# Why do country/state names that start with "A" end with "A"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956 "2012-06-22T16:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/21 "2012-06-22T21:39:33Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > What is the pattern? You have one outlier, which isn’t particularly unusual. Which pattern? The pattern that shows a clear propensity to end with an “a” any state or country name that begins with an “a”. It happens at a rate double or more than any other starting letter. There are more than enough “a” to “a” examples (20) to reasonably demonstrate the pattern. It’s not like I asked why every country that starts with a “q” ends with an “r”. And, yes, “a” to “a” is an outlier, which is kind of my point. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/22 "2012-06-23T02:39:39Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > (Nine out of 11, with the exceptions being Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.) And all those countries that end in -istan or -stan: that’s an ending meaning roughly ‘land of the’. So Afghanistan is ‘land of the Afghans’, Pakistan is ;land of the Paki’s (pure)', etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/23 "2012-06-23T04:33:14Z")
The smallness of your sample size, coupled with the tendency for country names to **end** in “a”, is distorting your perception. If you look at a bigger sample including other types of toponym, for example names of counties, you’ll see that [the vast majority of ones that begin with “a” do NOT end in “a”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._county_name_etymologies_(A%E2%80%93D)). Small sample size + random fluctuations + tendency of country names to end in “a” + confirmation bias = spurious conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/24 "2012-06-23T05:19:08Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If you look at a bigger sample including other types of toponym, for example names of counties, you’ll see that [the vast majority of ones that begin with “a” do NOT end in “a”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._county_name_etymologies_(A%E2%80%93D)). Yeah, they all end in “y” (or “h” in Louisiana). 😉 Counties are kind of a bad example because the vast majority of counties are just someone’s name, as opposed to a word specifically devised to be a place name. Just skimming that list, it looks to me like “a” endings are indeed over-represented among the county names that aren’t named after a specific person. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/25 "2012-06-23T06:09:39Z")
Okay, okay, okay, we’ll say it! It’s all part of the Illuminati’s Secret Master Plan! And now that it’s out in the open, they’re going to have to kill all of the penguins to get things back on track! That’s right, little dead penguins! Are you happy now? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/26 "2012-06-23T12:40:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, okay, okay, we’ll say it! It’s all part of the Illuminati’s Secret Master Plan! And now that it’s out in the open, they’re going to have to kill all of the penguins to get things back on track! That’s right, little dead penguins! Are you happy now? You mean the penguins that live in… **ANTARCTICA??!!** ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/27 "2012-06-24T07:35:45Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > \*\*Every \*\*state/country/province that starts with Y ends in N. Oh, come on! You probably thought of 2 or 3 examples and thought that covered the entire world. Well, it obviously doesn’t. Here’s a list of those that do end in N: Yemen Yerevan, Armenia Yangon, Burma Yunnan, China Yucatan, Mexico Yukon, Canada Yilan, Taiwan Yunlin, Taiwan Yasothon, Thailand And here’s a list where they don’t: Yardimli, Azerbaijan Yevlax, Azerbaijan Yambol, Bulgaria Yomou, Guinea Yoro, Honduras Yazd, Iran Yamagata, Japan Yamaguchi, Japan Yamanashi, Japan Yanggang, N Korea Ysyk-Kol, Kyrgyzstan Yap, Micronesia Yobe, Nigeria Yaroslavl’, Russia Yala, Thailand Yalova, Turkey Yozgat, Turkey Yumbe, Uganda Yaracuy, Venezuela Yen Bai, Vietnam Note that both lists contain things usually labeled prefectures, districts, regions, oblasts, and a few other synonyms of state/province. I didn’t discriminate on that basis – any 1st level administative division was included. Names were taken from [this page](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2051.html) of the CIA World Factbook. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/28 "2012-06-24T14:34:47Z")
Thank you for that link. Up until now we were apparently just using the American states; I added Canada (but I missed Vermont). Since that was what the OP was using, I continued in that vein. I never intended to cover the whole world. If we use provinces and districts of other countries the idea that states that begin with A always end with A is clearly just a fluke of probability: Algeria: Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba Brazil: Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas China: Anhui Columbia: Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico El Salvador: Ahuachapan Those are few quick examples from the first few countries. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/29 "2012-06-25T05:46:34Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You mean the penguins that live in… **ANTARCTICA??!!** Not after next Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/30 "2012-06-25T07:45:42Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > Or is there an etyomological reason for it? There is an ethymological reason why many place names end in -a, but it’s got nothing to do with how they start. As mentioned in one of the first posts, the -ia suffix comes from one meaning “land of the…”, so you get lots of People-ias which end in, tadaaaaa… A! — but only for places which got originally named in Latin or in a Romance language, many of which do not have an -a in English but do have one in some Romance languages (not necessarily in all of them). ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/31 "2012-06-25T20:27:18Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > It can’t be a coincidence. It most certainly can. It may or may not be, but it can be. E.T.A. whats up with H?!! > [@](#): > > H: 0% ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/32 "2012-06-25T20:36:35Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > It most certainly can. > > It may or may not be, but it can be. I’ll assume you realize I wasn’t speaking literally. > [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > E.T.A. whats up with H?!! 0% of countries/states that start with h end with a. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/33 "2012-06-25T21:23:14Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > I’ll assume you realize I wasn’t speaking literally. Your reluctance to accept that this may have happened by chance suggests that you were speaking literally. > [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > 0% of countries/states that start with h end with a. I understand. I was drawing attention to your lack of surprise at this fact. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/34 "2012-06-25T21:28:59Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > I understand. I was drawing attention to your lack of surprise at this fact. Ah. Another incident of light sarcasm not always translating through the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/35 "2012-06-25T22:47:02Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > 0% of countries/states that start with h end with a. Hungaria? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/36 "2012-06-26T04:01:01Z")
> [@Victor\_Charlie](#): > > 0% of countries/states that start with h end with a. Only if you restrict yourself to US states: Columbia: Huila Estonia: Harjumaa, Hiiumaa Look at the bigger picture; in any small data set there are bound to be statistical anomalies. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956/37 "2012-06-26T05:12:08Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Hungaria? Hibernia? Hispaniola? Hollandia? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-country-state-names-that-start-with-a-end-with-a/625956.md?page=1)