English Civ name origins

[Ryansinbela]

I am attempting to write the origins of all the civ names in the series. Correct me if I made a mistake

America - Named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci
Arabia - Simply the Arabic word to describe them with numerous Etymologies suggested like "westerners" or "those who move around."
Assyria - Originates from the capital Assur
Australia - Derived from the latin word Australis, meaning Southern
Austria - Possibly from the German Osterreich meaning Eastern Realm, Started out as an extension of Bavaria
Aztec - Named after Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origin in Northern Mexico
Babylon - Akkadian word Babil or Babilim, meaning The Gate of God
Brazil - Named after Portuguese word for Brazilwood (Pau-Brasil)
Byzantium - Named after Greek Colony founded by Byzas
Canada - Coming from the Iroquoian word Kanata, Meaning Village or Settlement
Carthage - From Phoenician name Qart-Hadast (New City)
Celt - Coming from the word Greek word Keltoi to describe the people near modern Marseille
China - Comes from the Sanskrit Cina, Which was used to describe the Qin Dynasty
Cree - Comes from the French name Kristineaux or Kri which the French derived from the Algonquin word Kirištino which the Ojibwa used to describe the Hudson Bay Tribes
Denmark - Some say it comes from the King Dan, Some say it is derived from the words for Flat Land and Woodland
Egypt - Comes from the Greek Aegyptos, which was a pronunciation of the Egyptian Hwt-Ka-Ptah (Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah
England - Derived from the Old English Englaland (Land of the Angles)
Ethiopia - Comes from the Greek Aithiopia (Burnt Visage)
France - Comes from the Latin Francia (Land of the Franks)
Gaul - Derived from the Old Frankish Walholant (Land of the Strangers)
Georgia - Comes from the Persian Gurg and Originates from St George
Germany - Latin Word Germania used to describe the people of the Rhine
Gran Colombia - Term used by historians to distinguish from modern Colombia. Combination of New Latin Columbia (Based on Christopher Columbus) and Spanish word Gran (Great)
Greece - Latin Word Graecia (Land of the Greeks)
Hittite - From Hebrew Hiti which was an exonym relating to Hatti
Holy Roman - Considered themselves a continuation of the Roman Empire. Holy reflects Barbarossa's Ambition to conquer Italy and the Papacy
Hungary - Medieval Latin Hungaria, derived from the name of the Ungri steppe group that controlled Hungary during the 9th and 10th centuries
Huns - Derived from the Latin Hunni and Greek Ounnoi
Inca - Quechua word Inka (Royal Person, Lord)
India - Derived from the Sindhu (Indus) River)
Indonesia - Derived from the Greek Indus (India) and Nesos (Island)
Iroquois - Unknown, Maybe Huron for Smokers and Bears
Japan - Pronunciation from Marco Polo (Cipangu)
Khmer - From the Pali term Khemara (one who is wholesome)
Kongo - Unattested
Korea - Derived from the Goryeo Empire
Macedon - From the Greek Makedones (The Tall Ones or Highlanders)
Mali - Word meaning "the place where the king lives"
Maori - Maori word for Ordinary
Mapuche - Mapudungan words for Earth and People
Maya - From the Yucatec word Mayab (Flat)
Mongolia - Latin word for Land of the Mongols
Morocco - From the Berber Ameṛṛuk (Marrakesh), Coming from a word meaning Sacred God
Native American - People who are native to the Americas, Duh
Netherlands - Means Low-lying Lands
Norway - Coming from the Old English Norþweg (Northern Way), derived from Old Norse norðr vegr
Nubia - Unknown, Possibly from the Ancient Egyptian nwb (Gold) or the Greek Noubades which was used to denote the people who moved into Northern Nubia during the 4th Century AD
Ottoman - Derives from the emperor Osman
Persia - Taken from the city Parsa
Phoenicia - Comes from the Greek Phoínikes, which was used to describe their Tyrian Purple
Poland - Derived from the West Slavic Polans Tribe, named after the word Pole (Field)
Polynesia - From the Greek Polus (Many) and Nesus (Islands)
Portugal - Derived from the Roman colony Portus Cale
Rome - Named after the alleged founder Romulus, named after the Etruscan word Roma
Russia - Named after The Rus kingdom during the Middle Ages
Scotland - Derived from the last name Scoti
Scythia - The name given by the Greeks to the Saka, which is Scythian for Shooters
Shoshone - Shoshone word Sosoni (High-Growing Grasses)
Siam - Sanskrit word Syam (Dark or Brown)
Sioux - From the Ojibwe Nadowessioux (Little Snakes)
Songhai - Name of the Ruling Caste (Needs more info)
Spain - Unattested, Possibly a Phoenician word
Sumer - Akkadian word meaning land of the civilized kings
Sweden - From the Middle Dutch word Zweden
Venice - Possibly from Venetia et Histria which was the Roman name of Regio X
Viking - From the Old Norse Vik (Creek or Bay) which forms the root Vikingr (Pirate)
Zulu - Name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu Royal Line, Also from the word for Sky

 

[Ryansinbela]

Finally finished

 

[8housesofelixir]

Japan - Portuguese recording of Wu Chinese word for Japan: Cipan

The earliest form of "Japan" in Europe was Marco Polo's Cipangu, which is an Italian pronunciation. The Chinese origin of this particular pronunciation is actually unknown - it is clearly from a southern Chinese dialect, but from which exact one is still open for debate.

Maya - Derived from the city Mayapan

I think it's actually the reverse.

 

[Ryansinbela]

Noted
But then where does Maya come from

 

[Zaarin]

Arabia - Hebrew word ʿarav and ʿaravah meaning "desert" or "steppe"

Arab is a native Arabic word and is unrelated to הָעֲרָבָה‎.

Canada - Coming from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, Meaning Village or Settlement

St. Lawrence Iroquoian, not Huron.

Sumer - Akkadian word meaning land of the civilized kings

Do you have a source for this? Anything I've read describes the etymology of Šumer as unknown.

 

[Patine]

I am attempting to write the origins of all the civ names in the series. Correct me if I made a mistake

America - Named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci
Arabia - Hebrew word ʿarav and ʿaravah meaning "desert" or "steppe"
Assyria - Originates from the capital Assur
Australia - Derived from the latin word Australis, meaning Southern
Austria - Possibly from the German Osterreich meaning Eastern Realm
Aztec - Named after Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origin in Northern Mexico
Babylon - Akkadian word Babil or Babilim, meaning The Gate of God
Brazil - Named after Portuguese word for Brazilwood (Pau-Brasil)
Byzantium - Named after Greek Colony founded by Byzas
Canada - Coming from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, Meaning Village or Settlement
Carthage - From Phoenician name Qart-Hadast (New City)
Celt - Coming from the word Greek word Keltoi to describe the people near modern Marseille
China - Comes from the Sanskrit Cina, Which was used to describe the Qin Dynasty
Cree - Comes from the French name Kristineaux or Kri which the French derived from the Algonquin word Kirištino which the Ojibwa used to describe the Hudson Bay Tribes
Denmark - Some say it comes from the King Dan, Some say it is derived from the words for Flat Land and Woodland
Egypt - Comes from the Greek Aegyptos, which was a pronunciation of the Egyptian Hwt-Ka-Ptah (Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah
England - Derived from the Old English Englaland (Land of the Angles)
Ethiopia - Comes from the Greek Aithiopia (Burnt Visage)
France - Comes from the Latin Francia (Land of the Franks)
Gaul - Derived from the Old Frankish Walholant (Land of the Strangers)
Georgia - Comes from the Persian Gurg and Originates from St George
Germany - Latin Word Germania used to describe the people of the Rhine
Gran Colombia - Term used by historians to distinguish from modern Colombia. Combination of New Latin Columbia (Based on Christopher Columbus) and Spanish word Gran (Great)
Greece - Latin Word Graecia (Land of the Greeks)
Hittite - From Hebrew Hiti which was an exonym relating to Hatti
Holy Roman - Considered themselves a continuation of the Roman Empire. Holy reflects Barbarossa's Ambition to conquer Italy and the Papacy
Hungary - Medieval Latin Hungaria, derived from the name of the Ungri steppe group that controlled Hungary during the 9th and 10th centuries
Huns - Derived from the Latin Hunni and Greek Ounnoi
Inca - Quechua word Inka (Royal Person, Lord)
India - Derived from the Sindhu (Indus) River)
Indonesia - Derived from the Greek Indus (India) and Nesos (Island)
Iroquois - French variant on the Huron word for Snake used to spite them
Japan - Pronunciation from Marco Polo (Cipangu)
Khmer - From the Pali term Khemara (one who is wholesome)
Kongo - Unattested
Korea - Derived from the Goryeo Empire
Macedon - From the Greek Makedones (The Tall Ones or Highlanders)
Mali - Word meaning "the place where the king lives"
Maori - Maori word for Ordinary
Mapuche - Mapudungan words for Earth and People
Maya - From the Yucatec word Mayab (Flat)
Mongolia - Latin word for Land of the Mongols
Morocco - From the Berber Ameṛṛuk (Marrakesh), Coming from a word meaning Sacred God
Native American - People who are native to the Americas, Duh
Netherlands - Means Low-lying Lands
Norway - Coming from the Old English Norþweg (Northern Way)
Nubia - Unknown, Possibly from the Ancient Egyptian nwb (Gold) or the Greek Noubades which was used to denote the people who moved into Northern Nubia during the 4th Century AD
Ottoman - Derives from the emperor Osman
Persia - Taken from the Parsa People
Phoenicia - Comes from the Greek Phoínikes, which was used to describe their Tyrian Purple
Poland - Derived from the West Slavic Polans Tribe
Polynesia - From the Greek Polus (Many) and Nesus (Islands)
Portugal - Derived from the Roman colony Portus Cale
Rome - Named after the alleged founder Romulus
Russia - Named after The Rus kingdom during the Middle Ages
Scotland - Derived from the last name Scoti
Scythia - The name given by the Greeks to the Saka
Shoshone - Shoshone word Sosoni (High-Growing Grasses)
Siam - Sanskrit word Syam (Dark or Brown)
Sioux - From the Ojibwe Nadowessioux (Little Snakes)
Songhai - Name of the Ruling Caste (Needs more info)
Spain - Unattested, Possibly a Phoenician word
Sumer - Akkadian word meaning land of the civilized kings
Sweden - From the Middle Dutch word Zweden
Venice - Possibly from Venetia et Histria which was the Roman name of Regio X
Viking - From the Old Norse Vik (Creek or Bay) which forms the root Vikingr (Pirate)
Zulu - Name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu Royal Line, Also from the word for Sky

Wow! Only a small minority are endonyms meant to be self-referential, as such.

St. Lawrence Iroquoian, not Huron.

Yes, I remember the story from school here in Canada of Jacques Cartier sailing down the Saint Lawrence to the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga (part of what is now inner city Montreal), and he, and his crew, and, for some thereafter all Frenchmen, and Europeans in general, being labelled by the Iroquoians "Osheaga," meaning roughly "waving" or "shaking hands" in Saint Lawrence Iroquoian (though, curiously, means "great rapids," in Mohawk and Huron, by some lingual drift, and led to early confusion in terminology), a term believed to tie to Cartier and crew's either waving their hands in greeting or attempting to shake hands with the Iroquoians, both highly foreign and unheard of customs for them.

 

[ButtBillionaire]

To elaborate, Norþweg is derived from Old Norse norðr vegr (same meaning) or possibly nór vegr ("narrow way"), in any case a term which initially referred only to the sailing route along the western Norwegian coast. This is reflected in only Western Norwegians being called nordmenn until circa 1800, while Eastern Norwegians were referred to as austmenn ("eastmen"), before nordmenn came to mean all Norwegians.

 

[Zaarin]

Yes, I remember the story from school here in Canada of Jacques Cartier sailing down the Saint Lawrence to the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga (part of what is now inner city Montreal), and he, and his crew, and, for some thereafter all Frenchmen, and Europeans in general, being labelled by the Iroquoians "Osheaga," meaning roughly "waving" or "shaking hands" in Saint Lawrence Iroquoian (though, curiously, means "great rapids," in Mohawk and Huron, by some lingual drift, and led to early confusion in terminology), a term believed to tie to Cartier and crew's either waving their hands in greeting or attempting to shake hands with the Iroquoians, both highly foreign and unheard of customs for them.

Yeah, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were for a while thought to be Mohawks or Onondagas, then they were thought to be Hurons. The latter was closer but still wrong. It seems they were at least two people who spoke at least two different languages based on Cartier's word list. They're usually referred to as Hochelagans and Stadaconans based on their primary towns (at least that Cartier visited). What happened to them is unclear, but they probably ended up being absorbed by the Algonquins and their traditional enemies the Wendats (Hurons).


Oh, and I found a few more corrections.

Scythia - The name given by the Greeks to the Saka

The name is Greek, but it does come from Scythian and means, roughly, "shooters."

Rome - Named after the alleged founder Romulus

Other way around. Rōma is probably of Etruscan origin, and Rōmulus was derived from Rōma plus the diminutive suffix -ulus.

 

[Ryansinbela]

Arab is a native Arabic word and is unrelated to הָעֲרָבָה‎.

Then what does it mean

 

[AsH2]

Wow! Only a small minority are endonyms meant to be self-referential, as such.

Though the list is rather "origins of all the civ english names" than really "origin".

 

[Zaarin]

Then what does it mean

It simply means "Arab," with a number of etymologies proposed, including "westerners" or "those who move around." At any rate, the name has great antiquity; it's first attested in Akkadian some 3,000 years ago.

 

[Ryansinbela]

Though the list is rather "origins of all the civ english names" than really "origin".

Yeah that makes sense

 

[God of Kings]

Here are three interesting videos from AtlasPro:

AtlasPro is such an underrated geography YouTuber. Please subscribe to his channel.

 

[Lord Lakely]

Persia was named after Parsa, which is the Persian name for "Persepolis". It's an exonym. The local people always have called, and still call their country Iran.

 

[Futumch]

I always thought Denmark was "land of the Danes", as in the march of the Danes. This sort of list is really interesting, thumbs up : )

 

[berlin88]

Austria started out as an extension of Bavaria, the Markgrafschaft Österreich. That is why Austrians and Bavarians generally have the same dialect of German. The early version of Austria was only the upper and lower parts of modern Austria, with the rest being separate areas. Salzburg, Steiermark, Voralberg and Kärnten were not added to Austrua until later on.

 

[notNamed]

Iroquois - French variant on the Huron word for Snake used to spite them

Huron words for snake have absolutely nothing even resembling Iroquois to them. The etymology of Iroquois is unknown and currently relies on having to mix unrelated terms together to cook up something at the very least resembling the word. The tribes around Iroquois all have names for them, none of which match or even resemble the French exonym. Suppose you do believe the unprovable and unfounded snake story, though, at least get the language family in order. The snake theory came from various chimeras from Aloquoian languages. The Huron words proposed as the origin were in translation "Smokers" and "Bears".
I almost forgot, just so you actually learn something from this, there is a Huron term for "People of the snake", which is one of the clans. It is Hatingǫtrǫnǫh. Hati- is the plural prefix you all know and love as Hodi- (Haudee- if you're an English priest having to wrestle your own language), -ngǫt- is the snake and -rǫnǫh is the people of + a stative aspect (if you've ever seen Hodinoshoni and Hodinoshonih side by side, the latter has the same -h stative).
Pretty nice writeup, this thing: https://www.wyandotte-nation.org/language/animal-terms-in-wyandot/. Wonderful in that it dissects the words presented, which is a necessity with Iroquoian languages and many of the amateur lists you can find online completely omit. As an aside, this is an actual Iroquoian clan calling themselves people of the snake. Something-something folk etymology about calling these same people snakes as an insult something-something different values something-something at least these folks weren't in the Confederacy itself.

Persia was named after Parsa, which is the Persian name for "Persepolis". It's an exonym. The local people always have called, and still call their country Iran.

Persia or a variant thereof is a name used by the Greeks (Persia), Latins (Parthia) and Chinese (波斯, modern Posi). Likewise, the name predates Persepolis. The people called themselves Aryans - Iranians, the land they lived in was called Parsa. The kingdom eventually became known as Iranshahr (kingdom of Iran), dunno if they used Parshahr or anything comparable prior to the Sassanid Empire, which is when we get the first attested inscription of Eranshahr.

 

[edoipi]

Poland - Derived from the West Slavic Polans Tribe

That is correct, but to add a little: Polans name comes directly from "pole" which means field. It seems that they were strongly associated with farming at the time.

 

[Zaarin]

Persia or a variant thereof is a name used by the Greeks (Persia), Latins (Parthia) and Chinese (波斯, modern Posi). Likewise, the name predates Persepolis. The people called themselves Aryans - Iranians, the land they lived in was called Parsa. The kingdom eventually became known as Iranshahr (kingdom of Iran), dunno if they used Parshahr or anything comparable prior to the Sassanid Empire, which is when we get the first attested inscription of Eranshahr.

Pārsa was a province within Iran (and still is), and it was the province from which the rulers came most of the time. Pārsānšahr wouldn't make sense in this context since Pārsa was a subdivision of the kingdom not the kingdom itself. Also Parthia is etymologically related to Pārsa, but it has nothing to do with the Latins. It was simply the Parthian form of the word (which then gave us Middle Persian Pahlawīg > Modern Persian Pahlavi).

 

[Patine]

Austria started out as an extension of Bavaria, the Markgrafschaft Österreich. That is why Austrians and Bavarians generally have the same dialect of German. The early version of Austria was only the upper and lower parts of modern Austria, with the rest being separate areas. Salzburg, Steiermark, Voralberg and Kärnten were not added to Austrua until later on.

Wasn't the linguistic and cultural similarity to Austria - and not to other German States - one of the reasons the King of Bavaria was the last German State to break with the former Austrian hegemony and side with Bismarck's growing movement that led to the German Empire, only throwing in his lot practically right as the Franco-Prussian War was declared?