Type Settlement, Body of Water & Country
Usage English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Indonesian, Malay
Pronounced Pron. /bɛ.ˈnɪn/(English) /bɛ.ˈniːn/(English) /be.ˈnin/(Italian) /be.ˈniːn/(German) /beː.ˈnin/(Dutch) /bʲɪ.ˈnʲin/(Russian) /ˈbɛ.ɲin/(Polish) /ˈbɛ.nɪn/(Czech) /ˈbɛ.nin/(Hungarian) [key·simplify]
Meaning & History
From Portuguese Benim, derived from Itsekiri Ubinu, the name of the capital city of the historical Benin Kingdom (present-day Benin City in Nigeria). Allegedly it was initially named Ile-Ibinu meaning "land of anger" because of disputes between different factions. The Bight of Benin (a large bay) was named after the Benin Kingdom, and the modern country of Benin, west of Nigeria, was named after the bay in 1975 (formerly named Dahomey).
Related Names
Categories
