Place Names

Manitoba Pageant, January 1960, Volume 5, Number 2

This article was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the Manitoba Historical Society on the above date. We make this online version available as a free, public service. As an historical document, the article may contain language and views that are no longer in common use and may be culturally sensitive in nature. Please direct inquiries to webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. Help us keep history alive!

The names of Manitoba towns come from many languages. Here are two lists, names of towns from the German and Icelandic languages:

German:

Altona	after a city in Germany, the meaning of which is "old fertile plain"
Bergfeld	a German word for "hill field"
Blumenfeld	a German word for "flower field"
Blumengart	a German word for "flower garden"
Blumenort	a German word for "flower nook"
Halbstadt	a German word for "half town"
Rosenfeld	a German word for "rose field"
Rosengart	a German word for "rose garden"
Steinbach	a German word for "stony brook"

Icelandic:

Arborg	earlier called Ardal, both names are Icelandic, Arborg meaning "river town" and Ardal "river dale"
Baldur	after Baldur, son of Odin, who typified the nobler qualities of human nature
Gimli	in Icelandic legend all good and brave men, after death, go to Gimli
Hnausa	Icelandic word meaning "uneven land"
Siglunes	Icelandic name meaning "point to sail around"

Page revised: 30 June 2009