The toponymy of Maghreb is the product of ancient civilizations, invasions, and migrations of multiple peoples of different origins and languages, recorded primarily via Berber, Arabic, Spanish, and French traditions, but also certain influence of Phoenicians, Ancient Greeks, and the Ancient Rome. The recorded names were often distorted due to imperfection of medieval recording the pronunciation of Berber toponyms by Arabs and further by inadequacy of the records of French colonial administration of the territories of Maghreb (Tunisia, Lybia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauretania). The transcription of the names is also aggravated by a variety of local spoken dialects.André Basset, "Sur la toponymie berbere et spécialement sur la toponymie des Ait Frah." Onomastica 2, no. 2 (1948), pp. 123-126. All these problems have been known since as early as the 11th century, and they still have to be handled by modern researchers and cartographers seeking standardization of toponymy.Bogusław R. Zagórski, IBN KHALDUN'S HISTORY AS A SOURCE BOOK OF MAGHREBIAN TOPONYMY
The 14th-century Arabic scholar Ibn Khaldun recorded over 1,000 toponyms of Maghreb in his Kitāb al-ʻIbar.
In the toponymy of Maghreb, Mohamed Meouak singles out three linguistic factors: hybrid toponyms (Arabic-Berber), "cross-bred" anthroponyms used in place names, and the interactions between Islamic and Christian topographies.Mohamed Meouak, Place-names and personal names in medieval Maghreb: some observations on Arabic and Berber in contact Arabic influence may be classified into replacement of Berber toponymy with Arabic and the Arabization of Berber names.
The issue is also pertinent to atlases of Maghreb in other countries, e.g., in Hungary.Malak Alasli, Maghrebian toponym variants in Hungarian school atlases, GEODÉZIA ÉS KARTOGRÁFIA 2021/3 (issue 73) Table + Toponyms of settlements in the Maghreb Settlement Country Historical forms and Names MeaningTetouanMoroccoTitawin; Tetteguin Eyes in Berber Languages, plural form of "tiṭṭ" .RabatMoroccoRibāṭFortified monastery; ribāṭ refers to a fortified religious establishment or frontier outpost. Beni MellalMoroccoBeni is derived from the Arabic Bani meaning "Sons of" which corresponds to the Berber Ait, Ath and At.https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EI1O/SIM-0480.xml Mellal comes from the Berber root M-L-L meaning white.AlgiersAlgeriaIcosiumThe Arabic name al-Jazāʾir (الجزائر), means 'the Islands'.TripolisLibya Ṭarābulus al-Gharb; OeaFrom Greek, meaning three cities.
See also Glossary of Arabic toponyms List of Arabic place names
References
Further reading Mohamed MAROUANE, Daouia LAABOUDI, Interference of Amazigh naming patterns in the Arabic toponymy in Morocco: The case of village names, The International Journal of Arabic Linguistics (IJAL) Vol. 4 (2018) Issue 1 (special) (pp. 163–189) Miguel Ángel Manzano, Diego Melo Carrasco, "Filología y humanidades digitales: un repertorio toponímico del Magreb", Estudios filológicos, no.68 Valdivia Dec. 2021, Helena de Felipe. "Berbers in the Maghreb and al-Andalus: Settlements and Toponymy." The Maghreb Review 18, nos. 1-2 (1993), pp. 57-62