Information about a country that names its cities as London (like the capital of England), Poland, and Banana has piqued the curiosity of many.
Kiribati, also known as the Christmas Islands, is a small island nation in the Pacific that has recently become a topic of discussion on social media platform X. Kiribati consists of 33 islands, located in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific, with a population of nearly 129,000 and a total area of approximately 800 km2.
On February 18, the account @KiribatiGov posted a question along with a photo asking how this island nation names its cities. Specifically, the country has cities named Poland, Paris (sharing the name with the capital of France), London (sharing the name with the capital of England), and even a city called Banana. The post attracted over 28 million views and hundreds of comments.
Cities with intriguing names in Kiribati.
“I have never heard of a city named Banana. It’s unbelievable,” one user commented. “Is this city real? It’s so funny; I want to go see it.” Another user shared.
Although the Kiribati government stated that the @KiribatiGov account is not theirs, some speculate that the account operator has ties to the office of President Taneti Maamau. The number of followers on the account surged from a few hundred to 20,000 in a short period, with many expressing a desire to visit this small island nation.
According to AFP, the Kiribati government has reached out to social media platform X to address the issue. Meanwhile, humorous comments about the city names, including Banana, show no signs of stopping.
The Real Meaning Behind the City Names
So, does Kiribati really “lack creativity in naming cities”? According to the New Zealand Herald, before the islands became the Republic of Kiribati, the city of London was named Londres by French priest Emmanuel Rougier. He was the one who bought the island and leased it to the British from 1917 to 1939, naming it to commemorate the island’s connection to Britain. The island was returned to the British in 1929, and Londres was “Anglicized” to London.
Rougier also named another city in Kiribati Paris, in memory of France.
Meanwhile, the city of Poland was named to honor Polish mechanic Stanisław Pełczyński, who greatly assisted in coconut cultivation on the island by helping to build an irrigation system that effectively watered the trees during the dry season.
However, no one truly knows the origin of the name for the city of Banana, even though it seems to be the most intriguing name.
