Latin names of cities Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Users of Neo-Latin have taken the Latin language to places the Romans never went; hence a need arose to make Latin names of cities that did not exist when Latin was a living language.The first places that needed Latin names were encountered by Bible translators, who had a need to figure out what to call the many place names in the Bible in Latin. They either reworked the place names into Latin or Greek shapes; in one version, Jerusalem becomes Hierosolyma. Or, they adopted them directly, often treating the new place names as indeclinable nouns; here Jerusalem is brought over as Ierusalem.
Similar strategies are used with United States and North America and other place names that Latin writers needed to give Latin names to. A number of methods are used:
- A classical ending such as -um or -a is added or substituted on the end of the source word. Hence Baltimorum for "Baltimore," Albania for "Albany."
- The words already fit into Latin declensions, as do Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Atlanta.
- Calques are resorted to if the New World name is based on an Old World name; the various Parises in the United States are likely to become Lutetia, and Novum Eboracum or Neo-Eboracum represents New York, because Eboracum is the city of York in England.
- The words are respelled to eliminate non-Latin sounds; hence Washington becomes Vasingtonium.
- The words are adjusted to fit Latin declensions; Kansas appears as either Cansas, Cansatis or Cansa, Cansae; Chicago, Ohio, and Idaho become consonant stems, with genitives Chicagonis, Ohionis, Idahonis, &c.
- The words are re-interpreted to fit Latin declensions; Illinois is treated as a third-declension noun.
- The words are treated as indeclinable, like some Biblical names; Connecticut is sometimes treated this way.
- There are latin forms of Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and other Oceanian-South Pacific communities as well.
- One example is London, Ontario which can be translateable to Londinium in Latin, while the rest of the other non-Latin languages like Greek and French for other Londons that are not London, England is spelt "London" (from English).
- This list includes Azerbaijan, Kurdistan southeast of Arbil, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Tatarstan, Dagestan, Malta and Pantelleria, and the whole of Kazakhstan, and Russia east of the ural mountains.
| Latin Name | English Name, [other name(s)], [older name(s)], [province], [state] |
|---|---|
| Alexandria (Aegyptus)¹ | Alexandria (Al-Iskandriyah), Egypt |
| Alexandria (Colombia Bretannicum) | Alexandria, British Columbia |
| Alexandria (Ontario) | Alexandria, Ontario |
| Alexandria (Virginia) | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Algeris | Algiers, Algeria |
| Arbela, Arbila | Erbil, Arbil |
| Ascalon | Ashkelon, Israel |
| Atlanta | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Augusta | Augusta, Maine |
| Baltimorum, Baltimori | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Bona Aera | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Bostonia | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Cansae, Civitas | Kansas City |
| Carolinapolis | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Cantabrigia | Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Ontario or Cambridge, England |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Civitas Alphabeticum | Alphabet City (New York, New York |
| Civita California | California City, California |
| Citiva? Florida | Florida City, Florida |
| Civita Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Citiva Panama | Panama City, Florida |
| Columbus | Columbus, North Carolina |
| Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Cultellus Flavus | Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Damascus | Damascus (Dimashq), Syria |
| Edessa | Sanli Urfa |
| Equus Albus | Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada |
| Flumen Januarii | Rio de Janeiro |
| Fredericopolis | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Hippo Regius | Bone, Algeria |
| Hierosolyma² | Jerusalem |
| Indianapolis (4) | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jericho² | Jericho, West Bank (Palestine) |
| Leptis Magna, Lepcis Magna | near Tripoli, Libya |
| Londinium, Africa Australia | London, South Africa |
| Londinium (Ontario) | London, Ontario |
| Ludovicopolis | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Marathon (Ontario) | Marathon, Ontario |
| Medaba | Mecca (Makkah), Saudi Arabia |
| Medina, Arabia | Medina, Saudi Arabia |
| Medina, Nova Eburaca | Medina, New York |
| Melburnium, Victoria (Regna) | Melbourne, Australia |
| Mons Regius, Marianopolis, Villa Maria | Montreal, Quebec |
| Minneapolis (4) | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Nova Aurelia, Novum Aurelium | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Nova Helvetia | Nueva Suecia (New Switzerland), Uruguay |
| Novum Baltimorum | New Baltimore, Michigan |
| Novis? Hamburgensis | New Hamburg, Ontario |
| Novum Eboracum | New York, New York |
| Nowum Glasgovium | New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Novum Londinium* | New London, Connecticut |
| Olympia (Vasingtonia) | Olympia, Washington |
| Oxonia | Oxford, England |
| Philadelphia¹ (America) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Philadelphia | Amman, Jordan |
| Phoenix¹, Arizona | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Praetoria? | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Providenia? | Provideniya, Russia, west of Alaska |
| Providentia | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Urbs Quebecis | Quebec City, Quebec |
| Urbs Reginae | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Regiopolis | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Regiopolis, ON | Kingston, Ontario |
| Sancti Spiriti | Sancti Spiriti, Argentina |
| Sanctus Johannes | Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Sanctus Johannes Terrae Novae | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Sarnia | Sarnia, Ontario |
| Sicagum | Chicago, Illinois |
| Sinus Tonitralis | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| Tempe (Arizona) | Tempe, Arizona |
| Tiberias | Tiberias (Teverya), Israel |
| Tingis | Tangier, Morocco |
| Tripoli¹ | Tripoli, Libya |
| Tunis | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Vasingtonium | Washington, DC |
| Victoria (Regna), Colombia Britannica | Victoria, British Columbia |
- or Novo Londinio
- 1 - Latinized form of the Greek-derived name.
- 2 - Latinized form of a Hebrew derived name
- 3 - Latinized form of an Amerindian languages-derived name.
- 4 - only polis is a Greek derived name.
See also:
- List of Roman place names in Britain
- Latin names of European cities
- Latin names of European rivers
- Latin names of geographical features
- Latin names of islands
- Latin names of lakes
- Latin names of mountains
- Latin names of regions
- Latin names of rivers
- Roman place names
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