12/04/2025
Cameroon
Origin of the names of our 10 regional capitals
The country's name is derived from Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”)—the name given to the Wouri River estuary by Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. Camarões was also used to designate the river's neighbouring mountains.
*BAFOUSSAM*
In the local language, Bafoussam is spelled "Pe foussan" or "Pe fussep" ("the people of Foussan/Fussep"). The "Pe" evolved into "Ba" under colonial influence, giving Bafoussam.
Another version attributes the origin of the name to the commercial astuteness of the people. Bafoussam is said to derive from Fuh Sep ("retailing is more profitable than wholesaling"). Fuh ("measure") and Sep ("profit") evoke the ancestral practice of selling in small quantities using baskets. The term Pefuhssap ("those who have discovered the treasure in retailing") would thus have been deformed into Bafoussam.
*BAMENDA*
A German name for the people of Mendakwe whom they called Bamendakwe. As their settlement grew into a town it became known as Bamenda; the German fort was called Bamunda. The city is also known as Abakwa. The name Bamenda comes from the Menda ethnic group of “Mendakwe”, preceded by the prefix "Ba" ("people of"). Literally, Bamenda means "the people of Menda". The town traces its roots back to the settlement of the Tikar in the XVIIIᵉ century, later integrated into the Bamoun kingdom.
*BERTOUA*
Bertoua takes its name from the Mbartoua gbaya king, killed in 1903 during conflicts with German settlers. Mbartoua means "a rock too big to fit into a house" in Gbaya, an allusion to the sovereign's imposing stature. The Germans simplified the name to Bertoua.
*BUEA*
Founded by the hunter Eeye Njié (Bomboko tribe), the town was originally called Ligbea, then Gbea. Under German rule, the name evolved into Buéa - a Germanized pronunciation of Gbea - and was retained by the French.
*DOUALA*
According to Ebélé Wei (Paradis tabou), the current name dates back to 1578, when the founder Ewalé christened the territory Madu M'Ewalé ("the mouth of Ewalé"). Simplified to Madumwalé, then Dul'Ewalé, it became Duala after an alteration of the genitive Duwal'A Mbedi. The Germans made Douala official in 1901.
*EBOLOWA*
The name Ebolowa comes from the Bulu "Ebolowo'o" ("rotten chimpanzee"). A hunter, Zanga Mba, discovered a decomposing chimpanzee and called the animal "Ebolowo'o ji" ("here comes the rotten chimpanzee"). Misunderstood by German soldiers, the expression became Ebolo wa a, then Ebolowa.
*GAROUA*
The Bata named the valley Gwa-Rwe ("valley of the Rwe trees"), in reference to the sausage trees (trees with elongated fruit). The Peuls pronounced it Ga-Rwa, transcribed Garoua by the French. The first village founded in the area was Garoua-Windé, located downstream from the present-day town.
*MAROUA*
Gradually occupied by the Mofu, Guiziga and later the Peulh, the town takes its name from the Marwa community (pronounced Marva in Guiziga), the first to settle here. The French transformed Marwa into Maroua after the Germans left.
*NGAOUNDÉRÉ*
In the M'boum language, Ngaoundéré means "navel-mountain" (Ngaou = mountain; Ndéré = navel). The name refers to a rounded rock on a mountain, symbolizing the "navel" of Adamaoua.
*YAOUNDÉ*
Before colonization, the town was called Ongola ("fence" in Ewondo). Another origin is Owondo ("peanut"), linked to a legend according to which the Ewondo arrived on a giant snake via the Sanaga River. The name evolved into Yewondo, then Yaoundé under German influence.
