These maps has the answer
Have you ever wondered what the name of a country means? What it REALLY means? These maps has the answer.
Europe
Surprisingly, a lot of factors seem to influence the name of a country, from geography to climate to wildlife. Spain, which means ‘Land of Many Rabbits’.
North America
The US might win the prize for most to-the-point name, with it meaning exactly what it says – the ‘United States of America’. Mexico comes from the simplified Spanish translation for the Aztec capital, Metztlixihtlico, which is said to mean “place at the center of the moon”. Click the next ARROW to see the next photo!
South America
Some countries have beautifully poetic names. Argentina, whose name means ‘Land Beside the Silvery River’, is a case in point. Brazil’s name is actually shortened from Terra do Brasil (land of Brazil). Venezuela is named for its resemblance to the Italian city of Venice, thus gaining the title of “Little Venice”. Click the next ARROW to see the next map!
Africa
The name Egypt comes from the Ancient Greek Aiguptos and Latin Ægyptus, and is also derived from hūt-kā-ptah (Temple of the Soul of Ptah).
Asia
India’s name comes from Greek, but also the Sanskrit Síndhu, where both refer to the Indus River. China’s English name comes from the Qin dynasty, the first unified and multinational state in Chinese history. Click the next ARROW to see the next map!
Oceania
The Land Down Under of Australia is fairly geographical in its name, drawn from the Latin australis for “southern”. The Māori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which is most commonly defined as “the long white cloud” — a reference to early Polynesian navigators discovering the country by relying on cloud formations.
