Places of Calcutta — A Gazette of Neighbourhood Names

Across Calcutta, neighbourhood names preserve older trades, vanished waterways, aristocratic gardens, shrines, and stories told across generations. The following tables gather those local etymologies into a single gazette, presented as a companion to the atlas.

What’s in a name?

Each quarter of the city keeps a record of who lived there, what was sold there, or what once stood there.

Some names recall professions: milkmen in Ahiritola, oil-pressers in Colootola, tailors in Dorjipara, umbrella merchants in Chatawala Guli. Others preserve the memory of shrines and deities, as with Chitpur, Kalighat, Bhowanipur, and Dharamatala.

There are names born from landscape as well: sand deposits in Beleghata and Ballygunge, silk-cotton trees in Simla, bats in Badurbagan, bakul trees in Bakulbagan, and the mangrove ecology remembered by Garia.

Still others emerged from patronage and empire. Beadon Square, Wellington Square, Hastings, Dalhousie, Elgin, and Babughat reveal the colonial habit of attaching public space to administrators, nobles, and benefactors.

Taken together, these neighbourhood names form a second map of the city: one drawn not with roads and boundaries, but with memory, work, worship, appetite, accident, and myth.

Neighbourhoods of North Kolkata

Neighbourhood	The Story Behind the Name
Ahiritola	Originally a district assigned by the British East India Company to Hindu cow herders. The name comes from “Ahiri,” referring to the milkmen who woke at daybreak to tend to their cows.
Babughat	Named after Babu Raj Chandra Das. His wife, Rani Rashmoni, built the pavilion in 1830 in his memory. It became a popular gathering spot for the city’s wealthy men, or “babus.”
Badurbagan	Derives its name from the large population of fruit bats or flying foxes that used to live there, as badur is the Bengali word for bat.
Baghbazar	Once a residential area for the local aristocracy, the name combines bagh (garden) and bazaar (market), likely referring to a former flower market supplied by a nearby garden.
Bagmari	Formerly a hunting ground for British officials. It is believed that a tiger (bagh) was captured and killed (mara) in this area.
Barobazaar	Translates directly to “large market,” fitting its status as India’s largest wholesale market. Alternatively, it may have been named “Burobazaar” after Buro (another name for Lord Shiva) due to a former Shiva temple on the site.
Beadon Square	Named in honor of Sir Cecil Beadon, who served as the lieutenant-governor of the Bengal Presidency from 1862 to 1866.
Beleghata	Originates from the sand (bali) deposits along a local creek. It was originally a dock for large cargo boats before the name evolved into its current form.
Beniatola	The traditional district for the benia caste, which consisted of local merchants, traders, and bankers.
Boubazaar	Known as the “bride’s market,” it was either named because a merchant’s daughter-in-law (bou) owned the land rights, or it evolved from the word bahu (many), referencing a cluster of small markets.
Burtollah	Named simply after a prominent pair of twin Banyan (bar) trees in the locality.
Chaltabagan	Derives its name from the chalta fruit (elephant apple), a common ingredient used to make traditional Bengali relishes.
Chandni Chowk	Likely named after the famous market in Delhi as a nod to the Mughal Empire, though the two markets share no structural similarities.
Chatawala Guli	A diverse residential lane named for the merchants who sold umbrellas (chata) there.
Chitpur	Named after a shrine to Goddess Chiteswari that was destroyed in a 1737 earthquake. Other theories suggest it was named after a local bandit (Chitey Dakat) or its history as an artists’ colony (chitra meaning painting and pura meaning town).
College Square	Named for its proximity to major educational institutions like Presidency University and Calcutta Medical College. It was previously called Goldighee because of its round water tank.
Colootola	Historically the residential area for local oil-pressers (kalu).
Dalhousie	Named after Lord Dalhousie, a former Governor-General of India. It was later officially renamed B.B.D. Bagh to honor three Indian freedom fighters.
Dharamatala	Literally translating to “Holy Street,” the name likely comes from Dharmathakur, a local folk deity, or a former Buddhist temple located nearby.
Dorjipara	The traditional neighborhood for the city’s tailors (dorji).
Rajabazaar	A market area historically frequented by the local kings (rajas). It may also be named after a specific individual, Raja Rajballav.
Sealdah	Originally known as Srigaladwipa, meaning an island populated by jackals (srigal or se-aal), dating back to when the area was part of the Sundarbans.
Shobhabazaar	Named after Shobharam Basak, a wealthy 18th-century resident. It could also come from the word sabha (referencing a large gathering) or subah (a province under Muslim rule).
Shyambazaar	Originally called Charles Bazaar, it was renamed in honor of the deity Shyam Rai by the wealthy Basak family.
Simla	Named for the abundance of shimul (silk cotton) trees that once covered the neighborhood in red blossoms and fuzzy cotton during the spring.
Singhi Bagan	Simply named for the location of the Singhi family’s private garden.
Wellington Square	Named after the 1st Duke of Wellington. It was previously called Dingabhanga, marking the spot where a small boat (dingi) was wrecked (bhanga) in a 1737 cyclone.

Neighbourhoods of South Kolkata

Neighbourhood	The Story Behind the Name
Alipur	Named after Mir Jafar Ali, the Nawab of Murshidabad, who settled in this area under the protection of the British East India Company.
Babubagan	Named after a local garden that was frequently visited by the wealthy men (babus) of Kolkata.
Baghajatin	Named in honor of the Bengali freedom fighter Jatindranath Mukherjee, whose popular alias was Bagha Jatin (Tiger Jatin).
Bakulbagan	Named after the bakul trees that grew abundantly in the area.
Ballygunge	Named for the rich sand (bali) deposits found in the local soil, suggesting the Adi Ganga river may have once flowed through the area.
Beckbagan	Named after a garden belonging to Hyder Beck, the Wazir of Oudh.
Behala	Named either after Behula, a character from the regional epic Mansamangalya, or derived from Bahulapur, meaning a land of many rivers.
Beniapukur	Marks the location of a water tank (pukur) that was used by the local merchant class (benias).
Bhowanipur	Named in honor of Goddess Bhowani (another name for Kali) because an older Kali temple was situated in the area during the 16th century.
Birji	Originally Birjitala, the name is derived from Brajanath, which is another name for Lord Vishnu.
Chetla	Believed to be a slight corruption of aatchala, a traditional Bengali temple architectural style represented by a local Ras Bihari Temple.
Chowringhee	Legends claim the name either comes from chera-anga (referencing the cut-up body of the Goddess Sati) or from a yogi named Chorangi Giri who discovered an image of Kali in the area.
Dhakuria	Likely named after the dhakis, the traditional drummers who settled there and played during local festivals.
Ekdalia	Thought to have been settled by members of a single (ek) community group (dal), using the name to signify unity.
Elgin	Named in honor of Lord Elgin, a British colonial administrator.
Garia	Likely named after the Goria or Guria mangrove plants that grew there when the region was still part of the Sundarbans.
Gariahaat	Simply refers to the local market (haat) situated in the Garia neighborhood.
Hastings	Named after the Marquis of Hastings. It was previously known as Coolie Bazaar because local porters lived in the area.
Hazra	Marks the location of a former garden owned by the Hazra family.
Jadavpur	Named for the Jadavs, a community that historically settled in this specific locality.
Jatin Das Park	Named to honor Jatindranath Das, an Indian independence activist and revolutionary.
Kalighat	Named after the revered local shrine of Goddess Kali, widely recognized as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas.
Kasba	Derives directly from the Bengali word kasba, which translates to village or suburb.