What's Behind the Name? - Country Etymologies

The last batch of lists and the last post in the series 'What's Behind the Name?' is up for today. It is as follows:

1. Sao Tome and Principe: This is the Portuguese word for 'St. Thomas and Prince Islands'. It was named Sao Tome as it was discovered on St. Thomas's Day.

2. Scotland: This word translates to 'Land of the Scots' in Old English. Scot comes from the Old English word 'Scotta'.

3. Sudan: This word comes from the Arabic Term 'Bilad as-Sudan' meaning Land of the Blacks.

4. Togo: From the settlement Togo, currently Togoville. In Ewe, 'to' means 'water' and 'go' means 'shore'.

5. Tonga: This word comes from the Tongan word 'South' or 'Southern' describing the country's location in relation to Samoa.

6. Turkmenistan: This word can be divided into two parts 'Turkmen' and 'Stan'. These words translate in Persian to 'Land of the Turkmen People'.

7. Uzbekistan: This word can be divided into three parts 'Uz', 'Bek' and 'Stan' with 'Uz meaning 'Self'' in Turkic, 'Bek' meaning 'Master' in Sogidan Language and 'Stan' meaning 'Land' in Persian. This translates to The land the Self Masters.

8. Vanuatu: This word is derived from a phrase found in some of the languages of Vanuatu meaning 'Our Land'.

9. Venezuela: This word comes from the Italian word Venezuola meaning 'Little Venice', from the diminutive form of 'Venezia'.

10. Zambia: This country is named after the River Zambezi, which flows through the east of the country and also forms the border with Zimbabwe.

From tomorrow, we begin a weeklong series named 'Big, Bigger, Biggest'.