1493 - Alternate Names for Americas

[Glen]

One of the things that seems almost random was the naming of the continents of the New World as North and South "America".

As an international trend, I don't feel that this would fall in any one person's domain, so would like to get ideas and concensus on alternate names for North and South America for the 1493 project.

[The Sicilian]

Standard AH cliches: Columbia, Atlantis, Hesperides

[ninebucks]

N. America = Ferdinandia
S. America = Isabella

[Thande]

Hy-Braseal (used, of course, in OTL for Brazil, but it could be the whole continent(s))

Mondus Novus (and similar)

Asia Extrema-Orientalis or something (with better Latin) due to the belief that North America joined up with China.

(Person who discovers it in ATL)-ia

[Strategos' Risk]

Avalon
Cibola
Arcadia
Elysia
Tierra Nueva

[LightInfa]

I say that the names North and South America should be kept.

[Haggis]

Vespucha, Los Estados Unidos de Vespucha sound good to anyone right about now?

[AJNolte]

A few points:
1. For about the first fifty years I think it's reasonable to just call it the "new world".
2. Different nations are probably going to have different names for their portion of it. Consequently, it's quite logical to have the place named after a cartographer; possibly the only objective source. So there's always the possibility of waiting to see who maps it.
3. The other possibility is to see who (if any) among the European powers gets the most heavily involved. If it's Spain, then Ferdinandia and Isabella might make sense. Conversely, if it's France you could end up with Louisiana, and if England, it could be named after whoever the queen is (England did like naming things after queens). So if we can't come to an agreement that might not be a problem; we could let a name emerge as the game proceeds.

[Tom Veil]

Turtle Island (http://www.turtleislandmusic.com/tilegend.html)

[Hapsburg]

Going off of that concept and into the Greco-Latin language of it:
North and South Testudinia?

[Keenir]

Turtle Island (http://www.turtleislandmusic.com/tilegend.html)

Central Turtle Island?

South Turtle Island, aka the Navel of the World?

[Dean_the_Young]

How about North and South Vespuchi?

[pa_dutch]

Atlantia

Australia

Terranova

[Fenwick]

Valladolid
Tudor

[Keenir]

Reislund

Terra Deniz

[The Sandman]

We also might have to wait and see whether any of the people playing American nations survive; they might also have their own names for the region.

[Analytical Engine]

I generally use "Occidentia" or "Occidentalia" as names for the Americas in my timelines.

[Scarecrow]

Hy-Braseal (used, of course, in OTL for Brazil, but it could be the whole continent(s))


Nope, the name for OTL Brazil came from the Brazilwood, not the island of Irish mythology.

How about Formosa?

[Grey Wolf]

Arcadia seems a good bet, or a version of it, a sort of golden paradise version of things

On those lines, Elysium would have some worth

I don't know where some pre-independence names for areas such as Vandalia came from tho' ?

Grey Wolf

[Analytical Engine]

I don't know where some pre-independence names for areas such as Vandalia came from tho' ?

Grey Wolf

Vandalia - the homeland of the Vandals, aka (V)Andalusia.

[Grey Wolf]

Vandalia - the homeland of the Vandals, aka (V)Andalusia.

Considering all I knew about Vandals were that they must have been pretty destructive (hence the common modern use of the word) it seemed a bit strange to me to celebrate them in this way...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Kabraloth]

I pretty much like Borealia (for Northern America) and Antipodea (for Southern America).

[Analytical Engine]

Considering all I knew about Vandals were that they must have been pretty destructive (hence the common modern use of the word) it seemed a bit strange to me to celebrate them in this way...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Tut-tut. You really should learn more history, young one. :D :p

[Tom Veil]

Going off of that concept and into the Greco-Latin language of it:
North and South Testudinia?

Cool! Other Turtle-based greco-roman words would be Tortolia and Herpeton. It's also linguistically interesting that the Algonquin words for "turtle" -- torope, turepe, tulpe -- are very similar to the Anglo-French tortue. Nevertheless, the English and French explorers, instead of hearing the Algonquin saying "turtle", fixated on the "p" sound and heard "terrapin." (see http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=turtle&searchmode=none)

[rameiro]

I think we should keep North America as just "America" and make South America either Columbia, Occidentalia, or Antipodea. (I prefer Columbia in keeping with explorer's names as with "America")

[Smaug]

Since the Spanish are the discoverers, and we don't know if there's going to be a Vespucci, I think it should be referred to by a Spanish term. Tierra Nueva
Norte and whatever South means, seems reasonable. I would assume Columbus would want to please his benefactors, and would therefore use a Spanish term of some kind if he hoped to be funded in the future. JMO

[Glen]

Hmmm....Turtle Land....Tierra Tortuga...Welcome to the Tortugas!:D

[The Vet]

Didn't the vikings call it Vinland?

[Alcuin]

Vespucha, Los Estados Unidos de Vespucha sound good to anyone right about now?

Well that's what they'd've been called if they really were named after Amerigo Vespucci but given that we know that Americk made his own voyage in 1480 and funded John Cabot's voyage "to find the North Western Passage around the continent of Brasil" in 1494. I'd need a primary source dated in the 15th or first two decades of the sixteenth century to believe that.

[Tom Veil]

Didn't the vikings call it Vinland?
Sure, they called something (probably Newfoundland) Vinland, but by 1492 basically everyone has forgotten those voyages, so it's not a very likely candidate.

[Tom Veil]

Well that's what they'd've been called if they really were named after Amerigo Vespucci but given that we know that Americk made his own voyage in 1480 and funded John Cabot's voyage "to find the North Western Passage around the continent of Brasil" in 1494. I'd need a primary source dated in the 15th or first two decades of the sixteenth century to believe that.
The primary source naming America after Amerigo Vespucci is Cosmographiae_Introductio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmographiae_Introductio), from 1507.

I'm very skeptical of the "Richard Americk" theory. First off, as I understand it, no sources surfaced until the 1890s. Second, the whole theory relies on a misspelling of his name, which is properly Richard ap Meurig. Why transliterate the Welsh name to Americk, instead of translating to Morrison?

[Analytical Engine]

The primary source naming America after Amerigo Vespucci is Cosmographiae_Introductio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmographiae_Introductio), from 1507.

I'm very skeptical of the "Richard Americk" theory. First off, as I understand it, no sources surfaced until the 1890s. Second, the whole theory relies on a misspelling of his name, which is properly Richard ap Meurig. Why transliterate the Welsh name to Americk, instead of translating to Morrison?

Because that's what they did in those days. :p

William Penn - William ap Henry :D

[Aussey]

Hesperia?
Amunetia? (Egyptian goddess of the west)
Favonia? (Roman god of the west)
Zephyria? (Greek god of the west)

i dunno...

they thought it was the east, so...

Eurusia? (greek god of the east)

i like Hesperia best.

[Haggis]

Well, if the Alibamu become powerful enough then possibly something like Ihaani (Alibamu word for land) or a properly Eurofied/corrupted version like Ehan or Il han or something, after all a lot of Indian words were messed up by Europeans and are now the place names of certain areas today.

Or name it after some random explorer from some nation or something other than Greek mythology, please?

[Glen]

This is a rough list of what has been suggested thus far. Some of the repetitions are because some suggested two different names for the two continents, and some suggested it for both. Its rather lengthy:

North America:
America
Borealia
Ferdinandia
North America
North Testudinia
North Vespuchi

South America:
Antipodea
Columbia
Isabella
Occidentalia
South America
South Testudinia
South Turtle Island
South Vespuchi

Americas Combined:
Amunetia
Arcadia
Atlantia
Atlantis
Asia Extrema-Orientalis
Australia
Avalon
Cibola
Columbia
Ehan
Elysia
Elysium
Favonia
Formosa
Ihaani
Il han
Herpeton
Hesperia
Hesperides
Hy-Braseal
Mondus Novus
Occidentia
Occidentalia
Reislund
Terra Deniz
Terranova
Tierra Nueva
Tierra Tortuga
Tortolia
Tortugas
Tudor
Turtle Island
Valladolid
Vespucha
Zephyria

[Glen]

I planned on using 'Norasia' as the name of the English Colony there, but I'm also wondering about it as the name for TTL's North America. What do y'all think?

I'm also liking 'Tortuga' as the name for South America or both the Americas.

[Tom Veil]

The Iroquois will use "Turtle Island" until they have enough contact with the outside world to adopt something else. They will happily refer to the English colony as Norasia. (BTW, the Iroquois word for Europe is "Onhwentsiakaion'ne", although I don't know what that translates to).

[Tom Veil]

That reminds me -- based on the Cabot events showing him interacting with the Lenape, am I correct that the English colony will be starting in OTL Delaware?

[Glen]

The Iroquois will use "Turtle Island" until they have enough contact with the outside world to adopt something else. They will happily refer to the English colony as Norasia. (BTW, the Iroquois word for Europe is "Onhwentsiakaion'ne", although I don't know what that translates to).

That reminds me -- based on the Cabot events showing him interacting with the Lenape, am I correct that the English colony will be starting in OTL Delaware?

Actually, those are the Lenape all the way up in Manhattan....yep, we're taking the Big Apple.:D

Remember also my Mohicans are on the Meryk River (OTL's Hudson). Guess the English are in a New York State of mind.

But you'll see some of this once I get around to writing the 1500 events.

[Tom Veil]

Oh, the Iroquois will be very excited about trading with the Mohicans now!

[The Doctor]

the continents could be named after the company that takes over the area. yes i kno that the hudson bay company took the name after the bay and the bay from the explorer who found it.

[Tom Veil]

I hereby issue a ban on referring to OTL South America as "Lower Norasia." That name makes no sense.

[Glen]

I hereby issue a ban on referring to OTL South America as "Lower Norasia." That name makes no sense.

I agree, though it is rather humorous....

[Tomb]

Lesee, could make it New Terra, or keep it all under one name as simply the New World?

[marl_d]

I like using a variation of Cabot (maybe latinized) for North America and Cibloa for South America especially if a version of the City of Gold is told in this time line and pushes ppl to believe that it's somewhere in South America