Ho Chi Minh City has 21 urban and rural districts and 1 municipal city. Among them, 10 are numbered and 12 are named. This article lists the etymologies of the names of districts and municipal city in Ho Chi Minh City.
Municipal city Name Language of origin Literal translation Meaning and notes Thủ Đức Sino-Vietnamese Đức the Guard Named after the title of Tạ Dương Minh, a settler in the Nguyen dynasty and the founder of a market of his name. The first time the name was used to refer to the land was on October 9, 1868.
Urban districts Name Language of origin Literal translation Meaning and notes Bình Tân Sino-Vietnamese Peaceful New Named after Bình Hưng Hòa, Bình Trị Đông and Tân Tạo, the three communes formerly in Bình Chánh District, from which Bình Tân District was formed in 2003.
The old Bình Tân District that existed from 1956 to 1972 was merged from and named after Tân Bình and northern Bình Chánh. Bình Thạnh Sino-Vietnamese Peaceful and Prosperous Named after the two former districts of Bình Hòa and Thạnh Mỹ Tây, which were merged into the new Bình Thạnh in June 1976. Gò Vấp Vietnamese Mound of Vấp Named after "vấp" tree (Mesua ferrea), which used to be abundant in the area. Phú Nhuận Sino-Vietnamese Wealth Enriches Originally the name of a village in the era of Gia Long and Minh Mạng and shortened from the idiom "Phú nhuận ốc, đức nhuận thân" (Wealth enriches your house, but virtues enrich yourself). Tân Bình Sino-Vietnamese New Peaceful Named after the old Tân Bình Prefecture, which was created and named by Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh in 1698 after his own home Quảng Bình province, which in turn means "Vast and Peaceful". Tân Phú Sino-Vietnamese New Wealthy Originally the name of a commune in Tân Bình District, which was split from Tân Sơn Nhì Commune and Phú Thọ Hòa Commune. The district itself was split from Tân Bình District in 2003.
Rural districts Name Language of origin Literal translation Meaning and notes Bình Chánh Sino-Vietnamese Peaceful and Upright Named after Bình Chánh Commune, which was the capital of the district. Cần Giờ Khmer According to Trương Vĩnh Ký, Cần Giờ is a twisted transliteration of Khmer word "Kanchoeu", meaning "the basket", as the local people often used basket boats to commute. Củ Chi Vietnamese Strychnine tree Named after "củ chi" tree (Strychnos nux-vomica). Hóc Môn Vietnamese Rivulet of Taro Hóc means "rivulet", Môn means "water taro" (Colocasia esculenta), a kind of aquatic plant used to fill the place. Nhà Bè Vietnamese Houseboat According to the legends collected in Địa chí Đồng Nai, Gia Định thành thông chí and Biên Hòa Sử lược toàn biên, in the 18th century, there was a corrupted official named Võ Hữu Hoằng who then had a change of heart after visiting hell and generously spent his wealth to help people, including creating a large houseboat as a rest stop on nowadays Nhà Bè River.
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