Every African country’s name was derived from either a feature of the country, an influential person or tribe, or a directional description of the land.

Portuguese, Arabic traders and explorers are said to be the origins of some African names, while some were born out of European mispronunciations. The majority of African countries’ names are reminders of early colonialism.

Here are interesting ways African countries got their names.

Kenya

The name Kenya was derived from the mispronunciation of a Kikuyu word –Kirinyaga. It is alleged that when a German explorer Johann Ludwig Krapf visited Kenya in the 19^th century, he came across a snow-capped mountain that the Kikuyus called “Kirinyaga,” which means “where God dwells.”

While traveling with some local Kambas, Krapf asked about the name of the mountain, and he was told it was named  “Kĩĩma- Kĩĩnyaa” while the Embus, who also lived around the mountain, called it “Kirenyaa.

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All three names have the same meaning, which is believed to be linked to the mountain’s black rock and white snow that resembled the feathers of an ostrich.

Krapf recorded the name as  “Kenia” and “Kegnia. While drawing the map of the region in 1882, Scottish explorer Joseph Thompson labeled the mountain as “Mt Kenia.” The mountain’s name was later accepted as the name of the country.

Tanzania

The East African country was named after the union of two countries –Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

The first letters of the two nations, “Tan” and “Zan,” and additional vowels from the name of the states, “i” and “a” were combined to form the present Tanzania.

Tanganyika is a combination of two words in the Swahili language of “Tanga,” which means to sail, and “Nyika,” which means wilderness or uninhabited plains. Therefore, the word Tanzania loosely translates to “sail in the wilderness.”

Zanzibar, on the other hand, is derived from the word “Zenj,” which is a local name meaning black, and “Barr,” meaning the coastal area. Therefore, Zanzibar translates loosely to “the black people of the coastal region.”

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Uganda

The country was named after the ancient kingdom of Buganda, which rose to prominence in the 18th century.

The Buganda kingdom has dominated the south of the country, with its language, Luganda, being the most widely spoken in the East African country.

Nigeria

Nigeria was named after River Niger. The name allegedly originated from British journalist Flora Shaw in the 19^th century. The origin of the name Niger, however, remains unknown.

Cameroon

The name Cameroon originated from a Portuguese explorer in the 15th century. The explorer was traveling across the Wouri River (one of the largest rivers in Cameroon) when he renamed it Rio dos Camarões (shrimp river) because of the abundance of shrimp he saw in the river.

With the arrival of the Germans, the name was changed to Kamerun. However, the Germans were defeated in World War I, and the country was divided between France and Britain. It was named  Cameroon in the English part and Cameroun in the French part.

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Gabon

The country was named after the Portuguese word Gabao which means a coat with sleeves and hood because the shape of the Como River Estuary resembled a coat with sleeves and a hood.

Mali

The name originated from the Bambara word for hippopotamus, which also means “the place where the King lives.”

Mozambique

Mozambique was named after an Arab Sheikh, Mussa Bin Bique, who ruled the land when the Portuguese arrived.