List of Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies

Last updated

This article lists the etymologies of the names of the provinces and territories of Canada . [1]

Contents

Provinces and territories

NameLanguage of originWord(s) in original languageMeaning and notes
Flag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
Alberta in Canada 2.svg
Latin (ultimately from Proto-Germanic)Feminine Latinized form of Albert, ultimately from the Proto-Germanic *Aþalaberhtaz (compound of "noble" + "bright/famous"), after Princess Louisa Caroline Alberta [2] [3]
Flag of British Columbia.svg  British Columbia
British Columbia in Canada 2.svg
Latin Referring to the British sector of the Columbia District, after the Columbia River, ultimately after the Columbia Rediviva , a reference to Christopher Columbus [4] [5]
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba
Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
Cree, Ojibwe. or Assiniboine manitou-wapow, manidoobaa, or minnetoba"Straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit" or "Lake of the Prairie", after Lake Manitoba [6] [7]
Flag of New Brunswick.svg  New Brunswick
New Brunswick in Canada 2.svg
German (ultimately from Low German) Brunswiek Combination of Bruno and wik, referring to a place where merchants rested and stored their goods [8]
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg  Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada 2.svg
Portuguese Terra Nova and Lavrador"New land", and the surname of João Fernandes Lavrador, meaning "farmer" or "plower" [9]
Flag of the Northwest Territories.svg  Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories in Canada 2.svg
English Referring to the territory's position relative to Rupert's Land
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia in Canada 2.svg
Latin "New Scotland", referring to the country Scotland, derived from the Latin Scoti , the term applied to Gaels [10] [11]
Flag of Nunavut.svg  Nunavut
Nunavut in Canada 2.svg
Inuktitut Nunavut means "Our land" in the Inuit language [12]
Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario
Ontario in Canada 2.svg
Iroquoian, Wyandot Ontarí꞉io or Skanadario"Great lake" or "beautiful water", after Lake Ontario [13] [14]
Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg  Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island in Canada 2.svg
English (ultimately from Old English)After Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, ultimately from the Anglo-Saxon ead "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and weard "guardian, protector" [15]
Flag of Quebec.svg  Quebec
Quebec in Canada 2.svg
Algonquin, Mi'kmaq, Ojibwe kébec"Where the river narrows", referring to the narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River at Quebec City [16]
Flag of Saskatchewan.svg  Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan in Canada 2.svg
Cree kisiskāciwani-sīpiy"Swift-flowing river", after the Saskatchewan River [17]
Flag of Yukon.svg  Yukon
Yukon in Canada 2.svg
Gwichʼin chųų gąįį han"White water river", after the Yukon River [18] [19]

Historical regions

  1. Credited to Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, who first named a region around Chesapeake Bay Archadia (Arcadia) in 1524 because of "the beauty of its trees", according to his diary. Cartographers began using the name Arcadia to refer to areas progressively farther north until it referred to the French holdings in maritime Canada (particularly Nova Scotia). The -r- also began to disappear from the name on early maps, resulting in the current Acadia. [20]
  2. Possibly derived from the Míkmaq word akatik, pronounced roughly "agadik", meaning "place", which French-speakers spelled as -cadie in place names such as Shubenacadie and Tracadie, possibly coincidentally. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yukon</span> Territory of Canada

Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It is the third-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 45,148 as of 2023. However, Whitehorse, the territorial capital, is the largest settlement in any of the three territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yukon River</span> Major watercourse in northwestern North America

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, Canada, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon. The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is 3,190 kilometres (1,980 mi) long and empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta. The average flow is 6,400–7,000 m3/s (230,000–250,000 cu ft/s). The total drainage area is 833,000 km2 (321,500 sq mi), of which 323,800 km2 (125,000 sq mi) lies in Canada. The total area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Canada</span> Region of Eastern Canada

Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces, is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landmass of the four Atlantic provinces was approximately 488,000 km2 (188,000 sq mi), and had a population of over 2.4 million people. The provinces combined had an approximate GDP of $121.888 billion in 2011. The term Atlantic Canada was popularized following the admission of Newfoundland as a Canadian province in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provinces and territories of Canada</span> Top-level subdivisions of Canada

Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —united to form a federation, becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it the world's second-largest country by area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aklavik</span> Hamlet in Northwest Territories, Canada

Aklavik is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Until 1961, with a population over 1,500, the community served as the regional administrative centre for the territorial government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwichʼin language</span> Athabaskan language of the Gwich’in indigenous people

The Gwichʼin language belongs to the Athabaskan language family and is spoken by the Gwich'in First Nation (Canada) / Alaska Native People. It is also known in older or dialect-specific publications as Kutchin, Takudh, Tukudh, or Loucheux. Gwich'in is spoken primarily in the towns of Inuvik, Aklavik, Fort McPherson, and Tsiigehtchic, all in the Northwest Territories and Old Crow in Yukon of Canada. In Alaska of the United States, Gwichʼin is spoken in Beaver, Circle, Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Birch Creek, Arctic Village, Eagle, and Venetie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nass River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows 380 km (240 mi) from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland Inlet just south of Observatory Inlet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Name of Canada</span> Etymology of the countrys name

While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona ; by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River as Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsiigehtchic</span> Charter Community in Northwest Territories, Canada

Tsiigehtchic, officially the Charter Community of Tsiigehtchic, is a Gwich'in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community was formerly known as Arctic Red River, until 1 April 1994. The Gwichya Gwich'in First Nation is located in Tsiigehtchic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopedale, Newfoundland and Labrador</span> Inuit community in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Hopedale is a town located in the north of Labrador, the mainland portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hopedale is the legislative capital of the Inuit Land Claims Area Nunatsiavut, and where the Nunatsiavut Assembly meets. As of the 2021 census, it has a population of 596.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteshell Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in Manitoba, Canada

Whiteshell Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeast Manitoba, approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of the city of Winnipeg. The park is considered to be a Class II protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories. It is 275,210 hectares in size.

English orthography sometimes uses the term proper adjective to mean adjectives that take initial capital letters, and common adjective to mean those that do not. For example, a person from India is Indian—Indian is a proper adjective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadia Valley</span> Hamlet in Alberta, Canada

Acadia Valley is a hamlet in southeast Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District (MD) of Acadia No. 34. The MD of Acadia No. 34's municipal office is located in Acadia Valley.

Robert Arthur Alexie was a Canadian First Nations novelist and a land claim negotiator who played a key role in land claim agreements in the Northwest Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mnjikaning Fish Weirs</span> Oldest known human constructions in Canada

The Mnjikaning Fish Weirs are one of the oldest human developments in Canada. These fishing weirs were built by the first nations people well before recorded history, dating to around 4500 BP during the Archaic period in North America, according to carbon dating done on some of the wooden remnants. The weirs were built in the narrows between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe, now known as Atherley Narrows, over which Ontario Highway 12 passes today. They were preserved by the water and layers of protective silt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Canadian provinces and territories</span> Works on the provinces and territories of Canada

This is a bibliography of works on the Provinces and territories of Canada.

References

  1. "Provinces and Territories - The origins of their names". Geonames.nrcan.gc.ca. 2007-09-18. Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  2. Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Albert". Behind the Name.
  3. "Alberta | Origin and meaning of the name Alberta by Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com.
  4. Akrigg, Helen B.; G.P.V. (1977). British Columbia Chronicle, 1847–1871: Gold & Colonists (illustrated ed.). Discovery Press. ISBN   9780919624030.
  5. "Why is the Western Region of Canada Called British Columbia?" . Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  6. "Manitoba". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  7. Howard, Joseph Kinsey (1994). Strange Empire, a Narrative of the Northwest. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 192. ISBN   978-0873512985.
  8. Moderhack, Richard (1997). Braunschweiger Stadtgeschichte (in German). Braunschweig: Wagner. pp. 14–15 and 21. ISBN   3-87884-050-0.
  9. Hamilton, William B. (1978): The Macmillan book of Canadian place names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, p. 105.
  10. Scottish Settlement Archived 7 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine . Novascotia.com. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  11. P. Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, Austin, 2001, pp. 93.
  12. "Origin of the names of Canada and its provinces and territories". Natural Resources Canada. September 18, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  13. Marianne Mithun (June 7, 2001). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge University Press. p. 312. ISBN   978-0-521-29875-9.
  14. "About Canada // Ontario". Study Canada. pp. Last Paragraph–second–last sentence. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011. The name "Ontario" is generally thought to be derived from the Iroquois word Skanadario, meaning "beautiful water"
  15. Tidridge, Nathan. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: Father of the Canadian Crown. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2013.
  16. Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names". In "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, p. 191.
  17. "Government of Canada". Geonames.nrcan.gc.ca. September 18, 2007. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  18. "Dear Sir, I have great pleasure in informing you that I have at length after much trouble and difficulties, succeed[ed] in reaching the 'Youcon', or white water River, so named by the (Gwich'in) natives from the pale colour of its water. …, I have the honour to Remain Your obt Servt, John Bell" Hudson's Bay Company Correspondence to George Simpson from John Bell (August 1, 1845), HBC Archives, D.5/14, fos. 212-215d, also quoted in, Coates, Kenneth S. & Morrison, William R. (1988). Land of the Midnight Sun: A History of the Yukon. Hurtig Publishers. p. 21. ISBN   0-88830-331-9 . Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  19. In Gwich'in, adjectives, such as choo [big] and gąįį [white], follow the nouns that they modify. Thus, white water is chųų gąįį [water white]. White water river is chųų gąįį han [water white river]. Peter, Katherine (1979). Dinjii Zhuh Ginjik Nagwan Tr'iłtsąįį: Gwich'in Junior Dictionary (PDF). Univ. of Alaska. pp. ii (ą, į, ų are nasalized a, i, u), xii (adjectives follow nouns), 19 (nitsii or choo [big]), 88 (ocean = chųų choo [water big]), 105 (han [river]), 142 (chųų [water]), 144 (gąįį [white]). Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  20. Acadia: Origin of the Word by Bill Casselman
  21. Provinces and Territories - The origins of their names Archived 2008-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  22. Nunatsiavut Government|Nunatsiavut.com Archived 2010-02-11 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading