Aboriginal House Names

Graham Gould in his book ‘House Names of Australia’ says ‘Studies have shown that before white settlement in Australia, there were some 300,000 Aborigines forming as many as 700 tribal groups. There have been many reports regarding the original number of Aboriginal languages. Figures range from 200 to in excess of 500. Now there are probably less than 150 languages currently in use and approximately 100 of these are facing extinction as the last of their elderly speakers dies.

‘Before European settlement, Australia appeared to be divided into sections. The northern half of the country with three major sectors was divided from the lower part which had considerably more sectors. In each of the sections were dozens of tribes with as many languages. There were, however, many similarities between the languages and individual words were often used in several of them. Translations by explorers and settlers were often quite liberal. Words were spelt as they sounded.

‘The following list of Aboriginal words is only a selection of possible house names. In this list you will notice several Aboriginal words with the same English translation. For example, the words Attunga, Binalong, Coolongolook, Coolongatta, Croajingalong, Ckoonwarra, Illawarra and Turramurra all mean high land. This is an indication of the range of Aboriginal languages.

‘Although many of their languages and dialects have now disappeared, the culture of Australia’s original inhabitants continues’.

Most of the names in this section come courtesy of Graham Gould from his book ‘House Names of Australia’ where you can also read about the fascinating names of Doo-Town. For more house name information and unique house nameplates visit www.grahamgould.com.

To draw your attention to some of the more interesting, even delightful house names, we’ve put some of our favourites in bold. Check them out. They may help you choose your house name.