Names of Macau

The name Macau (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈkaw])[1] is thought to be derived from the Templo de A-Má (Temple of A-Ma or Ma Kok Temple) (媽閣廟, Cantonese Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6, local pronunciation: Maa5 Gok3 Miu6 or Maa5 Gok3 Miu2), a still-existing landmark built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu - the goddess of seafarers and fishermen.

In keeping with saga, a fishing boat sailing across the sea one day found itself in an unexpected storm. Everyone on board was about to give up all hope of surviving this natural disaster when an attractive young lady, who had boarded the boat at the eleventh hour, stood up and ordered the tempest to calm down. The gale ceased and the sea became calm.[2] The fishing boat, without further event, arrived safely at the port of Hoi Keang. The young lady walked ashore to the top of the Barra Hill where, in a glowing aura of light and fragrance; she immediately ascended into heaven. A temple was built on the specific location where she set foot.

Several hundred years later (circa 1513), when Portuguese sailors landed and asked the name of the place, the locals replied "媽閣" (Jyutping: "Maa1 Gok3"). The Portuguese then named the peninsula "Macao"[3] and several hundred years after that (circa 1911) they changed the spelling to "Macau" as part of the Reforms of Portuguese orthography.

Today the two spellings remain in common use due to the transcription of place names in two different Chinese dialects. For Cantonese, the dialect spoken in Macau and Hong Kong, the transcription is "Macau" the same as with Lantau Island. For Mandarin, the dialect that forms the basis of Standard Chinese, the transcription is "Macao" the same as with Qingdao.

The Chinese name Aomen 澳門 (pinyin: Àomén, Cantonese: Ou3 Mun4*2 [ʔōu mǔːn]) means "Inlet Gates". The "gates" refer to two erect gate-like mountains of Nantai (Chinese: 南台; pinyin: Nántái) and Beitai (Chinese: 北台; pinyin: Běitái). Alternately, Ao may derive from Macau's previous name Heong San Ou, as it is geographically situated at "Cross' Door".

Macau is also known as:

• Hou Keng Ou (壕鏡澳 Oyster-mirror Inlet)
• Heong San Ou (香山澳 Xiangshan Ao; Fragrant-mountain Inlet)
• Lin Tou (蓮島 Liandao; Lotus Island)
• Soda Port (梳打埠)

While Ou3 Mun2 is the traditional Cantonese name of the place, it is common among the Cantonese-speaking population to use the source of the Portuguese name, 馬交 Maa5 Gaau1 [ma̬ː káːu]. The form "Macao" was the original Portuguese spelling, which continues to be used by the governments of some European countries that never made the change to "Macau". In the modern era, both the spellings "Macau" and "Macao" are accepted as correct spelling.

Since the transfer of sovereignty over Macau in 1999, the government of Macau considers both "Macau" and "Macao" to be acceptable spellings of the name in English language publications, but the former was more widely used across English-speaking world, especially in the United States and Australia. While the latter was more widely used in the United Kingdom, especially in government documents. Meanwhile, the spelling was mixed in Canada.

Dualism is visible in many English language government publications and documents, sometimes even within the same paragraph. For example, the spelling "Macao" appears on the local government's English language emblem as seen at its web portal[4] and also at the official website of the Macao Government Tourism Office.[5] Similarly, "Macao" is used on the Macau Special Administrative Region passport, but the government's official explanatory note on the passport spells it as "Macau".[6] As of 2014 most English-language books use "Macau".[7]

Colin Day, an editor of the published memoirs The Lone Flag wrote circa 2014 that "in recent years, there has been a shift back to Macao, which works better phonetically in English."[7]

There are two official versions of the Basic Law of Macau, one in Chinese and one in Portuguese, according to articles 136 and 137 of the Basic Law the place may represent itself as “中國澳門” or "Macau, China".

In comparison, the central government of China consistently spells its name using the Mandarin transcription "Macao". Less commonly used is the pinyin transcription of 澳門 Aòmén, but its usage is not used officially. The decision not to adopt pinyin names after the handover to China appears to be consistent with the usual PRC policy of respecting the local linguistic traditions in the romanized version of names, as in other non-pinyin names like Lhasa, Ürümqi or Hohhot, for example. Phonetically the spelling "Macao" produces a pinyin pronunciation similar to 馬交 Mǎjiāo which explains the preference for this spelling among Mandarin speakers.

Notwithstanding the official Basic Law of Macau requirement to use "Macau, China", Macau participates in international organisations and international sport events like World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund meetings and East Asian Games as "Macao, China".

"Macao" is also the designated name of the ISO 3166-1 country code MO, and of the top-level domain .mo.

• Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1987). "This name of Macau...". Review of Culture. No. 1. Cultural Institute of Macao.