Postby TriP » June 14th, 2016, 12:39 am
Local Origins of the names of Towns and Villages - 2
23. In the 1700’s, a young man from Louisiana travelled to Santo Domingo. When war involving Touissant Louverture broke out, he sneaked into a ship, which then carried him to Trinidad. He settled in a spot there after being granted a parcel of land for cocoa. The man’s name was Charles Joseph Count de LOPINOT.
24. Along the coast there are tiny fruits known as manchineels. They are small and poisonous and look like tiny apples. The village near this coast was given the Spanish word for “little apple”, which is MANZANILLA.
25. When the Spanish visited here, they came for the seaside view. It was described as “Mar Bella”, or ‘beautiful sea’, which was later turned to MARABELLA.
26. MARACAS was so named after the musical instrument, which we sometimes call the “chac-chac”.
27. MATURA is the Spanish word for “high woods”, named by the surveyors visiting there.
28. The maya plant grew prolifically in MAYARO. The word “ro” in the Amerindian language meant “the place of”, so Mayaro denotes “the place of the maya plant”.
29. A place renowned for having spirits, MORUGA was named after a river lined with abandoned fishing settlements, with many of the villagers claiming that an apparition dwelled in the waters.
30. NAPARIMA is named from the Amerindian word “Anaparima”, which means “single hill”.
31. Due to the nearby presence of the Oropouche Lagoon and rice paddies, the dwellers took to calling the village “pengyal”, which in Tamil means “swampy area”. This was later renamed PENAL.
32. POINTE-A-PIERRE was only so named because of its French settlers - Pierre being a popular French name.
33. A man with no recorded first name, simply called Fortin, was granted land in Trinidad. It was then called POINT FORTIN.
34. PORT-OF-SPAIN, or formerly known as “Port of the Spaniards”, was a regular meeting place for Spanish sailors. Before, it was known as Cu-Mucurapo, which means “The Place of Silk Cotton Trees”.
35. Originally called the Mission of Savana Grande, the town was renamed PRINCES TOWN after a visit by Queen Victoria’s grandsons, Prince Albert and Prince George. They had each planted a poui tree near an Anglican Church, which still can be seen today.
36. RIO CLARO was named by Spanish surveyors. In English, it means “Clear River”.
37. SAN FERNANDO was so named by Governor Chacon after the infant son of Spanish King Carlos III, Prince Fernando.
38. There was a river that the Spanish saw that ran red as blood. So they named the villages near the river SANGRE GRANDE and SANGRE CHIQUITO, respectively “Big Blood” and “Little Blood”.
39. After the Arena Massacre of 1699, the Catholic parish at that area decided to give it the name SAN RAFAEL, after St. Raphael, the patron saint of healers.
40. SANTA CRUZ simply means “Holy Cross” in Spanish due to the religious zeal of the settlers there.
41. “Little Savannah” in Spanish is SAVONETTA, an early settlement for French planters.
42. SIPARIA is also known as The Sand City.
43. ST. JOSEPH was originally named after its founder, St. Jose de Oruna. It is notable that it was the first established town in Trinidad.
44. TRINCITY is a blend between Trinity and City.
45. WESTMOORINGS is so simply named because of its cardinal location and the fact that many “moorings” or boat secure points are located nearby.
