Etymology of Aberdeen
Encyclopedia
The Etymology of Aberdeen (which is the meaning / origin of the word) is that of the name first used for the city of Aberdeen
, Scotland
. It is the original, which then gave its name to other Aberdeens around the world as Aberdonians left Scotland to settle in the New World
and other colonies.
Aberdeen is in Received Pronunciation
, and abərˈdin (with a short a sound) in Scottish Standard English. The local Doric
pronunciation, ebərˈdin (with a long a sound), is frequently rendered "Aiberdein".
today is the approximate location of the first and original Scottish settlement of Aberdeen. Originally the name was Aberdon which literally means "at the mouth of the Don", as it is situated by the mouth of the river Don
.
In reference to Aberdeen, "Aber-" is pronounced locally as ebər.
means the "confluence
of waters", "river mouth" or
the "embouchure" of a river where it falls into a larger river or the sea. It can also be used as a metaphor for a harbour.
"Aber-" is used as a prefix in many placenames in Scotland
and more often Wales
.
". It is presumably that the Pictish language
was at least partly P-Celtic as evidenced by various names. Other examples of this prefix in Scotland are Aberfeldy
, Aberdour
, and "Aberbrothick"
(an old form of "Arbroath"). In Wales
, there are frequent examples such as Aberystwyth
and Abertawe
(the Welsh
for "Swansea") are examples. Other Brythonic examples include Falmouth
(which is known as "Aberfal" in Cornish
), and Aber Wrac'h near Plouguerneau in Brittany
As well as the east-coast of Scotland, places with the prefix "Aber-" or a variant are found all over Wales and the west coast of England
and other Breton
areas. However they are not found on the east-coast of England or in Ireland.
and Dee
, which may also have Brythonic etymologies (note aleo the River Dee, Wales
).
) in centuries past, as is attested to by Goidelic placenames in the region such as Inverurie
, Banchory
, Kincorth and Balgownie.
The equivalent of "Aber-" in Goidelic is Inbhir, which is usually anglicised as "Inver-". However, the name is rendered into Scottish Gaelic slightly differently.
Two variant spellings of Aberdeen are;
These are pronounced ɔbəren or ɔbərjehɪn.
In Latin
, the Romans referred to Aberdeen with various Canonical
names;
wrote in 146 AD that in Celtic times Devana (the Roman name at the time) was the capital of the ancient tribal area Taexali
- however although Devana is attributed to Aberdeen there is a possibility the capital could have been Barmekyne Hill in Banffshire
.
records an Old Norse
variant of the name, "Apardion", clearly cognate with the modern form.
"Boxhorn considered it Phoenicia
n in origin."
This is unlikely, however, as no Phoenician sites have been found this far north.
's nickname, "the Dons".
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is the original, which then gave its name to other Aberdeens around the world as Aberdonians left Scotland to settle in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
and other colonies.
Aberdeen is in Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
, and abərˈdin (with a short a sound) in Scottish Standard English. The local Doric
Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...
pronunciation, ebərˈdin (with a long a sound), is frequently rendered "Aiberdein".
Aberdeen
The area we know as Old AberdeenOld Aberdeen
Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891...
today is the approximate location of the first and original Scottish settlement of Aberdeen. Originally the name was Aberdon which literally means "at the mouth of the Don", as it is situated by the mouth of the river Don
River Don, Aberdeenshire
The River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
.
"Aber-" prefix
- see also Aber and Inver as place-name elementsAber and Inver as place-name elementsAber and Inver are common elements in place-names of Celtic origin. Both mean "confluence of waters" or "river mouth". Their distribution reflects the geographical influence of the Brythonic and Goidelic language groups respectively.-Aber:...
In reference to Aberdeen, "Aber-" is pronounced locally as ebər.
Meaning
The prefix; "Aber-"Aber
Aber may refer to:in geography:* Aber * Abergwyngregyn, popularly known by the short form "Aber"* Aberystwyth, popularly known by the short form "Aber"* Aber Village in South Walesin transport:...
means the "confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of waters", "river mouth" or
the "embouchure" of a river where it falls into a larger river or the sea. It can also be used as a metaphor for a harbour.
"Aber-" is used as a prefix in many placenames in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and more often Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Origin
"Aber-" is a common Brythonic element, meaning a "confluenceConfluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
". It is presumably that the Pictish language
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
was at least partly P-Celtic as evidenced by various names. Other examples of this prefix in Scotland are Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy may refer to the following places:*Aberfeldy, Scotland*Aberfeldy, Ontario, Canada*Aberfeldy, Saskatchewan, Canada*Aberfeldy, Victoria, Australia-Other:*Aberfeldy , an indie/chamber pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland...
, Aberdour
Aberdour
Aberdour is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyond. According to the 2006 population estimate, the village has a population of...
, and "Aberbrothick"
Arbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
(an old form of "Arbroath"). In Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, there are frequent examples such as Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and Abertawe
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
(the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for "Swansea") are examples. Other Brythonic examples include Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
(which is known as "Aberfal" in Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
), and Aber Wrac'h near Plouguerneau in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
Locations
"Aber-" can be found all over Scotland, predominantly on the east-coast. The alternate spelling of "Abhir-" may also often used.As well as the east-coast of Scotland, places with the prefix "Aber-" or a variant are found all over Wales and the west coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and other Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
areas. However they are not found on the east-coast of England or in Ireland.
"-deen" end element
The second element is more contentious. It probably refers to "Devona", which is a name of one or both of the Rivers DonRiver Don, Aberdeenshire
The River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
and Dee
River Dee, Aberdeenshire
The River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen...
, which may also have Brythonic etymologies (note aleo the River Dee, Wales
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
).
Scottish Gaelic
Although Scottish Gaelic has not recently been a primary language on the north east coast, it was spoken in the region (cf Book of DeerBook of Deer
The Book of Deer is a 10th-century Latin Gospel Book from Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with early 12th-century additions in Latin, Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It is most famous for containing the earliest surviving Gaelic literature from Scotland...
) in centuries past, as is attested to by Goidelic placenames in the region such as Inverurie
Inverurie
Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...
, Banchory
Banchory
Banchory is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, lying approximately 18 miles west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee.- Overview :...
, Kincorth and Balgownie.
The equivalent of "Aber-" in Goidelic is Inbhir, which is usually anglicised as "Inver-". However, the name is rendered into Scottish Gaelic slightly differently.
Two variant spellings of Aberdeen are;
- Obaireadhain
- Obar Dheathain
These are pronounced ɔbəren or ɔbərjehɪn.
Roman (Latin)
- see also List of Latin place names in North Atlantic islands
In Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, the Romans referred to Aberdeen with various Canonical
Canonical
Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the greek word κανών kanon, "rule" or "measuring stick" , and is used in various meanings....
names;
- Aberdonia
- Aberdona
- Verniconam
- Aberdonum
- Aberdonium
- Abredonia
- Devanha (a name references in modern times by the street, Devanha Gardens, and the now closed Devanha Distillery and Devanha Brewery)
Celtic times
PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
wrote in 146 AD that in Celtic times Devana (the Roman name at the time) was the capital of the ancient tribal area Taexali
Taexali
The Taexali were a people of ancient Scotland, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his general description and the approximate location of their town or principal place that he called 'Devana', their territory was along the northeastern coast of Scotland...
- however although Devana is attributed to Aberdeen there is a possibility the capital could have been Barmekyne Hill in Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
.
River names
They referred to the settlement in approximation to its location at the sea mouths of local burns and rivers, using the names;- Devana - for the Denburn (a stream/burn running through the city) and which featured in Ptolemy'sPtolemyClaudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
"System Of GeographyGeographia (Ptolemy)The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
" of 146 AD - Deva - for the river DeeRiver Dee, AberdeenshireThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen...
(and also the Roman name for other "river Dee"s in Scotland and Wales but also the name of the Deva RiverDeva RiverThe Deva is a river in Northern Spain, flowing through the Autonomous Communities of Cantabria and Asturias until it joins the Cares River and flows into the Atlantic Ocean, in the Bay of Biscay, where they form the Tina Mayor estuary which is the natural border between Asturias and Cantabria....
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) - Devona - for the river DonRiver Don, AberdeenshireThe River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
(and also the name for a Celtic river goddess)
Nicknames
Aberdeen also has a number of nicknames, and poetic names -- "The GraniteGraniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
City" - the most well-known, due to the copious use of local grey granite in the city's older buildings. - "Furryboots City" - This is a humorous rendering of the DoricDoric dialect (Scotland)Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...
, "far aboots?" ("Whereabouts?"), as in "Far aboots ye frae?" ("Whereabouts are you from?") - "The Silver City by the Golden Sands" or often simply just the "Silver City". Less flatteringly, also "the Grey City". This again is partly due to the granite.
- "Oil Capital of Europe" - There are numerous variants on this, such as "Oil Capital of Scotland" etc.
- "Energy Capital of Europe" - the "politically correctPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
" name now being used in the city as it tries to project a "greener" image, not based on oil.
Kennedy
William Kennedy proposes the spelling variations:- Aberdaen
- Aberdin
- Aberdene
- Abrydene
Orkneyinga saga & Old Norse
The Orkneyinga sagaOrkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
records an Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
variant of the name, "Apardion", clearly cognate with the modern form.
Unlikely sources
There have been more eccentric etymologies, e.g."Boxhorn considered it Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n in origin."
This is unlikely, however, as no Phoenician sites have been found this far north.
Residents
Residents or natives of Aberdeen are known as "Aberdonians", whence Aberdeen F.C.Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
's nickname, "the Dons".