Cyprus-Forum.com

[Hristos]

Considering that in Greek it is called LEFKOSIA.. ???????

[Punk Floyd]

Here, in the web page of Dhmos Leykwsias in history (http://www.nicosia.org.cy/D_istoAnadromi.shtm) it explains.

[Hristos]

Thanks. Those damn French people.. how can they turn LEFK into NIC ?

[Punk Floyd]

No idea, but the name sounds like there were many Nikos in Lefkosia and they named it "Nikos"ia

[starfysh]

I wondered this. Lefkosia is the name given to the city when it was first formed in the 3rd Century BC or 300 BC (can't find my source again to confirm date).
Nicosia is the name given to it in the Middle Ages.

[devil]

I wondered this. Lefkosia is the name given to the city when it was first formed in the 3rd Century BC or 300 BC (can't find my source again to confirm date).
Nicosia is the name given to it in the Middle Ages.

I thought the original name was Ledra. Why did the Ptolemaics rename it Lefkoutha? I'm pretty sure Lefkoutha became Lefkosia in the 4th or 5th c AD, Why?

These are rhetorical questions because pretty well all ancient cities have had name changes, some often very major. Cf. Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul or Akte/Aktike/Kekrops/Athens (English language orthography). This is a fact of life.

[OB1]

No idea, but the name sounds like there were many Nikos in Lefkosia and they named it "Nikos"ia

Nice one

[vickyc1973]

All is about to be changed.....Nicosia will take its real name back to lefkosia......you will start to see road signs change as from now really.....limassol will be lemesos paphos will be pafos and Nicosia will be Lefkosia. All sounds good to me!!!

Vicky

[devil]

Why not Ledra, if you wish to go back to history?

As for Pafos, that is pathetic. The Greek Φ has always been transliterated as ph in Latin characters in most languages. It is only in the past decade or two that some stupid decree has changed it to f. But you are perhaps a filosofer with a telefone and a camera to take fotos????? I suppose you prefer Tzon Kenenty to John Kennedy as a street name? It is the height of stupidity to transliterate a Latin character name to Greek and then back into Latin characters. You might as well translate "out of sight, out of mind" into Russian, then back into English, to have "invisible idiot", which is what the functionary who thought this up was. And Larnaca never had a k until recently in French, Venetian or any other invading nation writing in Latin karakters.

[Alexis]

Went to a museum in Nicosia where they said the name came from the early Greek name: "Lefkothea", referred to as the "city of the white gods". The ancient city of Ledra is believed to have been the first city on this site although I don't know for sure where the actual site of Ledra is. I don't think it is exactly beneath the centre of the old city though.

As for Pafos, that is pathetic. The Greek Φ has always been transliterated as ph in Latin characters in most languages. It is only in the past decade or two that some stupid decree has changed it to f. But you are perhaps a filosofer with a telefone and a camera to take fotos????? I suppose you prefer Tzon Kenenty to John Kennedy as a street name? It is the height of stupidity to transliterate a Latin character name to Greek and then back into Latin characters. You might as well translate "out of sight, out of mind" into Russian, then back into English, to have "invisible idiot", which is what the functionary who thought this up was. And Larnaca never had a k until recently in French, Venetian or any other invading nation writing in Latin karakters.

Transliteration is a very subjective, particularly when going from a largely phonetic script to the English script which is much more irregular phonetically. I think the point being made is that we move back to the 'Greek' names such as Lefkosia and Lemesos. Whether these are transliterated in the way I have shown or some other method is irrelevant provided we are consistent with the convention used and it at least makes some sense. Yes, transliterating into Greek and then back to English makes no sense (re your Tzon Kenenty example), but if you are going just one way (as is normally the case) whether something is spelt
Giannis or Yiannis is irrelevant. Admittedly one would be pronounced more correctly by someone who knows English than the other but that is also irrelevant as long as the method is consistent.