Place names in India
Place names in India are usually in Indian languages. However, a good number of place names are from European languages such as Portuguese, Dutch, English as well as in Arabic.
Common Place names
Most place names are named after the prominent geographical entity nearby such as river, lake. Some place names are named after popular personalities such as Kings as well as Mythological characters. Good number of place names are based on Hindu mythology, while a handful names are based on Islamic as well as christianic influence.
Anglicised Names
Some anglicised names have been officially changed to reflect native spellings. The names of the cities, towns and villages are usually in Indian languages, while most street names carry English names. Example : Washermanpet, George Town, Chennai
Variations
Certain names have variations in different languages. Oor/ooru is a common dravidian name which means a place, is called as oor in Tamil and Malayalam, whereas it is called as ooru in Telugu and Kannada.
Andhra Pradesh
Common suffixes are ooru, palli, pudi, pedu, peta, patnam, wada, cherla, seema etc. Example: Guntur, Chintalapudi, Yerpedu, Chilakaluripet, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Macherla etc.
Karnataka
Common endings are ooru, palaya, halli, pete, seeme. Prefix like Sri are also found, but in lesser number.
| Suffix | meaning | Common place names |
|---|---|---|
| Bhavi | Arabhavi, Sulibhavi, Bilebhavi, Nagarbhavi | |
| Gud | Nanjangud, Handigud | |
| Halli | Kaladevanahalli, | |
| Keri | Madikeri, Tallikeri, | |
| Kote | Bagalakote, | |
| Ooru/uru | Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Kitturu. Emmiganuru, | |
| Pete | Chikkupete, Hosapete | |
| Pura | Kundapura, Narasimharajapura, Kanakapura |
Kerala
In Kerala, most names are based on dravidian rootwords just as in Tamil Nadu. Common suffixes include oor, cheri/sheri, kulam, kaadu, Naadu and mangalam. Examples: Kadavoor, Puthusherry, Kuttanad, kunnamangalam
Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, common suffixes are oor, puram, kudi, cheri, paakkam, pattinam, palayam, kaadu, pettai, mangalam, seemai and kuppam. Common prefix is thiru. Majority of the names are in Tamil language. While place names in Telugu or Kannada can be seen in border areas and Sanskrit names are also found because of the historical relationship of Sanskrit with hinduism.
| Suffix | Meaning | Common Place names |
|---|---|---|
| Oor/ur | Ambattur, Thanjavur, Karur, | |
| Kaadu | Forest | Yercaud, |
| pattinam | Coastal area | Nagapattinam |
| puram |
Tripura
Common suffix include mura.
| suffix | meaning | common places |
|---|---|---|
| assa | Ambassa, Bagbassa | |
| bari | Churaibari, Jolaibari | |
| chhara | Laxmanchhara, Nabinchhara, Karaichhara, Bagaichhara, Dhanichhara, Sanichhara | |
| mura | Teliamura, Sonamura, |
Anglicised Names
Some anglicised names have been officially changed to reflect native spellings. The names of the cities, towns and villages are usually in Indian languages, while most street names carry English names. Example : Washermanpet, George Town, Chennai
Places with multiple names
Some cities have different names in different languages.
- Mangalore: Kudla, Mangalapuram, Kodial
See also