What's in a name? Quite a lot actually, the name of any ci…

Vishakapatnam- Believed to be named after a temple dedicated to Vaishakha here, that has been washed away. Was also called Kulotungacholapatnam in ancient times. Vizagapatam/Waltair were the British names.

Bobilli- Famous for the battle here, the place gets it's name from Bebulli meaning Tiger, the town was founded by Pedda Rayudu, the 15th descendant of the Raja of Venkatagiri, who got this land as a grant from the Nawab of Chicacole.

Kakinada-During the rule of the Nandi kings, this was called "Kakinandiwada", was changed to Cocanada during British time, later reverted back to Kakinada. Another theory states that Rama killed the Asura, Kakasura here, hence the name. Also was called as Kakulawada.

Pithapuram- One of the Shakti Peethams in Andhra Pradesh, it's ancient name is Pitikapuram, Shakti is worshipped here as Puruhutika Devi, and it's believed her back fell here, when Vishnu cut her corpse with the Sudarshana Chakra.

Amalapuram- It's older name was Amruthapuri, Amlipuri. The town gets it's name from the Amaleswara Temple here, one of the Panchalinga temples here, others being Siddeshwara, Ramalingeswara, Chandramouleswara and Chennamalleswara.

Rajamahendravaram- Named so after the Chalukyan ruler Mahendra, the British called it as Rajamahendri, which became Rajahmundry, though now the city has reverted back to it's original name.

Tanuku- Was called as Tarakapuri in ancient times, it's believed to the capital of the Asura ruler Tarakasura, who was killed later by Karthikeya.

Palakollu- One of the Pancharama Kshetras, as per local legend, the tank in front of the Shiva temple here was filled with milk. Hence the name Pala Kolanu(Tank of Milk), which became Palakollu. Also called as Ksheerapuri, Upamanyapuram.

Bhimavaram- Another Pancharama Kshetra, the town gets it's name after the Chalukyan ruler Bheema who built the temple here. It was originally called Bhimapuram, but changed to Bhimavaram later meaning "Land gifted by Bhima".

Bheemunipatnam near Vizag, apart from being the 2nd oldest muncipality in India, is believed to have got it's name from Bheema. There is a place here that is believed to contain the footprint of Bheema(Bheemuni Padam), and it has a temple complex dedicated to the Pandavas.

Eluru- Ancient name was Helapuri, it was the capital of the Eastern Chalukyas. What is called as Vengi or Venginadu was mainly the delta region between Krishna and Godavari.

Vijayawada- One version states that Goddess Durga spent time here on the Indrakiladri Hills, after slaying Mahishasur. And in a way she also has become the patron deity of the city, which was named so to commemorate her victory over the demon king.

There is another version which states that Arjun,created a passage way ( Bezzam) through the hills to allow the flow of Krishna river, and so the place got it's name as Bejjamwada which later changed to Bezawada.

Machilipatnam- Was called as Masula in ancient times, during the medieval era it got it's name Machilipatnam, apparently due to the fact, that there was a fish statue on the walls around it. Also called as Bandaru, meaning Port in persian.

Narasapuram- It's older name was Narasimhapuri, that in due course of time, got corrupted to Narasapuram.

Guntur- Called as Garthapuri in ancient times, meaning a place surrounded by water ponds. The more common colloquial version was Guntlapuri, which in due course became Guntur.

Bapatla- Was formerly known was Bhavapatna or Bhavapuri, after the Bhavanarayana Temple located here, which is one of the 5 such temples dedicated to him others being Ponnur, Bhavadevarapalli, Sarpavaram and Pattiseema.

Tenali- The older name was Teravali, also called the Andhra Paris due to the canals flowing through the city, and also many artists coming from here.

Narasaraopeta- It originally was a villaged called Atluru, got it's name from the local zamindar Rajah Malraju Narasa Rao, who owned most of the land here.

Ongole- It was earlier called as Gundigapuri, after the Gundlakamma rivulet flowing close to it. Later the place was called as Vangavolu after a famous astrologer, which in due course of time was corrupted to Vangolu and later Ongole.

Nellore-Ancient name was Vikrama Simhapuri or Simhapuri, even now it is referred to by that name in some quarters. It's more common name, comes from a Tamil word meaning "Paddy(Nel) place(Ooru)" referring to the lush green paddy fields here.

Kavali- The town functioned as an army garrison during the Vijayanagara period, being close to the sea, it was used as a lookout point for any enemy invasion, hence the name Kavali( Kavala means patrol )

Srikalahasti- One of the Panchabhuta Kshetras, where Shiva is worshipped as Vayu Linga, the place gets it's name from the story that Shiva was worshipped here by a spider( Sri), a snake( Kala) and an elephant( Hasti).

Madanapalle- Town gets it's name from Shri Madanna who founded it in 1618. Another version states that the place was originally called "Maryada Ramanna Puram". Gurudev Tagore translated Jana Gana Mana to English in this town, and also composed the tune for it.

Kadapa- The town was actually called Devuni Gadapa, meaning threshold to God, as it was considered the gateway to Tirumala. Even now many in Rayalaseema region, visit the Venkateswara Swamy temple here, before going to Tirumala.

Proddatur- It's believed that Rama along with Seeta and Lakshmana rested here, on his way back from Lanka. As they got up at dawn(Poddu in Telugu) to resume their journey, the place got it's name.

Kurnool- It was a small settlement, where carts used to stop in ancient times to get their wheels greased, and that gave it's original name Kandenavolu, here Kandena is the word for grease. In course of time, Kandenavolu became Kurnool.

Nandyala- The town's name literally means abode of Nandi, so called due to the Nava Nandi temples surrounding it, the largest being Mahanandi, the others being Sivanandi,Vinayakanandi, Somanandi, Prathamanandi, Garudanandi, Suryanandi, Krishnanandi and Naganandi.

Tadipatri- Famous for the Bugga Ramalingeswara Swamy temple here, was originally called as Tatipalli, later Tatipatri, from the Palm Trees here( Thati is Telugu for Palm). Also called Bhaskara Kshetram in ancient times.

Hindupur gets it's name from a Maratha chieftain Hindu Rao, who founded the settlement.
Kadiri known for it's Narasimha Temple, was previously called as Khadripuram due to the Khadri plants found here.

Dharmavaram famous for it's handlooms, was founded by a chieftain Kriyasakthi Odeyar, who named it after his mother Dharmamba.

Medak- The town was built during the Kakatiya era, also has a huge citadel. It's name comes from Methukudurgam, meaning fort of Cooked rice grains.

Mahbubnagar- Was formerly called as Palamur, it's present name comes from Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad.

Khammam- The place gets it's name from the huge vertical rock on which the Narasimha Swamy temple stands here. The rock was called as Khamba, which means pillar, and the place was initially called "Kambam Mettu" which later got corrupted to Khammam Mettu and later Khammam.

Warangal- It's ancient name was Ekasila Nagaram, meaning the city built on a single stone, and in the local lingo was called as Orugallu( One Stone), which later got corrupted to Warangal).

Adilabad- It gets it's name from the ruler of Bijapur, Md.Adil Shah, was part of the Adil Shahi kingdom for some time.

Nizamabad- It's original name was Indur, take off on Indrapura, as it was founded during reign of Rashtrakuta ruler, Indra III. It was named after the founder of the Asaf Jah dynasty, Nizam-Ul-Mulk.

Karimnagar- It's earlier name was Elagandla, current name is from a local Qiladar, Syed Karimuddin.

Nalgonda- Older name was Nilagiri, name changed to Nalgunda during the Nizam time.

Bhadrachalam or Bhadradri, gets it's name from Rishi Bhadra, son of Mt. Meru who did penace to Vishnu and asked him to reside on his heart. Vishnu granted his request by residing there as Shri Rama.

This is not an exhaustive list, these are some of the well known places in Andhra/Telangana, which I could recall. And thanks for following this long thread patiently.

What's in a name?
Quite a lot actually, the name of any city or town, gives a lot on it's background, history.
This thread is on the names of some well known cities in Andhra/Telangana, and the backdrop.

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What's in a name? Quite a lot actually, the name of any city or town, gives a lot on it's background, history. This thread is on the names of some well known cities in Andhra/Telangana, and the backdrop.

More from All

You May Also Like

What's in a name?
Quite a lot actually, the name of any city or town, gives a lot on it's background, history.
This thread is on the names of some well known cities in Andhra/Telangana, and the backdrop.