TOPONYMY - is the study of geographical names. It is derived from the Greek: "topo" meaning place and "onoma" meaning name. It is a sub set of onomastics which is the study of all forms of names. Place names are sometimes called toponyms.

NOVA SCOTIA - Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland. In 1605 the French established a settlement here at Port Royal. After changing hands with the English, the area was granted in 1621 to a Scottish courtier, William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, by King James I of England and was named Nova Scotia. The colony established by Alexander did not survive. For much of the remainder on the 17th and early 18th centuries the area was known as L'Acadie (Acadia) and mainly occupied by French settlers. After finally being ceded to England in1713 the region was renamed Nova Scotia.

Our heritage is reflected in our community names

Arcadia: Near Yarmouth. Originally known as 'Upper Chebogue', The change to Arcadia was made in 1863. While the word itself may be traced to the classical name for a land of peace and contentment, the place name was suggested by the brig Arcadia, built and launched here in 1817. ⁽¹⁾

Bras d’Or: This beautiful name is said to be (and we should like to believe it) from the French meaning "The Golden Arm". The Mi'kmaq name was "Petoobook", meaning "a long dish full of salt water". On the maps of 1872 and earlier, the lake is named "Le Lac de Labrador", and this is more likely the true derivation of the present name. The literal meaning of Labrador is "Laborer". In a paper prepared by the late Dr. Patterson for the Nova Scotia Historical Society he says he believed the name Bras d'Or came from the Breton form of Bras 'd'eau arm of water or of the sea.

Beinn Breagh: This name was selected by Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) for his estate on the outskirts of Baddeck, Victoria County. The translation from Gaelic means "beautiful mountain". Bell is best known for the invention of the telephone however, while in residence at Beinn Breagh, he worked on a varity of projects including the hydrofoil and manned flight. He founded the Aerial Experiment Association and was the driving force behind the first flight in Canada which occurred here on 25 February 1909.⁽¹⁾

Grand Pré: An Acadian descriptive for "great meadow,' this community is known internationally as the setting for the poem 'Evangeline' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). According to William Francis Ganong, the name is a French translation of an earlier Mi'kmaq descriptive mskeg-a-kadik, literally 'grass at its occurrence place'. The history of the area is depicted in the replica of St. Charles Church, a museum located within Grand Pré National Park. Grand Pré was the birthplace of Sir Robert Borden (1854-1937), who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920.⁽¹⁾

Louisdale: (pronounced Lewisdale) This area appears in early records as The Barachois or Barrasois St. Louis. To avoid confusion with other similarly named communities, the name was changed by act of the provincial legislature in 1905 to Louisdale, a coined or manufactured name. ⁽¹⁾

Whitney Pier: Adjacent to Sydney, Cape Breton, first known as "International Pier," for the shipping docks of the Dominion Steel and Coal company, but was changed with the establishment of the post office in 1895. The new name was for Henry M. Whitney, first president of the coal company.⁽¹⁾

Toponymic Tidbits

Animals  Heritage  Color  Trees  Other

Most variations of a community name: The Pubnico's: Lower West Pubnico; Middle West Pubnico; West Pubnico; Pubnico; East Pubnico; Middle East Pubnico; Centre East Pubnico; Lower East Pubnico.

Sable Island - Crescent shaped island on the edge of the Continental Shelf. The site of hundreds of shipwrecks giving the informal name "the graveyard of the Atlantic". Home to a small herd of wild ponies that were marooned there in the 1800's.

Malignant Cove - Named after HMS Malignant, which was shipwrecked near by in 1774. Two attempts have been made to change the name but were not successful.

The Hawk - On the southern tip of Cape Sable Island. Named for a schooner that was shipwrecked on this headland.

White Hill, Victoria County - Nova Scotia's highest point at 530 metres.

⁽¹⁾ Hamilton, William B., (1930-), Place Names of Atlantic Canada, University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1996