Non Nuoc Mountain, also known as Ngu Hanh Son, is a place name that almost all Quang people know, and was used to name the administrative unit of Ngu Hanh Son district - Photo: TRUONG TRUNG
As the whole country is about to reorganize and merge administrative units, many readers are interested in how our ancestors used to name villages and communes?
Villages play a very important role in the cultural life of Vietnamese people. Village names are not only dikes or rice fields, but also the dear memories of each person as poet Lam Thi My Da once wrote: "In each heart we cherish a village name / In each dream, we miss a village name".
Village names also reflect the process of exploration by our ancestors, economic activities, historical changes...
How many ways are there to name a village?
A history doctor from Da Nang University of Education said there were many ways to name villages that ancient people often used.
The most common is to use ancient place names, ancient lands, large villages, famous ancient villages in the area of those wards and communes to choose new names...
It can be noticed that a popular way of naming communes and wards in the past was to take one word from the district name to name the communes below.
For example, in Duy Xuyen district, sometimes the first letter is consistently taken as Xuyen, the communes will choose an additional letter with a good/elegant meaning (beautiful word), or a letter in the name of a large, famous village of the commune or bearing the mark of that commune to name it Xuyen Tho, Xuyen Phuoc, Xuyen Long, Xuyen Tan...
However, after that and until now, the communes have taken the first letter Duy: Duy Hai, Duy Nghia, Duy Thu, Duy Tan...
Similar to Hoa Vang district, Da Nang currently uses the word Hoa to name the communes: Hoa Phu, Hoa Chau, Hoa Tho, Hoa Phong, Hoa An...
This doctor believes that this method creates consistency with administrative place names below the district level, which do not overlap, making it easy to remember and also easy to gain consensus from the community below. Especially in cases where the community of residents in that area disagrees and cannot reach a consensus.
For example, Son Tra district can take the word Tra or the word Son; Thanh Khe district can take the word Thanh; Lien Chieu can take the word Lien, Cam Le district can take the word Cam… as the first letter, then choose another letter to form the name of the ward below.
Another way that many places also use to name streets is to add directions (East - West - South - North - Central - Upper) to the district name to create ward names (like the current way of Thanh Khe district with 2 wards Thanh Khe Dong, Thanh Khe Tay).
In some places, numbers are added after the main district-level identifier to create ward-level administrative place names (for example, the current way of Hai Chau district, Da Nang has 2 wards: Hai Chau 1 and Hai Chau 2).
The method of combining the name of a new commune/ward by choosing to combine two words from 2-3 old communes/wards so that it is convenient, interesting, and meaningful is also quite popular (like the ward planned to be established in Hai Chau district, Da Nang is Nam Binh Phuoc).
Or we can take back the old name, the name that existed in the previous historical period (like the ward planned to be established is Ha Tam Xuan ward in Thanh Khe district, Da Nang)...
Students of Da Nang University of Education chat with the elderly in front of a temple in Nam O ancient village, Lien Chieu district, Da Nang - Photo: TRAN TUAN
Sometimes random, sometimes influenced by many factors
Meanwhile, studies on village names in Vietnam show that the way villages are named is closely related to the customs, habits, lifestyle, beliefs, and interests of the entire community. The way villages are named is sometimes random, and sometimes influenced by many factors.
There are many cases where wards and communes take the name of the main village in the region. The village name is taken from the typical craft village, the influential family, and the largest population in the region.
In addition, in some localities, many wards and communes are named after local celebrities, or choose numbers...
In recent days, many Tuoi Tre Online readers have commented that when naming new administrative units after merging wards and communes, it is necessary to avoid changing too many of the elements that our ancestors used to call them, because it will easily "lose its roots".
Most opinions say that in the current period, it is necessary to consider naming new administrative units to ensure savings and avoid causing paperwork problems for people.
Many readers suggested that if the old commune name has enough meaning to summarize the whole area, consider keeping it to avoid paperwork problems for the people.
The place name Khue Trung originated from the ancient village of Hoa Khue in Da Nang. It is now used as the name of the administrative unit of Khue Trung ward, Cam Le district, Da Nang. In the photo is a corner of the Khue Trung historical and cultural relic site - Photo: TRUONG TRUNG
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