# What's in a (city) name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499 "2010-12-01T01:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/21 "2010-12-01T19:25:05Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > Istanbul was Constantinople. I knew that! But only because I had a date in Constantinople, and she was waiting in Istanbul. Even old New York was once New Amsterdam - but the name change there is pretty readily comprehensible, as it came with a change in ownership. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/22 "2010-12-01T19:40:04Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > My wife’s hometown in north Wales has an “official” English name, as well as a Welsh name that locals use. > > I got quite confused the first time I visited when she asked the taxi driver to take us home and gave the Welsh name for the town (which I’d never heard before). I’m guessing it may be because the Welsh name, like most Welsh placenames it seems, sounds like someone’s chocking on a piece of food. > [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > We don’t have too many of these in the United States. The main thing we seem to disagree on naming is Civil War battles. Or the name of the Civil War / The War of Northern Agression itself … > [@Leaffan](#): > > Gatineau, across the Ottawa River from the city of Ottawa is a close approximation of this. > > The city was originally known as Hull, but it was amalgamated with several smaller towns about 10 years ago to form one municipal administration. Although Hull was the largest of the amalgamated cities the new name became Gatineau, after one of the smaller towns. > > A lot of the English speaking in the region still refer to the city as Hull, and of course the French speaking people prefer Gatineau. Hm! Ignorance fought! I used to tell people I’ve been to both Gatineau and Hull, referring to the same trip where we visited my uncle in Ottawa, then drove across the bridge to what I thought was Hull, only to leave Hull and go up into the hills to Gatineau Park (named, I thought, for the nearby town I heard about that I assumed was between Hull and the Park and I figured we must have driven through if so) for a picnic lunch (with a great view) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/23 "2010-12-01T19:42:33Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > This is nowhere near as contentious an issue as Londonderry though. I lived in Londonderry for 3 years as a kid. Do they still have segregated Protestand and Catholic neighbourhoods, or are they more integrated now? I think it is still largely segregated but you’d have to ask a local about whether it has become more integrated in recent years. Walking around the walls, there’s a clearly visible Protestant enclave festooned with flags and murals. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/24 "2010-12-01T19:43:47Z")
You misspelled Doire. I don’t know if an airport counts, but there’s a small percentage of fools who think that “National Airport” near Washington, DC has been re-named for Ronald Reagan. These people are idiots. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/25 "2010-12-01T20:06:03Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Gatineau was the larger city in terms of population (according to Wikipedia, 102,898 vs. 66,246 in 2001), at least in part because it had been previously amalgamated during the 1970s. But it was a suburban city while Hull was more of a central city and was generally considered as such, though both were basically suburbs of Ottawa economically speaking, especially since the public sector became the main industry in the region. And I’d say that it was mostly residents of Hull who wanted the new city to be named Hull, while residents of Gatineau wanted it named Gatineau, independently of what language they speak. (Both Gatineau and Hull were after all mainly French-speaking cities; the English-speaking population is mostly found in Aylmer, yet another smaller city that was incorporated in the new Gatineau.) > > If someone refers to the amalgamated city of Gatineau as “Hull”, it’s probably because they’re not from the region and used to think of Hull as the central city. Others do as I do: still use the 1980-2000 city names for geographical references, but use Gatineau when speaking of the municipal administration. At some point I started calling it Gatineau-Hull, and generally find it easier to continue doing so (in the rare occasions it comes up - the fact is I don’t know the area well enough to even know which original town I’d be in anyways!) Was that popular for a while? I wonder where I picked it up? > [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t know if an airport counts, but there’s a small percentage of fools who think that “National Airport” near Washington, DC has been re-named for Ronald Reagan. These people are idiots. My friend wants me to pick her up at “Trudeau” airport this weekend…I hope she means Dorval, since that’s where I’ll be! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/26 "2010-12-01T20:10:15Z")
Unfortunately, the news media seem to have gone along with this “Reagan Airport” nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/27 "2010-12-01T20:32:44Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > I’m guessing it may be because the Welsh name, like most Welsh placenames it seems, sounds like someone’s chocking on a piece of food. Yeah, she has family living nearby in Froncysyllte and Rhosllannerchrugog - I feel like a cat with a hairball trying to pronounce them! ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/28 "2010-12-01T21:15:54Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t know if an airport counts, but there’s a small percentage of fools who think that “National Airport” near Washington, DC has been re-named for Ronald Reagan. These people are idiots. > [@mnemosyne](#): > > My friend wants me to pick her up at “Trudeau” airport this weekend…I hope she means Dorval, since that’s where I’ll be! 😉 Unless I’m being whooshed (which is a very real possibility with me - I’ve been whooshed so much Transport Canada has installed a runway on my scalp!) and this is sarcasm, isn’t the proper names of the respective airports [Reagan National Airport](http://www.mwaa.com/reagan/reagan.htm) and [Montreal-Trudeau](http://www.admtl.com/Passengers/Home.aspx)? (Or, as I fear, this is Doper intransigence against renaming for a political figure they don’t care for) ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/29 "2010-12-01T21:24:06Z")
Am I right that Bangkok is known to its inhabitants as Krung-thep? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/30 "2010-12-01T21:37:08Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Unless I’m being whooshed (which is a very real possibility with me - I’ve been whooshed so much Transport Canada has installed a runway on my scalp!) and this is sarcasm, isn’t the proper names of the respective airports [Reagan National Airport](http://www.mwaa.com/reagan/reagan.htm) and [Montreal-Trudeau](http://www.admtl.com/Passengers/Home.aspx)? (Or, as I fear, this is Doper intransigence against renaming for a political figure they don’t care for) It’s intransigence, perfectly justifiable intransigence. Congress changed the name of Washington National Airport against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the local residents as a political fuck-you. They also forced the constantly underfunded Metro system to incur unnecessary expenditures in changing all the signs in the subway system from “National Airport” to “Reagan National Airport.” And “proper names”? Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/31 "2010-12-01T23:07:47Z")
"Montréal- Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport / Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau de Montréal ". The name “Montréal-Trudeau” distinguishes it from “Montréal-Mirabel”, which is closed to passenger traffic but is still run by the ADM. Trudeau used to be called Montréal-Dorval International Airport, and most people I know who grew up in the province still call it Dorval (the name only changed in 2004). I think it will eventually shift to the new name, but it’s going to take a while. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/32 "2010-12-02T03:06:00Z")
> [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](#): > > Am I right that Bangkok is known to its inhabitants as Krung-thep? Correct. Krung Thep means “City of Angels” and is short for the full name: **Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.** That means: **“The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma.”** Yes, schoolchildren have to memorize it. Then they forget it later on, as many of the words are archaic, and the children don’t even know what they mean. They’re just repeating sounds (like with the Pledge of Allegiance. ;)). “Bangkok” means “place of olive trees or groves.” A few people think it’s from the word for “island,” from when the city was crisscrossed by rivers and canals, but that’s a decidedly minority viewpoint. Only foreigners Say “Bangkok” now, but the Thais all know the word. However, they pronounce it more like “Bahng Gawk.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499/33 "2010-12-02T06:05:41Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > At some point I started calling it Gatineau-Hull, and generally find it easier to continue doing so (in the rare occasions it comes up - the fact is I don’t know the area well enough to even know which original town I’d be in anyways!) Was that popular for a while? I wonder where I picked it up? It was used before the merger because, as said, Hull was the central city while Gatineau was the larger city in the region. Today I don’t hear it much. > [@mnemosyne](#): > > "Montréal- Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport / Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau de Montréal ". The name “Montréal-Trudeau” distinguishes it from “Montréal-Mirabel”, which is closed to passenger traffic but is still run by the ADM. What’s ironic is that as prime minister, Pierre Trudeau was largely responsible for the building of Mirabel Airport, which was intended to become Eastern Canada’s main airport. The westward shift in Canada’s economic centre, as well as the excessive distance between Mirabel Airport and Montreal, led to its decline and eventual closure to passenger transport. And then they named the _other_ airport in Dorval for Trudeau. > [@](#): > > Trudeau used to be called Montréal-Dorval International Airport, and most people I know who grew up in the province still call it Dorval (the name only changed in 2004). I think it will eventually shift to the new name, but it’s going to take a while. The Montreal central bus station uses a vocal system with pre-recorded messages to call passengers to the boarding gates. They’ve all been recorded several years ago by a female speaker. When the airport was renamed they re-recorded its name on the boarding message, with a male voice. So for a few years the message they played was this one: \Passengers traveling to\\Trudeau airport\\please proceed to door #…\. More recently they went back to what I assume was the original message, so the same female voice now says Dorval airport. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-city-name/562499.md?page=1)