FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Fun Trivia
Home: Questions and Answers Forum
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


What does Manhattan mean and how did that part of New York City get its name?

Question #5135. Asked by nada.
Last updated Jul 12 2019.

Related Trivia Topics: Geography   Vocabulary  
JSBach
Answer has 15 votes
Currently Best Answer
JSBach
25 year member
187 replies

Answer has 15 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
The name Manhattan comes from the Manhattan Indians, from which then called New Amsterdam Dutch governor Peter Minuit bought the island.

NOTE: The name Manhattan derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on Henry Hudson's yacht Halve Maen (Half Moon). A 1610 map depicts the name Manahata twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River (later named the Hudson River). The word "Manhattan" has been translated as "island of many hills" from the Lenape language. The Encyclopedia of New York City offers other derivations, including from the Munsee dialect of Lenape: manahachtanienk ("place of general inebriation"), manahatouh ("place where timber is procured for bows and arrows"), or menatay ("island").

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan

Response last updated by gtho4 on Jul 12 2019.
Aug 16 2000, 9:56 AM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion

Related FunTrivia Quizzes

play quiz New York City History: Part 2
(New York)
play quiz New York City History: Part 1
(New York)
play quiz The City of York
( Northeast England)

Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.