# countries named after people
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 13, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338 "2001-05-13T20:52:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@jbird3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbird3000)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2001, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/21 "2001-05-13T22:23:00Z")
That would be union, not unition, of course.
---
### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/22 "2001-05-13T22:25:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \*
> \*\*
> Philippines (?)
> \*\*
Yes, the Philippines were named after King Philip II of Spain.
---
### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/23 "2001-05-13T22:29:09Z")
Georgia is Caucasian, not Baltic.
At one time it was thought Britain was named after an ancient bloke name of Brutus.
Russia was named after the Rus people, but I understood the OP as concerning countries named after individuals. If you bring in countries named after ethnonyms, that would be a huge category in itself. Somalia, Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Germany, Denmark, England, Scotland, Mauritania, Finland, Estonia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, France, Belgium, are all examples of countries named after ethnic groups. Then there’s China named after the Qin dynasty.
Uzbekistan takes its name from a tribal confederation which was named after an individual who was a commander of Turko-Mongol forces.
---
### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/24 "2001-05-14T00:23:31Z")
The name Jordan is derived from an ancient Semitic (I guess either Canaanite or Hebrew) root, _yarad_, which means ‘to go down to the water’. Clearly, the Jordan River is the going-down-to-the-water _par excellence_, since it has such a long drop all the way down to the Dead Sea. The Arabic name for it is _al-Urdun_.
---
### Author:  [@Snaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snaf)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/25 "2001-05-14T02:40:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by zgystardst \*
> \*\*Tasmania \*\*
As long as pedantry is reigning supreme in this discussion, Tasmania (named after Dutch navigator and explorer, Abel Tasman) is a state of Australia, not a country 😉
Snaf
---
### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/26 "2001-05-14T02:57:37Z")
We doing states now? Got a bunch of them…
Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington.
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/27 "2001-05-14T03:14:29Z")
Canada can kick in the provinces of Alberta (named after one of Queen Vicky’s daughters), Prince Edward Island (named after Vicky’s dad) and British Columbia (meaning that part of the Columbia region that was under British control).
We used to have Rupert’s Land, but it underwent a name change in 1870.
---
### Author:  [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/28 "2001-05-14T03:36:03Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ice Wolf \*
> \*\*Saudi Arabia (after ibn Saud); Russia (if you’re going to have Israel, you should have Russia, named after the Rus people. \*\*
Actually, Israel was not named after the Israeli people, but a person named Israel – the patriarch Jacob. So unless there was a similiar guy named Rus, that wouldn’t work for Russia.
---
### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/29 "2001-05-14T04:02:19Z")
Don’t forget the **Cook Islands**.
And, no one’s mentioned **Suriname** (the country named after all of us\*).
[sub]_except for I of course_\*
---
### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/30 "2001-05-14T05:30:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ice Wolf \*
> \*\*Russia (if you’re going to have Israel, you should have Russia, named after the Rus people. \*\*
I think they’re referring to Israel, the epithet of Jacob, son of Isaac.
---
### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/31 "2001-05-14T05:39:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \*
> \*\*The name Jordan is derived from an ancient Semitic (I guess either Canaanite or Hebrew) root, _yarad_, which means ‘to go down to the water’. Clearly, the Jordan River is the going-down-to-the-water _par excellence_, since it has such a long drop all the way down to the Dead Sea. The Arabic name for it is _al-Urdun_. \*\*
Jomo - _YaRaD_ is indeed the Hebrew root meaning ‘to go down’. Considering the fact that the nether end of the Jordan Valley is the lowest place on Earth, it’s an appropriate name.
As for the Kingdom of Jordan, the name is actually a shortening of \*Transjordan[/], meaning the “part of Palestine east of the river Jordan”. It was split off from the western half of the country by the British in the 1930’s and given to the Hashemites - better known as "the guys from _Lawrence of Arabia_ - who rule it to this day.
---
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/32 "2001-05-14T05:39:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Ice Wolf \*
> > \*\*Russia (if you’re going to have Israel, you should have Russia, named after the Rus people. \*\*
>
> I think they’re referring to Israel, the epithet of Jacob, son of Isaac. \*\*
There’s no reason to be throwing epithets around, **matt**.
There’s no reason to be throwing epithets around **matt** , either.
😃
---
### Author:  [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/33 "2001-05-14T07:12:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \*
> \*\*We doing states now? Got a bunch of them…
>
> Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington. \*\*
There’s also New York, named for James, the Duke of York.
As for countries, Ottoman Empire was named after Othman I ( or Osman I) (1258-1326), who founded the ruling dynasty.
---
### Author:  [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/34 "2001-05-14T07:14:39Z")
That should, of course, read _ **the** _ Ottoman Empire.
---
### Author:  [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/35 "2001-05-14T11:38:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \*
> \*\*
> Russia was named after the Rus people_\*
Not really IIRC. It’s named after the Swedish vikings that founded the country and they came from the region of Roslagen, just North of Stockholm.
---
### Author:  [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/36 "2001-05-14T12:02:58Z")
I grant that Israel was the other name for Jacob, and that this was the start of the House, or Kingdom, of Israel (a group of tribes all in that part of the holy land). But can anyone show me that Medinat Y’srael was named for the _person_ rather than the group of people known collectively as the Kingdom of Israel?
If the latter is the case, I still put forward Russia. The Rus were a people, also known as the Kiev Rus. Maybe I’m just feeling argumentative tonight.
BTW, **Floater** , that’s an interesting factoid. But they were still known as the Rus. Aw, who cares? At least I got Saudi Arabia right, huh? Huh?
Epithets or no epithets. 😉
---
### Author:  [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/37 "2001-05-14T13:41:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Some Guy \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by curwin \*
> > **Georgia.**
>
> Not to be pedantic, but:
>
> Georgia, the U.S. state, is named after a person, King George. The baltic nation of Georgia, however, is not. \*\*
That’s interesting – do you know the origin of the name of the nation of Georgia?
---
### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/38 "2001-05-14T17:57:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Protesilaus \*
> \*\*As for countries, Ottoman Empire was named after Othman I ( or Osman I) (1258-1326), who founded the ruling dynasty. \*\*
If we’re including former names, Hawaii used to be called the Sandwich Islands, named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. (He’s more famous, of course, for having [invented the sandwich](http://earlofsandwich.co.uk/).)
---
### Author:  [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/39 "2001-05-15T01:04:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by curwin \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Some Guy \*
> > \*\*
> >
> > > [@](#):
> > >
> > > \*Originally posted by curwin \*
> > > **Georgia.**
> >
> > Not to be pedantic, but:
> >
> > Georgia, the U.S. state, is named after a person, King George. The baltic nation of Georgia, however, is not. \*\*
>
> That’s interesting – do you know the origin of the name of the nation of Georgia?
>
> \*\*
1. Mea Culpa. Looks like Gaudere’ law caught up to me 😉
2. The explanation I always heard was that it was a serious mispronunciation of the original name of the country by various westerners. Unfortunately, I can’t find a cite for this on the net - even the georgian-Language sites out there seem really keen on only using the “International” name of the country, and in any case the present name would not be the same as the historical one (which, shamefully, I can’t find either).
3. I’d like to randomly point out that the nation of Colchis,famous of course in Greek legend as the site of the Golden Fleece, was an actual historical civilization that existed in the same geographical area as present-day Georgia.
---
### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338/40 "2001-05-15T02:57:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> There’s also New York, named for James, the Duke of York.
Interestingly, its capital is named after the same fellow, who was also Duke of Albany.
> [@](#):
>
> do you know the origin of the name of the nation of Georgia?
I have always assumed our word for the country is derived from the same Greek word that gives us the personal name George, _georgos_ (“farmer”). This is repeated on several sites I found, but [this one](http://www.oars.utk.edu/~zlotchen/georgia/tbilisi.html) presents two other theories besides: 1) it is derived from the Persian name for the Georgian people, _gurzhi_ and 2) it is named after St. George. If it is named after St. George, Georgia qualifies as a country named after a person.
The Georgians name for their own country is Sakartvelo, or Sakartvelo Respublikis.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-named-after-people/65338.md?page=3)