List of long place names
This is a list of officially recognised long place names.
Single-word names
- Full name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters)
- Short-forms: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu (57 letters), Taumata (7 letters)
- Location: North Island, New Zealand
- Language: Māori
- Translation: "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one"
- Notes: Listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest official placename in the world.
The station sign at "Llanfairpwllgwyngyll", with a pronunciation guide underneath.
- Full name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters)
- Short-forms: Llanfair PG (10 letters), Llanfairpwll (12 letters) or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (20 letters)
- Location: Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom
- Language: Welsh
- Translation: "Saint Mary's Church in a hollow of white hazel near the swirling whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave"
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Europe.
- Full name: Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (45 letters)
- Short-forms: Lake Chaubunagungamaug (17 letters)[1]
- Location: a lake in Webster, Massachusetts, United States
- Language: Nipmuc
- Translation: "Fishing Place at the Boundaries -- Neutral Meeting Grounds"[2]
- Notes: Believed to be the longest official one-word placename in the United States.
- Full name: Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein (44 letters)[3][4][5][6]
- Location: a farm in the North West province of South Africa
- Language: Afrikaans
- Translation: "The spring (lit. 'fountain') where two buffaloes were cleanly killed with a single shot"
- Notes: The longest one-word placename in Africa.
- Full name: Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä (35 letters)
- Location: Lapland, Finland
- Language: Finnish (northern dialect)
- Translation: Unknown etymology, probably gibberish (see entry for more).
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Finland, and the second longest in Europe.
- Full name: Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik (31 letters)
- Location: a lake in Manitoba, Canada
- Language: Cree
- Translation: "where the wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks"
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Canada.[7]
- Full name: Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta (28 letters)
- Location: a village in Andhra Pradesh, India
- Language: Telugu
- Translation: "Venkatanarasimharaju's city"
- Notes: The longest one-word placename in India.
- Full name: Bovenendvankeelafsnysleegte (27 letters)
- Location: a farm in the Upper Karoo in South Africa
- Language: Afrikaans
- Translation: "Upper end of throat-cut valley"
- Full name: Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya (26 letters)
- Location: a hill in South Australia, Australia
- Language: Pitjantjatjara
- Translation: "Where the devil urinates"
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Australia.[8]
- Full name: Schmedeswurtherwesterdeich (26 letters)
- Location: a hamlet outside the village of Schmedeswurth, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
- Language: German
- Translation: "West levee of the smith's hill-village"
- Full name: Bullaunancheathrairaluinn[9] (25 letters)
- Location: a bullaun in County Galway, Ireland
- Language: Anglicisation of Irish Ballán an Cheathrair Álainn[9]
- Translation: "Bullaun of the Beautiful Four"
- Notes: Believed to be the longest official one-word Irish-derived placename in Ireland.
- Full name: Gasselterboerveenschemond (25 letters)
- Location: a hamlet in Drenthe, Netherlands
- Language: Dutch
- Translation: "Delta of Gasselt's (surname) farmer's bog"
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in the Netherlands.
- Full name: Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur (23 letters)
- Location: a municipality in Iceland
- Language: Icelandic
- Translation: [?]
- Notes: The longest official one-word place name in Iceland.
- Full name: Onafhankelijkheidsplein (23 letters) [10][11]
- Location: a central square in Paramaribo, Suriname
- Language: Dutch
- Translation: "Independence Square"
- Full name: Kuchistiniwamiskahikan (22 letters)
- Location: an island in Quebec, Canada
- Language: [?]
- Translation: [?]
- Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Quebec.[7]
- Full name: Parangaricutirimicuaro (22 letters)
- Location: a city in Michoacán, Mexico
- Language: P'urhepecha
- Translation: The word itself is a tongue-twister, similar to the English counterpart "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".
- Notes: The longest placename in Mexico. The village, now known as Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, is also called San Juan, Nuevo San Juan, and Parangaricutiro.
- Full name: Drehideenglashanatooha (22 letters)
- Location: a bridge in County Tipperary, Ireland
- Language: Anglicisation of Irish Droichidín Glaise na Tuaithe
- Translation: "Little Bridge of the Tribe's Green"
- Full name: Muckanaghederdauhaulia (22 letters)
- Location: townland in Kilcummin, County Galway, Ireland
- Language: Anglicisation of Irish Muiceanach idir Dhá Sháile
- Translation: "Piggery between two briny places"
- Notes: Formerly regarded as the longest placename (spelled in English) in Ireland (22 letters), it has been superseded by awareness of longer names.
- Full name: Yamagawaokachiyogamizu (22 letters)
- Location: Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Translation: "Hill of the children's water in the mountains and river region" (located near Hamachiyogamizu, "Beach of the children's water")
- Full name: Gschlachtenbretzingen (21 letters)
- Location: a suburb of Michelbach an der Bilz, Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Language: Swabian German
- Translation: "fertile Bretzingen" (as opposed to neighbouring Rauhenbretzingen, "rough Bretzingen")
- Notes: The contraction of the "ge-" prefix to "g-" is a feature of Swabian. The name is therefore occasionally written in standard German as "Geschlachtenbretzingen" (22 letters).
- Full name: Старонижестеблиевская (21 letters)
- Location: a stanitsa in Krasnodar Krai, Russia
- Language: Russian
- Translation: "The old settlement named as "lower vines settlement" (assuming there should be a new one somewhere)"
- Full name: Jászfelsőszentgyörgy (20 letters)
- Location: a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, Hungary
- Language: Hungarian language
- Translation: "Upper St. George in Jászság"
- Full name: Siemieniakowszczyzna (20 letters)
- Location: a village in Hajnówka County, Poland
- Language: Polish
- Translation: "ground of Siemieniak" (lit. "Siemieniakishness")
- Full name: Tissvassklumptjønnin (20 letters)
- Location: Lierne, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
- Language: Norwegian
- Translation: [?]
- Full name: Vanhankaupunginselkä (20 letters)
- Full name: Newtownmountkennedy (19 letters)
- Location: a village in County Wicklow, Ireland
- Language: English
- Translation: "A new town near Mt. Kennedy"
- Notes: the longest official one-word English-derived placename in Ireland.
- Full name: Cottonshopeburnfoot (19 letters)
- Location: a hamlet in Northumberland, England
- Language: English
- Translation: "The end of the Cottonshope Burn" (a tributary that flows into the River Rede)
- Full name: Nyugotszenterzsébet (19 letters)
- Full name: Bienwaldziegelhutte (19 letters)
- Location: a small village in Alsace, France
- Language: Alsatian
- Translation: "Brick cottage near the bees' wood"
- Full name: Thiruvananthapuram (18 letters)
- Location: a city in Kerala, India
- Language: Malayalam
- Translation: "City of Lord Anantha"[12]
- Notes: Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of Kerala.
- Full name: Breuschwickersheim (18 letters)
- Location: a village in Alsace, France
- Language: Alsatian
- Translation: "Home of the vicar living next to the Bruche river"
- Full name: Streisângeorgiu (15 letters)
Names with spaces or hyphen
Full name of Bangkok, written in front of Bangkok Administrative Building
- Bangkok: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit (176 letters)
- in Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์ (112 letters + 7 spaces)
- Some long U.S. place names appearing in the Geographic Names Information System are:[13]
- Winchester-on-the-Severn, Maryland, and Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas are the longest hyphenated place names in the U.S. (21 letters)
- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
- Little Harbor on the Hillsboro, FL
- Pops Hammock Seminole Village, FL
- Friendly Village of Crooked Creek, GA
- Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
- Howey-in-the-Hills, FL
- Hamilton-Wenham, MA
- Little Diamond Island Landing, ME
- Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
- Orchard Point At Piney Orchard, MD
- Point Field Landing on the Severn, MD
- Riverside Village of Church Creek, MD
- Monmouth Heights at Manalapan, NJ
- Staffordville Public Landing, NJ
- Holly View Forest-Highland Park, NC
- The Village of Indian Hill, OH
- Slovenska Narodna Podporna Jednota, PA
- The Landing at Plantation Point, SC
- Big Thicket Creekmore Village, TX
- Kinney and Gourlays Improved City Plat, UT
- Little Cottonwood Creek Valley, UT
- West Virginia Central Junction, WV
- Marine on Saint Croix, MN
- The U.S. state with the longest name is Rhode Island, which officially is named Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,[14]
- The original name of Los Angeles, CA, in 1781, was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula"; in English this means "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River".[15]
- The longest hyphenated name in England is the 29 letter long name Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, the name of a tiny village in North Yorkshire.
- The longest names for communes in France, with 38 letters each, are Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson, Marne (45 characters including hyphens), Saint-Germain-de-Tallevende-la-Lande-Vaumont, Calvados (44 characters), and Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-Quitteur, Haute-Saône (43 characters).
- The longest place name in Austria is Pfaffenschlag bei Waidhofen an der Thaya (40 characters).
- The longest place name in Spain is Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, in the province of Burgos (37 characters).
- The longest municipality name in the Czech Republic is the name of Nová Ves u Nového Města na Moravě (33 characters), the second one is the city of Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (32 characters).
- The longest single place name in Germany is Hellschen-Heringsand-Unterschaar in Schleswig-Holstein (32 characters). In the standard official naming scheme, however, small villages are disambiguated by prefixing them with the name of the main town in the district. The longest official place name is therefore Michelbach an der Bilz-Gschlachtenbretzingen (40 characters).
- The longest place names in Italy are Pino sulla Sponda del Lago Maggiore and San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, with 30 letters.
- The longest place names in Poland are Sobienie Kiełczewskie Pierwsze and Przedmieście Szczebrzeszyńskie, with 30 letters (including spaces).
- The municipality with the longest name in Brazil is Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, with 32 characters (including spaces). The Brazilian municipality with the longest single word name is Esperantinópolis, with 16 characters.
- The municipality with the longest name in Mexico is Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional (49 characters).[16]
- The longest place name in Mexico is San Pedro y San Pablo Tequixtepec (28 letters).
- The longest city name in Argentina is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca (30 letters).
See also
References
- ↑ Geographic Names Information System: Lake Chaubunagungamaug
- ↑ Patenaude, Ed (June 28, 2001). "Fabrication leaves us gasping - Old twist to name of lake comes to light". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ↑ "How Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein Got its Name". Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ↑ "Professor AM de Lange". Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ↑ "HUNT FOR TWO BUFFALOES". Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ↑ "Tweebuffels". Geocodes. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 britishcouncil.org
- ↑ "Geoscience Australia Gazeteer".
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Bullaunanchaeathrairalainn". Placenames Database of Ireland.
- ↑ Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo, The Guianas - Lonely Planet
- ↑ Lonely Planet Destinations
- ↑ "About Thiruvananthapuram". Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ↑ Jeff Miller's Collection
- ↑ "Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". State of Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
- ↑ Sullivan, Noelle (December 8, 2009). It Happened in Southern California: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (2nd ed.). Globe Pequot. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-7627-5423-6. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
- ↑ Catálogo de claves de entidades federativas, municipios y localidades