Ever wonder why how Venezuela got its name or why the Amazon is the Amazon? See if you know how these places got their names.

1. The Caribbean country name, “Jamaica,” comes from the original inhabitant, Arawak Indian words for “Island of water springs.”
2. The island nation of the Maldives gets its name from the Sanskrit words, “mai,” meaning thousands and “diva,” meaning islands.
3. The name of the Mediterranean Sea comes from the Latin words, meaning “sea in the middle of the earth.” When it was named, it was the world’s center.
4. Libya’s capital city, Tripoli, on the north coast of Africa, is named for the Greek “three cities,” because three ancient cities existed on the site.
5. The stilted homes of Venezuela reminded Italian explorers of their homes in Venice and they named it “little Venice.”
6. Early Spanish settlers saw that women battled alongside men so they called the long river “Amazon” after the legendary Amazon female warriors.
7. Singapore is, literally, “city of lions,” from the Sanskrit words, “singha,” meaning “lion” and “pore,” meaning “city.”
8. The African country of the Congo is named after the Bantu word for mountains, “kong.”

By Sandy Mitchell