Origins of some well-known place names

Big towns
Colombo

Colombo: Derived from Kolamba an indigenous Vedda word for harbor or fort, borrowed by Sinhalese. However, the Portuguese were probably struck by its similarity to the name of Colombus, and renamed the city 'Colombo'.

Colombo (Sinhala: කොළඹ, pronounced [ˈkoləmbə]; Tamil: கொழும்பு) is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city population of 647,100.[1]  The Colombo Metropolitan Region, defined by the districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, has an estimated population of 5,648,000, and covers an area of 3,694.20 km².

Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. However it was only made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, and its status as capital was retained when the nation became independent in 1948. In 1978, when administrative functions were moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.

Like many cities, Colombo's urban area extends well beyond the boundaries of a single local authority, encompassing other Municipal and Urban Councils. The main city is home to a majority of the Sri Lanka's corporate offices, restaurants and entertainment venues.[6] Famous landmarks in Colombo include the Galle Face Green, the Viharamahadevi Park as well as the National Museum.

Kandy

Kandy' is an abbreviation of 'Kanda Udarata', or 'hill country' which was the seat of the later Sinhala kings.

Kandy (මහ නුවර maha nuvara, pronounced [mahaˈnuʋərə], in Sinhala; கண்டி kaṇṭi, pronounced [ˈkaɳɖi], in Tamil) is the English name for the city of Maha Nuvara (Senkadagalapura) in the centre of Sri Lanka. It lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy Valley, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an administrative and religious city. It is the capital of the Central Province (which encompasses the districts of Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya) and also of Kandy District.

The name
The name Kandy is derived from the Sinhalese kaⁿda uḍa pas raṭa. The Portuguese shortened this to "Candea", using the name for both the kingdom and its capital Senkadagalapura. In Sinhala, Kandy is called Maha Nuvara, meaning "Great City" or "Capital", although this is most often shortened to Nuvara.


Galle

 (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable in English, /ˈɡɔːl/ "Gaul", and as two in Sinhalese, IPA: [ɡaːlːə]) is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District.

Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. The major river is Gin River (Gin Ganga) which starts from Gongala Kanda and passing villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada, Wakwella and kisses the sea at Ginthota. In Wakwella over the river there is Wakwella Bridge which is the longest bridge in Sri Lanka.

On 26 December 2004 the city was devastated by the massive Boxing Day Tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred a thousand miles away, off the coast of Indonesia. Thousands were killed in the city alone.

Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Other prominent landmarks in Galle include St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one of the main Shiva temples on the island, and the Amangalla, a historic luxury hotel.

Galle is the main town in the most southerly part of the island, with a population of around 100,000, and is connected by rail to Colombo and Matara. It is home to a cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium, rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami. Test matches resumed there on December 18, 2007.

Galle offers a unique opportunaity to create a visible demonstration of the conservation of this inheritance and an exciting new internationally famous visitor desitination. The vision is to brand Galle as "GreenCity-Greengalle " to create and promote Galle as SriLanka's cool and healthy coastal city with clean green canopy.

Rumassala kanda in Unawatuna is a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of the Ramayana.

Trincomalee

Trincomalee (Tamil: திருகோணமலை Tirukōṇamalai) (Sinhala: තිරිකුණාමළය  Tirikūṇamaḷaya) is a port city on the east coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. It is one of the main centers of Tamil speaking culture on the island. Historically referred to as Gokanna,[1]  or Gokarna it has been a sea port that has played a major role in maritime and international trading history of Sri Lanka.

The Bay of Trincomalee's harbour is renowned for its large size and security; unlike every other in the Indian Sea, it is accessible to all types of craft in all weathers. The beaches are used for surfing, scuba diving, fishing and whale watching. The city also has the largest Dutch fort in Sri Lanka. It is home to major Sri Lankan naval bases and a Sri Lankan Air Force base.

Names and etymology
Trincomalee is an anglicized version of the Tamil word Tirukonamalai (lit "lord of the sacred hill"); it is a hill situated in the end of a natural land formation that resembles an arc.

The ancient texts, as well as an inscription unearthed by archeologists, call it Gokarna in Sanskrit.[2] The Vayu Purana refers to a Siva temple on Trikuta hill on the eastern coast of Lanka in the 3rd century.[3] The Mahavamsa documents that the King Mahasena destroyed a Deva temple and built a Buddhist shrine in its stead to expiate for an earlier heresy on his part.[4] This explains the Buddhist archeological remains in the region. The South Indian Tevaram of Tiru-gnana Sambandar makes mention to the Siva temple in Trincomalee once again in the 6th century.[5] The Hindu temple was also documented in several late medieval texts such as the Konesar Kalvettu[6] and the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam.


Batticaloa

Batticaloa (Sinhala: මඩකලපුව, Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு) is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, 69 miles south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.

Jaffna
Jaffna  is the English rendering of Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம்) in Tamil meaning "town of the harper"

Archaeologist Paranavithana suggests that the original name was Javapatuna, where 'Java' alludes to the presence of Javaka people. The Portuguese historian De Queyroz refers to it at 'Jafanapataõ', which he says is said by some to be a corrupted form of 'Jafana-en-Putalam', or "Town of the Lord Jafana", and by others to be derived from 'Jafana-Patanaõture' meaning "long harbour"

Jaffna  or Yazhpanam (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணம், Sinhala: යාපනය) (யாழ் meaning = sitar and பாணம் meaning = Town, therefore யாழ்ப்பாணம் means Town of (the) Harper) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Though most of the residents of Jaffna are Sri Lankan Tamils, there is also a minor presence of Sri Lankan Moors (Muslims) and Portuguese Burghers (Roman Catholics). Almost all Sri Lankan Muslims were driven off from Jaffna by the LTTE in the 1990s, as a result of the ethnic conflict which started in the 1970s[1]  which today leaves Jaffna almost exclusively Tamil, apart from the military personnel.