Onomastics: Hidden Meanings Of Placenames Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Checkpoint Charlie at the junction of Friedrich and Kochstrasse in Berlin got its name from ________________________

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.

2. Which of these placenames is not linked to Christopher Columbus at all?

Answer: Colombo, in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Colombo derives from an earlier Arabic word kalambu , the meaning of which is unknown.

3. What did the Spanish Atlantic islands "the Canaries" get their name from?

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".

4. The famous Montmartre area in Paris got its name from ____________________

Answer: Mont des Martyrs or Martyrs' Hill

Montmartre is the hill near Paris where Saint Den(n)is and his companions Rustica and Eleutherius were martyred.

5. All of these placenames except one, refer to colour. Which is the exception?

Answer: Belgravia

Byelorussia means White Russia. Belgrade or Beograd is equivalent to "the White City".As "gorod" has same meaning as "grad" Belgorod is also equivalent to White City. Other gorod or grad words: Stalingrad; Leningrad; Novgorod ( New town).
Another word in which the root Bel/Byel (white) occurs is Polish Bialystok :the White River.
Belgravia is a completely different word. It derives from the name of the village Belgrave which itself derives from "Bel" (beautiful) + "Grove". "Area with beautiful groves". Belgrave is on the lands of the Grosvenor family (Dukes of Westminster). The London district is also on land belonging to the Grosvenors. Hence the name.

6. Which of these British names is the odd one out because it has no link whatsoever with the early medieval word for a trading-place?

Answer: Chatsworth in the Peak District

Cheap was an old term for "market". Cheapside was the main shopping street in medieval London. Chepstow literally means "place where people meet for shopping". Chipping from "ceping" "market place" has a similar meaning and is also found in placenames such as Chipping Norton, in Oxfordshire ;Chipping Ongar,in Essex and Chipping Sodbury in Avon.
All those words are related to German kaufen.
English Chapman is another " close relative" as it does not mean "a man in a cap" but a merchant . Compare German Kaufmann; Dutch koopman.
The Chat of Chatsworth is completely unrelated. It means "Chats" " Enclosure". Fenced off area belonging to one Mister "Ceatt".
Scandinavian names such as Norrkoepping and Soederkoepping are also related and mean " trading-place in the north" , "trading-place in the south".

7. Which German placename literally means "place of the monks" and is therefore the equivalent of the name Monaco ?

Answer: Muenchen

Muenster means Monastery but does not translate as Monaco.
Muehlbach would be the "place near the stream near the mill".
Muesli is not a town, not even in Switzerland.
Muenchen (to be understood as "monks'location ") is German for Munich.
Monaco is the Italian name of the Principality that borders France and Italy.
Muenchen does not mean "little monk", but is Bavarian for "monks" in the plural.From an older form Munich-en. The correct standard German word would be Moenchen. As in Moenchen Gladbach. Or as in Dutch placenames such as Monnikenrede; Monnikendam.Or Flemish Munkzwalm.
The story about the Muenchner Kindl, the child dressed as a priest, belongs to folklore. If Muenchen stood for "little monk" it should have had to be " Muench-chen" or "Muench-lein"."

8. The famous Prado Museum in Madrid was built on what originally was meadowland ( from Spanish prado).Which famous Parisian Museum was built in an area that originally was called "place where wolves abound"?

Answer: Louvre

The medieval name of that area was "Louvrea".

9. Which of these Canadian placenames is the only one to have a European origin?

Answer: Labrador

Labrador most likely derives from the Portuguese word for a labourer or farmer.
Saskatchewan is from Cree for 'rapid-flowing river' (Kisiskatchewani Sipi).
Winnipeg is also from the Cree language and means 'dirty water' (win-nipi).
Manitoba is from Algonquian and related to their word for "Great Spirit" Manitou.

10. Of which of these former parts of "the old South-Africa" does the name betray that it was originally founded by the Portuguese ?

Answer: Natal

It was discovered by Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day 1497. He called the area "Costa do Natal" which is Portuguese for Christmas Coast.
Modern South-Africa has nine provinces: Eastern Cape; the Free State; Gauteng; KwaZulu-Natal; Limpopo; Mpumalanga; North-West; Northern Cape; and Western Cape.

Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor nerthus before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Not only ordinary words but also names of countries, cities, etc. often have a surprising origin. See which of these you can identify.

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