Did you ever wonder how Pattaya, Bangkok, and other cities, towns, and islands in Thailand got their names, and what they mean? Place names in Thailand almost always translate to something descriptive. It might be based on a physical characteristic or appearance, a landmark or prominent feature, or even local flora and fauna. In the case of Pattaya, for example, the name translates to a weather condition.
Thailand Place Name Meanings
Here is a list (below) of some popular towns, cities, and islands in Thailand and what their names mean. Amongst them is the longest place name in the world, Bangkok. Just for fun, I’ve also added some other strange, long, weird, and wonderful place names.
Pattaya
Pattaya means “wind blowing from the southwest.” You may have seen it spelled as Phatthaya, and just for the record, according to Wikipedia, “Phatthaya” is the official transliteration.
However, a little bit of history occurred before Pattaya became known as Pattaya. In 1767, while en route to Ayutthaya, Phraya Tak (King Taksin) and his army confronted the army of Nai Klom, who surrendered without a fight, and he and his men joined with Phraya Tak. The place then became known as “Thap Phraya” (Army of the Phraya). At some point in history, Thap Phraya was renamed Phatthaya, now commonly known as Pattaya.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattaya
Bangkok
It is not exactly clear what Bangkok means, except that it possibly derives from ‘Bang,’ meaning village on a stream, and ‘kok,’ possibly derived from ko or koh, the Thai word for island, or shortened from ‘makok, a locally grown fruit. To find the true meaning of Bangkok, you must use the Thai name for Bangkok, which is Krung Thep.
What does Krung Thep mean?
Thailand’s capital city, known as Bangkok to foreigners but Krung Thep to Thais, translates to City of Angels. But there’s even more to it than that. Krung Thep is shortened from Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, which in turn is much shortened from the original complete version, which happens to be the longest place name in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records).
The full name of Bangkok (Krung Thep)
In Thai script: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์
Romanization: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit
And that translates to:
The city of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the Nine Gems, seat of the King, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra’s behest.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok
More Thailand City and Island Meanings
- Phuket means “Hill/Mountain” and derives from the Malay word “bukit,” meaning hill or mountain
- Naklua means “Salt Fields”
- Chiang Mai means “New City”
- Hua Hin means “Stone Head”
- Chonburi means “City of Water”
- Buriram means “City of Joy/Happiness”
- Udon Thani means “The Northern City”
- Surat Thani means “City of Good People”
- Koh Tao means “Turtle Island”
- Koh Chang means “Elephant Island”
- Singburi means “City of Lions”
Local Place Names and Their Meanings
Within Thailand’s cities, too, everything from roads to buildings, and public parks to beaches, can take on names for a variety of reasons.
Here are a few examples of place names in Pattaya:
Soi Buakhao translates to White Lotus Street, with soi meaning street or side street, bua meaning lotus, and khao meaning white. Note that khao has many different meanings in Thai language, depending on the tone.
Soi 13/2 on Pattaya Beach Road is also known as Soi Post Office after the long-standing post office there.
Soi 13/1 is known as Soi Yamato after a long-established Japanese restaurant on the street.
Pattaya Fitness Park is officially named Chaloem Phrakiat Park, with “Chaloem Phrakiat” roughly translating to “to honor the king.”
Wongamat Beach takes its name from Boonwong Amatayakul, who opened the first hotel on the beach in the 1960s. The then-named Wong Amat Hotel is now the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort.