Etymology of Pashtun/Pashto place names

[Sarbani]

There is very scarce information regarding the etymology of most Pashtun place names.

I was able to find the etymology (or proposed etymology) of some Pashtun place names such as Peshawar, Kandahar, Quetta, Kabul, Nimroz and those named after tribes (e.g. Waziristan, Orakzai, Wardak), but not any other ones.

Does anyone have any information on the etymology of other Pashtun/Pashto place names? For example, the etymology of Paktia, Paktika, Swabi, Mardan, Swat, Kunar, Zhob, Khyber, etc. If so, share them on this thread.

[Nurzai]

There is very scarce information regarding the etymology of most Pashtun place names.

I was able to find the etymology (or proposed etymology) of some Pashtun place names such as Peshawar, Kandahar, Quetta, Kabul, Nimroz and those named after tribes (e.g. Waziristan, Orakzai, Wardak), but not any other ones.

Does anyone have any information on the etymology of other Pashtun/Pashto place names? For example, the etymology of Paktia, Paktika, Swabi, Mardan, Swat, Kunar, Zhob, Khyber, etc. If so, share them on this thread.

I don't any other than kabul use to be called zabul . Why ? Because it was where the tribe of zabulon first set their territory . Kabul is the golden point location geographically for business around many countries (Silk Road and all that business) This is why the tribe of business (zabulon) chose zabul a the business capital .

[Sarbani]

I don't any other than kabul use to be called zabul . Why ? Because it was where the tribe of zabulon first set their territory . Kabul is the golden point location geographically for business around many countries (Silk Road and all that business) This is why the tribe of business (zabulon) chose zabul a the business capital .

Man, stop trolling.

It comes from the Ottoman Turkish word قبول, which is ultimately of Arabic origin.

[maneatinglizard]

I can imagine that the name "Paktia" may have come from the Paktues mentioned by Herodotus, but I think they were supposed to have lived nearer to the Indus so it's doubtful. Plus, he called them Indians.

This is a personal theory so subject it to scrutiny, but I think Kunar may be the Karran mentioned in old geographic works on Khorasan, and one is a corruption of the other.

[salman47]

I can imagine that the name "Paktia" may have come from the Paktues mentioned by Herodotus, but I think they were supposed to have lived nearer to the Indus so it's doubtful. Plus, he called them Indians.

This is a personal theory so subject it to scrutiny, but I think Kunar may be the Karran mentioned in old geographic works on Khorasan, and one is a corruption of the other.

If we go the 'Iranic->East Iranic->Pashtun' route, then I think there were no Iranic People living in the area of Pashtunistan at that time...
The theory of Parthian tribes=Pashtun tribes, makes more sense because both of them have pretty similar features!

[kunatawar]

could you expand on the ones you do know the etymology of?

samandri has posted info on certain regions and their names on his facebook (i remember lakki marwat and bannu among some other places)

and i might be wrong but i think mardan is just the farsi form of the sanskrit name of the peshawar region

[Nurzai]

Man, stop trolling.

It comes from the Ottoman Turkish word قبول, which is ultimately of Arabic origin.

I was just guessing but I'm probably right anyways

[Sarbani]

could you expand on the ones you do know the etymology of?

• Peshawar - From Sanskrit Puruṣapura which means "city of men".

• Kabul - From Ottoman Turkish قبول, originally from Arabic قَبُول which means "acceptance/reception/welcome"

• Quetta - A variation of Kot, a Pashto word meaning "fortress".

• Kandahar - From Sikander ("Alexander") as it was founded by him.

• Nimroz - Persian form of Nim + wredz ("half-day").

samandri has posted info on certain regions and their names on his facebook (i remember lakki marwat and bannu among some other places)

Do you have a link to his Facebook? (Assuming he doesn't mind you sharing that)

and i might be wrong but i think mardan is just the farsi form of the sanskrit name of the peshawar region

Peshawer in Sanskrit was Puruṣapura so there's no way that is true.

[Sarbani]

I can imagine that the name "Paktia" may have come from the Paktues mentioned by Herodotus, but I think they were supposed to have lived nearer to the Indus so it's doubtful. Plus, he called them Indians.

This is a personal theory so subject it to scrutiny, but I think Kunar may be the Karran mentioned in old geographic works on Khorasan, and one is a corruption of the other.

Paktyans were Iranics not Indics. I think the most likely explanation for Paktia's etymology is that it came from the Paktyans. Either that or the Paktyans were named after Paktya. The -yan in Pashto signifies a plural (e.g. Punjabyan) so I think their original name was 'Pakt' and then the name in Western sources became 'Paktyan' based on what they called themselves in their language, which likely had the same plural as Pashto.

The Kunar one seems highly unlikely.

I found this on Kunar's Wikipedia page:

Names vary greatly, with Kunar sometimes being called Kama, or Kashkote, and the capital being listed as "Pashoot", which is not on modern maps.

[maneatinglizard]

Paktyans were Iranics not Indics.

According to whom? Herodotus (the only source we have of their existence, as far as I am aware) calls them Indians:

Other Indians dwell near the town of Caspatyrus and the Pactyic country, north of the rest of India; these live like the Bactrians; they are of all Indians the most warlike, and it is they who are sent for the gold; for in these parts all is desolate because of the sand.

Herodotus,
The Histories,
Book 3, chapter 12, section 1

Herodotus gets a lot of things wrong, and relies on a lot of obviously bogus hearsay (he claims Indians had black semen lol), so I wouldn't be surprised if he was just wrong, but we don't have any evidence that they were Iranic.

One thing I got wrong was the location, as it does seem he's referring to somewhere in Afghanistan, not near the Indus as I had originally thought. However, Paktia is not a desert.

I think the most likely explanation for Paktia's etymology is that it came from the Paktyans. Either that or the Paktyans were named after Paktya.

It's certainly possible, and if you assume that Herodotus got the details wrong, the location seems to fit. Still, the fact that later Islamic geographic works don't mention the name seems odd. I'd like to find the earliest mention of Paktia after Herodotus, and see if any other names were used prior to the modern one.

The -yan in Pashto signifies a plural (e.g. Punjabyan) so I think their original name was 'Pakt' and then the name in Western sources became 'Paktyan' based on what they called themselves in their language, which likely had the same plural as Pashto.

I'm pretty sure "Pactyan" is just an English translation of "Paktues." So like "American" or "Canadian" rather than the Pashto "Punjabiyan." We'd need someone familiar with Ancient Greek to clarify it, but many sources refer to the land as "Paktuike" and the people as "Paktues," so I assume those are what are used in the original Greek work.

The Kunar one seems highly unlikely.

I found this on Kunar's Wikipedia page:

As I said, it was a guess based on very preliminary research. I looked a little deeper into it, and found out that the southernmost district of Badakhshan is called "Kuran wa Munjan," so that's probably what was being referred to in the old Arabic texts. At least I got the general area right though lol.

That Wikipedia text is un-sourced, and at least "Kashkote" seems to refer to a river that runs through Kunar.

By the way, I doubt that etymology of Kabul is correct. The name is mentioned in its current form as early back as the 800's AD (possibly earlier too, I haven't checked anything earlier than that), and it's unlikely the Turks had been significantly influenced by Arabic by then.

[Nekrofrost]

Donno about other places but i can guess for nowkhaar(nowshera) that it probably means new city in farsi.

[Nurzai]

• Peshawar - From Sanskrit Puruṣapura which means "city of men".

• Kabul - From Ottoman Turkish قبول, originally from Arabic قَبُول which means "acceptance/reception/welcome"

• Quetta - A variation of Kot, a Pashto word meaning "fortress".

• Kandahar - From Sikander ("Alexander") as it was founded by him.

• Nimroz - Persian form of Nim + wredz ("half-day").






Peshawer in Sanskrit was Puruṣapura so there's no way that is true.

"Logar" comes from the Jewish name "Luger" or "Luther"

[Sarbani]

"Logar" comes from the Jewish name "Luger" or "Luther"

Get a life, you're not funny.

[Nurzai]

Get a life, you're not funny.

Im serious there's solid basis for that (I think) ...

[salman47]

"Logar" comes from the Jewish name "Luger" or "Luther"

Everyone here knows what 'Logar' means except you!