I'm interested in learning what places in Thailand mean.

Names of towns and cities also baan names.

So far all I really know is Phuket means mountain scale as in fish scales right?

Phu means mountain

Kget means scale

I think most places their name has meanings correct?

What others do you know?

Does Hua Hin mean head hard?

Apparently, Ubon Ratchathani means "Lotus City"

What about Bangkok? (I know about Krung Thep already....but Bangkok has always seemed like a joke name which stuck, lol)

Edited February 5, 201511 yr by EmptyHead

AFAIK, the ancient name of Phuket was ภูเก็จ, it means mountain jewel.

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You're confusing the word "ket" with "klet". Scales as in fish scales is เกล็ด "klet", but usually it's pronounced as "ket".

Also, if you look in wikipedia, nearly all Thai city names will have information about its etymology and history of its name.

Otherwise this thread will turn into quite a OCD with lots of names and so far the replies has been not quite correct.

Please just look in wikipedia to get the meaning of names.

Also, origins of many place names, such as Phuket, can be quite obscure in the mist of time, just like many English city names and elsewhere in the world for that matter.

Edited February 5, 201511 yr by Mole

Sri means royal, as in Sri Racha.

No, "Sri" doesn't mean royal.

See here on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri

What about Bangkok? (I know about Krung Thep already....but Bangkok has always seemed like a joke name which stuck, lol)

Bangkok is not really a joke name.

Its an ancient name, in Thai script: บางกอก

The "bang" is not disputed as "village on a waterway".

But this "kok" is a source of endless dispute.

The WiKi is speculating too.

Unclear.

Pattaya (Phatthaya), พัทยา: mostly interpreted as "southwest wind", but also some disputes about it.

Nakluea (north of Pattaya), very clear: นาเกลือ, salt field, salt "farm" (where salt was produced from the sea water).

Na=field, paddy kluea=salt

Jomtien, actually: Chom Thian.

จอมเทียน

จอม (chom) =

1) leader; chief; head person /

2) [an adjectival prefix used to show disapproval] highest; topmost; supreme; head; chief

3) summit; peak; top

เทียน (thian) =

candle

Make the best out if it

Edited February 6, 201511 yr by KhunBENQ

Hua Hin means Head Rock

Hua Hin means Head Rock

Yep, and many have presumed (correctly or incorrectly) it was so named due to the big rocks jutting out into the sea. According to Wiki (which, again, may or may not be correct) the prior name of the town was Samore Riang (สมอเรียง) which allegedly means "rows of rocks."

Nakhon Sawan means paradise city!

For me it all looks the same , I not found or see something special there!

Ps buri means region!

When I come here first and I read it first time wow this is the name of my black cat in my childhood!

Chiang Mai, of course, means "new city" (combining the Lanna word of "chiang" for "city" and the Thai word of "mai" for "new").

As for Chiang Rai, the historians dispute the meaning there. Some histories suggest it was just named after its founder, Lanna King Mengrai, whereas The Chiang Mai Chronicle (according to the translation and interpretation of historian David Wyatt) indicates it means "city of rice fields."

... not forgetting that up here in Isaan, there have been various waves of colonisation, my village is basically Lao, but must have been Cambodian originally (the 'Cambodian frontier' is now 8 Km away), so knowing the tendency of illiterate newcomers to make only a weak attempt to reproduce the original name of a locality, doubtful guess work is all that can be reckoned with.

Why are there so many rivers called 'Avon' in the UK? The invaders asked what was the name of that river? Answer: 'river'. Or Avon as the language then expressed it. There must be many examples of this kind of stuff in Thailand, especially in areas where ebbs and flows of immigration took place. There is a village not far from here that changed its name because they eventually realised that it meant something rude in Thai. Buriram changed its name on a whim.

Good luck to anyone that undertakes to establish a toponomy of Thai place names. I doubt that ancient documents are available referring to different localities ( taxes, administration etc), and if they did I would be very surprised if anyone thought it worthwhile to undertake research in this area - no money in it.

As cooked mentioned above, misunderstood translations play a part.

Reminds me of the Australian kangaroo.

The aboriginal name kangaroo means we don't understand. When early settlers pointed and said what's that? The aboriginals said kangaroo. So the name stuck.

Reminds me of the Australian kangaroo.

The aboriginal name kangaroo means we don't understand. When early settlers pointed and said what's that? The aboriginals said kangaroo. So the name stuck.

Ah, that old tale. It's not actually true. Kangaroo comes from the word "gaNurru" which means "large black kangaroo" in the Guugu Yimidhirr aboriginal language.

Bangkok is traditional name of the area. Thais call KRUNGTHEP.

Krung means capital city.

Thep means Angle.

So Krungthep is city of angle.

Buri and nakorn mean town.

Almost of thai province end with buri and some of province start with nakorn.

Chonburi, chon ชล means water. Chonburi is town of water.

Chantaburi, Chan is moon. So this is the city of the moon.

Nakornpatom, nakorn is town and patom mean primary. This is the primary town as the first town that the first monk came from india to Siam.

Nakornsawan is city of paradise.

Nakornrachasima (Korat) , nakorn is town. rach refers to racha (KING) and sima is area or land. Together is king's area. As korat belonged to king of Ayuthaya. (long time ago)

Nakornsrithammaratch , nakor is town. sri means positive like good, beautiful etc. Tham is the teachings of the Buddha. Ratch refers to RACH (KING). This province is the good and beautiful town with the king who followed the teachings of buddha.

Almost of thai province end with buri and some of province start with nakorn.

Not quite sure what you want to say.

12 (of 77 province capitals) have a "buri" if I counted right.

Buri:

Buri Ram

Chanthaburi

Chon Buri

Kanchanaburi

Lop Buri

Nonthaburi

Phetchaburi

Prachinburi

Ratchaburi

Saraburi

Sing Buri

Suphan Buri

Nakhon:

Nakhon Nayok

Nakhon Pathom

Nakhon Phanom

Nakhon Ratchasima

Nakhon Sawan

Nakhon Si Thammarat

Sakon Nakhon

and Ayutthaya, because in Thai the full name is พระนครศรีอยุธยา (Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya), "royal town ...".

Edited February 21, 201511 yr by KhunBENQ

Apparently, Ubon Ratchathani means "Lotus City"

อุบล, ubon: lotus; water lily

ราช(า), ratch(a): something royal again

------

ธานี, Thani, yet another syllable for "city".

Pathum Thani (another "lotus city", different words for "lotus")

Surat Thani

Udon Thani (northern town , udon = northern)

Uthai Thani

Edited February 21, 201511 yr by KhunBENQ

หนอง, Nong: marsh; swamp; bog

Nong Bua Lam Phu
Nong Khai

Nong Bua Lam Phu (หนองบัวลำภู):

bua: yet another lotus

lam: trunk; stalk; body of a plant (and other meanings)

phu: soil; ground; place; land

nong is very frequent also in names of small villages all around upcountry.

Edited February 21, 201511 yr by KhunBENQ

lam: trunk; stalk; body of a plant (and other meanings)

In the context of place names ลำ is usually a shortened form of ลำคลอง, in other words, a canal.

so the story goes .... Phitsanulok

Long time ago back in the 1800's there was a soldier heading home on a break from the kings palace.

He had been traveling all day and night and was very tired .... he stopped beside the dirt track about 3 hours from Nakhon Sawan to take a rest and drink a couple of bottles of his liquor he'd bought but after a short time he fell asleep .....

When he woke up he was dazed ...... it's said that then he took a piss & had a look around .....

and that's how the name became Phitsanulok .... piss' n a look .....