Definitely Acadia, from all the documentation over a century and a half. If the name did come from Arcadia, then the French dropped that R pretty fast come establishment of the actual colony and the English just changed French -ie to the Latin -ia they used for province names.
What Would The French Have Named Places In North America
- Thread starter GregTheWolf144
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Definitely Acadia, from all the documentation over a century and a half. If the name did come from Arcadia, then the French dropped that R pretty fast come establishment of the actual colony and the English just changed French -ie to the Latin -ia they used for province names.
The French and English named things pretty similarly compared to the Spanish or Portuguese who were much more heavy on saint names and indigenous toponymy. The latter I notice is often under-represented in alt-colonisation TLs (or when it appears is the same as OTL), so here's a few for BC in French orthography (probably mangled).
Vancouver Island = Île de Noutka ("Nootka", a faulty interpretation of a Nuuchahnulth word that lent its name to several toponyms and an ethnic group)
Columbia River = Ouimal (Wimahl, meaning "great river" in Chinookan--I could see Rivière Grande used as a calque since every native term for the river meant "great river". I can't recall if there was an old French name however, and I know "Ouimal" sounds strange, but the mouth of the river is known for wrecking ships)
Fraser River = Le Daqueau (the Carrier/Dakelh name, similar to other Athabaskan names for the Fraser--"Staleaux" from Coast Salish is another possibility)
Vancouver Island = Île de Noutka ("Nootka", a faulty interpretation of a Nuuchahnulth word that lent its name to several toponyms and an ethnic group)
Columbia River = Ouimal (Wimahl, meaning "great river" in Chinookan--I could see Rivière Grande used as a calque since every native term for the river meant "great river". I can't recall if there was an old French name however, and I know "Ouimal" sounds strange, but the mouth of the river is known for wrecking ships)
Fraser River = Le Daqueau (the Carrier/Dakelh name, similar to other Athabaskan names for the Fraser--"Staleaux" from Coast Salish is another possibility)
It's one "l" in OTL. "Philippines".
Yeah, they did. Canada, Illinois, Quebec, Arkansas, Chicago, etc.
Quite a few French historical provinces are named after their principal settlements and quite a few of those settlements received their names in Roman times based on the name of the dominant tribe in the area (Angers - Anjou, Poitiers - Poitou, Lyon - Lyonnais, Tours - Touraine). Some others are named after a group of people (Normandie, Picardie, Bourgogne).
Some possible examples: Comanchais for the region, Comanchers for the man settlement in Comanche territory, Illon for a settlement in Illinois, Canses- Cansais for the Kansas area etc (though having a native Francophone here would be necessary for the proper names.)
Some possible examples: Comanchais for the region, Comanchers for the man settlement in Comanche territory, Illon for a settlement in Illinois, Canses- Cansais for the Kansas area etc (though having a native Francophone here would be necessary for the proper names.)
True, actually I unconsciously anglicised the names
. And I agree Borbonia would be better.Comanchais would work for the inhabitants too. Like Lyonnais, which refers both to the territory and its inhabitants. Or something like Comanchie (territory), Comanchais (settlers) and Comanches (natives)
Cansais sounds good for Kansas (both for the territory and its inhabitants)
Kentucky: maybe Quenta(c)quie ? With its inhabitants being the Quenta(c)quiens
Indiana: Terre Indienne
Wisconsin: Meskousing (as spelt by Jacques Marquette in his journal in 1673)
Not sure about Wyoming, according to Wikipedia it comes from Munsee xwé:wamənk, so maybe something like: Oueyamenque? Sounds odd though.
Colorado: Terre Rouge (Red Land)?
Arizona: Alisonaque
Utah: Hautes-Terres
For some of the Western territories, names like Ponant, Nouveau Finistère (?), or why not Océanie?
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Here are place names from a 1524 map by Marcel Trudel, they are based on the discoveries by Verrazano.
approx Atlantic City = Cap Bonnivet
Boston = Côte-de-Saint-George
Cape May, NJ = Cap d'Alençon
Connecticut (Southern) = Norembegué
Delaware River = Fleuve Vendôme
Fox Islands, ME = Les Trois Filles de Navarre
Georgetown, SC (approx) = Honfleur
Hudson Bay = Golfe-de-Sainte-Marguerite
Hudson River = Fleuve Angoulême
Martha's Vineyard = Île-Louise
Maryland & Virginia/Cheasapeake Bay = Arcadie
Mount Pleasant, SC (approx) = Dieppe
Narragansett Bay = Refuge
New Brunswick, NJ (approx) = Mont-Saint-Paul
New Jersey (southern) = Côte-de-Lorraine
New York = Nouvelle-Angoulême
North Carolina (southern) = L'Annonciation
Wilmington, NC (approx) = Fôret-des-Louriers
approx Atlantic City = Cap Bonnivet
Boston = Côte-de-Saint-George
Cape May, NJ = Cap d'Alençon
Connecticut (Southern) = Norembegué
Delaware River = Fleuve Vendôme
Fox Islands, ME = Les Trois Filles de Navarre
Georgetown, SC (approx) = Honfleur
Hudson Bay = Golfe-de-Sainte-Marguerite
Hudson River = Fleuve Angoulême
Martha's Vineyard = Île-Louise
Maryland & Virginia/Cheasapeake Bay = Arcadie
Mount Pleasant, SC (approx) = Dieppe
Narragansett Bay = Refuge
New Brunswick, NJ (approx) = Mont-Saint-Paul
New Jersey (southern) = Côte-de-Lorraine
New York = Nouvelle-Angoulême
North Carolina (southern) = L'Annonciation
Wilmington, NC (approx) = Fôret-des-Louriers
Excellent research.
I'd like to point out certain Amerindian place names in John Smith's map of New England were renamed to English ones by none other than the future Charles I, and one of those combined with sailing from Plymouth led to the Plymouth Colony's name, which settled on the site Chuck One wrote in "New Plymouth". So these names likely are as good as any to be kept for any French-colonized eastern seaboard based on the fact they've been put on a map that'd be used by future geographers and colonizers.
Perhaps not for a queen, but naming for the Virgin Mary did happen. Montréal was originally Ville-Marie.
Chicago and Michigan are two (almost) hidden French spellings - the pronunciation of the "ch" in their names gives them away.
Another possibility is to name more places after explorers/governors: Verrazano, Cartier, Champlain, Maisonneuve, Frontenac, La Salle, Bienville ,Radisson, Cadillac, La Vérendrye...
And lots of Louis of course : Louisville, Ville-Louis, Fort Louis, Port Louis, Mont Louis, Baie-Louis...
And lots of Louis of course : Louisville, Ville-Louis, Fort Louis, Port Louis, Mont Louis, Baie-Louis...
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And I still see historical letters and journals a-plenty spelling Chicago as Shicago or even Shecaugo depending on what they heard pronounced, while none other than American dialect enthusiast Noah Webster spelled it Mishigan in an encyclopedia of his.
I'm convinced American Francophilia is why many French-founded names and French transliterations of Amerindian names were retained, since fully English names or English spellings/transliterations of Amerindian names in the Louisiana Territory were in usage from commoners up to Thomas Jefferson himself, but come the LA Purchase said Francophilia caused them to be dropped. Which probably influenced in turn a lot of Spanish names or transliterations in the Mexican Cession to be kept instead of being Anglicized.
The French did built a large number of forts and trading posts throughout the present-day Canada and the U.S. Many of the towns would probably simply drop the "Fort" word. For instance, Duquesne instead of Fort Duquesne. Below are a few examples.
Detroit = Fort Ponchartrain/Détroit
Erie, PA = Fort Presque Isle
Fort Wayne = Fort Miami
Jacksonville = Fort Caroline
Memphis = Fort L'Assomption
Mobile = Fort Conde de la Mobile
Peoria = Fort Pimiteoui
Pittsburgh = Fort Dusquene
Ticonderoga = Fort Carillon
Toronto = Fort Douville/Fort Rouillé
Utica, NY = Fort Saint-Louis-le-Rocher
Winnipeg = Fort Rouge
Detroit = Fort Ponchartrain/Détroit
Erie, PA = Fort Presque Isle
Fort Wayne = Fort Miami
Jacksonville = Fort Caroline
Memphis = Fort L'Assomption
Mobile = Fort Conde de la Mobile
Peoria = Fort Pimiteoui
Pittsburgh = Fort Dusquene
Ticonderoga = Fort Carillon
Toronto = Fort Douville/Fort Rouillé
Utica, NY = Fort Saint-Louis-le-Rocher
Winnipeg = Fort Rouge
Yes, yes, my meaning was for a Queen... Using Marie for the Virgin Mary would be quite natural...
According to the french maps there were two different places with the names Arcadie (Chesapeake Bay) and Acadie (Nova Scotia/New Brunswick).
Yeah, I'd definitely expect some regions named for local peoples. Kansas is already an Anglicization of the French "Cansez", which appears on old French maps as the name for the Kansas River as well as the people living near it. By the 18th century, "Illinois" seems to have been going the way of Lyonnais, referring to both the region and the people living in it.
Assuming there's a similar history, sure. OTL Indiana was historically considered part of Illinois Country. If the area became a separate province from the western portion, I could see it being named after the Ouabache (Wabash River) or the Chaouenon (Shawnee people). Or maybe just "Ohio".
Either that or "Ouisconsin(g)", as later French settlers called it.
That'd be a good French name for the Wyoming Valley or a province that included it, but IMO it's way too convergent for the region of OTL Wyoming. Wyoming Territory was named after a valley over 2,000 miles to the east by some guy that had heard the name in a poem. It's just too weird and happenstance.
Not so sure about this one. Colorado Territory was named after the river (by people who quite likely had no idea what "Colorado" meant in Spanish). There's nothing particularly red about the land itself.
If you're looking for little-known OTL French names for places in North America, this page from Wikimedia Commons is a treasure trove.
Louisville wasn't actually founded or named by the French. Patriot settlers named it after Louis XVI as a show of gratitude.