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 Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

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 mythological characters. Although Hindu mythology was a main influence, Islamic and Christian influences are present, particularly in central and northern India.

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 Dravidian 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 are Ooru, Palli, Abad, Pudi, Pedu, Pet/Peta, Patnam, Wada, Cherla, Seema, etc.

SuffixmeaningCommon place names
Ooru/Ur/OreVillageGuntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Eluru
AbadCity (Nizam era)Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Nizamabad
PatnamPort City/ TownVisakhapatnam, Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam
WadaAreaVijayawada, Vemulawada
Palli/Palle/PalemVillagePeddapalli, Madanapalle
Nagar/NagaramCityKarimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Vizianagaram
Pet/PetaTownSuryapet, Chilakaluripet
Pur/Puram Town Markapur, Hindupur
Gudem Village Tadepalligudem, Galigudem

Arunachal Pradesh

Namdapha National park, Roing, Tezu, Sakteng Wildlife sanctuary, Namsai, Parsurum Kund, Bhairabkunda, Khonsa, Jairampur, Bhismaknagar, Changlang, Hawai, Nampong, Koloriang, etc.[1]

Bihar

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

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.

SuffixmeaningCommon place names
BhaviwellArabhavi, Sulibhavi, Bilebhavi, Nagarbhavi
GudhabitationNanjangud, Handigud
HallivillageKanchamaranahalli,
KericolonyMadikeri, Tallikeri,
KotefortBagalakote,
Ooru/uruvillageBengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Kitturu. Emmiganuru,
PetetownChikkupete, Hosapete
PuracityKundapura, Narasimharajapura, Kanakapura

Kerala

In Kerala, most names are based on Tamil root words just as in Tamil Nadu. As original language of Kerala was Tamil in ancient times before Malayalam became spoken in Kerala but after most fo the cities were named. Common suffixes include Oor, Cheri/Sheri, Kulam, Kaadu, Naadu and Mangalam. Examples: Kadavoor, Puthusherry, Kuttanad and Kunnamangalam

Maharashtra

Mumbai, Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Pune, Lonalva, Nashik, Shirdi, Alibag, Mahabaleshwar, Ganpatipule, Matheran, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Khandala, Malvan, Ajanta, Panchgani, Takarli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Raigad Fort, Thane, Igatpuri, Saputara and Bhandardara.

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, Thenzhal, Murlen National Park, Serchhip, Murlen, Siaha, Kolasib, Hmuifang, Vairegte, 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.

SuffixMeaningCommon Place names
PurCitySambalpur, Berhampur,Rairangpur, Subarnapur, Puri
GarhFortBargarh, Debagarh, sundergarh, Nayagarh

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, common suffixes are Oor, Nagaram, Puram, Kudi, Cheri, Paakkam, Pattinam, Palayam, Kaadu, Pettai, Mangalam, Seemai 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 historical relationship of Sanskrit with Hinduism.

SuffixMeaningCommon Place names
Oor/ur/oreVillageAmbattur, Thanjavur, Karur, hosur, tirupur, Coimbatore, Vellore.
KaaduForestYercaud,
pattinamCoastal areaNagapattinam
puramectalkanchipuram, ramanathapuram, viluppuram
NagaramCityVanagaram
nibeetheni
kalpaving stonenamakkal
kudidrinkkaraikkudi, paramakudi, thoothukkudi

Tripura

Common suffix include mura.

suffixmeaningcommon places
assaAmbassa, Bagbassa
bariChuraibari, Jolaibari
chharaLaxmanchhara, Nabinchhara, Karaichhara, Bagaichhara, Dhanichhara, Sanichhara
muraTeliamura, Sonamura,

West Bengal

Places with multiple names

Some cities have different names in different languages

  • Mangalore is also known as Kudla, Mangalapuram and Kodial.

Global Indian influence in place names

See Indosphere, Sanskritization, Indianization of Southeast Asia.

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See also

References
  1. https://www.google.com.au/destination/compare?q=places+in+arunachal+pradesh&site=search&output=search&dest_mid=/m/018ckn&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUyu-G777fAhXGuI8KHSDcDiYQ6tEBCDEoBDAA
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