What does your town name mean?

[whooleytoo]

Skibbereen. "The sound sunburnt thighs make getting up off a deck chair" according to Douglas Adams!

It might derive from Uisce Brean "foul/smelly water", but unsurprisingly most here prefer to think it derives from "harbour of skiffs" (small boats). That makes sense, as the town was founded upriver when the port at the mouth of the river was sacked by Algerian pirates in the mid 17th century - the people moved upriver where the pirate vessels couldn't travel.

 

[takao]

Dornbirn (literally translated "Thorn-Pear" i know it's comical) is coming from the old name "Torrinpuirron" (which means "Settlement of Torro") noted first in documents 895

over the time the name changed of course and now even the coat of arms include a Pear-tree

in dialect it's called "Dorabirra"

when people started to build here i don't know but it got dated roughly in the 6./7. century with an allemanic graveyard
before that only the usual traces out of the bronze age

 

[MOFS]

My little town

Hightown, Merseyside, UK. Uh........

Ironically, its actually at sea level and will be oe of the first places to go under if sea levels rise significantly.

 

[echeck]

I'm from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada (around 30 seconds north of Toronto).

I think Toronto is my favorite "big city". I was only there for a few days about five years ago, but it was beautiful the entire time I was there.

Unfortunately I didn't get to do very much on my own since we had a tight schedule, but it did take us downtown and to Casa Loma (gorgeous!), and we got to walk across the Toronto Islands from Centre Island to Ward's Island. The little neighborhoods out on the islands were incredible, and the giant hedge maze was really cool too.

I'll go back in the next few years, but this time as an actual vacation with my wife!

 

[BoyBach]

Cwm literally translates as 'valley'.

Sounds about right too me!

 

[me_94501]

"Alameda" is the Spanish term for a grove of poplar trees or a tree-lined avenue. Exciting.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Don't know where my particular town got its name, but the nearest big city is Cleveland, and that was named for the founder, Moses Cleaveland.

Soon after landing here, he painted the "a" in his name dark red and sold it to Nathaniel Hawthorne.

 

[latergator116]

Providence: According to Mirriam-Webster, it means "divine guidance or care".

 

[apfhex]

Here's what the 'pedia says about Cotati:

"In July of 1844, the Mexican government granted Rancho Cotate to Captain Juan Castenada, a Mexican military commander from Texas, in payment for his military services in the region as a soldier under General Vallejo. The grant took its name from Kotati (Kota'ti), a Coast Miwok village although a legend arose that Rancho Cotate was named after a local Indian named Chief Cotati."

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Worcester.

Wor = War / Cester = Castle. But we pronounce it "Wussta," not "War-ces-ter."

Dating back to Latin, it's something about a "War Castle," or a fortification.

 

[mfacey]

I live in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, my street is about 1.5 meters below sea-level

From wikipedia:
Settlement at the lower end of the fen stream Rotte (or Rotta, as it was then known, from rot “muddy” + a “water”, thus “muddy water”) dates from at least 900. Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams, including Schielands Hoge Zeedijk (“Schieland’s High Sea Dike”) along the northern banks of the present-day Nieuwe Maas. A dam was built in the 1260s or 1270s to prevent high water and storm tides from flooding the land through the Rotte’s course. This dam at the Rotte, or “Rotterdam”, was located at the present-day Hoogstraat (“High Street”).

 

[eluk]

I live in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, my street is about 1.5 meters below sea-level

Cuts down on the laundry bills.

 

[Counterfit]

Worcester.

Wor = War / Cester = Castle. But we pronounce it "Wussta," not "War-ces-ter."

Dating back to Latin, it's something about a "War Castle," or a fortification.

WOOSTAH. But I guess you can call it Wussta if you live in a rival city...

Anyways, my town is named after this place.

 

[Abstract]

I think Toronto is my favorite "big city". I was only there for a few days about five years ago, but it was beautiful the entire time I was there.

Yeah, Toronto is really a great city. If you travel often and then see Toronto, you usually understand what I'm talking about. Living there isn't bad, either. I say this because there's a difference between being a great travel city, and being a great city to live in.

 

[USMaC]

My current city has had a few names since it was founded by Peter the Great in 1703.

Saint Petersburg/Sankt-Peterburg (1703 - 1914) - in honor of Peter the Great's patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter
Petrograd (1914 - 1924) - during WWI, it was thought that Sankt-Peterburg was too German, so Tsar Nicholas II renamed it to something more Russian, which basically means "Peter's City"
Leningrad (1924 - 1991) - renamed in Lenin's honor three days after his death
Saint Petersburg (1991 - pres) - after the collapse of the Soviet Union, by a very small majority (54%), the population decided to restore the original name, although the surrounding region retains the name Leningrad Oblast

 

[Nickygoat]

Bethnal Green, London.

Bethnal is derived from Bathon Hall, the seat of the Bathon family who owned most of the land at the time of Edward the First (1239-1307).

The Green comes from, well, the large field.

Notable for it's mental hospital, boxing and organised crime. What a neighbourhood

 

[Applespider]

The town where I was born means 'the speckled church' in Scots

I live on the boundary of two areas of London - the post office class me as one, the council as the other

So Forest Hill is as it sounds - a hill with lots of trees on it (part of the Great North Wood remains on the neighbouring Sydenham Hill). There's a great view of London from various points on the Hill and a lovely little museum - the Horniman - which is housed in a glorious 'arts and crafts' building with a gorgeous rounded clock tower.

Dulwich supposedly comes from Old English words - dill and wihs - which mean a meadow where the dill (a herb/flower) grows. The first mention of Dulwich was in 967AD. There's a great old coaching inn there with lots of lovely beer...

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

WOOSTAH. But I guess you can call it Wussta if you live in a rival city...

Anyways, my town is named after this place.

I find it funny that everyone thinks we say it Woostah, but honestly, no one ever does. "Wista" is actually more common.

But alas, we still get bill collectors calling asking if I reside in "War-cess-ter" Mass.

 

[comictimes]

I find it funny that everyone thinks we say it Woostah, but honestly, no one ever does. "Wista" is actually more common.

But alas, we still get bill collectors calling asking if I reside in "War-cess-ter" Mass.

I've been going to school here for nearly a year now and I'm still trying ot figure out how to say it properly... I feel like I am but MA natives still laugh at me occasionally when I say it, so apparently I'm not quite there

 

[Counterfit]

I find it funny that everyone thinks we say it Woostah, but honestly, no one ever does. "Wista" is actually more common.

But alas, we still get bill collectors calling asking if I reside in "War-cess-ter" Mass.

Could be worse. You don't get people asking if you live near Quahog.

 

[McGarvels]

Anaheim, CA.

According to wikipedia (link above) it has the following meaning:

Its name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River, and "heim", a common Upper German place name compound originally meaning "home".

I had no idea my town was settled by 50 German families though. Quite interesting.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

I've been going to school here for nearly a year now and I'm still trying ot figure out how to say it properly... I feel like I am but MA natives still laugh at me occasionally when I say it, so apparently I'm not quite there

Yeah, it's awfully tough if you're not from around here. I guess our mouths are built funny.

Could be worse. You don't get people asking if you live near Quahog.

Very, very true.

 

[Coolnat2004]

Hmm.. Edgewood... it's on the edge of... get this... THE WOODS!