Do you know how the names of the cities to which you have planned your next trip appeared? For example, where did such names as "Paris", "Beijing", "London", "Madrid" or "Berlin" come from?
Historians and etymologists suggest different variants the emergence of names, based on the surviving data and the relationship of various languages.
BERLIN. For example, let's take Berlin - one of the largest European cities (more than 3.4 million people live here). There are 3 versions of the origin of the name ( Berlin):
BEIJING, TOKYO.
Let's talk about the capital of China.
Beijing (Chinese: 北京) has an ancient history. The territory on which the city with a population of more than 21 million people is now located has changed its name several times. For example, for more than 70 years in the 14th century and for more than 20 years in the 20th century, it ceased to be the capital of China and was called "Beiping".
Few people know that the real Chinese name of the capital of the Celestial Empire does not sound like “Beijing” at all. Pronounce correctly Beijing(Beijing), which translates as "Northern Capital". But in many languages, including Russian, the old name remained, not consistent with the normative northern pronunciation.
Returning to the question of the origin of the name of the city, it remains only to note that in East Asia there is a tradition according to which all names of capital cities should reflect their status. And so it happened:
PARIS. Where Paris now stands, in the 3rd century BC there was a small settlement called Lutetia. From Latin, this word is translated quite unromanticly - “ lutum”, i.e. mud or swamp.
The inhabitants of Lutetia were the Celtic tribe of the Parisians. To prevent the city from falling to the Romans, who besieged it in the 50s BC, the Parisians burned their settlement. But the Romans rebuilt the city again. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Lutetia began to be called the city of the Parisians ( Civitas Parisiorum), and a little later renamed Paris ( Paris).
PRAGUE. More than 1.3 million people now live in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Until now, there are disputes about how and why the name of the city appeared, which has existed for about 12 centuries. The name of Prague (Czech. Prague) some historians and linguists associate with the word "threshold" (Czech prah). At the same time, some mean the threshold of the house, the second - the threshold of the river.
There is even a legend about the wise ruler Libush, who predicted the founding of the city. Having become the leader of the tribe, Libush sends his servants to the local forest. There they meet a man who hewed the threshold of the house. This is how the word "Prague" appears.
There is a third hypothesis, according to which the basis of the name of the Czech capital was the word "pražení", which translates as "roasting" and refers to the baking craft.
ROME.
The Eternal City - so for the first time Rome (ital. Roma) was named in the 1st century BC by a local poet. It has an ancient and rich history. No wonder Napoleon once said that "the history of Rome is the history of the whole world."
The name of the city, according to legend, received from its founder - Romulus, who was the first king ancient rome. According to the legend, the mother of Romulus was the priestess of the goddess Vesta, and the father was the god Mars. Romulus and his twin brother Remus were thrown out of the royal palace by an illegitimate heir. The she-wolf saved the children from imminent death, feeding them with her milk. Having matured, the brothers return to the palace and kill the offender, returning to the throne the rightful king - their grandfather.
However, there is another, less romantic version. The name of the city, to which all roads lead, could come from the word "Rumon", as the Tiber River was called in ancient times. Thus, Rome literally means "city on the river".
MADRID.
There are several versions of the origin of Spanish Madrid.
The Spanish capital, according to a number of experts, has Arabic roots. Therefore, according to one version, the basis of his name is the word " majra”, which means “water source” in Arabic.
Initially, the name of the city sounded like "majer-it", that is, "a full-flowing source." Then - as "Magerit", and, finally, got its final name - Madrid. But everything can be even simpler: perhaps the city itself was once a fortification, and its name comes from the Arabic word "madarat" - a city.
Some scientists believe that the name appeared even earlier, has not Arabic, but old Spanish roots and comes from the word " Maderita”, which translates as “forest thickets”.
There is also a rather romantic hypothesis, according to which the Greek soothsayer Manto gave birth to a son from Tiberin, the god of the Tiber River. Named Ocnia, he became the founder of the future Madrid, which was originally named after the Italian homeland of Ocnia Mantua.
LONDON.
And what about London?
Its name is directly related to the name of the ancient Roman city of Londinium, the origin of which can only be guessed at. Perhaps the name appeared in memory of the ancient legendary king, whose name was Lud.
It is likely that one of the largest cities in the world owes its name to the Celts, who so called the course of the river (“ Lundonjon"") and fortifications on the river (" Llyndid»).
The Roman historian Tacitus mentions in 117 an important trading center - the city of Londinium. It was renamed Augusta by the Romans in the 4th century, and an Anglo-Saxon settlement appeared next to it, which they called Lundenvik. After the departure of the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons move to Augusta, abandoned by them, restore the settlement and give it a new name - Lundenburg, which later became shorter - Lunden.
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- Russian
I hope it will be interesting for those who study Russian.
I wanted to talk about the origin of the names of Russian cities.
For centuries of history our country has changed the structure of the language. Many names, simple and understandable to contemporaries of cities, for us remain just a set of sounds. But unearthing the truth is not so difficult. Especially if you know the history of our country. During the resettlement, the Russians met with many peoples, gradually assimilating them. Therefore, one should not be surprised that in the names of many ancient cities there are borrowings from the languages of those peoples who lived on the territory of future settlements before joining their lands to Russia.
Moscow was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. The city was named after the Moscow River, near which it was founded. The origin of the name of the river according to the modern version is derived from the ancient Slavic root "mosk", which means a wet, swampy place. The ancient version of the name is Moskov.
There is a legend about the biblical origin of the name of the city, according to which the name of the river of the same name comes from the name of the biblical Mosokh, the grandson of Noah and the son of Japhet, and his wife Kva - according to the biblical legend, the descendants of Mosokh settled the lands from the Vistula to the White Lake itself.
This legend is connected with the well-known medieval theory of the monk Philotheus “Moscow is the Third Rome”: “Toy for Mosoch after the flood of summer 131, walking from Babylon with his tribe, Abie in Asia and Europe, over the shores of Pontus or the Black Sea, the people of the Moskhovites in their name and besiege: and from there I multiply the people, walking day from day to the midnight countries beyond the Black Sea, over the Don and the Volga river ... And so from Mosoch, the forefather of Slavenorossiysk, after his last, not only Moscow is a great people, but also all of Russia or Russia, the above-named prison ... ".
St. Petersburg - the name of the city was given by the founder, Tsar Peter the Great in honor of his heavenly patron, the Apostle Peter. Peter I was baptized on June 29, 1672, on Peter's Day, so the desire to name the new city in honor of his saint is quite understandable for the great tsar. However, initially this name was given to a fortress based on Hare Island, from which the construction of the city began in 1703. After the construction of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, the fortress became known as Peter and Paul, and the name Petersburg became the name of the city built around it. In the correspondence of Peter the Great, there is another variant of the name of the city - St. Petropolis. Until now, there is an engraving depicting early Petersburg, signed with this name. But this option did not take root, giving way to the well-known name of St. Petersburg.
On August 18, 1914, in the wake of anti-German sentiment, the city was renamed Petrograd.
January 26, 1924 the city was renamed Leningrad
On June 12, 1991, it was renamed again, receiving the name St. Petersburg.
Ancient cities of Russia:
Vladimir - named after Prince Vladimir Monomakh, the founder of the city.
Yaroslavl - the city is named after the founder, Prince Yaroslav the Wise. What the name also says is the old possessive form from the word Yaroslav. Although, judging by the finds of archaeologists, settlements on the site of the city existed earlier.
Szudal - ancient form names - Suzhdal, there is a spelling Souzhdal. The name comes from the word of the Old Slavonic word "zizhat", that is, to build.
Veliky Novgorod - Novgorod, a new city founded by Slavic settlers in 859, but some researchers, relying on archaeological finds, attribute the foundation of the city to the middle of the 8th century AD. Novgorod has not changed its name since then. For a long time it was one of the centers of trade. There are names of the city in other languages, of which the most famous are Holmgard, as the Scandinavians called Novgorod, Ostrogard of Germanic sources and Nemogard, as the city was called in Byzantium.
Since 1999 it has been officially called Veliky Novgorod.
Nizhny Novgorod - founded in 1221 by Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich at the confluence of the two great rivers Volga and Oka as a stronghold for the defense of the borders of the Vladimir principality from the Moksha, Erzya, Mari and Volga Bulgars. The town was named Novgorod of the Nizovsky land (Nizovsky land of the Vladimir principality was called by the Novgorodians) - later this name was transformed into Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1932, the city received the name Gorky in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky (Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov)
In 1990, the city again became known as Nizhny Novgorod.
Cities founded after the overthrow of the yoke:
Voronezh is a city, the appearance of which is associated with the organization of the protection of the territories of Russia from the steppe nomads. The archive contains the order of the boyar Nikita Romanovich Yuryev dated March 1, 1586 on the reorganization of the guard service on the southern outskirts of the Moscow state, which says: The pine, before reaching Oskol, two bottoms, was ordered to put the city of Livny, and on the Don in Voronezh, before reaching Bogatovo, two bottoms, it was ordered to put Voronezh ... ". However, the record in the Discharge Order of 1585 "about the unsubscribe of the Ryazan side boats and fish catchers to the new city of Voronezh" proves that Voronezh already existed in 1585. Nevertheless, 1586 is officially considered the year of foundation of Voronezh. According to one of the most likely versions, the name "Voronezh" comes from the possessive adjective "Voronezh" Old Slavic name"Voroneg". In the future, the name "Voronezh" ceased to be associated with the name, and the stress moved to the second syllable. Voronezh began to be called the place, and then the river. The city built on it became known as Voronezh.
Saratov - the city was founded on July 2, 1590 by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich Grigory Zasekin and boyar Fyodor Turov, as a fortress to protect against nomad raids. However, settlements on the site of the city have been known since much more ancient times. There is currently no generally accepted hypothesis for the origin of the name. In the recent past, it was believed that Saratov got its name from Sokolova Mountain, which was called in Tatar "sary tau" - "yellow mountain". However, now this hypothesis has been refuted, since Sokolovaya has never been yellow, and a forest has always grown on it. There is an assumption that the name of the city comes from the words "sar atav" - "low-lying island" or "saryk atov" - "hawk island". There is an assumption that Saratov got its name from the Scythian-Iranian hydronym "sarat".
Samara - the city is named after the Samara River, on the banks of which in 1586, by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, under the leadership of Prince Grigory Zasekin, the Samara Town fortress began to be built. The name of the river that gave the city its name has been known since earlier times as "Samur" and in 922 is mentioned in the travel notes of the secretary of the Arab embassy to the Volga Bulgars Ahmed Ibn Fadlan and comes from the ancient Iranian samur, meaning "beaver". Russian and Turkic names of the rivers in the Samara basin for this animal are not single at the present time (such as Konduzla, Bobrovka). According to another version, the name comes from Greek word"Samar", that is, a merchant. V. F. Barashkov associated the name of the river with the Mongolian word Samar with the meaning of "nut, walnut". The name of the river is also derived: from a combination of the Iranian root "sam" or "sham" or the Hungarian "semar" (desert, steppe) and the Hungarian root "ar" - that is steppe river(I. Nikolsky); from the Mongolian "samura, samaura" - mix, stir up; from the Arabic "surra min raa" - "he who sees will be delighted"; on behalf of the son of Noah Sim (Sama), who allegedly owned lands from the Volga and Samara shores to the southeast, including the countries of Asia; from biblical Samaria; from the old Russian "samara", "samarka" - long-sleeved clothes (E. Bazhanov).
In 1935 Samara was renamed Kuibyshev.
On January 28, 1991, the name Samara was returned to the city.
Volgograd - the name is based on the Volga River, on which the city stands.
The first name of the city, Tsaritsyn, was first mentioned by the English traveler Christopher Barro in 1579, but did not refer to the city, but to an island on the Volga. The origin of the name is usually traced to the Turkic "sary-su" (yellow water), "sary-sin" (yellow island) or to the name of the old Khazar city of Saratsin, destroyed by the flood of the river. The date of foundation of the city is considered to be July 2, 1589, when the name of the Tsaritsyno Fortress was first mentioned in the royal charter, but excavations have shown that primitive settlements existed on this site long before the formation of the Russian state. The fortress was located slightly above the confluence of the Tsaritsa River into the Volga on the high right bank. The settlement was located at the site of a crossing over the Itil River (now the Volga) and the intersection of many trade routes, including the main Great Silk Road from China to Europe.
On April 10, 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad.
On November 10, 1961 the city was named Volgograd.
Izhevsk - the city is named after the Izh River, on the banks of which it is located. He grew up from the Izhevsk ironworks, founded in 1760 and the adjacent village.
Rostov-on-Don - founded as a customs post on December 15, 1749. Later, in 1760-1701, to protect against attacks by nomads in the settlement that arose near the customs, a fortress was built, named after St. Dmitry of Rostov. From the name of this fortress came the name of the city of Rostov. To distinguish it from Rostov the Great, the city is called Rostov-on-Don.
Arkhangelsk - the first Russian settlements on Cape Pur-Navolok, on the bend of the marshy right bank of the Northern Dvina, were founded by Novgorodians as early as the 12th century. By the same time, according to legend, the emergence of the Archangel Michael Monastery in this place, named after the Archangel Michael, dates back to the same time. However, the monastery was first mentioned in chronicles only in 1419. Near the monastery there were Pomeranian villages of the Nizov volost - Lisostrov, Knyazhostrov, Uima, Lyavlya and others. In 1583, due to the danger of an attack from Sweden, Ivan IV the Terrible decided to strengthen the defense of Pomorie. In the following year, in 1584, according to the plan received from the tsar, the governors Peter Afanasyevich Nashchokin and Aleksey Nikiforovich Zaleshanin-Volokhov built a fortified city around the monastery and adjacent settlements, named the Arkhangelsk city in honor of the monastery. Officially, this name was approved on August 1, 1613, after the city received independence in governance.
Khabarovsk - founded in May 1858 as a military post, called Khabarovka - in honor of the 17th century explorer Yerofei Khabarov. The founding date is May 31, 1858. In 1880 Khabarovka received the status of a city. On November 2 (October 21 according to the old style), 1893, the city was renamed Khabarovsk.
Kirov is a city that was “lucky” to change names. The first name by which he is known was the name Khlynov. There are several versions of the origin of the name Khlynov. The first is based on the cry of the hly-khly birds that lived in the area where the city was formed: ... A kite flies by and shouts: "Kylno-kylno." So the Lord himself indicated how to name the city: Kylnov ... According to the second, the city was given the name of the Khlynovitsa river, which flows nearby into Vyatka, which, in turn, was named after a breakthrough on a small dam: ... water gushed through it , and the river was given the name Hlynovitsa ... The third theory connects the name with the word hlyn (ushkuynik, river robber), although most experts attribute a later appearance to this word.
The second name of the city was the name Vyatka. Some researchers tend to believe that it came from the name of the territorial group of Udmurts Vatka, who lived in these territories, which was erected to the Udmurt word vad "otter, beaver". However, such an etymology is completely unrealistic from a linguistic point of view. The name Vatka itself was formed from the hydronym Vyatka. According to another version, it is associated with the Vyada people, who had close relations with the Udmurts. Some sources erroneously correlate the word Vyatka with the Vyatichi tribes who lived on the banks of the Oka. However, the word Vyatchane is recognized as the correct self-name, it has established itself as an ethnonym for the inhabitants of the Vyatka region. In addition, historically, such a correlation is completely unjustified: the Vyatichi did not go so far to the east. Nowadays, the most relevant version is the version of L. N. Makarova - she considers the name of the river (Old Russian in origin) with the meaning "larger" (cf. other Russian is more like “more”).
The name Kirov was given to the city after the murder in 1934 of a native of the city of Urzhum in the Vyatka region, Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov (Kirov).
The chronology of the renaming of the city is extremely complex and ambiguous, since few historical documents have been preserved confirming the very fact of renaming. Usually, when they talk about the old names of Kirov, they use the simplified chain of transformations Khlynov - Vyatka - Kirov, and indeed, when founded in 1181, the city was named Khlynov. Starting from 1374 (the first mention of Vyatka), the word Khlynov is not found in any official document or chronicle; section of the so-called "Zalessky" cities after Nizhny Novgorod and Kurmysh. In 1455, a wooden Kremlin with an earthen rampart was built in Vyatka for defensive purposes, which was given the name of the Khlynovitsa River flowing nearby. Subsequently, the name Khlynov spread to the township part of the city, and from 1457 the whole city began to be called Khlynov. in the Kazan. On December 5, 1934, by decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Vyatka was named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov.
The city is located in a region with a large representation of national minorities, so names in other languages have historically been assigned to it. In Mari, it is called "Ilna" or "Ilna-Ola" ("ola" in translation from Mari means "city"). In the Udmurt language, it is called "Vatka" and "Kylno". In Tatar, the name of Kirov sounds like "Kolyn". All these names are obsolete and are not used in modern speech.
Ural cities
Ekatirinburg - the construction of the city began in the spring of 1723, when, by decree of Emperor Peter I, the construction of Russia's largest ironworks began on the banks of the Iset River. The date of birth of the city was November 7 (18), 1723, the factory-fortress was named Yekaterinburg - in honor of Empress Catherine I, wife of Peter I. different factories and manufactories, named in the name of Yekaterinburg, for the memory of eternal childbirth and for the eternal glory of her majesty, the most merciful sovereign empress; ... "On October 14, 1924, the Yekaterinburg City Council decided to rename the city to Sverdlovsk in honor of Yakov Sverdlov, a leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. On September 4, 1991, the name Yekaterinburg was returned to the city. The name "Yekaterinburg" was returned to the railway station on March 30, 2010.
Chelyabinsk - the city was founded in 1736, on September 13, Colonel A. I. Tevkelev "founded the city in the Chelyaby tract from the Miyasskaya fortress thirty miles away." The origin of this toponym is ambiguous. The oldest explanation, which was common among the descendants of the first settlers and old-timers, says that the name of the fortress "Chelyaba" goes back to the Bashkir word "Silabe", that is, "depression; large, shallow hole. It was given by the name of the tract. This version is supported by the notes of the German traveler I. G. Gmelin, who visited the Chelyabinsk fortress in 1742. Today, this version can be considered the most common. Subsequently, various alternative versions appeared: According to the researcher A.V. Orlov, the Chelyabinsk fortress was named after the village of Selyaba, which stood on the river. Selyabka. V. A. Vesnovsky also spoke in favor of this version, who wrote in his reference book in 1909 that, according to legend, by the time Chelyabinsk was founded, there was a Bashkir village of Selyaba in this place. According to some scientists (U.K. Safiulin, G.F. Satarov, Yu.G. Podkorytov), the village was founded by the legendary Turkic hero Selyambey.G. A. Turbin believed that it was the village of the Bashkir tarkhan Taimas Shaimov, who had the honorary title of "chelyabi". It is likely that the patrimonial lands of the Turkic hero Selyabi-Chelebi were located on the site of modern Chelyabinsk. Some researchers deduce the name from the Turkic root "chelabi" ("selyabi"), that is, "noble".
Perm - the day of the foundation of the city is considered the official date of the start of construction of the Egoshikha (Yagoshikhinsky) copper smelter - May 4 (15), 1723. Until now, the origin of the name Perm has three interpretations: either it is the Finno-Ugric expression "pera maa" - "far land", or it is the Komi-Permyak "parma", which means "taiga". Often they find a connection in the name of Perm and ancient land Biarmia from the legends of the Vikings. According to another hypothesis, the origin of the word is associated with the name of the hero of the Komi-Permyak epic Pera - the hero. In some Finno-Ugric languages, "peri" means spirit (Udmurt "peri" - an evil spirit, Mordovian "peri" - the spirit of the winds). Perhaps the Kama Komi were called Permians because they were patronized from ancient times by the all-powerful spirit - the god Per.
Cities that became part of Russia after the annexation of other lands.
Kazan - there are several versions and legends about the origin of the name of Kazan. The version of a boiled cauldron is generally accepted: the sorcerer advised the Bulgars to build a city where a cauldron with water dug into the ground would boil without any fire. As a result, a similar place was found on the shore of Lake Kaban. From here came the name of the city of Kazan - "cauldron" in ancient Bulgarian, as well as in modern Tatar, means "cauldron". Other versions associate the name of the city with the landscape, the Tatar words "kaen" (birch) or "kaz" (goose), Prince Hasan and other options. According to the current official version, the city was founded at least 1000 years ago. The basis for such dating is a Czech coin found during excavations on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin, dated to the reign of St. Wenceslas (presumably minted in 929-930)
Astrakhan - The history of Astrakhan dates back to the 13th century. We find the first mention of it by the Italian traveler Francesco Pegalotti, who visited Gitarkhan (as Astrakhan was called in the first quarter of the 14th century) and compiled a description of his journey from Tana (Azov) to China. The city was located on the right bank of the Volga, 12 km from modern Astrakhan and in different times was called: Ajitarkhan, Ashtrarkhan, Tsitrakhan. For many years now and then disputes flare up about the origin of the name Astrakhan. One of the theories explains the name of the city by the fact that the descendants of the warlike Sarmatian tribes, the Ases, lived in these parts. For military merits, they received from Batu Khan a letter - tarkhan, exempting them from duties in favor of the state. It was a great honor. In commemoration of this event, the aces gave the name to the city "As-tarkhan". But there is a written source - a description of the Arab traveler Ibn - Batuta in 1334: “This city got its name from the Turkic haji (pilgrim to Mecca), one of the pious who settled in this place. The Sultan gave him this place duty-free (i.e. made it a tarkhan), and it became a village, then it increased and became a city. This is one of the best cities with large bazaars, built on the Itil River. In "Journey Beyond Three Seas" Athanasius Nikitin in 1466 confirms that "Aztorkhan, Khoztoran, Astrakhan is a Russified form from Hadji-Tarkhan".
Ufa - According to one version, originally ancient city, located on the territory of modern Ufa, was named Bashkort. This is indicated by a number of sources: Western European cartographers (Catalan Atlas, Mercator, Pitsigani brothers, etc.), Eastern historians (Ibn Khaldun, "Kunkh al-Akhbar"), Bashkir sources themselves ("Bashkir History" by Kidryas Mullakaev, "Usargan tarihy"). The modern name of the city - Ufa, was obviously a later name. So, in the Bashkir chronicle of the XVI century. "Daftar-i-Chingiz-name" palace at the mouth of the Ufa River appears under the name Ulu Oba. Here “ulu” is the elder, ancient, “both” is a high place, a barrow. Obviously, the term "Both" became the progenitor of the modern "Ufa". In the memorial book of the Orenburg province, published in 1865, the following version of the origin of the city's name is given: "On the right elevated banks of the Belaya - the city of Ufa, (the word is Bashkir, it means" dark water ") so named long ago by the Bashkirs"
Cities of Siberia
Novosibirsk - the emergence of the first Russian settlement on the territory of modern Novosibirsk dates back to the last decade of the 17th century - the beginning of Peter's rule. Named Krivoshchekovskaya (after the nickname of the Tomsk serviceman Fyodor Krenitsyn, who was called Krivoshchek for the saber scar on his face), this village, at least until 1712, served as shopping center between the Russians and the Teleuts, who were the owners of the lands on the other side of the Ob. This circumstance determined the nature of the settlement of the territory of the future Novosibirsk: the right bank of the Ob was not popular with Russian colonists, since even after the departure of the Teleuts, the fortress of one of the tribes subordinate to them continued to stand there. Apparently, the representatives of this tribe (the Russians called them “chats”) were not friendly, so the pioneers of Russian colonization preferred to settle on the left bank, where a conglomerate of two dozen villages and villages clung to each other formed. In any case, by the end of the 18th century, the territory of the modern Novosibirsk Left Bank was completely populated. The history of the right bank of the future capital of Siberia developed on April 30, 1893, when the first batch of bridge builders arrived here. This moment is considered to be the official date of birth of Novosibirsk. The workers' settlement grew up near the remains of the Chat fortress, near the mouth of the Kamenka River. This place was notorious and was called "Devil's Settlement", but the workers still built their barracks, to the north of which the Ob railway station and the village attached to it were being built. The two settlements soon merged. On December 28, 1903, Emperor Nicholas II issued an imperial decree, according to which "the settlement of Novo-Nikolaevsk at the Ob station" was raised to the level of a city without a county with an area of 881 acres 2260 square sazhens.
November 17, 1925 the city was renamed Novosibirsk.
Omsk is named after the Omka River. The first Omsk fortress was founded in 1716 by a Cossack detachment under the command of I. D. Buholts, who went to expand and strengthen the borders of the Russian Empire by the personal decree of Peter I. Omsk served as a border fortress to protect against nomad raids, until 1797 it was a prison. By folk legend, the name comes from an abbreviation of the phrase "a remote place of exile for convicts", however, this version remains simply folklore.
Krasnoyarsk - the city was built as a prison (fortress). According to the plan, the Upper Yenisei prison, or Kachinsky prison, was to be named. At first, in the documents, the prison was called the New Kachinsky prison. Probably, earlier on the river Kacha there already existed a winter hut, or a collection point for yasak. N.V. Latkin wrote that in 1608 there was already a prison in the valley of the Kacha River, built by people from the Ket prison. G. F. Miller in the "History of Siberia" uses the names "New Kachinsky prison" and "New Kachinsky Red prison". mid-seventeenth century, the name "Krasny Yar" has already begun to be used. "Krasny Yar" - from the name of the place of its construction - "Khyzyl char", which in the language of the Kachin people meant "Yar (high bank or hill, cliff) of red color". In Russian, “red” in those days also meant “beautiful”: “The place is nice, high and red. It is possible to build a sovereign de prison on that place, ”Andrei Dubensky wrote in a letter to the tsar. The name "Krasnoyarsk" was given upon obtaining the status of a city.
You can truly know yourself only through the knowledge of the surrounding world. This is where travel helps. Everyone is free to choose their own path: someone, tired of the noise of the metropolis, goes to nature - to test himself and return to the origins of human life. Someone, on the contrary, rushes to places with a developed information space, where every little thing is important, where the brain works to the fullest. Many begin to study the surrounding reality from their small homeland, delve into the history of the region or region, study the surroundings. As a rule, the next stage of knowing the world is a real journey through your native country.
What were the names of the cities in Russia
The centuries-old history of Russia is filled with many significant events for further development. These include the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Yermak's campaign against Siberia and its annexation to the territory of the Russian state, the window cut into Europe by Peter the Great, and so on. These facts are reflected in the Russian language. For example, the words "caravan", "watermelon", "noodles", "fog", to which today's people are so accustomed, were borrowed from the Tatar language. "Camp" and "resort" were once brought from modern Germany. "Marmalade" and "actor" came from France in the nineteenth century. All of the above refers to the category of ordinary words often used in colloquial speech. We do not think about their origin, just as we do not think about the origin of city names.
Similar historical situations had an impact on geographical names. So, "Derbent" - Persian "narrow gate". "Chita" is understood as well as "read", from Sanskrit it is translated as "to comprehend" or "to know". "Murom" comes from the Cheremis "murom", which means "a place of fun and songs." "Perm" in Vepsian means "distant land". "Ufa" literally from the Bashkir - "dark water". Similar examples many, and, digging a little deeper, you begin to understand how the names of cities and the history, culture and traditions of the peoples living in this place are connected.
Other countries can also boast of a rich history - toponyms in them have a special sense of humor. In America, for example, there is a town whose name translates as "why." In Canada, you can stumble upon "an abyss of dead bison." The name of the German commune, as it were, calls tourists to action - it translates as "kiss". It is worth noting that the names of cities named after the founder exist abroad. In America, you can find small town ok Quincy, named after John Quincy Adams, who served as Secretary of State of the United States of America.
"Wide and boundless is mother Russia" - so our ancestors used to say. The newly minted tourist is convinced of this. The number of settlements, small and large, is in the thousands. This is where the real discoveries regarding uncommon toponyms begin. What are the villages of Taz and Bolshie Pupsy, the Tukhlyanka River, the village of Takoe ... Often geographical names reflect the history of the place. So, the name (Kharkov region) comes from the Tatar "guzun" - the crossing. Knowing this, one can understand that much earlier in this place there was an important crossing over the local river. However, only linguists can draw such conclusions. More interesting for ordinary people are the names of cities by the name of the founder, because they indicate a specific historical figure.
Folk love
Geographical names always carry some specific semantic load. Like the names of important city streets, cities named after a particular person embody recognition of the merits of that person. Sometimes you have to sacrifice historical place names. This fact demonstrates the deep respect of the residents locality to the bearer of the name given to the small homeland. In this regard, a reasonable question arises: what cities are named after people?
Long live the revolution!
Most of the renaming of cities and towns dates back to the twentieth century. Leaders were the most respected at that time. revolutionary movement, and, according to popular opinion, it was their surnames that should have decorated the names of settlements. A wave of change in toponyms swept the RSFSR, in this regard, it is appropriate to answer earlier question asked(which cities are named after people) list:
- Leningrad (formerly St. Petersburg);
- Ulyanovsk (formerly Simbirsk);
- the village of Karl Marx (located in the Tver region);
- Sverdlovsk (previously and currently - Yekaterinburg);
- Kuibyshev (previously and currently - Samara);
- Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg);
- Dzerzhinsk (formerly Rastyapino, Chernoye);
- Frunze (currently - Bishkek);
- Makhachkala (formerly Anzhi-Kala).
Thus, the origin of the names of cities in Russia does not always have an exclusively etymological character. Known and renaming associated with life and work significant persons. For example, the names of V. G. Belinsky and A. S. Pushkin are assigned to cities to which the data are directly related. Khabarovsk is named after the explorer of the seventeenth century, who discovered this city. The name of the Ukrainian city of Pereyaslav was later added to the surname of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, who contributed to the reunification of Ukraine and the Russian Empire.
Names of cities by the name of the founder
As mentioned above, during a trip to the Russian Federation, you can discover incredible, at first glance, geographical names. In addition to funny and vaguely familiar toponyms, formed from borrowed words or from the names of famous historical figures, there are also proper names. It is logical to assume that they were named after their founder. Obviously, the origin of the names of Russian cities can have a very different background.
Yuryev-Polsky
This provincial town in the north of the Vladimir region is a treasure trove of Russia's cultural and historical heritage. It was founded in the middle of the twelfth century by the great Moscow prince - Yuri Dolgoruky. There was a name of the city by the name of the founder. An example of a description of the area surrounding the town is "Russian field-polyushko", because this primordially Russian settlement has a rare compound name. One of the main attractions of Yuryev-Polsky is St. George's Cathedral - a unique architectural monument Ancient Russia, the date of construction of which refers to the second quarter of the thirteenth century. No less important is the Archangel Michael Monastery, on the territory of which ancient churches are located.
The churches of Nikita the Martyr and the Intercession also deserve close attention. Holy Mother of God. The construction of the complex of two buildings dates back to the end of the eighteenth century; this is what distinguishes the churches from other architectural monuments. And if the Church of the Intercession was built in the image of traditional Russian cathedrals, then the Church of Nikita the Martyr is a building designed in the Empire style, with a red brick bell tower that towers over the entire city.
Vladimir
Like the previous one, it is part of the Golden Ring of Russia. It is named after Vladimir Monomakh, whose reign dates back to the eleventh century. Vladimir is located in the region of two hundred kilometers east of Moscow. Many trials fell to his lot, which predetermined the course of the history of the whole country. The fact is that Vladimir was one of the most influential cities in Russia during the period of feudal fragmentation. In those days, large administrative centers fought with each other for power in the state. In the end, Moscow won. However, this majestic city also fully claimed the title of the capital.
The centuries-old history of Vladimir is reflected in the rich culture of the city. Now thousands of tourists come here to see with their own eyes the Assumption Cathedral, built in the twelfth century, the Golden Gate, which is rightfully considered a masterpiece of the architecture of Ancient Russia, the Patriarchal Gardens, water tower… The list of sights of Vladimir is not limited to this, the city has something to show the whole world!
St. Petersburg
The list of city names named after the founder can also include the cultural capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. The first stone on the site of the future city was laid by Peter the Great himself, now the majestic Peter and Paul Fortress rises on that very spot. It is worth noting that the first emperor of the Russian Empire named the city not by his own name, but by the name of his patron, the Apostle Peter. Nevertheless, everyone who meets St. Petersburg understands the connection of the city with the great reformer of the Russian state. And it will take more than one page to list even a small part of the sights of St. Petersburg - it is better to see everything with your own eyes.
Temryuk
This small town is located at the mouth of the Kuban, not far from Krasnodar, on the shore Sea of Azov. This settlement was founded by Prince Temryuk, son-in-law of Ivan the Terrible. At the moment, Temryuk is famous for its breathtaking landscapes and mud volcanoes. Many travelers come to this town to find peace of mind: fields, sea, forests - what else does a person need to feel truly free?
Yaroslavl
There are many names of cities named after the founder in Russia. Yaroslavl is not the last in this list. It was founded in the eleventh century by Yaroslav the Wise, who was nicknamed so for his significant contribution to the culture of the country. In terms of reputation, the city is in no way inferior to its founder - countless sights clearly demonstrate how old and majestic Yaroslavl is. Travelers from all over the world come here to see the Church of Peter and Paul, the "House with Lions", Peter and Paul Park, which carefully preserves the legacy of the great Emperor Peter Alekseevich.
But in Yaroslavl, modernity is in no way inferior to historical heritage. So, here you can see the unique Yaroslavl zoo - the only landscape-type zoo in Russia. The Yaroslavl station building is an architectural complex - a monument of modern monumental art. The Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve is rightly called the heart of the city. Located in the very center, it carefully protects the oldest Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery and several churches. Antiquity side by side with modernity - this is what the real Yaroslavl is.
Everywhere you look - everywhere the opening
The diversity of geographical names in Russia is amazing. A person who travels around his native country for the first time always discovers something new for himself. Here are funny toponyms, whose meaning can be understood only by looking into an etymological dictionary or a history guide, and a settlement whose name changed depending on the course modern history, and the name of the city after the name of the founder ... The list is long. It’s better to take the time to see it all with your own eyes.
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Origin of American city names
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Muchkaeva B.D.
- Introduction
- The history of the origin of cities and their names
- Classification
- Conclusion
- Literature
The purpose of this studyis the study of the origin of the names of American cities.
In accordance with the goal, it is possible to distinguishfollowing tasks:
- study of the toponymy of American names cities;
- study of the history of education cities;
- study of unusual names of US cities.
Object of study: cities of America.
Subject of study:Origin of city names.
Hypothesis: suppose that the origin of city names was influenced by:
Historical events that took place on the territory of a certain state in which the city is located;
Geographic features of a particular city;
People who glorified this city;
Research methods:
- The study of literature.
- Search necessary information on internet sites.
Introduction
In each state there are cities and settlements with interesting, and sometimes even funny names. And also more interesting origin these titles. Most often, cities are named by individuals or groups of people who first settled on the site of the future city, and what they come up with in their heads - only God knows. But the United States in this regard "surpassed" other countries - either they have such a sense of humor, or simply from a "great mind".
The study of the etymology of topographic names allows a deeper understanding of the features of the material and spiritual culture of the people inhabiting this territory. The very appearance of the name of a particular area can refer to different eras, be rooted in different languages, being a unique phenomenon in the history of the development of the geographical space of the planet by mankind.
The names of cities, like any other place names, are monuments of the history of the territory and language, and, as S.B. Veselovsky, they are reflections of folk history. Since the people may disappear, and memories of them are preserved in topographical names.
The study of the names of American cities is of particular interest due to the fact that in this territory there was a very intensive mixture of races, traditions, culture, languages of the most different peoples who arrived here from different parts of Europe, as well as inhabited the territory from time immemorial. Since the discovery of America, millions of people have moved here, who have become the creators of a new culture, a new language, and new traditions.
There are many reasons that formed the basis of the names of American cities.
For example, people who migrated to America from other countries used to call their new homeland the name of the city where they lived earlier. So many cities in the United States of America got their name.
famous american city Boston got its name from the city of the same name in English county Lincoln. It is worth noting, however, that, unlike American Boston, its English namesake is a very small city, with a population of only about 60,000 people.
Often, cities were named after famous political figures and other important people. Yes, the city Baltimore in the eastern United States, the largest population center in the state of Maryland, was named after the Irish landowner Lord Baltimore, the first ruler of the Maryland colony. His name (Baltimore) is an Anglicized form of the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning Town of the Big House.
The largest American city and the capital of Colorado was named after the governor. Denver . On November 22, 1858, General William Larimer, Jr., a land speculator from eastern Kansas, purchased a piece of land at the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek for logging purposes. He named the village Denver, formed on this site, in honor of the Governor of the Kansas Territory, James Denver. W. Larimer hoped that such a name would help the city become the administrative center of Arapaho County, but, unfortunately, the governor had already left his post by that time.
In honor of the first American President, George Washington, the American capital, founded in 1791, was named.
The name of the city appeared in a similar way. Seattle . The first European settlement on the site of Seattle was in 1851 and was called New York Alki ( New York Alki ), which translated from the Chinook dialect as "Future New York". In 1853, it was proposed to rename this settlement to Seattle, in honor of the leader of the local Suquomish and Duvomish tribes.
Houston , founded in 1836, takes its name from Sam Houston, commander-in-chief of the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution, President of the Republic of Texas and a key figure in the history of the region as a whole.
Dallas was named after George Dallas, the eleventh Vice President of the United States. However, the exact origin of the city's name is still unknown.
Pittsburgh received its name in the 18th century. in honor of William Pitt Sr., who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of England, leading the group of Whigs - supporters of active colonial expansion.
The original reason behind the appearance of the name of the city Phoenix is the capital and largest city of the US state of Arizona. His name is associated with that of Confederate army veteran Jack Swilling, who in 1867 founded at the foot of the mountains White Tank Mountains on the ruins of an old Indian settlement his farm. Gradually, a settlement grew around the farm, and people thought about the name of their settlement. They chose the name Phoenix for it, putting in this name the idea that their new city had risen from the ruins of a former civilization like this mythical creature.
Origin of the city's name Minneapolis in Minnesota is due to the large amount of water around that city. First, the city is located on the banks of the Mississippi River; secondly, it has 24 lakes located within its boundaries. It is believed that the name of the city was given by the first city teacher who combined the word mni , translated from the Dakota languages \u200b\u200bmeaning "water", and the Greek word polis (city).
It is not uncommon for American cities to change their names. For example, city cincinnati , founded by John Cleaves Simms and Colonel Robert Patterson in 1788, was formerly Losantiville. He received this name from four words on different languages. It meant "a city located opposite the mouth of the Licking River" ( Ville translated from French means city, anti translated from Greek -opposite, os means in Latin mouth and "L ”- everything that got from the Licking River). In 1790, Governor Arthur St. Clair of the Northwest Territory changed the city's name to Cincinnati, after the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member.
Another name was given to the American city Atlanta , Georgia. Initially, it was only a railway station on the Western Atlantic Railway, but after connecting two other railways at this point, a whole settlement was formed here, and then a city. Throughout the history of the city, its name has changed several times. So, in 1843 it was called "Marthasville" in honor of the daughter of the former governor of the state. After several renamings, the chief engineer railway John Edgar Thomson suggested the name "Atlanta", which was approved by the people of the city. This name has been officially borne by the city since 1847. There are versions that the name of the city "Atlanta" came from an abbreviation for the name of the Western Atlantic Railway. It is also suggested that the city owes its name to Greek mythology.
The etymology of the name of the largest American city seems very mysterious. New York . There are various versions that reveal its origin. So, it is assumed that New York was named after the Duke of York - the English King James II (James II). According to another version, the British, who moved to America, named the city in honor of the English city of York - New York, which means New York. And the name "York" itself is derived from the Latin Eboracum (through Old English Eoforwic and Old Norse Jorvik ), which, in turn, comes presumably from Brythonic eborakon - "yew manor"
It is also interesting to note that New York changed its name several times. The city of the "American Dream" was founded not by the British, but by the Dutch. At the beginning of the 17th century, Dutch settlers bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians, where they founded a settlement, which they named New Amsterdam after the capital of their homeland. However, already in 1664, the British captured the city and renamed it in honor of the initiator of this military operation - King James II, Duke of York. Then, however, the Dutch managed to recapture the city, and this time they named it New Orange. But after the re-capture of the city by the British, it finally became New York.
Los Angeles city name has Spanish roots. The city is known as the "City of Angels" (City of Angeles). It is often abbreviated L.A. . Once the Spanish colonists founded a settlement here calledEl Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles sobre El Río Porciúncula,what does it mean in spanishVillage of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Angels, on the Porjuncula River). By 1820, this settlement had become the largest secular settlement in California and received more short name Los Angeles.
According to one version, the name of the city Chicago (Chicago) is a French modified word from the language of the native Miami-Illinois Indians. shikaakwa , which in translation means wild onion or garlic, which grew abundantly in those parts. However, there are other hypotheses about the origin of this name. So, there is evidence that in one of the tribes of Illinois a leader named Chicagou ruled. In 1725 he visited Paris and met with the young king of France, Louis XV. It is possible that it was his name that formed the basis of the name of the city - Chicago. It is worth noting, however, that most historians reject this version.
San Francisco originally called Yerba Buena (Spanish Yerba Buena ). After the onset of the California fever, the city began to grow rapidly. In 1848, the Spaniards renamed it San Francisco in honor of Saint Francis.
City of Hell (Hell)
Many Kazan residents are planning to go on vacation this summer without deciding where. If you don't want to go to Hell... To the American city of Hell, in the state of Michigan. Scary? Now imagine that Halloween is also celebrated in Ada - you must admit, it's much scarier! And in Hell there is a festival “Satan's vacation. In general, a haven for modern "ready". And the city got its name in 1841, when George Reeves, who arrived here, in response to a question about the name of the settlement, said: “Yes, call it at least “Hell” - I don’t care.” Well, what I wanted, I got it.
Noodle City
In the 19th century, Texans quite often used the word "Noodle" in slang to refer to an empty place. It was an empty place that they discovered when they arrived at the territory of the future village. So they called the village - Noodles.
City Special (Peculiar)
The population of the city of Special is about 2000 people, and they rightly consider themselves special. And it is located 100 km south of Kansas City. This city got its name when the head of the local post office decided to take the initiative in naming the city. However, the authorities constantly refused the proposed names: either the other city was already named the way he wanted, or the name sounded incorrect. In the end, the postal worker suggested that the authorities themselves name the city "somehow in a special way." And the authorities, apparently, being very busy people, did not think long and called the city Special.
City Spot (Spot)
This village in Tennessee became famous for its name thanks to the head of the lumber mill, who wrote his name in response to the question of the authorities about the name of the city, but the ink accidentally hit exactly where the name of the village was. The authorities of this village, apparently, are also very busy, so they took everything too literally. And so the city of Pyatno appeared.
City of Embarrassment
It is a very cold city where the average annual temperature is -16 degrees Celsius. The city is considered the coldest place in the US after Alaska. The origin of the name of this city is also interesting: "embarrass" is also a French word meaning "obstacle". It was this word that the first settlers used to refer to the obstacles that they had to pass in this "icy" place.
Back in the US, there are cities like Idiotville, Monkey's Eyebrow, and Toad Suck.
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (Truth or Consequences)
Named after a radio show broadcast in the 1950s, the city lies between major cities El Paso and Albuquerque. It attracts tourists with its unusual name and famous waters. Truth or Consequences is well known for its geothermal springs, which provide hot water to the many saunas located in the center of the historic district. Sierra County is rich in ghost towns, deserts and mountains. Named the most affordable resort by Americans, Truth or Consequences is a truly inexpensive city.
Boring, Oregon (Boring)
Named in this way at the turn of the last century, in the city of Boring you will not be bored. The city is located about 30 minutes from Portland. Visitors to the city can visit the only blacksmith shop in the United States that specializes in the manufacture of hand-forged garden tools. The city has its ownnews agency
.
Cool, California (Cool)
The city is located in the foothills of the Sierra and offers its guests, in addition to a large number of outdoor activities, to "taste" the California gold rush. Named after an itinerant preacher who lived in the 1800s, Prokhladny is located on the famous Highway 49, a few steps away from which gold was discovered in 1848.
Uncertain, Texas (Uncertain)
The city of Uncertain is sure of one thing, that it is the best keeper of secrets in the state of Texas. This city is home to Caddo Lake, the only natural lake in the state of Texas. Why Undefined? There are several stories about the origin of the name: someone says that this was the name of the boat pier on the lake, someone talks about the literal origin of the name, when in the early 1960s, before becoming a city, the name of the city was noted “indefinitely” in the column (there was in view of the fact that it was uncertain whether the given settlement was a city or a town).
Carefree, Arizona (Carefree)
The city is located in the Sonoran Desert region. It was created in the 1950s as a place dedicated to relaxation. It has many golf courses, spas, and a large number of outdoor events are constantly held there. The proximity of the city to transport hubs makes it very convenient for tourists to visit.
Last Chance, Idaho (Last Chance)
Last Chance is part of the Island Park community, created in the 1940s to circumvent a state law that prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages outside city limits. Last Chance is a small town, but it will seem like a paradise for nature lovers. Fishing and hiking are the most popular activities in the city.
Normal, Illinois (Town of Normal)
One might think that the name of the city sounds like this, symbolizing the assessment of the city itself, but in fact the name “Normal” has its roots in the 19th century, and comes from the French Normal School (college for teachers). The city is connected by transport links to many major cities, including Chicago, located approximately 115 miles southwest of it. In Normalny you can find a lot of interesting things, including a museum of discoveries for children and even wineries.
Classification of the origin of city names.
In connection with the information received, it is possible to classify the origin of the names of cities.
- Abbreviations of the official name or its distortion
- Pointing to the name of the founder of the city or its famous resident: Denver, Chicago,
- indicating geographic location
- Indicating the political, cultural role or industrial specialization of the city, the word "capital" is often used
- Pointing out common stereotypes
- Aphorisms and famous quotes
- Joking nicknames usually play on topics relevant to the city: size, personality of the head of the city or his famous representative, ethnic composition, etc.
- Hostile, offensive nicknames, usually play on the name of the city, its acute problems or negative features.
- Pointing to the name of a famous person: Boston, Baltimore
- Name from a randomly spoken word: Hell,
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to note that there are many cities, both in the United States and abroad, whose names remain a mystery to the end. Therefore, toponymy will remain a huge layer of work for researchers for a long time, since it helps us to penetrate deeper into the culture and language of the people who inhabited the territories at the time of their naming.
The population of America was originally formed by mass immigration mainly from Europe and the importation of Negro slaves. The ethnic spectrum includes the indigenous population of America - Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, as well as Hispanic peoples. All these peoples and ethnic groups influenced the toponymy of the names of American cities.
The average US population density is about 28 people per square kilometer. If we divide the population into groups according to racial characteristics (according to 2007 data), then whites make up 83.4% of the population (diasporas of Irish, Italians, Jews, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians stand out especially among them), Africans (mainly descendants of slaves imported from the African continent in the 18th century) - 12.4%, Asians and Pacific Islanders - 3.3% American Indians(Indigenous people of the United States) - less than 1%.
This analysis showed that most of the city names came from the Indian language, 10 cities are named after famous people, 5 names are of Spanish origin, the rest of the names came from Aleut, French, English, Aztec, Iroquois, Dutch and Sioux. Maloletko A.M. Geographical onomastics [Text]. - Tomsk: Publishing House of TSU, 2004. - 198 p.
Astrakhan - at different times it was called: Ajitarkhan, Ashtrarkhan, Tsitrakhan. According to one of the hypotheses explaining the origin of the name of the city, the descendants of the warlike Sarmatian tribes, the Ases, lived in these parts. For military merits, they received from Batu Khan a letter - tarkhan, exempting them from duties in favor of the state.
Barnaul - the first version of the origin of the name: "a good camp" or "village of Barna" (from Kazakh), if we assume that "Barn" is the name of one of the nomads of the Siberian Khanate. The second version: from the name of the river Barnaulka - "wolf river" or "wolf lake" or "muddy river".
Bryansk - from the old Russian word Dbryansk, derived from the word "dbr" - "mountain slope, gorge, moat, valley or lowland, overgrown with dense forest and shrubs"
Buzuluk - from the Tatar "bozau" - a calf, "bozaulyk" - a veal fence
Vladimir - named after Prince Vladimir Monomakh, the founder of the city
Vologda - from Ancient Veps - a river with white (clear, clean) water
Vorkuta - from the Nenets - a bearish area or an area abounding with bears.
Voronezh - there are several theories about the origin of the name. According to the 19th-century Slavic linguist I. I. Sreznevsky, the word "Voronezh" comes from the word "voron". The German linguist M. Vasmer suggested that the name "Voronezh" has a connection with the adjective "black" (black). The opinions of I. I. Sreznevsky and M. Fasmer were united by N. P. Milonov suggested that the name is associated with the color of the water in the river. According to the Voronezh local historian V.P. Zagorovsky, the name "Voronezh" could come from the possessive adjective "voronezh" of the possibly existing ancient Slavic name "Vorone?g".
Gelendzhik - (from Arabic) helendzh - poplar or from Turkish: gelin - bride + ?s?k - light
Grayvoron - from the Old Slavonic: “gray raven”, - that is, “play raven”, or “crow crow”, or “flock of crows”.
Derbent - from the Persian "narrow gate"
Yekaterinburg - named after Empress Catherine I
Yelets - from the name of the Elchik River (on old maps, the river was designated as Yelets - this is how a spruce forest or fish can be called)
Izhevsk - the name comes from the river Izh (udm. O?)
Irkutsk - the name of the city comes from the Irkut River, the hydronym has a multi-valued interpretation and is associated with the Mongol-Buryat words denoting strength, energy, spin, spin, turn.
Yoshkar-Ola - (from Mari) - "red city"
Kazan - from the name of the Kazanka River
Kamyzyak - from the Turks. ?amys?, Qamyzaq - reedy area
Kandalaksha - according to one version - "a dry place among the swamps near the bay", which comes from the Sami words "kant" and "luht". There is also a legend about two brothers - Kant and Lahti, after whom the settlement was named: Kantalahti.
There are interpretations of Sami origin: "kandas" in Sami - "pack" and "luht" - bay, lip, i.e. "pack lip" (a place where deer were loaded in the old days)
There is a variant of the origin of the name from the Karelian word "laksha" - bay and "kanda" - the name of the river flowing into this bay.
But in recent years, the researcher A. A. Minkin unequivocally came to decipher the name as "Lip of the mother-nurse"
Kemerovo - probably from the Turkic "kemer" - mountain slope, coast, cliff, hill, mountain.
Kolomna - Scientific versions:
- from the surrounding of these places by the rivers Oka, Kolomenka and Moscow;
- from the Ryazan words kolomen, kolomenye - meaning the border, that is, Kolomna - a border town
- from the Finno-Ugric word kalma, meaning grave, cemetery
- from the ancient Finno-Ugric words "kol" - fish and "kolva" - a river, that is, a fish river.
- from Lithuanian kalmas "calamus", kalmyne "thickets of calamus" or "river with thickets of calamus"
Folk etymological versions:
- from the word quarry - a stone was mined (broken) near the city
- from the Kolomenka River, on the banks of which there was a market, in the old way - Menok, that is, "a river near the Mena" - Kolomenka
- from the peculiarity of the flow of the Oka River, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe city, the Oka breaks (the Oka is broken), hence Kolomna, just like the Oka is wide in the city area
Kashira, Oka Lugovaya near the city of Kaluga
- from the Latin "columna" - a column, which corresponds to the historical and modern coat of arms of the city
Kumertau - the name of the city comes from bashk. K?mertau - "coal mountain".
Magadan - the name came presumably from the Oroch "mongodan", meaning sea sediments.
Maykop - from the Adygs. Myekkuape (my - apple, kuape - valley, literal translation - valley of apples)
Makhachkala - bears this name since 1921 in honor of the revolutionary Makhach Dakhadaev. Previously, this area was called Anzhi-Kala - "pearl city" in the Kumyk language or "adobe fortress" in Dargin.
Mozdok - the name of the settlement comes from the Circassian "mez degu" - "deaf (dark) forest"
Moscow - the name of our capital comes from the name of the Moscow River, but the etymology of the origin of the hydronym has not yet been definitely established. One of the variants of the origin of this name is from the Old Slavic root "mosk" (wet, swampy place).
Murmansk - means "city on Murman". Russian people called "Murmans" or "Urmans" Norwegians, Normans. Later, "Murman" began to be called the coast of the Barents Sea, and then the entire Kola Peninsula.
Murom - the name of the city comes from the Finno-Ugric tribe Muroma ?, and the word "muroma", according to one version, comes from the Cheremis verb "muram" - "sing" ("muromo" - song), so "muroma" is a place singing, fun.
Mytishchi - the name comes from the so-called mytnaya duty (or "myta"), levied on merchants Nadym - translated from Nenets, there are several meanings of the name of the city:
- "Nyadey I" - this is a region rich in reindeer moss;
- "ngede ya" - a dry, elevated place on which meadow grass grows.
Nalchik - translated from Kabardian and Balkar means "horseshoe", since geographically the city is located in a semicircle of mountains resembling a horseshoe
Naryan-Mar - (from Nenets) - "red city"
Omsk - the name comes from the Om River
Penza - the name of the city is associated with the name of the Penza River, according to one version, its name is translated as "Fire River"
Perm - the name comes from the Vepsian word pera maa - "distant land"
Ryazan - the name of the city by origin is a possessive masculine adjective R?zan (with the suffix -jь-) from the male name R?zan. The name "R?zan" itself is a short form passive communion from “cut” and the verb “cut”, thus, “R?zan” - “Rezanov city”.
Salekhard - from not. Sale Harad - "City on the Cape"
Samara - there is no consensus on the origin of the name of the river and the city of Samara. There are several theories:
- from the word Samur (Iran.) "beaver, otter";
- from Tatar, Chuvash. "Samar", Kalmyk. Samr, Chagatai. "Samar" - bag, Kyrgyz. "Sardar" - basin, jug.
- from the Mongolian words "Samar" - "nut, nutty" or "samura, samaura" - mix, stir up
- from a combination of the Iranian root "sam" or "sham" or the Hungarian "semar" (desert, steppe) and the Hungarian root "ar" - that is, the steppe river
- on behalf of the son of Noah Sim (Herself)
- from the name of the city of Samarkand, which, according to legend, was founded by the ruler Shamar (Samar)
- from Biblical Samaria
- from the Arabic "surra min raa" - "he who sees will be delighted"
- from a combination of the Russian word "sama" and the ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian name of the Volga river "Ra" - "full-flowing, like Ra itself"
- from the old Russian "samara", "samarka"
St. Petersburg - Tsar Peter I named the city in honor of his heavenly patron - the Apostle Peter
Saransk - from the muzzle. "sara" - a large sedge swamp, swampy floodplain
Saratov - there is no generally accepted theory about the origin of the name of the city, there are several versions:
- by the name of Sokolovaya Mountain, in Tatar "sary tau" - "yellow mountain";
- from the words "sar atav" - "low-lying island" or "saryk atov" - "hawk island";
- from the Scythian-Iranian hydronym "sarat"
Serpukhov - there is no unequivocal explanation of the origin of the city's name, there are only versions:
- from the hypothetical name "Serpokh" (derived from "Sickle");
- from the name of the river Serpeika;
- from the sickle plant;
- from the fact that the Serpeika river curved around the Cathedral (Red) mountain in a sickle shape;
- from the fact that sickles were forged in the vicinity of the city;
- from the canonical name Serapion.
Smolensk - there are several versions of the origin of the city's name:
- from the name of the river Smolnya (Old Slavic "smol" - black earth);
- from the ethnonym Smolensk;
- from the verb "tar"
Sortavala - the origin of the name has not been thoroughly clarified. Versions say that, perhaps, “sortavala” is translated as “the power of the devil” - supposedly, the evil spirit expelled from Valaam moored to this shore.
According to another version, the name comes from the Finnish "sorttawa" (dissecting), which could refer to the bay dividing the city into two halves.
Sochi - translated from the Ubykh language - a country belonging to Sidi Ahmet Pasha
Suzdal - according to one version, the name comes from the Old Slavonic verb "sjdati" - "to mold from clay"
Surgut - translated from the Khanty language - "fish place"
Syktyvkar - from Komi Syktyv - Sysola; kar - city, which means - "city on Sysol"
Taganrog - the name of the city, most likely, is a combination of the words "tagan" and "horn" (meaning "cape"). Another option is from the Turks. to?an - falcon
Tambov - from the Moksha "tomba" - a whirlpool
Temryuk - the city is named after its founder - Prince Temryuk, one of whose daughters was the wife of Ivan the Terrible
Togliatti - from the Greek. ??????????? - letters. "City of the Cross"
Tomsk - located on the banks of the Tom River and got its name from it
Tuapse from the Adyghe "tuapse" - "two rivers", "the area lying below the confluence of two rivers" - the Tuapse River, formed by the confluence of two mountain rivers - Chilipsi (Chylepsy) and Pshenakho (Psynef)
Tula - Dal gives such an explanation of the name: “Tula is a secretive, inaccessible place, a corner, a corner for protection, shelter, or for imprisonment. The name of the city may be related to this.
Some researchers see the similarity of the hydronym "Tula" with the Turkic names: Tuv. tulaa "swamp", "bog", hak. tul "fish", hack. Tula "swamp tussock", Shorsk. tula "to dam the water", there is the Tula River (a tributary of the Ob), which has swamps as its source
Tyumen is a word of Turkic-Mongolian origin and means ten thousand, ten thousandth army (compare: Russian word" darkness")
Ufa - from the Bashkir - "dark water"
Khabarovsk - named after the 17th century explorer Yerofey Khabarov
Chelyabinsk - perhaps the name of the fortress "Chelya? Ba" goes back to the Bashkir word "Sil? Be", that is, "depression; large, shallow hole. There are other versions:
- The Chelyabinsk fortress was named after the village of Selyaba, which stood on the river. Selyabka;
- on the site of Chelyabinsk was the Bashkir village of Selyaba;
- the village was founded by the legendary Turkic hero Selyambey;
- the village of the Bashkir tarkhan Taimas Shaimov, who had the honorary title of "chelyabi";
- on the site of modern Chelyabinsk there were patrimonial lands of the Turkic hero Selyabi-Chelebi;
- the name comes from the Turkic root "chelabi" ("selyabi"), that is, "noble"
Chita is an exact translation from Sanskrit - "to comprehend, understand, observe, know" (compare: the Russian word "read")
Yaroslavl - the city is named after the founder, Prince Yaroslav the Wise.