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 slamic 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

Places with multiple names


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 pudi, pedu, peta, patnam, wada, cherla, seema. Example: Chintalapudi, vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada

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
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,

See Also

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