Place-names are frequently accepted into the language of a new population. The toponymy of the United States illustrates this well. Spanish names are numerous in the South and Southwest—e.g., Florida, San Antonio, Santa Fe, and San Diego, all of which are Spanish names of Roman Catholic saints or holidays. French names occur frequently in the Southeast and the central United States (e.g., La Nouvelle Orléans, changed into New Orleans; Baton Rouge; St. Louis; Louisiana); Dutch names are found in the East (Haarlem changed into Harlem); Indian names are interspersed everywhere; and, finally, English names are superimposed over all the rest. An examination of all these names, which are now used by a mostly English-speaking population, could not fail to yield some information about the colonization of the United States, even if the history were not known.

In the same way, the place-names of Britain reflect its history. Above all, there are Celtic names—e.g., Eboracum (named for a tree), partly translated as Eoforwic, which changed into York. Roman names are also numerous; e.g., Castra ‘military camp’ changed into Chester, and Lindum Colonia ‘Colony Lindum’ (which itself is Celtic, linne + dunom ‘town at the lake’) is now Lincoln. There are, in addition, Anglo-Saxon names (e.g., Whittingham ‘habitation of Hwita’s people’), Scandinavian names (e.g., Badby, in which -by is the Scandinavian element instead of English -bury ‘castle’), and Norman names (e.g., Richmond, from a personal name consisting of rīki ‘rich, powerful’ + mond ‘world’).

Any country’s toponymy consists of various layers. In France there are Celtic names such as Lucodunos ‘shining town’ that became Latinized into Lugdunum and changed into the modern form Lyon; Greek names such as Agathe (Tyche) ‘good (luck),’ which has become Agde; Roman names such as Forum Julii ‘marketplace of Julius,’ modern Fréjus; and old Germanic names such as Clarbec ‘clear brook’ (klar + Bach in German). Most important is the fact that place-names can be used as a source of information themselves, even if other forms of evidence are lacking; for instance, because Moskva (= Moscow) is a Finnish name (Finnish kva ‘water’) and because other Finnish toponyms are present in Russia, the prehistoric presence of Finnish tribes in that location can be presumed. Names of rivers are particularly important for this purpose, because they are very conservative and usually are taken over by a new population. A considerable number of river names in western and central Europe show remarkable similarity (e.g., Esera in Spain, Isère in France, Yser in Belgium, Isar in Bavaria, Jizera in the Czech Republic) and are the only evidence of a pre-Celtic Indo-European population of those regions.

In a similar way, names are also indicative of cultural and political trends. Singapore (Sanskrit Siṃhapura ‘castle of lions’), for example, testifies to the cultural influence of India in the area. Particularly significant in this respect are deliberate changes of names caused by changes in political power, ideology, and so forth. Changes such as Nieuw-Amsterdam becoming New York, or Léopoldville (named after the king of Belgium who acquired the Congo) becoming Kinshasa, are very common. Some cases of renaming do not lack humour: La Roche-sur-Yon in France was rebuilt by Napoleon and renamed Napoléon-Vendée, which was changed to Bourbon-Vendée under the Restoration; during the 100 days of Napoleon’s return from Elba and in the subsequent second Restoration, the cycle was repeated once more, and only the Third Republic restored the old name. Renaming also shows examples of cynicism: Lyon, which had rebelled against the revolutionary covenant, was punished by systematic demolition and a massacre of its inhabitants; the ruins of the city were renamed Commune-Affranchie ‘Liberated Commune.’ Changes of place-names are sometimes made systematically; when the territory called Alto Adige in Italian and Südtirol (South Tirol) in German became part of Italy after World War I, for instance, a systematic effort was made to give or to return to these territories the Italian character in both place-names and personal names. The Russian Revolution brought a change of names that were reminiscent of the old regime and ideology; e.g., St. Petersburg (changed into a more Slavic Petrograd by the tsar during the war) became Leningrad (and then St. Petersburg again in 1991); Tsaritsyn (from tsar ‘emperor’) became Stalingrad (and then Volgograd in the late 1950s); and Yekaterinodar (from Yekaterina [= Catherine], an empress) became Krasnodar (from krasny ‘red’). However, most of the pre-Revolution names were reinstated after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ladislav Zgusta The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Related Topics:
given name

What were the most popular baby names during the decade you were born? If it was the 1980s or ’90s, Jessica and Michael were number one. Are you named Jacob or Emily? Those names were the winners in the 2000s. What about the most popular names of the last century? Since 1924, Mary has taken the crown for girl’s names, topping the list 32 times. For boys, Michael has been the most popular name, placing first for 44 years. To learn more, check out the interactive and lists below.

Most popular female names by year, from 1924

year most popular runner-up second runner-up
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration website.
1924 Mary Dorothy Helen
1925 Mary Dorothy Betty
1926 Mary Dorothy Betty
1927 Mary Dorothy Betty
1928 Mary Betty Dorothy
1929 Mary Betty Dorothy
1930 Mary Betty Dorothy
1931 Mary Betty Dorothy
1932 Mary Betty Barbara
1933 Mary Betty Barbara
1934 Mary Betty Barbara
1935 Mary Shirley Barbara
1936 Mary Shirley Barbara
1937 Mary Barbara Patricia
1938 Mary Barbara Patricia
1939 Mary Barbara Patricia
1940 Mary Barbara Patricia
1941 Mary Barbara Patricia
1942 Mary Barbara Patricia
1943 Mary Barbara Patricia
1944 Mary Barbara Linda
1945 Mary Linda Barbara
1946 Mary Linda Patricia
1947 Linda Mary Patricia
1948 Linda Mary Barbara
1949 Linda Mary Patricia
1950 Linda Mary Patricia
1951 Linda Mary Patricia
1952 Linda Mary Patricia
1953 Mary Linda Deborah
1954 Mary Linda Deborah
1955 Mary Deborah Linda
1956 Mary Debra Linda
1957 Mary Susan Linda
1958 Mary Susan Linda
1959 Mary Susan Linda
1960 Mary Susan Linda
1961 Mary Lisa Susan
1962 Lisa Mary Susan
1963 Lisa Mary Susan
1964 Lisa Mary Susan
1965 Lisa Mary Karen
1966 Lisa Kimberly Mary
1967 Lisa Kimberly Michelle
1968 Lisa Michelle Kimberly
1969 Lisa Michelle Jennifer
1970 Jennifer Lisa Kimberly
1971 Jennifer Michelle Lisa
1972 Jennifer Michelle Lisa
1973 Jennifer Amy Michelle
1974 Jennifer Amy Michelle
1975 Jennifer Amy Heather
1976 Jennifer Amy Melissa
1977 Jennifer Melissa Amy
1978 Jennifer Melissa Jessica
1979 Jennifer Melissa Amanda
1980 Jennifer Amanda Jessica
1981 Jennifer Jessica Amanda
1982 Jennifer Jessica Amanda
1983 Jennifer Jessica Amanda
1984 Jennifer Jessica Ashley
1985 Jessica Ashley Jennifer
1986 Jessica Ashley Amanda
1987 Jessica Ashley Amanda
1988 Jessica Ashley Amanda
1989 Jessica Ashley Brittany
1990 Jessica Ashley Brittany
1991 Ashley Jessica Brittany
1992 Ashley Jessica Amanda
1993 Jessica Ashley Sarah
1994 Jessica Ashley Emily
1995 Jessica Ashley Emily
1996 Emily Jessica Ashley
1997 Emily Jessica Ashley
1998 Emily Hannah Samantha
1999 Emily Hannah Alexis
2000 Emily Hannah Madison
2001 Emily Madison Hannah
2002 Emily Madison Hannah
2003 Emily Emma Madison
2004 Emily Emma Madison
2005 Emily Emma Madison
2006 Emily Emma Madison
2007 Emily Isabella Emma
2008 Emma Isabella Emily
2009 Isabella Emma Olivia
2010 Isabella Sophia Emma
2011 Sophia Isabella Emma
2012 Sophia Emma Isabella
2013 Sophia Emma Olivia
2014 Emma Olivia Sophia
2015 Emma Olivia Sophia
2016 Emma Olivia Ava
2017 Emma Olivia Ava
2018 Emma Olivia Ava
2019 Olivia Emma Ava
2020 Olivia Emma Ava
2021 Olivia Emma Charlotte
2022 Olivia Emma Charlotte
2023 Olivia Emma Charlotte
2024 Olivia Emma Amelia

Most popular male names by year, from 1924

year most popular runner-up second runner-up
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration website.
1924 Robert John William
1925 Robert John William
1926 Robert John James
1927 Robert John James
1928 Robert John James
1929 Robert James John
1930 Robert James John
1931 Robert James John
1932 Robert James John
1933 Robert James John
1934 Robert James John
1935 Robert James John
1936 Robert James John
1937 Robert James John
1938 Robert James John
1939 Robert James John
1940 James Robert John
1941 James Robert John
1942 James Robert John
1943 James Robert John
1944 James Robert John
1945 James Robert John
1946 James Robert John
1947 James Robert John
1948 James Robert John
1949 James Robert John
1950 James Robert John
1951 James Robert John
1952 James Robert John
1953 Robert James Michael
1954 Michael Robert James
1955 Michael David James
1956 Michael James Robert
1957 Michael James David
1958 Michael David James
1959 Michael David James
1960 David Michael James
1961 Michael David John
1962 Michael David John
1963 Michael John David
1964 Michael John David
1965 Michael John David
1966 Michael David James
1967 Michael David James
1968 Michael David John
1969 Michael David James
1970 Michael James David
1971 Michael James David
1972 Michael Christopher James
1973 Michael Christopher Jason
1974 Michael Jason Christopher
1975 Michael Jason Christopher
1976 Michael Jason Christopher
1977 Michael Jason Christopher
1978 Michael Jason Christopher
1979 Michael Christopher Jason
1980 Michael Christopher Jason
1981 Michael Christopher Matthew
1982 Michael Christopher Matthew
1983 Michael Christopher Matthew
1984 Michael Christopher Matthew
1985 Michael Christopher Matthew
1986 Michael Christopher Matthew
1987 Michael Christopher Matthew
1988 Michael Christopher Matthew
1989 Michael Christopher Matthew
1990 Michael Christopher Matthew
1991 Michael Christopher Matthew
1992 Michael Christopher Matthew
1993 Michael Christopher Matthew
1994 Michael Christopher Matthew
1995 Michael Matthew Christopher
1996 Michael Matthew Jacob
1997 Michael Jacob Matthew
1998 Michael Jacob Matthew
1999 Jacob Michael Matthew
2000 Jacob Michael Matthew
2001 Jacob Michael Matthew
2002 Jacob Michael Joshua
2003 Jacob Michael Joshua
2004 Jacob Michael Joshua
2005 Jacob Michael Joshua
2006 Jacob Michael Joshua
2007 Jacob Michael Ethan
2008 Jacob Michael Ethan
2009 Jacob Ethan Michael
2010 Jacob Ethan Michael
2011 Jacob Mason William
2012 Jacob Mason Ethan
2013 Noah Jacob Liam
2014 Noah Liam Mason
2015 Noah Liam Mason
2016 Noah Liam William
2017 Liam Noah William
2018 Liam Noah William
2019 Liam Noah Oliver
2020 Liam Noah Oliver
2021 Liam Noah Oliver
2022 Liam Noah Oliver
2023 Liam Noah Oliver
2024 Liam Noah Oliver
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