Origin of Names of Towns and Locations in Kenya.

history lessons cont.
i know you must have seen this somewhwere but there are a few additions
feel free to add some more

  1. Ruaka- “Rui rua aka” Meaning “River of women”
  2. Dagoretti- “Ndagurite” Meaning a place that’s not yet bought as Karen Blixen had already the rest of the area.
  3. Rumuruti (in Laikipia)- The town was on the route from Nyahururu to Mararal which was commonly used by white settlers. They referred to the trail between the two settlements as a “Remote route"
  4. Kapropita (In Baringo)- A settler known as “Corporal Peter” lived in the area.
  5. Kirigiti (Kiambu)- There was a popular cricket field there, locals could not pronounce “Cricket” hence the name Kirigiti… Lol
  6. Roysambu- The place was known as “Royal Suburbs” during the colonial times.
  7. Kariakor- During the First World War a contingent of Africans were in the British army as carrying luggage. “The Carrier Corps” and would meet in the present Kariakor!
  8. Msongari- The name was “Muthangari” and an area in Lavington still maintains that name. The name was a bit tuff for the settlers and they pronounced it as “Msongari”.
  9. Limuru- corruption from a Maasai word ilmur which means donkey droppings and even today there’s lots of it there!
  10. Naivasha = Enaiposha – meaning the lake in Masai.
  11. Nakuru = Nakurro – meaning a dust bowl – dusty place in Masai.
  12. Nyahururu – Enaiwurruwurr – meaning windy or place of storms. Also means some plant in Masai.
  13. Banana (Kiambu) Lots of bananas were bought and sold along that area.
  14. Kinoo- There was a very large sign that read “NO THROUGH WAY”. The Kikuyu living in the area would refer to the area as “haria hee Ki-no, Hence…
  15. Kabarnet- The town is named after a missionary called Barnet, from Alsace, France.
  16. Kawangware- Named after the Man called Ngware. He opened the 1st shop there in 60s and Kikuyus would say (ndathii gatuka-ini KA+WA+NGWARE) “I have gone to shop at Ngware’s shop”
  17. Kilifi- Great Cliffs in that area.
    Any more???
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:D:D:D:D

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@Wakanyama and @Purr_27 kujeni hapa museme jina wanyee ilitoka wapi

Until now, I imagined KINOO was corrupted from elsewhere …

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hehehehehehe… DEAD, DEADER, DEADEST

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Githurai, Namanga, Mandera, Watamu??

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Na huyu mkoloni mtajika anaitwa Waitina Ni mikundu ya watu alikuwa anakamua ama?

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Rodi Kopany… Road Company. The wajaruos there could not pronounce it correctly

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Hiyo ni jina ya mtu…Kenyatta gave Wanyee’s father land…and that portion from corner was given to Wanyee hence the name

Haiya!! yani hapa kuna watu wa wanyee rd?, i own two rental properties on that road, i always wondered why they had to use that name

“Karendi”, in Karen, that’s where Karen ends and Dagoretti market beings, the settlers called it Karen End, the locals pronounced it as Karendi

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I like the one about Githurai Cables being corrupted to become what we now call Githurai Kimbo :D:D:D:D:D:D

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So when one says Lake Naivasha they’re really saying Lake Lake?

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Waitina comes from the english name Whitner. Kama vile tumesema hapa locals could not pronounce it properly hence the name Waitina. Btw he is famous for cutting off dogs tails

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could be Lake The Lake

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Kiringiti - Keringet.

dagoretti must have been ‘’‘the great corner’‘’

KIMILILI?

There is a place in Kawangware called Gatina. This how the name came to be, there was a kasmall joint ama kirabu where the white men from Lavington na hizo suburbs used to go to hang out. They always welcomed one of their own with the words “get in here” na being waKenya watukutu they could only say it as “Gat-in-a”

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banana… u are wrong on this one. It was named after the stiff hill climb from Ndenderu(Rwaka River) to Karuri . The hill has a Banana like curve. Hence the name

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