10 Cases of Regions With Similar Names That Frustrated Everyone
When you read global news, you may meet countries or regions with similar names. Are they confusing? Yes! But these similar names can trace their roots in history and political arrangement. After you read the article, you will understand 10 cases of these regions and their stories.
This is Antlerium PotatoNews, a series focusing on the daily lives of ordinary people, including culture customs. Today we explore 10 cases of regions with similar names.
1. Korea: North and South Korea
The first case is quite famous. Korea.
Geographically speaking, Korea means the whole peninsula, land south of Yalu River.
After the Second World War, the US and Soviet Union each occupied a part of the peninsula, the Soviet part became North Korea, the US part became South Korea.
Both Koreas are populated with Koreans, they share the same culture and ethnic identity. They both demanded reunification, but after the Korean War, the two regimes remained rivals.
2. Georgia: Country and State
The second case is quite famous in the English speaking world. Georgia.
The US state of Georgia is named in 1733, after the English King George II.
The country Georgia is situated in the Caucasus, broke away from Russia in 1991. Its name is far more ancient, stemming from a Persian term meaning wolf. The first source that calls it "Georgia" dates back to the 14 century.
They are Latinized into the same name but they are not related.
3. Britain and Brittany
Britain is an island that the UK situated, and Brittany is the western peninsula of France. Why are their names so similar?
Their position is already a hint. Brittany is opposite to Britain, just separated by the English Channel.
They all stem from the Roman name "Britannia". This was the island name at first. When Romans conquered the southern part of the island, they created the province of "Britannia". As time went on, the name simplified into "Britain".
But now, the southern part of the Britain island is England, because after the Romans were gone, the old province was overrun by Anglo-Saxons, who gave the region its modern name. The native Brythonic Celts avoid the chaos by moving out. They moved to the French peninsula across channel. As time went on, that peninsula became known as "Brittany".
4. Niger and Nigeria
Niger and Nigeria are two separated countries in West Africa. The only difference in their name is the suffix "-ia".
Apparently, both of them are not native names. The Europeans colonized them and gave them these names. Their names stem from the river they share: Niger River.
The territory once ruled by the French directly use the river name as the country name, while the ex-British colony added the "-ia" to the country name.
5. Guinea
There are 4 countries using the term "Guinea": Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, and Papua New Guinea.
The story of the term Guinea is a dark history.
"Guinea" is a Berber word that means black. The coast of West Africa was a hotspot of the slave trade, therefore the Europeans named the coast Guinea. The countries Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea were ruled by different colonial powers. The first one that gains independence is of course Guinea. Other Guineas must add other stuff to their name after independence.
Papua New Guinea is not in West Africa, but in Oceania, north of Australia. So, why it is named with Guinea?
The island the country is situated in is named "New Guinea". The population there are Melanesians, a group of Austronesians with dark skin similar to the native Australians.
Since the skin tone of Melanesians also looked like that of Africans from the Guinea coast, the European decided to call the island "New Guinea".
6. The two Congos
Speaking of African countries, another famous case of regions with similar names is the Congo.
The Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are two countries with a lot of similarities. They share the Congo River, having their capital neighbour just across the river. They were owned by France and Belgium respectively, making them both speak French.
They both owned their name from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Kongo. Kongo was an African empire that engaged in international trading, it was quite well-known in the West at its time. Because the river was its sphere of influence, the Congo River earned its outside name. And because the French and Belgian colonies share the same river, they both use the name "Congo".
7. Guyana
In South America, the Guyana region shares a similar story with the Guinea case.
In colonial times, Britain, France, Spain and Netherlands sliced up the region among themselves. The Spanish zone became part of Venezuela, and the Dutch zone became Suriname.
Nowadays, only the then British now independent Guyana and French Guyana share the name Guyana.
But unlike the case in Guinea, Guyana is a native term. It comes from Amerindian language, meaning "land of many waters".
8. Dominican Republic and Dominica
For regions with similar names, this may be a bit not too well-known. There are two places where people call themselves Dominican. One is the famous tourist attraction near the country Haiti, known as the Dominican Republic. Another one is a small island nation called the Commonwealth of Dominica. They both are in the Caribbean.
The Dominican Republic is on the island of Hispaniola, sharing the island with Haiti. During Spanish colonization, it is the colony of Santo Domingo. This name is a reference to the patron saint Saint Dominic.
Meanwhile, the island of Dominica has nothing to do with the saint. Columbus discovered the island on Sunday, therefore it is named after the Latin word for Sunday: "dies Dominica".
So, although these two countries nearly spell the same, their name origins are different. They are not related.
9. Grenada: Country and City
Have you heard of the place called Grenada? No, I am not talking about the Spanish city. I mean the country of Grenada.
Grenada is an island country in the Caribbean, which was a British colony. The island was at first settled by the French, and in the late 18th century France lost the island to Britain. Spain never colonized the place.
But why does the country use the name of a Spanish city?
I think the only explanation that makes sense is that Spanish explorers discovered the island first and decided to randomly name it, they came up with the famous city Grenada so they chose this name.
Therefore, the country Grenada is named with no meaning. Its only similarity to the Spanish city is its name.
10. Austria and Australia
Speaking of regions with similar names, I found that English natives like to mix up Austria and Australia.
They have no relation at all. The name Austria is far older than the name Australia. The "Aust" from Austria means "east". The "Australi" from Australia means "south".
"Austria" is a Latinized way to call the country of "Österreich", this German name means "Eastern frontier". It appeared in the 10th century, as it was the easternmost region of the Holy Roman Empire.
Australia comes from the term "Terra Australis". This name is for a hypothetical southernmost giant continent in European worldview. Before human discover Antarctica, people believed that Australia is the southernmost continent. British decided to rename the place from "New Holland" to "Australia" in 1824.
Why we have regions with similar names
The reason we have regions with similar names ultimately comes from history.
We have some historical regions that are sliced into several countries and using the same name.
We also have some unrelated historical events that lead to places with Latin names similar or even identical.
These are the regions with similar names. To learn more about culture customs or other topics related to our ordinary life, make sure to follow PotatoNews. We will also post some cliffsnotes on our socials, make sure to follow them.
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