Where do seas get names from? I want to name some in my story but... I just can't come up with the names. I mean, where did the name Dead Sea came from? And I'm only guessing, but does the Atlantic Sea gets its name from the fable city of Atlantis?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Dead Sea gets its name due to the fact it's so salty, it is very hard for plants and animals to survive in it.
There isn't any one way that seas get their names. I can give examples. The Yellow Sea was named because the yellow river empties into it. The Mediterranean Sea is named that because the Romans considered it the center of the world ("middle of earth"). The Dead Sea gets its name from the high salt content. The high concentration of salt prevents anything from living in the sea, hence the name Dead Sea. And I assume you mean the Atlantic Ocean? That was named after Atlas from Greek myth. As you can see, names of bodies of water have multiple sources.
Ha ha, oops! In spanish is more commonly called 'Mar Atlantico' (Atlantic Sea), altough you are right, its correct name is 'Oceano Atlantico'. Thank you!
all you have to do is look up the sea/ocean in the dictionary and you'll find the origin of the name...
As everyone has already stated, many sources for the many names. Same with countries. America was named after Amerigo Vespucci. Citizens of the US could have easily been citizens of the United States of Vespuccia.
I heard the Pacific Ocean was named after mammamaia...originally it was called the Pacifist Oceanus...just before Pangea split and the Atlantic was formed in the growing crack between the new land masses. And here paleontologists think "Lucy" was the first human being! (Please don't hurt me maia...just funnin!)
The mediterranean sea is known as the 'white/bright sea' in Turkish. It counterbalances the 'black/dark sea' above the country to the north. I like the symmetry!
madhoca brings up a good point. Sometimes places have different names for different groups of people.
What if you name your oceans after the explorers who discovered them? That way you can have free reign as to their names.
It doesn't happen that way very often. Oceans are generally known from the outset, or at least so far back that the discoverer is unknown. Civilization tends to develop along shorelines. Threr are some exceptions. Hudson Bay is an inland sea discovered by Henry Hudson. But it is exceptional that a sea of any significant size is surrounded by such sparsely populated shores.
it's a darn good thing you're not within reaching distance and that i'm truly a pacifist, salty! [j/k... that was middlin' funny]
Well, all in all, seas/oceans/whatnot are usually named due to their surrounding area, colour, founder or myth of some sort. All the main seas seem to have been explained except for the red sea, which I do believe is named to due the red rock that surrounds most of it and so colours the water, red. Oh, and Wreybeis the american name is actually a disapproved myth that is, in fact, false. I forget the reason, but I seem to recall it had something to do with a welshman (was on QI ... a reputable source xD)
The Southern Ocean wasn't properly defined until the year 2000, and it's name and boundary were decided by a multinational survey.
