Goa
Kon: गोंय gōyā
‘Land of the Cowherds’
From Skt: gō, ‘cow’, ‘cattle’
The Goa and Konkan region appears in the Mahabharata epic under a variety of names: Goparashtra, Gomantak or Govarashtra; and it was also commonly known as Gōwa/Gōva. The syllable gō is common to all these and suggests a ‘nation’ or ‘region’ of ‘cowherds’, perhaps indicating that it had been settled early on by pastoral tribes.
Two other, less likely, derivations have been suggested: (1) Kon: goy(an), ‘(patch of) tall grass’ or (2) goemoat, ‘fertile or refreshing land’ – this is suggested by the Portuguese historian Diogo do Couto (1542-1616) but, unfortunately, without specifying the language or citing any evidence.
Goa was a Portuguese colony from 1510, when Afonso de Albuquerque seized it from the Bijapur Sulatanate, to Independence in 1961. The Portuguese influence is noticeable in many aspects of Goan life: religion, language, food, and architecture. Just over one-quarter of the population is Christian and there are hundreds of churches across the state; the churches and convents in Old Goa even have UNESCO World Heritage status.
Goa is India’s richest but smallest state. It is nicknamed the ‘Land of Surf, Sea and Sun’, three reasons for its annual haul of two million tourists.
Its place names show four key influences: Konkani, a Western coast Indo-European language spoken in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka; Marathi, an Indo-European language spoken in Maharashtra, its northern neighbour; Kannada, a Dravidian language spoken in Karnataka which shares Goa’s southern and eastern borders; and Portuguese, the colonial language which has peppered the original local place names with its own pronunciation, spellings, and proper names.

Aguada (Goa)
Kon: अग्वाद agvād ‘Water Fort’ Castle, Goa. From Por: aguada, ‘(acquisition...
Anjuna (Goa)
Kon: हणजुणें haṇajuṇēṁ ‘Merchant Guild’ - Town/Beach, Goa From Kan/Tel:...
Bardez (Goa)
Kon: बार्देस bārḍēs ‘Twelve Regions’ - Taluk/Sub-district, Goa From Hin/Mar:...
Benaulim (Goa)
Kon: बेनौलिम benaulim ‘Forest Village’ Village/Beach, Goa From Kan:...
Bicholim (Goa)
Kon: बिचोलिम bicholim ‘Bright Village’ [Dicholi] Town, Goa From Skt:...
Calangute (Goa)
Kon: कळंगुट kaḷaṅguṭ ‘Kali Temple’ Town, Goa From Kali and Kan: guḍi,...
Canacona (Goa)
Kon: काणकोण kāṇkŏṇ ‘Forest Corner’ [Kadkona] City/Taluk, Goa From Kan: kāḍu,...
Candolim (Goa)
Kon: कांदोळी kāndōḷī ‘Dyke Village’ Town, Goa From Mar: kāṇḍōḷī,...
Cuncolim (Goa)
Kon: कुंकळी kuṅkaḷī ‘Saffron Village’ [Punyabhumi] City, Goa From Skt:...
Curchorem (Goa)
Kon: कुडचडे kuḍac(h)aḍē ‘Farmer’s Forest’ [Kudchade] -Town From Kan:...
Loutolim (Goa)
Kon: लौतोलिम lautolim 'Sedge Grass Lake' - Village From Kon: lovo/loyo, 'sedge...
Mapusa (Goa)
Kon: म्हापशें mhāpaśēna ‘Large Land Grant’ [Mahapasaita] - Town/Capital From...
Margao/Madgaon (Goa)
Kon: मडगाव maḍagāva ‘Monastery Village’ [Maṭhagrāma, Madgao(n)] -City/Capital...
Moira (Goa)
Kon: मोइर mo'ir ‘Peacock (Village)’ - Village From Skt/Mar: mayūra, ‘peacock’....
Mormugao (Goa)
Kon: मोरमुगाव mōramugāva ‘Peacock Village’ - City and Sub-district. From...
Panaji (Goa)
Kon: पणजी paṇajī ‘Five Creeks’ [Nova Goa, Pahajani kali, Pangim, Panjim]...
Pernem (Goa)
Kon: परनेम paranem ‘Foundation’ – Town and Sub-district From Mar: pēraṇēm,...
Querim/Keri (Goa)
Kon: कुएरिम kuerim ‘Street’ (Keri) From Kan: kēri, ‘street’, ‘lane’. Querim...
Sancoale (Goa)
Kon: सांकौले saṅkaulē 'Shell Village' - Town From Mar: śaṅkha, ‘conch or other...
Sanguem (Goa)
Kon: संगेम saṅgēma ‘Confluence’ [Sangampura/Sangam] - City From Mar/Skt:...
Sanquelim (Goa)
Kon: संकुएलिम sankuelim ‘Conch Village’ [Sankhali] From Mar: śaṅkha, ‘conch...
Siolim (Goa)
‘Shiva Village’ From S(h)iva or Skt: siṃha, 'lion'; and Kan: halli/valli →oli,...
Soccoro (Goa)
'(Our Lady of) Succour' From Por: soccoro, 'succour', 'help'. The Nossa...
Taleigão (Goa)
Kon: तालेइगाओ tālē'igāō 'Tank Village' From Kon: taḷeñ, ‘small tank’, ‘lake’;...
Tiracol (Goa)
Kon: तेरेखोल tērēkhōla ‘Steep Bank’ [Terekhol] From Mar: tīra, ‘bank’; and...
Tiswadi (Goa)
Kon: तिसवाडी tisavāḍī ‘Thirty Settlements’ - Tehsil/Taluka/Sub-district From...
Vagator (Goa)
Kon: वगाटर vagātar ‘Tiger Spring’ From Mar: vāgha, ‘tiger’ [Hin: bāgh]; and...
Valpoi (Goa)
Kon: वाळपोई vāḷapōī ‘Brook Village’ From Mar: vhāḷa, ‘rivulet’, ‘brook’,...
Vasco da Gama (Goa)
Vasco da Gama is the HQ, city and capital of Mormugão taluka and sits on the...