Manhattan’s hidden etymologies
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Manhattan, the iconic borough of New York City, holds a rich tapestry of hidden etymologies within its name. Originally inhabited by the Lenape people, the island was first encountered by European explorers in the early 17th century. Its name, “Manhattan,” is derived from the Lenape term “Mannahatta,” which translates roughly to “island of many hills” or “place where we get bows” in the Algonquian language.
However, the island’s name underwent various transformations throughout history. Initially known as New Amsterdam by the Dutch, who established the settlement in 1624, Manhattan was later renamed New York when the English captured the territory in 1664. The English dubbed it New York in honor of James II, who was then the Duke of York.
Yet, the influence of the Dutch is still palpable in Manhattan’s history. The island’s southern tip was originally named “Nieuw Amsterdam,” and this Dutch influence can still be seen today in the street grid layout of lower Manhattan, particularly in the area known as the Financial District.
The map below shows the etymology of Manhattan neighborhoods.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS
Named after Alexander Hamilton
TIMES SQUARE
Named after the New York Times
GREENWICH
Dutch “groenwijck”, meaning “Green District”
SOHO
“South of Houston”
NOLITA
“North of Little Italy”
WALLSTREET
There used to be an actual wall there
STUYVESANT
Named after a Dutch governor
ALPHABET CITY
After Avenues A, B, C, and D
NOHO
“North of Houston”
FORT GEORGE
Named after an actual fort, which in turn was named after King George
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
Named after Fort Washington, which stood there previously
HARLEM
Named after Haarlem, a Dutch city
CARNEGIE HILL
Named after Scottish tycoon Andrew Carnegie
TURTLE BAY
Deutal is Dutch for “knife”
LENOX HILL
Named after Scottish businessman Robert Lenox
TENDERLOIN
A reference to all the bribery in the area in old times
GRAMERCY
Dutch Krom Moerasje, “crooked little swamp”
HELL’S KITCHEN
Possibly something to do with early gang violence
CHELSEA
Named after a British nursing home
BOWERY
From Dutch “bouwerij”, meaning “farm”
TRIBECA
“Triangle below canal street”
BATTERY PARK
There used to be actual assault batteries there
Hell’s kitchen used to be a squalid and hilly area, all shacks and bonfires open-hearth pits. From the higher ground inland that rough neighborhood looked like Hell’s Kitchen with all the flames.
I have heard that the origin of “Hell’s Kitchen” is from when there were several slaughterhouses in the area and, sanitary standards not quite being what they are now, all of the blood and guts basically draining off into the Hudson through the streets made the area look like, Hell’s Kitchen
Look and, probably more noticeably for a mile around, smell like Hell’s kitchen. Makes sense when you consider the proximity to the also aptly named Meatpacking district, but on the opposite side of the rest of the city c. 1850, near to the Hudson piers where animals could be shipped in, to their “last stop” so to speak, then further shipped downtown and finally back out on the river for last sale
Quite different from the origin of “Hell Gate” which I think is a nautical term owing to potentially hazardous waters for those same ships in that channel. There can be unpredictable and strong eddy currents especially at the half way point between high and low tide, as the East River is not technically a River at all — the water can flow either direction depending on the phase of the tide — but a tidal estuary at the Western end it is, of Long Island Sound, so the water from the Harlem River ends up getting pulled one way or another around Wards&Randalls Island and you wouldn’t know which way it is without first consulting a tide table!
Carnegie Hall was named after the tycoon as a donation from him. There was no Carnegie Hill. After extensive study of Carnegie and other gilded ages, there was absolutely no mention of a hill after him.
Why would a fort in the United States be named after King George the Fifth? I call bs on that one.
Funny, all my life I thought Greenwich Village was named after Greenwich in England.
Greenwich is named after the area in London not the Dutch word
A friend sent me the image and I found this website. I saw the words of Dutch origin. I take exception to the so-called word deutal. There is no such word in Dutch and I looked it up in an unabridged two-volume Dutch Van Dale dictionary with over 800 pages in each volume. There is a word spelled deutel and it does not mean knife, which is mes in Dutch. The Dutch text says “deutal=pennetje in een houten nagel geslagen om deze beter te doen sluiten”, with an English translation being “a pin hammered into a wooden nail to make it close better”. So, I don’t really think that deutel would the origin of Turtle Bay.