When Oliver was a baby, just learning how to talk, I remember reading in a parenting book that young kids find it confusing when you give them more than one name for an object.

I’ve no idea whether this is true or not, and we certainly paid it no heed. But it certainly is confusing for me. Especially where place names are concerned.

I remember the first time I saw Canada rendered in German as Kanada: it didn’t make any sense to me, any more sense than someone in France calling me Pierre. To my mind, a name is a name is a name.

But the world doesn’t agree with me, and so places have different names in different languages.

And, besides, where exactly to I get off, referring to Deutschland as Germany and Sverige as Sweden. I’m so Anglocentric.

So I must acclimate and broaden my mind. Here, for example, are the many names for Charlottetown, taken from Geonames alternatenames field:

• Baile Shearlot
• Baile Sheàrlot
• Carlotauno
• Carolinapolis
• Sarlotetaunas
• Sarlottaoun
• Sarlottaun
• Sharlottaun
• Sharluttaun
• carlattavun
• saralatata’una
• sharottotaun
• syalleostaun
• tsharlwt tawn
• xia luo te dun
• Ĉarlotaŭno
• Şarlottaun
• Šarlotetaunas
• Σάρλοτταουν
• Шарлоттаун
• Шарлъттаун
• שרלוטטאון
• تشارلوت تاون
• شارلوت‌تاون
• شارلٹٹاؤن
• ਸ਼ਾਰਲਟਟਾਊਨ
• சார்லட்டவுன்
• შარლოტტაუნი
• シャーロットタウン
• 夏洛特顿
• 샬럿타운

Can we agree that the Latin Carolinapolis is an awesome name? I think we should consider changing.

Did you know, by the way, that there’s a Wikipedia in Latin. Except it’s called Vicipaedia.