# Why's it called The Bronx? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2001, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237 "2001-11-26T04:06:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/1 "2001-11-26T04:06:54Z")
Also Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn etc. Where’d they get their names from? ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/2 "2001-11-26T04:11:06Z")
[Cecil Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_248.html). Check out the archives, where you’ll find all kinds of answers. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/3 "2001-11-26T04:12:36Z")
Well, “Queens” is short for “Queens County”. I think the names Bronx and Brooklyn are derived from the Dutch, who were the original European settlers of New York. And my WAG is that Manhattan is derived from a Native American name for that island. I don’t know why Staten Island is called Richmond. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/4 "2001-11-26T04:34:11Z")
IIRC, “Manhattan” derives from the name of a resident tribe. I could have sworn that the county name of Queens was King’s County, but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/5 "2001-11-26T05:12:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GilaB \* > \*\*IIRC, “Manhattan” derives from the name of a resident tribe. I could have sworn that the county name of Queens was King’s County, but I could be wrong. \*\* You’re wrong. 😃 The borough and county names are as follows: Manhattan - New York Queens - Queens Brooklyn - Kings The Bronx - Bronx Staten Island - Richmond ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/6 "2001-11-26T05:23:57Z")
gila, you are wrong about Queens being part of King’s county. King’s County is the Borough of Brooklyn. When Henry Hudson sailed the Narrows, he named the land to his left (facing north) after the States General of Holland, Staaten Eylandt. Source: [Staten Island Live.](http://www.silive.com/history/) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/7 "2001-11-26T11:26:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph \* > \*\* I think the names Bronx and Brooklyn are derived from the Dutch, who were the original European settlers of New York._\* The name Bronx is derived from Bronck’s Estate and the Bronck in question was a Swedish settler called Jonas Jonasson Bronck. Read more about it [here](http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/762.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/8 "2001-11-26T11:52:49Z")
Or read all about it in the link already provided by peepthis…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/9 "2001-11-26T13:02:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > \*\*gila, you are wrong about Queens being part of King’s county. King’s County is the Borough of Brooklyn. > > When Henry Hudson sailed the Narrows, he named the land to his left (facing north) after the States General of Holland, Staaten Eylandt. > > Source: [Staten Island Live.](http://www.silive.com/history/) \*\* Even after seeing this on their website, I think it’s a load of crap. (Nothing personal, **capacitor**.) I live in a seaside community settled just after the turn of the last century. A popular story down here is how P.T. Barnum’s elephants were enlisted to help build the boardwalk. That story continues to be reported, based on a few photos of elephants holding timbers with their trunks. (They were PR photos). I’ve also heard the borough got its name from a crewman on Hudson’s ship, asking about the landmass to his left, “Is dat an island?” (Is Staten Island) ---
**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:** [November 26, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whys-it-called-the-bronx/95237/10 "2001-11-26T13:12:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Even after seeing this on their website, I think it’s a load of crap. (Nothing personal, capacitor.) I have a copy of a Dutch seventeenth century map of **Manatus, Gelegen op de Noot Rivier** (“Manhattan on the North River”). Jonas Bronck’s estate is clearly marked on it. What amazes me are place names live “Flatbush”, which supposed derives from **'t Vlack Bos** , meaning “a wooded plain”. Of course, I have this from Edward Robb Ellis’ book **The Epic of Manhattan** , and Ellis believed the story about the Sawing-Off of Manhattan, which Snopes has declared a _real_ hoax (meaning that not only was the story of the sawing a hoax, but the hoax itself never actually took place. No contemporary sources refer to it.).