Place Names Trivia

1. According to legend, in 1191 Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen vowed to name his new town after the first animal he killed while out hunting. That animal was a bear (bar in the local language), so the town became which European capital city?

From Quiz O Capital! My Capital!

Answer: Bern, Switzerland

Bern has a bear pit which was built in the 16th century, although it is unoccupied these days. There are bears in a large open air enclosure near the bear pit though as well as in the Bern zoo. Bern is also home to several impressive fountains, one of which is "The Kindlifresserbrunnen", which translates as "Child Eater Fountain" and depicts an ogre eating a child with a bag containing several more at his side.

From Quiz General (and Admiral) Geography

Answer: Bolivia

Simón Bolívar was born in Caracas in 1783. In the early 1800s, revolts against Spanish rule raged across South America, many led or inspired by Bolivar. A Republic was declared in Bolivia 1825 after armies led by Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre joined forces. Bolivar became the first President of Bolivia and Sucre was the second.

From Quiz English Place Names

Answer: Farmstead or village.

It usually comes from the old Norse and often follows a personal name. There are exceptions such as Sutterby in Lincolnshire which comes from shoe makers and both Hunmanby (Yorkshire) and Hunsonby (Cumbria) which were inhabited by dog keepers or Ferrensby (Yorkshire) inhabited by people from the Faroe islands. It is usually found in danelaw - the north east of England which was occupied by the Vikings. Ingleby, for example, means village of the English and comes from an area particularly heavily settled by Vikings. Sometimes it is shortened from the old English -byrig or fortified place.

From Quiz Origins of British Place Names 1

Answer: Nottingham

The original 9th century name 'Snotingeham' lost the initial 'S' in the 12th century due to Norman influence. Can you imagine being the Sheriff of Snottingham?

From Quiz Words from the Names of Cities and Towns

Answer: South Carolina

The charleston is a funny looking dance, really. During the dance participants bend their knees inward and thrust out their legs in a most tortuous manner. Perhaps the phrase 'roaring 20s' came from the screams of pain involved in doing dances like the charleston? While there are some other towns or cities in the southeastern US, they are not the source of the dance's name.

From Quiz Understanding English Placenames

Answer: fields belonging to a hospital

In 1394 the place was still called Seintmariespitel. This plot of land belonged to the Priory of St Mary Spital (founded in 1197). Spitals were the lowest category of hospitals, and were meant for beggars and for the poor in general.

From Quiz Onomastics: Hidden Meanings Of Placenames

Answer: the letter C in the Nato phonetic Code

No Ray Charles involved...and no pubkeeper either. Charlie only became "the commies" in Vietnam. Checkpoint Alpha was at Helmstedt-Marienborn ; Checkpoint Bravo was at Dreilindne-Drewitz. In contrast to ALpha and Bravo Charlie was open around the clock.

From Quiz English County Names

Answer: From the Celtic Cantii people

The Romans named the county Kention for the Cantii tribe. Canterbury means 'the city of the people of Kent'.

From Quiz Geographical Eponyms

Answer: Sardinia

When name-giving happens the other way round, fishes being named after a particular place, it's usually in the first place a marketing technique: Dover sole, Galway oysters...

From Quiz Origin of USA State Names

Answer: Louis XIV, the Sun King

Louis XIV born 1638, became King at five. Famous for his 'I am the State'-attitude. Plenty of love affairs. Madame de Montespan and others. Died in 1715. Louis XVI. Married to Marie-Antoinette of Austria. Guillotined in 1793. Louis XVIII, his brother, was put on the throne after the demise of Napoleon. Died in Paris in 1824. Louis IX, died of the plague during a crusade. Declared a saint.

From Quiz More British Placenames

Answer: church

Although Llananthony seems to mean St. Anthony's Church the origin is Llandewi Nant Hodni, which means St. David's Church in the valley of the Honddu River. Llangollen = St. Collens Church. Llandudno is St.Tudno's church. Llandovery = church by the stream.

From Quiz O Capital! My Capital!

Answer: Monday

The original unnamed village had a popular market which was held on Mondays. This led to it being referred to as Dushanbe Bazar (Monday Market). Whilst under Soviet rule, the town grew at a huge pace and was renamed Stalinabad, but in 1961 it reverted to Dushanbe.

From Quiz General (and Admiral) Geography

Answer: Arab

"Gibraltar" is a Spanish approximation of "Jabal Tariq" meaning "Mountain of Tariq", named for Tariq ibn Ziyad who invaded what is current-day Spain in 711. The "Mountain of Tariq" is now known as the Rock of Gibraltar. There are no surviving contemporaneous accounts of Tariq ibn Ziyad; the earliest date from the 12th century. Most say he was a slave who was freed by the Emir of North Africa and given a generalship and mission to invade the Iberian Peninsula.

From Quiz English Place Names

Answer: City, Roman town or old fortification

It also takes the form chester or cester. The name comes from the Latin castrum or camp via the old English. Often they were old Roman settlements and sometimes the name includes the Roman name. For instance Dorchester comes from an abbreviated form of Durnovaria. Manchester was originally Mamucium, perhaps meaning place on the breast shaped hills!

From Quiz Origins of British Place Names 2

Answer: Marston Moretaine

Though probably an easier 'giveaway', I included Marston Moretaine (also spelled 'Morteyn' on some road signs) because this town is where my great grandfather was born in 1860 and my family lived there for many generations. It was recorded as 'Merestone' in the 'Domesday Book' and 'Marston Morteyn' by 1383. Located in Wiltshire, Marston Meysey comes from the manorial affix 'of the Meysi family' c. 1259. Northamptomshire's Marston Trussell, is also from a 13th century manorial affix of the Trussel family. Marston Magna, Somerset, is from 1248. 'Great Merstone'. from the Latin affix 'magna' meaning 'great'.

From Quiz Origins of British Place Names 1

Answer: Canterbury

From AD 805-10, Canterbury was 'Cantuarabyrg'. The common suffix -bury comes from the Old English 'burh' meaning town or settlement.

From Quiz Words from the Names of Cities and Towns

Answer: Bologna

Bologna is a wonderful city in eastern Italy known in part for being the birthplace of the lovely pork sausage called bologna (which for some odd reason is now pronounced 'baloney' in the United States). Strangely enough, the term baloney is synonymous with 'hogwash' (or 'nonsense'). There is nothing nonsensical about the city of Bologna, I can assure you.

From Quiz Understanding English Placenames

Answer: street through the lands of the Earningas

Would have been a rather big estate for just one Lord. The Ermine Street ran from near Pevensey to York. London and York were on that road. There was also an Ermine Street that ran from Gloucester to Silchester.

From Quiz Origins Of American Placenames

Answer: teat

Roof in French would be 'toit' ; the word for head is 'tete'. And though most mountains are "rocky", not all mountain chains have been called the Rocky Mountains.

From Quiz English County Names

Answer: From the Norman town of 'Hamptun'

The town later became known as Southampton, but the original county name stuck.

From Quiz Geographical Eponyms

Answer: Cyprus

Copper ... Cyprus is also the island with which Aphrodite has a special link. After being born from the foam of the sea she stepped ashore on Cyprus.

From Quiz Placenames in Britain

Answer: Sarisbury

As all who visited Old Sarum will know, the original city had a different location.The Romans called the city Sorviodunum. The Anglo-Saxons renamed it Searu-burgh, in which burgh translates the Latin dunum, a fortification. In the Domesday Book it is recorded as Sarisberie. Normans had some problems with the pronunciation of an R and made an L of it, more or less in the same way as when some Asians turn 'rice' into 'lice' or French 'riz' into 'du lit'.

From Quiz O Capital! My Capital!

Answer: Dublin, Ireland

In classical Irish, Dubh means black, and lind means pool, so the city that was formed on a tidal pool where the River Poddle joins the River Liffey was called Dubhlind. This evolved over time to Dublinn and eventually Dublin. It is of course the city where, according to the traditional folk song, Molly Malone wheeled her cart selling cockles and mussels.

From Quiz General (and Admiral) Geography

Answer: Mexico

Acapulco is the largest and most well known city in the Mexican State of Guerrero. Vicente Guerrero was a successful general in the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). Guerrero served as the second President of Mexico, but only for eight months in 1829 as different factions in the new country vied for power.

From Quiz English Place Names

Answer: Either valley or pasture - particularly a swine pasture.

Dean comes from one of two old English words - either denu meaning valley or denn meaning pasture. The meaning "pasture" is most frequently found in Kent and Sussex. There are numerous other elements meaning valley such as comb, dale or slade. Many place names include personal names. They were mostly men but Buckden (Huntingdonshire) was named after a lady called Bucge.

From Quiz Origins of British Place Names 2

Answer: Sezincote

Recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Ch(i)esnecote', Seznicote is from the Old English 'cisen' plus 'cot'. Also found in Gloucestershire, Sharpness is recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Nesse' and in 1368 'Schobbenasse', 'Headland of a man called Scobba'. From the Old English personal name 'Scobba' plus 'naess', meaning headland. Seething, Norfolk, recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Sithinges' comes from the Old English personal name plus 'ingas' and probably means '(Settlement of) the followers or family of a man named Sith(a)'. Buckinghamshire's Shalstone or 'Celdestone' in the 'Domesday Book', possibly means 'farmstead at the shallow place or stream.' From Old English 'sceald' plus 'tun'.

From Quiz Origins of British Place Names 1

Answer: York

An ancient city, the Romans called York 'Eboracum'. Later, Anglo-Saxons called it 'Eoforwic' and the Vikings 'Jorvik'. York is a beautiful city, long established as an important political and religious center.

From Quiz Understanding English Placenames

Answer: Shrewsbury

Shropshire has the same etymology as Shrewsbury, but it is not a town. Though the name Salop is etymologically correct for Shropshire it bears an unpleasant resemblance to French salope (a slut). Salisbury derives from Sarisberie. The Normans found it easier to pronounce the name of "Sarum" with an -l- rather than with an -r- and so Salisbury was born.

From Quiz Onomastics: Hidden Meanings Of Placenames

Answer: from Latin canis: the Dogs' Islands

The canaries are here indeed, but those songbirds got their name from the name of the islands and not the other way round. No Roman governor involved either but the Latin author Plinius signals the presence of wild dogs here , which seems to have led to the Latin name Canariae Insulae being given to these "Dogs' Islands".

From Quiz Origins Of American Placenames

Answer: stream where cats come

"Kaatsen" or "fives" is a popular sport in the Low Countries, but it would be hard to practise it on a hill. The word "kill" refers to water and may mean a stream, a creek. In some Flemish dialects it is still used to refer to a "pool of water" as left behind by the sea at ebbtide.

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