TOPONYMY PERSPECTIVE OF TOURIST DESTINATION NAMING IN NORTH NIAS REGENCY

Abstrak

This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach to investigate the naming of tourist destinations in North Nias Regency. The objectives of this study are to identify the dominant and minority types of toponymy used in naming tourist destinations and to explain the factors influencing these naming patterns. Data was collected through field observations, semi-structured interviews with local informants who knew about the historical and cultural background of place names, and photographic documentation. George R. Stewart’s (1954) classification of place names, which divides toponyms into nine types, was used to analyze the data collected. The results show that descriptive names are the most common category in the naming of tourist destinations in North Nias, primarily reflecting physical and natural characteristics such as sand color, wave conditions, landforms, and unique natural phenomena. Other categories, such as possessive, incident, commemorative, and manufactured names, appear in smaller proportions. These findings indicate that local communities prioritize clarity, familiarity, and environmental observation when choosing names for tourist sites, while social memory, ownership, historical events, and marketing factors play secondary roles. By emphasizing the role of toponymy in preserving local identity and supporting culturally based tourism development, this study contributes to linguistic and tourism studies.