Here we will take a look at the 10 longest place names in the world. If you can pronounce....
1. Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
Now that is a mouthful, coming in at an impressive 168 letters but what is it? That will be Bangkok to you and me. When the poetic name for the capital of Thailand is said it is usually shortened to just ‘Krung Thep’ (City of Angels). The full name for Bangkok translates as : The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous royal palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn. It is as simple as that!
2. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamate-aturipukakapiki-maungahoronukupokaiwhen-uakitanatahu
This place name has 85 letters and is the Maori name of a hill in New Zealand.
It translates as: The place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as land-eater, played on the flute to his loved one. Bonus points if you can pronounce it!
3. Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogle-ddollonpenrhyn-areurdraethceredigion
This place name, coming in at 67 letters, was created by the Fairbourne Steam Railway, Gwynedd, North Wales for publicity purposes. They basically wanted it to be longer than the name of another station. It translates as: The Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan bay.
4. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob-wllllantysilio-gogogoch
Bit of a controversy about this 58 letter name. Its official name comprises only the first 20 letters and the full name seems to have been created as somewhat of a hoax, sometime in the 19th century.
Either way, it appears here in its ‘entirety’. It is situated in Gwynedd, Wales (a place famed for the length of its railway tickets!). It translates as: St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of the church of St Tysilo near the Red Cave.
5. El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de la Porciuncula
Or Los Angeles to everyone else. The above named (57 letters) is the true Spanish name for LA. It translates as: The town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion. Of course, it is often known by its initial letters, LA, thus making it also one of the shortest named place names in the world.
6. Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaug
This 43 letter place name is a lake near Webster, Massachusetts. The Indian name loosely translates as: You fish on your side, I’ll fish on mine, and no one fishes in the middle. The name itself is an extension of the real name (Chaubunagungamaug) created in the 1920s by the editor of the Webster Times, Larry Daly.
7. Lower North Branch Little Southwest Miramichi
What else can be said about this 40 letter-long place name but it is Canada’s longest place names and it is a short river in New Brunswick.
8. Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis
This 40 letter-long place name is the full Spanish name of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It translates as: Royal city of the holy faith of St Francis of Assisi.
9. Te Whakatakanga-o-te-ngarehu-o-te-ahi-a-Tamatea
This is the Maori name of Hammer Springs, New Zealand and it comes in at an impressive 38 letters. It refers to a legend of Tamatea and explains how the springs were warmed by the falling of the cylinders of the fire of Tamatea. The name itself can either be written with or without hyphens.
10. Meallan Liath Coire Mhic Dhubhghaill
Coming last in the top 10 of place names is the longest place name in Scotland, coming in at 32 letters. It is a place near Aultanrynie in the Highlands.
