Map Addicts: a place for the obsessive amateur cartographers amongst us.

[JonM]

5 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Similarly, Tamm for Estonia seems very random. I presume that word maybe means something in Estonian, or at least is a derivative of something because again, I would have ignorantly assumed their names would maybe end in 'ski' as well.

Estonian is similar to Finnish - it's a Baltic language, not a Slavic one. Not as close to each other as say Spanish and Portuguese, but close enough. 

Melnik (Ukraine) and Müller (Germany) are both Miller in English.

[gingerjon]

7 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

 

This is very interesting. There's some names here I'd never have thought would be the most popular in their respective countries, granted ive never met people from a lot of these places but even so.

I found Smirnov particularly interesting for Russia; shows why the vodka is named that I guess, because the maker of it has a bloomin common name in that country!

I notice people in Moldova don't have last names. It surprised me that the name for Macedonia ends with 'ski', I guess I always thought of people from there being linked more with Greece than with the East of Europe.

Similarly, Tamm for Estonia seems very random. I presume that word maybe means something in Estonian, or at least is a derivative of something because again, I would have ignorantly assumed their names would maybe end in 'ski' as well.

Icelandic 'surnames' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_name

[Futtocks]

3 hours ago, JonM said:

Estonian is similar to Finnish - it's a Baltic language, not a Slavic one. Not as close to each other as say Spanish and Portuguese, but close enough. 

Melnik (Ukraine) and Müller (Germany) are both Miller in English.

Hungarian is also related to Finnish, which is a really odd one.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Icelandic 'surnames' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_name

I know how Icelandic surnames work. Mine would be Marksson had I been an Icelandic Goose.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

On 26/07/2024 at 16:06, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I know how Icelandic surnames work. Mine would be Marksson had I been an Icelandic Goose.

Maybe less well known, HG, is that this style of surname was once also used by some families in the far north of Britain.  On my dad's side, my family is from Yell and Fetlar, two of the three most northerly inhabited islands in Shetland (and hence, GB): my dad was the first in his family not born in Shetland; he was Aberdeen born and raised.

There is a strand of my family tree, which begins (ie we have no details of anybody older) in the 16th century with someone called Olaf Nicolson.  We may deduce his father's Christian name was Nicol.  The surname only starts to stay the same from one generation to another in the 19th century, which I think is surprisingly late, when it becomes 'Williamson'.

I think this name practice probably first broke down in Shetland in the 18th century, when, for instance, women give up the practice of adding '-daughter' or '-dochter' to their father's name (whether women chose to do this or were forced to, I don't know)

English is very male chauvanistic in expecting women to have names ending in '-son'.  Not only does the Icelandic approach make a gender distinction, but so too does, for example, Gaelic.  So, for instance, in English, Mary MacIntyre, but in the original Scots Gaelic, Mairi Nic an t-Saoir - 'Mary, daughter of the joiner.'  Any brother she had would, of course, be Mac an t-Saoir.  That gender distinction is still made in Gaelic names.

[Futtocks]

18 minutes ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

Maybe less well known, HG, is that this style of surname was once also used by some families in the far north of Britain.  On my dad's side, my family is from Yell and Fetlar, two of the three most northerly inhabited islands in Shetland (and hence, GB): my dad was the first in his family not born in Shetland; he was Aberdeen born and raised.

There is a strand of my family tree, which begins (ie we have no details of anybody older) in the 16th century with someone called Olaf Nicolson.  We may deduce his father's Christian name was Nicol.  The surname only starts to stay the same from one generation to another in the 19th century, which I think is surprisingly late, when it becomes 'Williamson'.

I think this name practice probably first broke down in Shetland in the 18th century, when, for instance, women give up the practice of adding '-daughter' or '-dochter' to their father's name (whether women chose to do this or were forced to, I don't know)

English is very male chauvanistic in expecting women to have names ending in '-son'.  Not only does the Icelandic approach make a gender distinction, but so too does, for example, Gaelic.  So, for instance, in English, Mary MacIntyre, but in the original Scots Gaelic, Mairi Nic an t-Saoir - 'Mary, daughter of the joiner.'  Any brother she had would, of course, be Mac an t-Saoir.  That gender distinction is still made in Gaelic names.

Is this a long-winded way of saying you played Merlin in the 1981 movie Excalibur?

[The Hallucinating Goose]

56 minutes ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

Maybe less well known, HG, is that this style of surname was once also used by some families in the far north of Britain.  On my dad's side, my family is from Yell and Fetlar, two of the three most northerly inhabited islands in Shetland (and hence, GB): my dad was the first in his family not born in Shetland; he was Aberdeen born and raised.

There is a strand of my family tree, which begins (ie we have no details of anybody older) in the 16th century with someone called Olaf Nicolson.  We may deduce his father's Christian name was Nicol.  The surname only starts to stay the same from one generation to another in the 19th century, which I think is surprisingly late, when it becomes 'Williamson'.

I think this name practice probably first broke down in Shetland in the 18th century, when, for instance, women give up the practice of adding '-daughter' or '-dochter' to their father's name (whether women chose to do this or were forced to, I don't know)

English is very male chauvanistic in expecting women to have names ending in '-son'.  Not only does the Icelandic approach make a gender distinction, but so too does, for example, Gaelic.  So, for instance, in English, Mary MacIntyre, but in the original Scots Gaelic, Mairi Nic an t-Saoir - 'Mary, daughter of the joiner.'  Any brother she had would, of course, be Mac an t-Saoir.  That gender distinction is still made in Gaelic names.

Thanks for that Wiltshire, that was really interesting!

[gingerjon]

11 hours ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

I think this name practice probably first broke down in Shetland in the 18th century, when, for instance, women give up the practice of adding '-daughter' or '-dochter' to their father's name (whether women chose to do this or were forced to, I don't know)

 

Really interesting.

The change probably also fits with a wider belief that Anglicisation (not a word that would have been used at the time but a reflection that the area was becoming more culturally tied to Scotland and the United Kingdom) was more modern and appropriate, alongside the decline in use of the Norn language which would have ended that as an instinctive practice as well.

[Eddie]

Wow, how have I only just found this thread. I always wanted to be a cartographer when I was a kid (once I realised I was nowhere near good enough to be a footballer), with my dream being working for Ordnance Survey, but I couldn’t afford to do the required Masters at Glasgow Uni when I finished my batchelors degree so that was that. Maps are ace. 

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

7 hours ago, Eddie said:

Wow, how have I only just found this thread. I always wanted to be a cartographer when I was a kid (once I realised I was nowhere near good enough to be a footballer), with my dream being working for Ordnance Survey, but I couldn’t afford to do the required Masters at Glasgow Uni when I finished my batchelors degree so that was that. Maps are ace. 

Its never too late, Eddie...

Careers | Ordnance Survey

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Wiltshire Warrior Dragon said:

Its never too late, Eddie...

Careers | Ordnance Survey

Thanks mate, though I fear it’s a bit late for a career change, and I’d be hard pressed to persuade my family to move to Southampton! 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Yep, that's about right!

If you scroll down in the comments, someone has posted an American version of this as well.

[Bedford Roughyed]

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

13 minutes ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

 

Fantastic collection of maps. I've seen quite a few of these before but there was plenty of new ones as well. Really fascinating!

[Futtocks]

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Another interesting map thread, all maps of Europe. 

Something that really surprised me here was the % of people with university degrees and how low it is in Germany, compared to how high I presumed it would be, and compared to France and Spain.

What didn't surprise me is that we are the country with the highest % of people that don't speak another language. 

[Phil]

On 10/07/2024 at 23:05, Bedford Roughyed said:

I’m going right out on a limb and saying there are no wolves in Iceland 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

A very interesting map showing political control of every little bit of Africa.

[Tommygilf]

On 26/07/2024 at 07:05, The Hallucinating Goose said:

 

This is very interesting. There's some names here I'd never have thought would be the most popular in their respective countries, granted ive never met people from a lot of these places but even so.

I found Smirnov particularly interesting for Russia; shows why the vodka is named that I guess, because the maker of it has a bloomin common name in that country!

I notice people in Moldova don't have last names. It surprised me that the name for Macedonia ends with 'ski', I guess I always thought of people from there being linked more with Greece than with the East of Europe.

Similarly, Tamm for Estonia seems very random. I presume that word maybe means something in Estonian, or at least is a derivative of something because again, I would have ignorantly assumed their names would maybe end in 'ski' as well.

Macedonia, or more accurately North Macedonia, is a nation populated largely by South Slavic people's (mainly Macedonian/Bulgars and Albanians). The slavic migrations down to the Balkans in the early Middle Ages changed the landscape of the population there drastically.

The name "Macedonia" has caused controversy as, just as you describe, it evokes more of a Greek connection than a Yugoslav. Greece has seen the name as controversial for years as a threat to take over their region Macedonia, and as a cultural hijacking of the most famous Greek, Alexander the Great.

They compromised on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for years since the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Now they have agreed on North Macedonia for a few years.

It's a curious case of a migratory group adopting an existing name of a region rather than making it their own. It would be a bit like the Franks calling their country Gaul. Perhaps the best example now is Britain? As the Anglo Saxons have returned to the pre invasion name for the territory.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Want a cheap beer? Then head to Kyiv or Minsk!

[The Hallucinating Goose]

 

[CrushersForever]

[The Hallucinating Goose]

 

The number of skyscrapers in each US state. The map is classifying skyscrapers as buildings over 500ft. 

267 in New York state is crazy, especially considering the vast majority of them will be just on Manhatten Island.

There's less in California than I would have guessed given you have 3 major cities in San Francisco, LA and San Diego. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Two of my favourite things in the world are pussy cats and maps so this is one of the greatest things I've ever seen!

[gingerjon]

A fun video for border enthusiasts - in particular the bit about the Belgian border that runs through Germany for reasons that no longer mean anything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vennbahn

Edited September 9 by gingerjon