# Certain Languages Change The Names Of Geographic Places - Can You Provide Examples? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681 "2005-03-28T22:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/41 "2005-05-09T15:59:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve never understood why the English form of **Firenze** is **Florence** – that seems a pretty big change… but why **Greece** for > **Hellas**? . Both come from the Roman names, _Florentia_ and _Graecia_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/42 "2005-05-09T16:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by CalMeacham > I’ve never understood why the English form of Firenze is Florence – that seems a pretty big change… but why Greece for > Hellas? . > Both come from the Roman names, Florentia and Graecia Well then why for how come “Firenze”, since Italian derives from Latin? ---
**Author:** ![Eurograff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Eurograff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eurograff)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/43 "2005-05-09T17:20:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Well then why for how come “Firenze”, since Italian derives from Latin? I think this may have been addressed in some of the earlier threads (different names for places in other languages is quite a popular topic in GQ) but probably the original Florentia just became Florenza or Fiorentia at some point, then came the medieval Fiorenza and finally, in 1500s, Firenze. Italian is different from Latin anyway, remember that it also has some influence from various Germanic tribes’ languages among others, possibly it’s just that ‘Fio’ was easier to pronounce than ‘Flo’, or something similar. Basically those sounds just changed a little and gradually. Two thousand years is a lot of time and languages are always under change. Interestingly, the Florentine football club is called ACF Fiorentina even today. And obviously the original Florentia comes from Flora, flower or blossom. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/44 "2005-05-09T17:31:13Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > The United States are called by the: > > French _Etats-Unis_, abbreviated E.U. > . Which, I would mention, is a pain, because I consistently mistake E.U. (Etats Unis, USA) for U.E (Union Europeenne, European Union) when reading papers (especially since I’m accustomed to read E.U. standing for European Union in english). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/45 "2005-05-09T22:39:15Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > No - the question was not only about Icelandic: > > To which the answer is ‘no’. True. The short answer is “No.” However, neither poster responded “No.” In responding to the line > [@](#): > > I can’t even think of one country we call by its indigenous name here each poster provided a list of countries in which English uses the original spelling, giving the impression that they might have missed the second portion of the post to which they were respoonding. It is not true in English, but may well be true in Icelandic. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/46 "2005-05-09T22:46:41Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > In responding to the line each poster provided a list of countries in which English uses the original spelling, giving the impression that they might have missed the second portion of the post to which they were respoonding. It is not true in English, but may well be true in Icelandic. Fair enough. Although I’m still interested in knowing the Icelandic for Kyrgyzstan. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/47 "2005-05-10T08:56:15Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > From a [Florida tourism site](http://www.seefloridaonline.com/_keywest/about.html): > That’s the explanation I’ve always heard. Makes more sense coming from a Spanish word than from French, since it was Spain that landed there first. Cayo Hueso is a re-translation of Key West in which _Hues_o is a Spanish corruption of _West_. I can’t find the original explanation for this. In Google: Cayo Hueso is how Cubans call KEY WEST. Casa Cayo Hueso, which means “Key West House”… ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/48 "2005-05-10T11:51:31Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I [posted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4541363&postcount=13) in a thread once about Arabic names for Arab countries, and listed them all. > > Most of the Arabic names are the same as in English or recognizably similar. In the case of Filastin, al-Urdun, and Suriyah the Arabic forms are derived from the same origin as the English forms, but developed differently. The vowel u in Suriyah reminds us that the Greek letter upsilon, which became y in English, was originally u. [symbol]Suria[/symbol] However, to avoid being consistent, which would make things distressingly easy to understand, the Greek upsilon in [symbol]Libua[/symbol] was converted to i in the Arabic name for Libya: Libiya. That reminds me… in French, Libya has all the same letters as in English, but in a different order: Lybia. Does any other country work out like that? ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/49 "2005-05-10T13:37:38Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > It is not true in English, but may well be true in Icelandic. And indeed it is in most cases; thanks tomndebb–like so many other souls whose intentions are good, I tend to be somewhat misunderstood. > [@GorillaMan](#): > > Fair enough. Although I’m still interested in knowing the Icelandic for Kyrgyzstan. Through a complex filtering of Icelandic grammatical rules and traditions, and after a dash of creative brilliance, it is ultimately Icelandized as …“Kyrgistan”. As it turns out, we’ve really only translated names of places of some significance to Iceland–makes sense, I guess. Don’t know if it’s a moot point but there are of course differences in geographical names from one language to the other; the Germans call Belarus “Weisrussland” while we call it “Hvíta-Rússland” but it’s all the same name, “White Russia”. I actually think relatively few countries share the exact same Geographic name for one city or country, just look at a fairly simple names like Zimbabwe/Simbabwe/Simbabve. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/50 "2005-05-11T12:47:27Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > That reminds me… in French, Libya has all the same letters as in English, but in a different order: Lybia. C’est pas vrai. Libya in French is [Libye](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libye). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/51 "2005-05-11T14:51:13Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > C’est pas vrai. Libya in French is [Libye](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libye). Thanks for the correction. All of the French speaking folks I worked with spelled it that way, so I thought it was French but now maybe it was just a very common mistake. There are scads of “cites” for that spelling on other sites, including this one for the “[Lybia Embassy in London](http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/uk/england/london/south-west/sw7-south-kensington/embassy/lybia-embassy.htm)”. It also turns up spelled this way very frequently on Italian sites. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/52 "2005-05-11T15:16:46Z")
Hebrew has a host of completely different name places. To name but a few: USA - _Artzot Ha’Brit_ (literally – States of the Union) France – _Tzarfat_ Spain – _Spharad_ (hence the term _Sephardi_ for North African Jews – they got there from Spain). _Ashkenaz_, while no longer used as a place name, could have been used in the past to refer to modern-day Germany Egypt – _Mitzra’yim_ (which is pretty much what they call themseves, IIRC) China – _Sin_ (think of the prefix _sino-_ in English) India – _Hodu_ Greece – _Yavan_ (similar to Ionia) Dani [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681.md?page=2)