alternate names of Antarctica

oshron

oshron

hey, all. i was wondering what everyone thinks would be good alternative names for Antarctica in a given timeline. Australia comes to mind (since it just means "south" and you cant get much further south than fucking Antarctica), but what else does everyone think?

in the spirit of alternate names for America after discoverers (Columbia, Vespucciana, Cabotia, and so on), i was thinking that other good names for Antarctica would be after one of its three purported discoverers, or something in reference to them. the three purported discoverers of Antarctica were Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield, and Nathaniel Palmer
 

Lycaon pictus

Donor
Antithule
Notioteria
Procellamuria (which if I got my Latin right means "storm-walled" from the bad weather in the Southern Ocean that surrounds it)
 
oshron

oshron

another one that came to mind for me from mythology was naming it after Notus, the Greek god of the south wind (though i have no idea how i would adapt the name; Boreas is a much easier one, for example, as Borealia, Boreasia, Borealis, etc), and even Zephyrus has an easier one (perhaps Zephryonia?). the only adaptation of Notus that really comes to mind is, potentially, Notusia. naming after some kind of Norse deity comes to mind, though those are honestly and obviously better suited to Arctic rather than the Antarctic
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
oshron said:
another one that came to mind for me from mythology was naming it after Notus, the Greek god of the south wind (though i have no idea how i would adapt the name; Boreas is a much easier one, for example, as Borealia, Boreasia, Borealis, etc), and even Zephyrus has an easier one (perhaps Zephryonia?). the only adaptation of Notus that really comes to mind is, potentially, Notusia.
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The Greek name is Notos, so it would be Notosia or Notoia. In Latin, this would be Austeria (they referred to Notos as Auster), or--more likely--Australia.
 

Petros >Peter Fergus<

What's wrong with Australia? If some Sultanate in the East Indies already had a name for OTL Australia that was picked up on by the Europeans, or if some explorer decided to name it after themselves, Australia is perfect for the most southern continent.
 
oshron

oshron

Petros >Peter Fergus< said:
What's wrong with Australia? If some Sultanate in the East Indies already had a name for OTL Australia that was picked up on by the Europeans, or if some explorer decided to name it after themselves, Australia is perfect for the most southern continent.
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personally and tbph, i just like "Australia" to be reserved to the OTL definition because i much prefer the sound of "Australasia" as opposed to something like "Macroasia" :p though i must admit, in a fantastical sense, i really like to give OTL Australia the name "Mu". and populate it vampires. :D not the sparkly kind. :D:D
 

twovultures

Not exactly what OP asked for, but there was a French colony named "France Antarctique" in South America in the mid 1500s. If this colony survived, 'Antarctica' would be the name of a South American nation and a new name would have to be found for the continent.
 

Remicas

In old French you can refer to "midi" about south (midi means noon, when the sun is at its zenith in the middle of the day, in the direction of the south). In latin midi is meridiem. So Antartica could become Meridia if a French discover it ?
 

wolf_brother

Banned
An interesting alternate might be Aidis, a Latinized Hades. The Greeks described Hades as cold, misty, and generally gloomy, and as the land of the dead, where only heros can travel to and venture back from. Certainly a more romantic inspired naming than various takes on describing 'South' in Latin or Greek.
 
oshron

oshron

i figured it would be better to bump this thread rather than make a new one

im leaning towards one of a few different name ideas for antarctica in terms of my own project. these are:

  • in the case of Russian precedence:
    • Romanovia (after the ruling house of Russia)
    • Alexandria (after Alexander II)
  • in the case of British precedence:
    • Georgia (after George IV, though i'd prefer to avoid naming anything Georgia since there's already the country in the caucasus and the US state)
    • Antithule (as suggested earlier; i kinda like this one because it gives a more interesting, mystical, "sophisticated" feel)*
    • Atlantis (for similar reasons as Antithule and because some speculate that Antarctica may be the "historical" Atlantis)*
    • New Hanover/Hannoveria (after the ruling house in the UK at the time)
  • in the case of American precedence:
    • Madisonia (after President Madison)
    • New Stonington (after Nathaniel Palmer's hometown in Connecticut; i think i like this one the most)
*names like these ones, imo, are kinda dependent on the education of those on the ship: if Bransfield was a well-educated man, then its more believable if he named it after a "classical" place like these
 
Kaiphranos

Kaiphranos

Donor
oshron said:
Antithule (as suggested earlier; i kinda like this one because it gives a more interesting, mystical, "sophisticated" feel)*
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I kind of like that one too.

Atlantis (for similar reasons as Antithule and because some speculate that Antarctica may be the "historical" Atlantis)*
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Man, is there any place that hasn't been tagged as the "historical Atlantis?"

New Stonington (after Nathaniel Palmer's hometown in Connecticut; i think i like this one the most)
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Ugh. It sounds very uncontinental to me...
 
oshron

oshron

well it sounds best as an american name, methinks ;) because everything american is "new" by comparison to...everything else :p

i kinda picked atlantis because, by this point in history, its pretty much the only place that doesnt have an established name already and actually IS (at least seemingly) as large as atlantis was claimed to be

which do you think would be better, Antithule or Atlantis?
 
oshron

oshron

thats certainly true, but would it occur to the discoverers? ;) to give contrast, everyone knows about atlantis, and thule is well-known enough that a name like "antithule" is both makes geographical sense but is also plausible since its well-known from maps, and greenland IOTL was also sometimes called "ultima thule", so if the discoverers recognize antarctica as being very similar to greenland in its climate, they might name it that
 
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