the Newport is fir Chris Newport, but "News" part mean what?

  • @vibefrog2177
    @vibefrog2177 Před 4 lety

    interdasting!

  • @sionatube
    @sionatube Před 4 lety

    Interesting how many places are like 'this is the place, this is the city, this is home'. Or that they are named after something that is found there, like a marshland.
    My hometown is just literally 'the colony' ;w; (it's Cologne)
    It was basically a Roman colony and they just stamped that name on. In the german version Köln you don't hear alot about it.
    And yeh, once you enter the colony, you never leave the colony

  • @arthurprzebinda9057
    @arthurprzebinda9057 Před 2 lety

    The "Sans" of the American west derive their names from the missions system. The missions were named after saints (since they had churches on premises) - San Diego, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, San Francisco, etc. The cities that grew around them took on the names from the missions.

  • @alpaykasal2902
    @alpaykasal2902 Před 2 lety

    I learned London, from Londinium, was named for a rich dude name Lund who was the financier of the ports at the time.

  • @marcopolo2395
    @marcopolo2395 Před 4 lety +3

    No Athens?

  • @franciscogalhetas9954
    @franciscogalhetas9954 Před 4 lety

    Lisbon is also believed to have gotten its name from the old celtic and phoenician names for the river tagus

  • @imnollii
    @imnollii Před 4 lety

    please make another

  • @lazerusvdh1192
    @lazerusvdh1192 Před 4 lety

    Amsterdam is just one letter off from Amsteldam.
    And it's a city along the Amstel, which had a dam.
    Like my home city of Amersfoort.
    It's a city along the Eem (Amer) which had a ford (a crossing)

  • @playwithdomination9238

    In bavaria, germany there is a city called "Augsburg". It was founded around two thousand years ago by the romans with the name "Augusta Vindelicorum (or Augusta Vindelicum)". The city got named after Augustus Ceaser and the "Vindelici", a celtic tribe living in the area on a river with the latin name "Licca", thus "Vinde-licum".

  • @beastieman4207
    @beastieman4207 Před 4 lety +3

    noti squad🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

  • @Mr_PotatoMaster
    @Mr_PotatoMaster Před 3 lety

    Rio de Janeiro (January river): it’s a lake that was discover in November

  • @hansmelbye1804
    @hansmelbye1804 Před 3 lety +1

    Fire of Learning: *Mentions Stockholm and Copenhagen but not Oslo*
    Me: *Cries in Norwegian*

    • @stscallop3254
      @stscallop3254 Před 3 lety +1

      Oslo either comes from Old Norse "Óslo" meaning "Meadow at the Foot of a Hill", or it comes from " Áslo" meaning "Meadow Consecrated to the Gods".

  • @cavemant4842
    @cavemant4842 Před 2 lety

    York comes from the norse 'Jorvik,' which itself is an adaptation of Old English Eofiric, meaning 'wild boar town', though it may well still have meaning in Latin.
    t. Yorkshireman

  • @petterlerdahl1193
    @petterlerdahl1193 Před 4 lety

    Going through the Northern part of the world (Scandinavian and countries around) and just taking Sweden and Denmark, what about the capital of Iceland, Norway and Finland. Maybe for a part 2?

  • @Axolotls_out
    @Axolotls_out Před 4 lety

    Stock and holm are not only old norse words, they are still used today

  • @aise3722
    @aise3722 Před 3 lety

    Manila (the capital of the Philippines) came from the term 'may nilad' which means 'near the nilad flower (Scyphiphora hydrophylacea)'

  • @HierophanticRose
    @HierophanticRose Před 3 lety

    Ankara - Capital of Turkey, formerly known as Ancyra by the Greeks, actually is a name given by the Galatian Celts at a fort they created in the highest hill overlooking the Central Anatolian plateau., but the name is the same as the word 'anchor' in English! As the word comes from Ancient Greek "Ankura", which means anchor but also secure.

  • @frdml01
    @frdml01 Před 4 lety +1

    and George Vancouver got his name from: "van Couvorden", or "from Couvorden", with Couvorden/Coevorden being a Dutch city.

    • @bosoerjadi2838
      @bosoerjadi2838 Před 4 lety

      Yes. And Coevorden translates into English as Cowford or Oxford. A place where cows cross (river) streams.

  • @drizzlingrose
    @drizzlingrose Před 4 lety

    and in todays danish, Cobenhagens danish name København directly means merchants port :)

  • @Dannysan19
    @Dannysan19 Před 4 lety +4

    Loved the video! Lisbon's name is indeed ancient, you mentioned the mythological origin connected to Ulysses but historically most agree it comes from Allis Ubbo, phoenician for Safe Harbor.
    (Allis Ubbo would then evolve to Olisipo with the Romans, to Ulishbon with the Visigoths, al-Ushbuna with the Moors before becoming our Lisboa

  • @davidjijo6657
    @davidjijo6657 Před 4 lety

    Hey man, you might already know this, but name explain has done this exact video.

  • @jarradhurley4866
    @jarradhurley4866 Před 4 lety

    So why do the names change from their origins? Is it how the name adapts over time, or do they just take two words, and just use them in short form to come to their result?

  • @lilspittin313
    @lilspittin313 Před rokem

    I feel smarter after listening to this guy ^_^