Atlas of true names and Strange Maps

In one of the "weekly science report" emails I got, there was a title that interested me very much in following the respective link to read more about it. The title of the article was "How 'Britain' got its name from 'Great Land of the Tattooed': The astonishing map that reveals the origins of place names"!!! When I clicked on the link, it turned out to be a short article in the Daily Mail online of the UK. This article further stoked my curiosity and I Google searched for Atlas of true names.

Atlas of true names is published by Kalimedia, UK in two versions, a map of Europe and that of the world. According to their own website, "The Atlas of True Names reveals the etymological roots, or original meanings,of the familiar terms on today's maps of the World and Europe..........The 'True Names' of 1500 cities, countries, rivers, oceans and mountain ranges are displayed on these two fascinating maps,each of which includes a comprehensive index of derivations..........For the first time, the Atlas of True Names uses etymology to give us an unusual insight into familiar geographical names – with intriguing results......" Some of the press reviews opine that the "true names" seem to belong to the Middle Earth of the LOTR.

While on the trail of this interesting atlas, I came across a very unusual blog, Strange Maps, that seems to deal with not just strangely interesting maps but also various objects that resemble a particular country. It looks like a "collection" website where people email the blogger with all sorts of interesting map-related information and images and then the blogger puts them on his/her blog. The Atlas of true names of course finds place on this blog but so does a map of West Virginia showing the sections by preferred hot dog topping, a map of Ciudad Evita that proves it was planned and built to resemble the profile of then Argentinian president's wife and a pre-Civil war map of "horizontal" New Mexico.

Interesting maps indeed!