Have you ever wondered why some places in Jamaica are called what they are?
Have you ever wondered why some places in Jamaica are called what they are? Famed for its peculiar names, Jamaica’s street names have an endless list of reasons why various geographical locations and places have been named what we are now accustomed to. Some denote a geographic feature or landmark (Above Rocks, Red Ground, Blue Mountains, Corner Shop); some are named after the original landowners (Tommy Bush, Sanguinetti); or were named for the homelands of immigrants who settled there (Dublin Castle, Irish Town, Egypt, Bengal, Skibo, Aberdeen); some have Arawak names (Jamaica, Liguanea), or Spanish (Oracabessa, Ocho Rios, Rio Grande), or British (Somerset, High Gate).
Others are humorous (Jackass Alley, Beverly Hills); while others describe the distance (Three Mile, Four Mile, Six Mile, Seven Mile, Nine Mile and Eleven Mile). Some are Biblical (Bethlehem, Siloah, Mount Horeb) and some reflect the abundance of a plant or animal in the area (Annotto Bay, Cashew, Hog Hole, Breadnut Bottom, and Soursop Turn).
Celebrating our rich diverse names for Heritage Month Buzzz has collated a list of places and shares the reasoning behind their names…
August Town
in the hills of Saint Andrew, is thought to have been named because freedom came to the slaves of Jamaica on the 1st of August, 1838. Since then, this day has been celebrated as ‘Emancipation Day’.
Calabar
a mile from Rio Bueno in the parish of Trelawny (at the border of Saint Ann), was established by the Jamaica Baptist Union in 1839. It was named after the former slave port of Calabar in Nigeria, one of the two major ports of embarkation for the thousands of enslaved Africans who were brought to Jamaica.
Me-No-Sen-You-No-Come
in the Cockpit country of Saint Elizabeth, means – don’t call us, we’ll call you! The Maroons lived in exclusive communities like Accompong and were selective on whom they welcomed, especially unexpected visitors.
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