List of tautological place names

A place name is tautological if two parts of it are synonymous. This often occurs when a name from one language is imported into another and a standard descriptor is added on from the second language. Thus, for example, New Zealand's Mount Maunganui is tautological since maunga is Māori for mountain. The following is a list of place names often used tautologically, plus the languages from which the non-English name elements have come.

Rivers

Arakawa River, Japan (Rough River River - Japanese)
Connecticut River, United States (Long Tidal River River - Algonquin)
Cuyahoga River, Ohio ("Cuyahoga" means "crooked river" in a Native American language.)
Fishkill Creek, New York, USA (small waterway small waterway - "kil" meaning "small waterway" in Dutch)
Hatchie River, United States (River River - "hatchie" meaning "river" in Muskogean languages)
Heilongjiang River, an alternative name for the Amur River, China (Black Dragon River River - Mandarin Chinese)
Kymijoki, Finland (River River)
Latsa erreka (tributary of the Nive), France (Brook Brook - Euskara)
Mississippi River, United States, and Mississippi River, Ontario, Canada (Big River River - Algonquin)
Molopo River, South Africa (River River) - Setswana
Paraguay River, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina (From the Great River River - Guaraní Language)
Rillito River, southern Arizona, United States (Little River River - Spanish)
Río Guadix, Spain (River River River - Río is "river" in Spanish, guad comes from Arabic wādi 'valley' or 'river', and ix is "river" in Phoenician)
Río Guadalquivir, Spain (Great River River - from Arabic al-wādi al-kabīr 'The Great Valley (or River)'.
River Avon, various in England and Scotland (River River - Brythonic (spelled Afon in modern Welsh), or Goidelic abhainn)^[1]
River Avonmore, County Wicklow, Ireland (Big River River - Irish: Abhainn Mór)
River Avonbeg, County Wicklow, Ireland (Small River River - Irish: Abhainn Beag)
River Awbeg, County Cork, Ireland (Small River River - Irish: Abhainn Beag)
River Humber, England, and Humber River, Ontario, Canada (River River - Brythonic)
River Tyne, England (River River - Brythonic)
Schuylkill River, eastern Pennsylvania (Hidden River River - the suffix kill in Dutch meaning "river")
Šešupė River, Lithuania (Sixth River River - Lithuanian)^[2]
Skookumchuck River, Washington, United States - the suffix chuck in Chinook Jargon meaning "river"
Uruguay River, Uruguay and Argentina (River of the painted birds River - Guaraní Language)
Vaslui River, Romania - uj meant "body of water" in Cuman
Walla Walla River, Washington, United States (Little River River; Walla means "river" in Sahaptin, repeated to express the diminutive ("little river"))
Most river names in Java, Indonesia starts with the prefix "ci-", which is Javanese for "river". Many people refers the names redundantly using both the Indonesian word "sungai" and prefix "ci-", for example, "Sungai Cihampelas" ("Cihampelas River") translates to "Sungai Sungai Hampelas"/"Hampelas River River".

Lakes and other bodies of water

Dal Lake, Kashmir (Lake Lake - Balti)
Gaube Lake, Hautes-Pyrénées (Lake Lake - French and Gascon)
Hayle Estuary, Cornwall (Estuary Estuary - Cornish Heyl "estuary")
Jaurajärvi and Jaurakkajärvi, Finland (Lake Lake - Sami javri "lake", Finnish järvi "lake")
Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria - 'lagos' is Portuguese for 'lakes', and 'lagoon' derives from Latin 'lacus' "lake, pond"
Laguna de Bay, Philippines - also referred to as Laguna Lake (Lake Lake - Spanish)
Laguna Lake, California (Lake Lake - Spanish)
Lake Chad, Chad (Lake lake - Bornu word tsade: "lake")
Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand (Ella's lake lake - Old Norse. Several English lakes, such as Windermere, are often incorrectly referred to using the incorrect "Lake -mere" form, but New Zealand's has this form as its official name)
Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan (Lake Hot Lake - Kyrgyz)
Lake Lämmijärv, Estonia (Lake Warm Lake - Estonian). Several other Estonian lakes have the suffix "-järv" in their name, meaning lake. For example lake Võrtsjärv and Saadjärv.
Lake Lagunita, Stanford, California (Lake Little Lake - Spanish)
Lake Nyassa (now called Lake Malawi), Malawi/Mozambique (Lake Lake - Yao)
Lake Rotorua, New Zealand (Lake Lake Second - Māori. Many other New Zealand lakes have the tautological "Lake Roto-" form)
Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California (Lake the lake - Washo Native American Tribal language)
Lakeville Lake, Michigan, USA - The village is Lakeville, the adjacent lake is Lakeville Lake.
Loch Loch, Scotland. Not to be confused with Loch Lochy.
Loch Lomond Lake, near Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Loch Watten, Scotland, from Gaelic loch, plus Norse vatn
Loughrigg Tarn, from Gaelic loch, plus Norse "ridge", and "tarn" meaning a body of water
Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, USA (Thousand Lakes Lake - French)
Østensjøvann is a Norwegian lake name that concatenates sjø ("lake that is not as narrow as a fjord") and vann ("lake"). Similarly Møsvann in Telemark, Norway combines mjøsa meaning lake with vann meaning lake.
Tal-y-Llyn lake, Wales (End-of the-lake lake - llyn is Welsh for lake)
Vatnshlíðarvatn, Iceland (Lake-slope-lake - The farm Vatnshlíð (Lake-slope) named after the lake, which in turn is named after the farm.)
Vatnvatnet, Norway (Lakelake - Norwegian), a lake near Bodø
Wast Water, England - 'water's valley water' from Old Norse "vatns dalr" (= Wasdale) and Old English "wæter"

Mountains and hills

Bergeberget, Norway (The Hill Hill - Norwegian)
Bredon Hill, England (Hill Hill Hill - Brythonic/Old English/Modern English); compare Bredon and Brill (Hill Hill - Brythonic/Saxon) and Breedon on the Hill (Hill Hill on the Hill - Brythonic/Saxon/Modern English)^[3]
Brincliffe Edge, Sheffield, UK (Burning Hill Hill Welsh/English)
Bryn Glas Hill, Wales (Blue Hill Hill - Welsh/English)
Brynhill, Wales (Hill Hill - Welsh/English)
Djebel Amour, Algeria: (Arabic & Tamazight)
Eizmendi: Haitz Mendi 'mount mount' (Euskara)
Filefjell, Norway (The mountain mountain - Norwegian)
Fjällfjällen, Sweden (The mountain mountains - Swedish)
Garmendia: Garr- Mendi(a) (fossil & modern Basque)
Hill Mountain, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Knockhill, a common placename in the Scottish Lowlands, deriving from either Scottish Gaelic, cnoc meaning a "hill" or a similar word originating in either Danish or one of the West Germanic languages that predated Old English.
Mongibellu, Sicilian name of the volcano Etna, in Sicily, Italy (Mountain Mountain, from Romance monte and Arabic žabal).
Montcuq, Lot, France: Mont Kukk 'mount mount'
Mount Katahdin, Maine (Mount The Greatest Mountain - English/Penobscot)
Mount Lushan, Jiangxi, China: Mount Lu Mountain.
Mount Maunganui, New Zealand (Mount Mount Big - Māori)
Ochil Hills, Scotland (Hill hills)
Pendle Hill, Lancashire, England. (Hill Hill Hill) - "Pen" -(Cumbric language) and the suffix "dle" from the Old English language.
Pic de la Munia in Piau-Engaly, France: Pic Muño (Romance & Euskara)
Picacho Peak (Arizona, U.S.) (Peak Peak - Spanish)
Pinnacle Peak (Maricopa County, Arizona, U.S.) and Mount Pinnacle (southwestern Virginia, U.S.). Both English. Other locations have the same names.
Slieve Mish Mountains and Slieve Bloom Mountains, Ireland - (Mish Mountain Mountains, Bloom Mountain Mountains - from sliabh, the Gaelic word for mountain)
Summit Peak, New Zealand (Peak Peak - both English) - also the U.S. has five hills called Summit Peak.
Table Mesa, Colorado (Table Table - Spanish)^[4] - also Table Mesa, Arizona
Torpenhow Hill, England (Hill Hill Hill Hill - SW-British (Tor) / Brythonic (pen = "head") / Anglo-Saxon hōh = "spur of high ground" / English (hill)) (disputed ^[5])
Tuc de la Pale, Ariège, France: Tuk Pal 'mount mount'
Vignemale, Pyrenees: Went Mal 'mount mount'

Islands

Canvey Island, UK (Cana's island island - Anglo-Saxon)
Chejudo Island, South Korea (Cheju Island Island).
Dodecanese Islands, Aegean Sea (Twelve Islands Islands - Greek; usually called just Dodecanese)
Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, also Faroes or Faeroes (Template:Lang-fo, Template:Lang-da, Template:Lang-is, Template:Lang-no, Template:Lang-nn), North Atlantic (Sheep Islands Islands - Faroese) — It is the -oe part of Faeroe that means 'islands' (Template:Lang-fo, Template:Lang-da, Template:Lang-is, Template:Lang-no, Template:Lang-nn); the first part of the name (Før- or Fær-) is thought to mean 'sheep'; see History of the Faroe Islands.
Gili Islands, North-west of Lombok, Indonesia (Small Island Islands - Sasak)
Isle of Sheppey, UK (Island of sheep island - Saxon)
Lundy Island, UK (puffin island island - Norse)
Motutapu Island, New Zealand (Island Sacred Island - Māori)
Orkney Islands, UK, (Boar Island Islands), suffix ey means island
Saaremaa island, Estonia (Island-land island - Estonian)^[6] Several Estonian islands have the suffix "-saar" in their names, meaning island. (E.g. Piirissaar, Naissaar)

Other

Ardtornish Point, Scotland (High/Heights Tor Point Point) - "Aird" from Gaelic, "Nish" from the Norse Ness and Point from English - all referring to some form of cape, point or headland).
Barna Gap, Ireland - (Gap Gap - Barna is the Irish word for a mountain gap)
Beechhurst Holt Wood, England (beech wood wood wood - Anglo-Saxon)
Carmarthen, Wales (Welsh : Caerfyddin) - (Fort fort by the sea - "Caer"/"Car" = Welsh for fort (from Latin castra), "marthen"/"m(f)yrddin" is Welsh name derived from Latin Moridunum, which itself derived from Brythonic "môr" (sea) and "din"/"dun" (fort))^[7]
Cartagena, Spain - (New New City - from Latin Carthago Nova, 'New Carthage'; but Carthago itself is from Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt, 'New City')
Châteaudun, France (Castle Stronghold - French and Gaulish)
Col de Port, Ariège, France (Pass Pass - French and Occitan)
Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, France (Coast of Coast - French and Breton)
Eas Fors Waterfall on the Isle of Mull in Scotland (waterfall waterfall waterfall)
East Timor (East east - from the Malay word timur)
El Camino Way in Palo Alto, California (The way way - Spanish)^[4]
El Puente de Alcántara, Toledo, Spain, (The Bridge of the Bridge - Puente from Spanish, Alcántara from Arabic al-qanṭara^ht 'the bridge')
Forumtorget in Uppsala, Sweden. Forum being the Latin word for square and torget also meaning square. Thus, Square-square.
Glendale - Anglicisation of the Gaelic Gleann Dail. Gleann simply means "valley", and dail is a borrowing from the Norse for "valley", which in Gaelic specifically means a valley containing fertile arable land, or any low-lying farmland. The anglicised form appears more tautological as the word dale in English is used to describe any valley.
Gobi Desert, central Asia (Very large and dry desert, Gobi means 'very large and dry' in Mongolian)
Jiayuguan Pass - (Jiayu Pass Pass - Mandarin Chinese)
Kaieteur Falls in Kaieteur National Park, Potaro-Siparuni Region, Guyana - (Kai falls Falls - Patamona language)
La Brea Tar Pits, California (The Tar Tar Pits - Spanish)^[4]
Lee Mead - (Meadow Meadow)
Milky Way Galaxy (Milky Way milky way — Greek; for this reason some scientists, such as the late Isaac Asimov, have argued that the Milky Way should be renamed the "Home Galaxy" or some such.)
Minnehaha Falls, Minnesota (Waterfall Falls - Lakota)
Nathu La Pass, Indo-China border, (Listening Ears Pass Pass- Tibetan)
Nesoddtangen, Norway - (The Cape cape cape, Norwegian, from nes (promontory or cape), odde (promontory or cape) and tange (promontory or cape))
Nyanza Lac, Burundi - ("Nyanza" and "Lac" are the Bantu and French words for "lake" respectively. Interestingly, Nyanza Lac is not a lake - it's a city)
Sahara desert, Africa (Deserts desert - Arabic)
Sharm Old Harbour (a common English name for the old harbour at Sharm el Sheikh) (harbour old harbour - Arabic)
Skarðsskarð, Iceland (Pass's Pass: A mountain pass named after a farm which in turn is named after tha pass to begin with.)
Staðarstaður, Iceland (Staður means "a pastor's farm" and is a common suffix to the names of such farms -- this means "Pastor's farm which is a pastor's farm")
Timor-Leste, East Timor, (East East - Indonesian/Malay, Portuguese) - Note: this is the eastern half of an island that is the easternmost major island in its chain.
Trendle Ring earthwork in Somerset, England (Circle Circle)
Val d'Aran, Spain (Valley Valley - Gascon and Euskara (Basque))

References

^ Victor Wadds, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names, 2004, s.n. River AVON
^ Piesarskas, Bronius (1995). Lithuanian Dictionary. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415128579. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ McDonald, Fred (1993). The Guinness Book of British Place Names. London: Guinness Publishing. ISBN 085112576X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Merriam-Webster (1998). Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster. ISBN 0877791651.
^ The Debunking of Torpenhow Hill
^ Benyuch, Ksana (2002). Estonian-English, English-Estonian dictionary & phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0781809312.
^ Hywel Wyn Jones, The Place-Names of Wales, 1998