WITHOUT diving for the atlas OR the internet, how many present day countries can you think of that were named after people?
I came up with 4 fairly quickly and one question mark (see below), but there must be more? Also thought of one from the recent past - don't think we need to go back into antiquity (Ceasaria?).
USA - Amerigo Vespucci
Bolivia - Simon Bolivar
Columbia - Christopher Columbus
The Philippines - King Philip of Spain
Question mark - Jordan?
Recent Past - Rhodesia - Cecil John Rhodes
stales
Surely the American continent(s), and not the USA directly, were named for this Amerigo character; the US then taking its name from the continent.
Yes. I am anal-retentive, I know.
Cecil John RhodesWhale oil.
Who the heck is/was he?. Obviously, geography is one of my many weak points. I can't think of any other countries named for people, but I can think of one named for a concept. (No points awarded for this one; it's too easy.)
I wonder why there isn't a Cortesia, or a deGamaland...?
Going back to "people", do we have San Salvador? (Can't recall if that is the country of which El Salvador is the capital, or vice versa.)
San Marino? (I presume there was a saint?)
Right, Keiva! No points, but...perhaps we could work out some other suitable reward?
Edit: Keiva, you snuck one in whilst I was composing. Welcome to addiction.
Well, according to Helen I'm busily engaged in "research", so I'll be in the library for awhile.
PS to stales: I believe Caesaria was a city, not a country.
Liberia, of course.
Wait a sec, I thought Liberia came from liberty, as in slaves going there for freedom. The capital, though, is Monrovia, named, of course, after James Monroe.
Israel
Saudi Arabia (or?)
Jordan (does the "Hashemite Kingdom" count?)
At the end of the day, the USA takes its name from Sr. Vespucci - no matter how convoluted the reasons.
As to anal retention, may I recommend increasing your intake of water, fruit and fibre.
stales
I can't think of a country off hand, but I know that 'Thessaloniki' in Greece was named after Alexander the Great's sister. Her husband (the king) apparently founded the city in Macedonia just for her - what a sweet-heart.
Cecil John Rhodes Who the heck is/was he?.
You'll have to ask Bill Clinton
If you are still not sure, check out the following site produced in homage to Mr Rhodes:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/RhodesScholarship/abouttrust.htmlThere are plenty of other views about his role in history. Google to get a selection of views.
This site
http://slate.msn.com/TVReview/98-01-10/TVReview.asp gives a flavour of the BBC series "Rhodes". There are even less charitable views of Mr Rhodes' life around. The comment "Rhodes was no 19th-century Hitler. He wasn't so much a freak as a man of his time." characterises the reviewer's viewpoint.
Mexico was named after the Mejicas, a group that just didn't have any luck at all.
Of course I've heard of this, Jo--thank you! My goodness, the things I learn on this board. I never even knew (or had completely forgotten, if I had) that Rhodesia was named after anybody, let alone that there was a connection to Rhodes scholars. I had heard of the Kimberly diamond mines, though. I notice that one the first Trustees of the scholarship was Earl Grey. Was that the tea manufacturer?
I do actually like "Earl Grey, hot" (hi, l-head!
), the only hot tea I've ever found palatable.
>I do actually like "Earl Grey, hot"
We must pass that on to TEd, I understand that he makes darn fine tea. I'm looking forward to trying it one day.
{That reminds me, I did go once all the way to North Bend near Snoqualmie Falls to try the "damn fine cherry pie", ... obsessive, I ain't)
Mexico was named after the Mejicas
The list will expand greatly if we include countries named for a group of people, rather than for a specific individual. E.g, Hungary (so too its official name, Magyar); Russia; England; Scotland.
>Mexico was named after the Mejicas, a group that just didn't have any luck at all.
Yep, but they are immortalized in that great book, The Last of the Mejicans." It tells the story of the cobbler who made all their footwear for them.
the USA takes its name from Sr. Vespucci
*If we accept that notion (which, apparently, some don't) we also have the possibility that the name Amerigo derives from a Germanic phrase meaning Kingdom of Heaven.
And then, Rome started out as the name of a city but became the name of an entire empire.
As I noted in a post a week or so ago, Jordan was originally (ca. 1925) called "Trans-Jordan" by the Brits, meaning the country on the other side of [the river] Jordan. The "Hashemite Kingdom" part came later, when the name was abbreviated to "Jordan".
San Salvador is the capitol of El Salvador. Or Holy Saviour is the capitol of The Saviour. The Spaniards were fond of giving religious names to places they conquered or founded. "Los Angeles" is only a part of the original name.
Jordan was originally (ca. 1925) called "Trans-Jordan" by the Brits, meaning the country on the other side of [the river] Jordan.
byb uses "country" in the sense of "territory". Until 1948 this area was a trust territory administered by Great Britain, not an independent country.
Kenya - for Jomo Kenyatta who, legend tells, did not want the country named for him therefore the change in pronunciation. KEN-ya from KEEN=yatta.
I think he came to power after the Mau Mau raised some hell, killed some British planters/farmers and the Brits responded by interning many hundreds of native peoples and confiscating their lands etc. Then came independence. I believe Kenyatta was leader of the Thicka (sp?) party of which the Mau Mau were a militant off-shoot group.
Whew! my memory dredged that up from where (God-alone-knows) I had it tucked it away.
WOW wow!!
Thanks for that one - a beauty!
stales
Stales - you cause me to
.
Just an off-shoot of having lived through a lot of history and a decent memory for past.
Now, where did I put those keys ?????
and then, of course, there's Oz, named after Frank (of Muppets fame) or, perhaps, after that wizard?
Kenya was around long before Kenyatta. The British colony of Kenya probably was, and I think Jomo Kenyatta might have been, named for Mt Kenya. On a side-note, I once read that "Jomo" was the sound of a knife being taken out of a sheath.
Other countries named for individual people:
Solomon Islands
Wallis and Futuna Islands (the Wallis part anyway)
Cook Islands
Pitcairn Islands
Falkland Islands
St Helena
St Christopher (and Nevis)
St Vincent
Bermuda (? - named after one Bermudez?)
Georgia (though only in English, Russian etc., not in its native form Sakartvelo)
Belize (? - said by some to be an alteration of Wallace)
St Pierre (and Miquelon)
Tristan da Cunha (an explorer?)
Northern Marianas (but who was Mariana, or was this a Spanish name after the Virgin Mary?)
[That's enough countries. - Ed.]
Hi Jackie, I'm back
Bermuda (? - named after one Bermudez?)Yup. There were two Bermudezes, and the island was named after the short one.
the short oneAugh! Oh, GROAN!! But...
Last post on this subject...
Thought I'd collate the responses into a final list for us all to keep and study for that next Quiz Night. Apologies if any are still contentious - the ones below fill the criteria I set myself when thinking of the subject.
(1) (United States of) America
(2) Belize
(3) Bermuda
(4) Bolivia
(5) Columbia
(6) Cook Islands
(7) Falkland Islands
(8) Israel
(9) Northern Marianas
(10) Pitcairn Islands
(11) (Rhodesia)
(12) Saint Christopher
(13) Saint Helena
(14) Saint Pierre
(15) Saint Vincent
(16) San Marino
(17) Solomon Islands
(18) The Philippines
(19) Tristan da Cunha (named for its Portuguese discoverer in 1506, Tristao da Cunha)
Thanks to all contributors
stales