Place names in India

Place names in India are usually in Indian languages. Other languages include Portuguese, Dutch, English and Arabic.

Since Indian Independence, several Indian cities have adopted pre-English names, most notably Chennai (formerly Madras), Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), Visakhapatnam (formerly Waltair), and Pune (formerly Poona).

Common place names

Most place names are named after prominent geographical features, such as rivers and lakes. Others are named after personalities such as kings or historical figures. Although Hindu history was a main influence, Islamic and Christian influences are present, particularly in central and northern India.

• -abad - "city" - from Persian ābād (آباد)
• -garh - "fort, castle" - Hindi gaṛh (गढ़)
• -nagar/nagara - "town" - from Sanskrit nagara (नगर) It is borrowed from Tamil
• -prayag, -prayaga - "confluence" - from Sanskrit prayāga (प्रयाग)
• -pore, -pur, -pura - "city" - from Sanskrit pura (पुर)
• -pattinam, -pattanam - “harbour” - from the Tamil word for sea portal towns
• -kot, -kota - “fort” - from Proto Tamil (கோட்டை)
• -palli, -halli - "hamlet" - from Proto Tamil (பள்ளி)
• -oor, -uru, - "village" - from Proto Tamil (ஊர்)

Anglicized names

Some anglicized names have been officially changed to reflect native pre-colonial spellings. The names of the cities, towns, and villages are usually in Indian languages, while most street names carry English names. Examples: Washermanpet, George Town, Chennai

Variations

Certain names have variations in different languages. Oor/Ooru is a common Proto Tamil name which means a place, also known as Oor in Tamil and Malayalam, whereas it is called Ooru in Telugu and Kannada.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Common suffixes include, -ooru, -palli, -pudi, -peta, etc.

Arunachal Pradesh

Namdapha National park, Roing, Tezu, Sakteng Wildlife sanctuary, Namsai, Parsurum Kund, Bhairabkunda, Khonsa, Jairampur, Bhismaknagar, Changlang, Hawai, Nampong, Koloriang, etc.

Assam

Bihar

Bodh Gaya, Patna, Rajgir, Gaya, Raxaul, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Pawapuri, Sasaram, Hajipur, Bihar Sharif, Kesaria, Sonpur, Munger and Bhagalpur Division.

Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Jagdalpur, Bilaspur, Durg, Kanger Ghati National Park, Bhilai, Sirpur, Ambikapur, Korba, Kawardha, Raigarh, Dongargarh, Tirarthgar, Atal Nagar, Mainpat, Indravati National Park, Ratanpur, Rajim, Chitrakoot, Rajnandgaon, Dhamtari, Kanker and Champa.

Delhi

New Delhi, Gurugram, Mehrauli, Karol Bagh, Delhi, Rohini, Chanakyapuri, Sonipat, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj, Pitam Pura, Bahadurgarh, Greater Kailash, Delhi Cantonment, Shahpur Jat, Shahdara, Najafgarh, Badarpurh, Nangloi Jat, Saidul Ajaib and Bawana.

Goa

Panaji, Calangute, Palolem Beach, Anjuna, Baga, Old Goa, Candolim, Margao, Vagator, Colva, Dona Paula, Vasco Da Gama, Mandrem, Morjim, Canacona, Mapusa, Arpora, Bogmalo Beach, Benaulim, Cavelossim, Ponda, Varca, Bardez, Majorda, Mobor, Dabolim, Agonda and Mormugao.

Gujarat

Jammu and Kashmir

Pangong Tso, Zanskar, Nyak Tso, Samba, Ramban, Khardong, Manikiala and Ranjit Sagar Dam Lake.

Jharkhand

Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Purulia, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Maithon, Hazaribagh, Netarhat, Bokaro Steel City, Ghatshila, Giridih, Rajmahal, Dumka, Parasnath Hill, Rajrappa, Medininagar, Patratu, Chaibasa, Panchet, Betla, Deoghar, Sahebganj, Pakur, Kodarma and McCluskieganj, Gumla.

Karnataka

Common endings are Ooru, Palaya, Halli, Pete, Seeme. Less common are prefixes such as Sri.

Kerala

Common suffixes include Angadi, Athani, Ur, Cheri/Shery, Kulam, Kad, Nad, Pally, Kode/Code, Kara, Mangalam, Kal, Puram, Kunnu, Parambu/Paramba and Puzha.

• Kode/Code - Kozhikode, Puthucode, Alamcode, Areekode, Veliyankode.
• Kara - Mavelikkara, Edakkara, Mullurkara, Anakkara, Ramanattukara.
• Mangalam - Kunnamangalam, Chathamangalam, Kunhimangalam, Chendamangalam, Enadimangalam.
• Pally - Karthikappally, Puthuppally, Kanjirappally, Vadanappally, Pulpally.
• Kal - Kottakkal, Chirakkal, Pothukal, Pulikkal, Edamulackal.
• Puram - Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, Angadipuram, Sivapuram, Kadampazhipuram.

Maharashtra

Common suffixes include Pur, Ner, Gav, Abad, Khed, Oli, Wadi, Nagar, Tur, Vali, and Ra.

• Pur - Nagpur, Solapur, Chandrapur, Kolhapur, Badlapur, Achalpur, Ballarpur, Pandharpur, Malkapur, Indapur, Jaysinghpur, Tulijapur, Murtijapur, Shirpur, Shirampur
• Ner - Sangamner, Jamner, Parner, Amalner, Saoner
• Gav - Jalgaon, Malegaon, Khamgaon, Kopargaon, Tasgaon, Majalgaon, Shegaon, Koregaon, Varangaon, Chalisgaon
• Abad - Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Khultabad, Dharmabad, Daulatabad
• Khed - Sindkhed, Jamkhed, Mudkhed, Narkhed, Gangakhed, Umarkhed
• Oli - Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Dapoli, Saoli, Sakoli, Wagholi, Biloli, Khopoli, Padoli
• Wadi - Hinjawadi, Vaibhavwadi, Kurduwadi, Sanaswadi, Sawantwadi, Wadi, Yewalewadi, Ghulewadi, Darewadi
• Nagar - Ahmednagar, Rajgurunagar, Ulhasnagar, Urjanagar, Shivajinagar
• Tur - Latur, Patur, Partur, Jintur
• Vali - Borivali, Kandivali, Karivali
• Ra - Bhandara, Rajura, Nandura

Manipur

Imphal, Loktak Lake, Moreh, Moirang, Ukrhul, Andro, Bishnupur, Shirui, Kakching, Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Thoubaul, Khangkhui, Jiribam, Leimaram, Khonghampat, Khongjom, Leimakhong, Tengnoupaul, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Senapati, Nambol, Nony, Jessami, Singda, Thanga and Khayang.

Mizoram

Aizawl, Lunglei, Champhai, Thenzawl, Murlen National Park, Serchhip, Murlen, Siaha,Khawzawl, Kolasib, Hmuifang, Vairengte, Hnahthial, Lawngtlai,Mamit, Saitual, Lengteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Zokhawthar, Baktawng, Farkawn, Phulpui, Sialsuk, Khawnlung, Tlabung, Lengpui and Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary.

Orissa

In Odisha (formerly known as Orissa) common suffixes are Pur, Garh, Gada.

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, common suffixes are Oor, Nagaram, Puram, Kudi, Cheri, Paakkam, Pattinam, Palayam, Kaadu, Pettai, Mangalam, Seemai, naththam, palli and Kuppam. One common prefix is Thiru. The majority of names are in Tamil language. Telugu and Kannada place names can be seen in border areas. Sanskrit names are found because of the Aryans Modified Tamil Into sanscrit For ex: Sriperumbudur is Actually Thiruperumputhoor they sanscritized tamil

Tripura

Common suffix include mura.

West Bengal

Global Indian influence in place names

See Indosphere, Sanskritization, Indianization of Southeast Asia.

In the Indianised cultures outside India, places were given Sanskritised names to make them sound more noble. Examples include:

• Ayutthaya in Thailand, named after Ayodhya, Rama's hometown.
• Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, named after "bhagavān", a title for gods. "Seri Begawan" was used as a title for Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III after he abdicated from the throne.
• Jayapura in Papua, Indonesia named from two Sanskrit words Jaya meaning "victorious" and Pura meaning "town". The name was given by the first president and founding father of the country, Sukarno.
• Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia named after the city of Ayodhya in India, the hometown of Sri Rama. "Yogyakarta" means "fit to prosper".
• Siak Sri Indrapura in Sumatra, Indonesia named after the disbanded Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura. "Indrapura" means "town of Indra".
• Nakhon Si Thammarat in Thailand, from the Pali words "nagara srī dhammaraja", or "city of the lord and king who rules by dharma".
• Putrajaya in Malaysia, which means "victorious prince" or "victorious son".
• Singapura, which means "lion city" named by prince Parameswara from Palembang, South Sumatra present Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia, as a hugely Sanskrit and Indic-influenced country, contains many Sanskrit-named cities and placements:

• kota - "city", from Tamil kōṭṭam (கோட்டம், "town") — e.g. Kota Pinang, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, Kotabumi, Kotabaru, Kotamobagu, Kotawaringin, etc.
• negara - "state", from Tamil (nakar) means "country" in Indonesian. The word Nagari is also a term used in West Sumatra referring to "village".
• pura - "town", from Sanskrit पुर (pur) — e.g. Jayapura, Siak Sri Indrapura, Amlapura, Sangkapura, Semarapura, etc. In Indonesia, pura also refers to a Hindu temple.

Malaysia

• kota - "city", from Tamil kōṭṭam (கோட்டம், "town")
• negeri - "state" or "country", from Tamil (Nakar)

Rajwada

Thailand

• nakhon (นคร) [ná(ʔ).kʰɔ̄ːn] - "city"
• buri (บุรี) [bū.rīː] - "town"
• samut (สมุทร) [sàmùt] - "sea"
• si (ศรี) [sǐ] - "lord"

See also

• Renaming of cities in India
• List of Indian cities on rivers
• List of towns in India by population
• Oikonyms in Western and South Asia

References

1. Names for India
2. List of long place names
3. Place names considered unusual
4. List of biblical places
5. Toponymy
6. List of towns in India by population
7. List of renamed places in India
8. India
9. List of short place names
10. List of tautological place names
11. List of Australian place names of Aboriginal origin
12. Indian name
13. List of Latin place names in Continental Europe, Ireland and Scandinavia
14. List of places with numeric names
15. List of chemical elements named after places
16. Sri Lankan place name etymology
17. List of Greek place names
18. List of reduplicated place names
19. Tourism in India
20. List of Arabic place names