Place Names in Asia named after famous people

Korean flag.

What connection do you and I have with Asia? Many of my clothes are made in China. Today I have eaten sushi from Japan and soy sauce from China. My Samsung phone is named after a Korean as I search for facts for my blog. Advertisements in the UK and USA newspapers are for martial arts from Asia.

Singapore Placenames

 I lived in Singapore for many years and in Singapore many landmarks, streets and squares and hotels are named after Raffles. Raffles Hotel. Also several areas and railway stations and streets are named after British people from earlier eras.  Raffles was buried in a church in Hendon, London.

You can buy a book on the origin of Singapore street names.

When Visiting Malaysia, from adjoining Singapore, I was told about the origins of names.

In the Philippines I was told that the country was named after Philip.

Indian Placenames

In India I noticed the Sassoon Docks in Bombay, which was renamed Mumbai. The docks were named after Sassoon who funded them. The Docks were his idea. The Sassoons were a famous family, who founded the Hong Kong an Shanghai Bank, HSBC. I remember reading Sassoon's poems about WWI and visiting the house and zoo associated with Sassoon in southern England.

That was just a tiny corner of India. Associated with the UK and worldwide through the Sassoon name.

Today, September 8th 2026, I used Ask Gemini for some more memorable place names in Asia. I find it is easier to remember names of cities or train stations if you associate them with the people they are named after. 

Many major cities, regions, and geographic landmarks across Asia are named after historical figures, monarchs, military leaders, explorers, and national heroes:

Up popped useful results from the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and UAE.

Major Cities & Capitals

• Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam): Formerly named Saigon, the country's largest city was renamed in 1976 in honor of Hồ Chí Minh, the revolutionary leader and prime minister/president of North Vietnam.

• Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia): Renamed in 1924, the name translates to "Red Hero," chosen in honor of Damdin Sükhbaatar, the founding leader of the Mongolian Revolution and national hero.

• Faisalabad (Pakistan): Formerly Lyallpur (named after Sir James Lyall), the city was renamed in 1979 in honor of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who had close ties to Pakistan.

• Islamabad (Pakistan): While meaning "City of Islam," several districts within the capital are named after famous historical leaders, such as the Faisal Mosque.

• Davao City (Philippines) / General Santos City (Philippines): General Santos City was named after General Paulino Santos, a former Commanding General of the Philippine Army who spearheaded settlement in the region.

• George Town (Penang, Malaysia): Capital of the state of Penang, named after King George III of Great Britain.

• Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India): Named in honor of Captain Archibald Blair of the British East India Company, who established a colony there in 1789.

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Provinces, States & Regions

• Rizal Province (Philippines): Named directly after José Rizal, the national hero, writer, and polymath of the Philippines.

• Quezon / Quezon City (Philippines): Named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines, who established the city to replace Manila as the capital.

• Jharkand / Telangana (India): While many Indian states take indigenous or linguistic names, Victoria Terminus / Victoria in Mumbai and various historic districts honor historic figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji (e.g., Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, named after Aurangzeb and later Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj).

• Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh): A famous coastal town and long beach named after Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of the British East India Company who served as a diplomatic superintendent.

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Geographic Features & Islands

• Mount Everest (Nepal/China border): Named after Sir George Everest, a Welsh surveyor and Surveyor General of India who oversaw the initial mapping of the Indian subcontinent.

• K2 / Mount Godwin-Austen (Pakistan/China border): Also known historically as Mount Godwin-Austen, named in honor of Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen, an early surveyor and explorer of the region.

• Sir Bani Yas (United Arab Emirates): An island named after Sheikh Yas, the founder and progenitor of the Bani Yas tribal confederation.

• Barents Sea / Bering Strait (North Asia/Russia): Sea and strait bordering northern and eastern Asia, named after explorers Willem Barentsz and Vitus Bering.

Port Lympne House and Zoo, glamorous hotel and glamping in Kent

 

The mansion was built for Sir Philip Sassoon. He entertained Charlie Chaplin and painted a room yellow because he found out that was his guest's favourite colour. 

Sir Philip was pictures visiting the front in WWI, and with the royal family and Churchill. 

Aspinal bought the place because he needed room for his zoo animals. 

I first visited it for the day years ago and was shown around the house. I remember seeing a huge lorry (Americans say truck) which was used to transport elephants.

 Now there's a hotel so you can stay on site.

Portraits of Sir Philip Sassoon are in the National Portrait Gallery, London, as are portraits of his cousin, the WWI poet, Siegfried Sassoon. The National Portrait Gallery website has a Sassoon family tree.

The mansion.

Pinewood.

Your choice of accommodation includes treehouses, named after the types of animal you see, and glamping, or luxury camping.

Online you can buy a cap or a tote bag or sponsor an animal.

Port Lympne is in Kent, England.

If you are in London, you might visit, or pass, plaques to Siegfried.

Tufton Street, Westminster, London, England.

Rothschild giraffe.

 Useful Websites

https://www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne/

https://www.aspinallfoundation.org/shop/

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php

https://www.npg.org.uk/assets/images/groupsMedia/familyTrees/Sassoon_family.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Sassoon

London Statues - New Statue of Gandhi in Parliament Square, London - photographing statues worldwide

A new statue of Gandhi is in Parliament Square, London. It is nine feet tall. To photograph yourself next to it, somebody else needs to take the photo from some distance away.

I like to be photographed next to statues when travelling. If you had no other plans for a themed trip to London, you could travel around photographing statues and yourself next to statues. One of my favourites is Oscar Wilde reclining.

I also photograph statues in countries I am visiting. They tell local and national history.

You could also collect photos of statues just in London or worldwide on a theme, such as political figures, royals, religious, philanthropic, WWII, statues and monuments in cemeteries, theatres, hotels and clubs.

Political Figures
In London: Politics: Gandhi and Churchill.
In London: royals, Kings and Queens (including the memorial to Princess Diana, the gates for the Queen Mother).
Victoria & Albert: Worldwide - start in London if you are in London, including the Albert memorial and the Albert Hall in London, statues of Queen Victoria .
Religious leaders: I made a special trip to the museum in East London for Methodist Wesley and took a picture of his statue.
Theatrical: statues of actors outside theatres, often on provincial theatres, worldwide, also opera houses and concert halls show

For a school project or talk to a history society, you could photograph characters from each century, or each decade.

Museums are a good source of statues and busts. Sometimes you need permission to photograph a statue inside a museum, and you need to be there during opening hours. But those outside buildings in the UK are generally OK to photograph and you can visit them any time of day or night. With photoshop and iPhoto nowadays even a photo taken in poor light can be adjusted later.

Silhouette Statues
In late evening, if you cannot get detail, you can aim for a silhouette of the statue against a lighter sky. I once took a day trip on a ferry from England to France, part sponsored by Polaroid cameras. I won a competition for a photo with a contra-jour picture of a statue at the French port silhouetted against the white sky.

Animals
Cats, dogs, horses and animals. My favourites are; in London - Dick Whittington's Cat in Highgate. In the USA - the horse of the Civil War leader. I seem to remember a statue of a donkey or horse in Australia, at a museum about the Great War (WWI). It was either Canberra or Sydney.

Benefactors
Benefactors and campaigners who benefited human rights (Eros for Lord Shaftesbury - interesting story. George Lansbury in London's East End who worked for the seamstresses).

WWI - with the centenaries, lots of opportunities. A project for schools or local or national newspapers or blogs for Armistice Day, and the other celebrations worldwide, Anzac Day, VE Day.
You could collect pictures from the internet, such as Wikipedia, and then gradually visit them on your holidays or business trips overseas.

Long ago I bought a book on statues of London. With Lulu.com and other printers on line, you could make a book of your travel photos, featuring statues of yourself with statues. I try to take the statue alone, and another showing myself next to it. Some publications like to see the author, others prefer the statue without clutter or anything which dates the photo. Adding a person can give a humorous effect. Tall statue with tiny toddler or dog. This might look silly or disrespectful, or could be a winning humorous picture.

I like to photograph inscriptions on all four (or more) sides of a statue or monument. It helps when writing captions later. You can check the spelling of the name or a person or place, and the dates they lived or the battle they fought in. The inscription also often includes a quotation or eulogy (praise).

My favourite London statues:
Oscar Wilde.
Kissing couple on Paddington station upper level.
Brunel on London station.
Australian mapmaker on Euston station.
Florence Nightingale, outside hospital.
Sigmund Freud, near his home in London.
Karl Marx, Highgate Cemetery.
Shakespeare bust (in a church).

Churches and cathedrals are a great source of statues. Starting with Poets Corner in London, you could then do a literary trail around Britain.

My favourite memorable statues Worldwide:
1 Einstein, USA.
2 Sassoon, India.
3 Captain Cook, Australia.
4 Raffles in Raffles Hotel, Singapore.
5 Charlie Chaplin, London. (Another in Switzerland.)
6 Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street Station, London.
7 Queen Victoria - everywhere, the latest I've seen was in Malta's capital, Valletta. Others are in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand.
8 Al Jolson, cemetery in the USA.
9 Disraeli in his area near Tring.
10 Monash, WWI leader, in Australia, with the university named after him in Melbourne. I saw an equestrian statue in a main road and a bust in the uni.

My favourite London station statues:
1 Sherlock Holmes, Baker Street
2 Brunel, Paddington Station
3 The mapmaker and cat, Euston
4 The artist, Waterloo

Most photographed in London?
Probably Eros in Piccadilly and Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.

Other world famous monuments include:
The Burghers of Calais, France.
Iwo Jima (same flag raising theme copied in a monument in Malaysia).
Chopin in Warsaw, Poland.
Lincoln in Washington DC.
Four Presidents cut into hillside in the USA.

If you want to add guitarists and guitars, and rock stars and singers, think of Elvis in the USA, John Lennon in Liverpool airport, music museums in the USA and Australasia, and halls of fame all over the USA.

I also look for quotations. My favourites are:
For your tomorrow they gave their today. (Kohima monument in Latin, variously translated on monuments worldwide. You find quotations and local characters and Greek and Roman Gods and mythological characters on all sorts of building, including friezes around the exteriors of art galleries and the exteriors and interiors of shopping malls. St George's shopping mall in Harrow, interior. Lakeside shopping Mall.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons is a travel writer, photographer and speaker.