Country Name Origins. Fascinating!

RE-POSTED FROM MY FACEBOOK NOTE-- After doing a related sporcle list, I decided to look up the word origins of all the countries. Most country names are just physical descriptions given by clearly deep-thinking European, but some of them are pretty interesting

Niger is actually pronounced "nee-zhay" cuz it's French. It comes from Ni Gir, Ni meaning river. That means the Niger River, for which Niger and Nigeria are named, translates to "River Gir River."

Chad is named for Lake Chad. Chad derives from the Bornu word "tsade," meaning Lake. Chad = Lake. Lake Chad = Lake Lake.

Trinidad and Tobago = Trinity and Tobacco


The nations of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Indus Valley, Sindh, and Turkharistan formed a nation named for their acronym: PAKIST. That's right, Pakistan.

An alarming number of countries translate from various European languages to mean "land of the blacks."


Belarus basically means "White Russia."

Burkina Faso is a peaceful combination of the country's two languages. Translates roughly to "land of the upright people."

Egypt makes more sense if you spell it Aegypt, "land below the Aegean Sea."

Albania should be called Alp-ania because it basically means country in the Alps.

Cyprus derives from copper

Argentina derives from silver (Ag on the periodic table)

Sierra Leone = "Lion Mountains"

Singapore = "Lion City"

Sri Lanka "magnificent island"

Morocco = "Marrakesh" in Spanish

Panama "place of many fish"

Uzbekistan = "Land of Self-Masters" (bad ass, fuck the Russians)

Venezuela = "little Venice"