Etymological list of currency names

Joachimsthaler, namesake for thalers and dollars

Abbreviation (derived from "lb") for the weight measure pound

The currency , like the flag, is part of the identity of a state and therefore often refers to the history of the respective state. Often, however, the currency names of other countries are also adopted, which explains how from the Joachimsthaler , named after Joachimsthal in Bohemia , the currency denomination dollar , which is widespread in America as well as in Africa and Asia .

Currency symbols

The abbreviations or currency symbols characteristic of many currencies also have their history:

£ for the currencies pound and lira : The character £ comes from the letter L and derives from the Latin libra (= pound). The unit of weight was also used to weigh precious metals and thus became the unit of currency .
$ for a variety of currencies, including a. the US dollar : The dollar sign was originally used for the Spanish or Mexican dollars ( piasters ) used. It was from Mexico with the introduction of the US currency in the 1780s and 1790s by the United States as well as the word "dollar" (The Mexican currency was called "Spanish dollar" in American-English usage ) accepted.
¥ for yen and yuan : There is also the variant Ұ with just one horizontal line. The Chinese character 元 (yüan) also has two slashes, while the Japanese character for yen 円 (en) has a completely different shape, but again two slashes.
€ for euro : The euro symbol is to be based on a 1974 study by the former chief graphic artist of the European Union , Arthur Eisenmenger . According to the European Commission , it is reminiscent of the Greek letter epsilon (ε) and thus of the ancient origin of Europe. The two straight lines stand for the stability of the euro and the European economic area.

A.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Afghani	Afghanistan	Afghani is actually the name for the residents of Afghanistan.
Ariary	Madagascar	The Ariary replaced the previous Franc Malagasy in 2005. Before the colonization of the country by France, the ariary was the term for the official currency unit, a name that was always used in everyday life. The name is derived from the Arabic real .
Austral	historical: Argentina	The former Argentine currency derived its name from the Latin word "australis" (= southern).

B.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Baht	Thailand	A baht (in Thai: บาท; currency symbol: ฿) is divided into 100 satang (in Thai: สตางค์); 25 Satang are a salung. Baht is actually the name for a traditional unit of weight (1 Baht = 15.16 g), with which gold is still measured today in Thai trade.
Balboa	Panama	The Balboa is named after the Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa , who was the first European to reach the Pacific on the west coast of Panama.
Birr	Ethiopia	The Birr ( Amharic ብር, also known as "Silver") was introduced in 1894 under Emperor Menelik II.
Boliviano	Bolivia	The boliviano was introduced in 1987 and replaced the previous peso boliviano, which had become almost worthless. In everyday language, the boliviano is still sometimes called the peso.

C.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Cedi	Ghana	Cedi (GHC) has been the currency unit of the state of Ghana since 1965. The name is derived from the word sedie ( Kauri ), the use of the coastal tribes vormünzlichen cowrie money .
Colon Colon	Costa Rica El Salvador	The Colón was introduced in Costa Rica in 1897 and replaced the peso. Colón is the Spanish version of the surname of Christopher Columbus ( Italian Cristoforo Colombo , Spanish Cristóbal Colón , Portuguese Cristovão Colombo ).
Cordoba Oro	Nicaragua	The Córdoba is named after the conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba , the founder of the cities of Santiago de Granada and Santiago de León de los Caballeros . Oro means gold when translated .

D.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Dalasi	Gambia	The Dalasi is derived from the native pronunciation of the word "dollar".
Denarius	Macedonia	The denarius (lat. Denarius) was the main silver coin in Rome from around 211 BC. Until the 3rd century AD. In the Middle Ages the denarius was synonymous with the penny. This also explains the abbreviation “d”, which was used in Great Britain until 1971 for the “ old ” penny. The name Denar or Denarius is derived from the Latin deni (ten each).
dinar	Algeria Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Libya Serbia Tunisia historical: Yugoslavia	The name Dinar (in Arabic and Persian: دينار) is derived from the Latin denarius (aureus). The denarius (lat. Denarius) was the main silver coin in Rome from around 211 BC. Until the 3rd century AD. In the Middle Ages the denarius was synonymous with the penny. This also explains the abbreviation “d”, which was used in Great Britain until 1971 for the “ old ” penny. The name Denar or Denarius is derived from the Latin deni (ten each).
Dirham	Morocco United Arab Emirates	The dirham (درهم) goes back to the drachma of the Byzantine Empire.
Dobra	Sao Tome and Principe	A gold 2 escudos piece embossed based on the example of the Spanish doubloon .
dollar	Australia Hong Kong Canada Liberia Namibia New Zealand Eastern Caribbean Monetary Union Zimbabwe Singapore Taiwan USA	The term "dollar" is traced back to the currency denomination Taler , with which English merchants came into contact with Northern Germany in the course of maritime trade (northern German pronunciation "Doller" or "Daller" for "Taler"). Originally the English word dollar denoted large silver coins. Initially, the 16th century English crown was popularly called the dollar. In the North American colonies, which had no minting of their own apart from the coins of Massachusetts, coins from various European countries circulated. The Mexican eight-reales (peso de à ocho) was the most common and was known as the Spanish dollar. In 1792 the dollar was established by law as the currency unit of the USA. There are various theories about the origin of the US dollar abbreviation, one ($) or two vertical bars placed over the letter S: One is based on the coin image of the "Spanish dollar", in which the banners wound around the pillars of Hercules Were the reason for the abbreviation. Probably, however, the character is an overwriting of the initial letters U and S from United States, whereby the $ was created by omitting the lower dash of the U. Another explanation sees a ligature for peso (ps) in the dollar sign .
Đồng	Vietnam	Đồng (currency symbol: ₫) is the name of the currency in Vietnam. The name is derived from the Vietnamese inscription "Thong Bun" on the coins of the 18th and 19th centuries, which means something like money or Kurant coin .
drachma	historical: Greece	The ancient drachma (actually ancient Greek δραχμή drachma = the receptacle; currency symbol: ₯) denotes a weight and coin unit made of silver that was in use from ancient times until the introduction of the euro in 2001. The original meaning derives from “grab what the hand can hold” and goes back to the pre-coinage device money . At that time, small iron skewers, so-called obeliskoi , were used as a means of payment in the Peloponnese , six of which could be held in one hand.
Dram	Armenia	The name probably derives from the drachma , less from the dirhem, which is occasionally referred to.
Doubloon	historical	A doubloon (also known as a doubloon) is a Spanish gold coin worth two escudos and weighing 6.77 g. It was minted from 1537 to 1833. Numerous other gold coins were modeled on them, such as the Louis d'or in France, the Friedrich d'or in Prussia and the Swiss doubloon.
Ducats	historical	Ducats have been minted in Venice since 1284 and derive their name from the impressed word "ducatus" ("duca"), the Italian word for duke .

E.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Ecu	historical: France	Écu was used to designate French gold and silver coins from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. The name for the Écu, like the Escudo, is derived from the coat of arms depicted on the coin. Gold coins - also "Écu d'or", (showing the king's bust :) "Louis d'or" or in German alluding to the sun as a symbol of the sun king depicted on the coins from 1703: "Sun pistol" - were called in the silver unit livre (= pound) coined.
Escudo	Cape Verde historically: Portugal	The Portuguese word escudo means shield and is derived from the coat of arms on the coins.
Euro	Andorra Belgium Germany Estonia Finland France Greece Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Austria Portugal San Marino Slovakia Slovenia Spain Vatican City Cyprus	The ecu (European Currency Unit) was the forerunner of the euro as a unit of account. The name Euro for the European currency was decided on December 16, 1995 by the European Council in Madrid. Before this date, other names were also under discussion: Important candidates were the European franc , European crown and European guilder . By using an already known currency name, continuity should be signaled and the population's trust in the new currency should be strengthened. In addition, some participating countries could have kept the previous name of their currency. France also flirted with “Ecu”, the name of the old settlement currency. However, all of these proposals failed due to the reservations of individual countries. In response, the German Finance Minister Theodor Waigel suggested the name “Euro”. The euro symbol € is a large but round E, which has two horizontal bars in the middle (or, like a C, combined with an equal sign (=)). It is reminiscent of the Greek letter epsilon (ε) and thus of the ancient origins of Europe. The two straight lines stand for the stability of the euro and the European economic area; but above all they symbolize the equality of peoples. The arch should symbolize a bridge, which in turn stands for overcoming the opposites and the commonality. For this reason, bridges are also shown on all euro bills.

F.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Fils	Jordan
Fillér	Hungary	is linguistically derived from Heller , see below.
Florin	Aruba	see also: Gulden
Forints	Hungary	see also: Gulden
Franc / Franconia	Switzerland Liechtenstein Burundi CFA franc Djibouti Guinea Comoros Congo	Franc is a coin and currency denomination from France, which has spread to other francophone countries. In the late Middle Ages, at the time of the Hundred Years War, a gold coin with the name Franc d'or was minted in France. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the franc was a silver coin (Franc d'argent). In 1795, the French franc was introduced as a uniform, decimally divided, reformed currency to replace the previous inflationary expired assignats - livre currency. The currency denomination then spread to other European countries and French colonies. The CFA franc is the currency in 14 African countries. Until the introduction of the euro , the franc was the name of the official currency in Belgium, Luxembourg, France

G

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Gourde	Haiti	The name is derived from the Spanish "gordo" (thick, large).
Guaraní	Paraguay	The Guaraní are an Indian people who settled as arable farmers in Central South America as early as pre-Columbian times and are thus one of the indigenous peoples of South America. Today their settlement areas belong to Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. In Paraguay today they make up around 1% of the population, their language is the first language of 86% of the population.
gulden	historical: Netherlands Suriname southern Germany	The guilder (derived from "golden" or "golden") is a coin that was used earlier (originally made of gold, hence the name, later also made of silver) and a unit of currency in several countries. The regular abbreviation is fl. Or f. for Fiorino , Latin florenus aureus , French florin . It is derived from the Florentine gold guilder, which conquered Europe in the 13th century.
Penny	historical: Germany Austria	Groschen is the name given to various coins. The word is borrowed from the Italian "denaro grosso" or the Latin name of the Turnosen: the "grossos denarius Turnosus", in German the "thick denarius (from Tours)". Often the penny was abbreviated as gl in older documents.

H

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Brighter	Czech Republic historically Slovakia	The name of the coin, which was widespread in Germany in the Middle Ages, is derived from its original mint in Schwäbisch Hall , meaning “Haller Pfennig”. While Heller and Krone were replaced in the course of the introduction of the euro in Slovakia, at least in the Czech Republic the Heller still exists in the form of prices. However, all Heller coins were withdrawn, and cash payments in retail are rounded up and down commercially.
Hryvnia	Ukraine	The word "hryvnia" (гривня) means (horse) mane, so a hryvnia could have been the equivalent of a horse. Smaller currency units were also used, each corresponding to the value of the furs of different animals: Nogata (bear or wolf), Kuna ( mink or sable ), Wekscha ( squirrel ). The rule was: 1 hryvnia = 20 nogata = 25 kuna = 100 wekscha. Later, the hryvnia was used to denote copper coins (2.5 or 3 kopecks), or hrywenik (гривеник) for a silver coin worth 10 kopecks.

K

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Cash	historical: China	The word “Käsch” is derived from the Sanskrit term करब “karsha” (= small coin with a certain weight) and the Tamil word “kasu” (= small coin).
Kina	Papua New Guinea	The name kina is derived from the kina mussel , a traditional currency in the highlands of New Guinea.
Crown	Denmark Iceland Norway Sweden Czech Republic historical: Estonia Slovakia	Crown mostly refers to the crowns as a symbol of rule that were and are stamped on many coins. The current Swedish one-crown coin also features an image of the national coat of arms with a crown. The word crown comes from Latin corona (= the wreath), Greek κορώνα (= wreath, crown). The fact that most of the Scandinavian countries have the krona as a unit of currency stems from the fact that some of them were members of the Scandinavian Monetary Union .
Kuna	Croatia	The Croatian word Kuna means marten . The name comes from the medieval use of marten skins for trade and the payment of taxes in the Croatian provinces of Slavonia and the coastal region. Marten images were found on the Banovci coins from the beginning of the 13th to the end of the 14th century.
Kwacha	Malawi Zambia	Kwacha comes from the Bemba word for dawn, dawn and alludes to the slogan "the new dawn of freedom".
Kwanza	Angola	The Kwanza is a river in Angola.
Kyat	Myanmar

L.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
lari	Georgia	The word Lari ( Georgian ლარი ) means both treasure and property in Georgian .
Lek	Albania	Lek generally means money in Albanian usage .
Lempira	Honduras	Lempira (approx. 1499–1537) was a chief of the Lenca and fought against the Spanish conquerors.
Leu	Moldova Romania	Leu means lion in Moldavian and Romanian .
Lev	Bulgaria	The word Lew originally means lion . Bulgarian money got this name because the Bulgarian coat of arms with the lion was stamped on the coins.
lira	Turkey historically: Italy Malta San Marino Vatican	The word lira is derived from the Latin word libra (= pound ). Libra was the proper name of the Roman pound as a unit of weight and corresponded to a weight of 327.45 grams. The pound, in turn, is derived from the Latin pondus ( piece of weight ). The unit of weight was also used to weigh precious metals and thus became the unit of currency .
Litas	historical: Lithuania	The litas already existed in the years 1922-1940. In 1993 it replaced the transitional currency Talonas, which had replaced the Russian ruble for a year. The name is derived from the country name.

M.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Manat	Azerbaijan Turkmenistan	The word manat is a borrowing from the Russian word “ moneta ” (“manjeta”) in the meaning of coin and ultimately comes from the Latin “ moneta ” ( Monete ). back
mark	Bosnia-Herzegovina historically: Germany Finland	Mark was a “silver bullion with a mark” in the Middle Ages and since the 9th century a unit of weight (about half a pound) that replaced the older pound. In 1998 the convertible mark was introduced in Bosnia-Herzegovina , which goes back to the German mark .

N

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Nakfa	Eritrea	The currency is named after the city of Nakfa in northern Eritrea.
Ngultrum	Bhutan	The Ngultrum ( དངུལ་ ཀྲམ ) (The Dzongkha word dNgul Tam means "silver coin") and has been the name of the first official currency of the Kingdom of Bhutan since the currency reform in 1974.

O

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Obolus	historical: Greece	Obolus, like the word obelisk, goes back to the ancient Greek word obélos (= skewer ). Probably the first coins of this kind were pointed in shape. The term obolus is used today in a figurative sense for a small amount of money. This small coin was placed under the tongue of the dead as a grave as a ferry fee for the crossing to the realm of the dead of Hades . It was an obligation to give this coin to the dead.
Øre	Scandinavia	Derived from the Roman aureus .
Ouguiya	Mauritania	The name Ouguiya is synonymous with piasters .

P

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Pa'anga	Tonga	The name Pa'anga goes back to the seeds of the sea bean ( Entada scandens ), which were used as figures in an ancient game. Fīnau Fangupō held the contents of the Port-au-Prince treasure chest for such pawns.
Pataca	Macau	Originally the name of Portuguese colonial coins. The name is derived from the Mexican silver dollar, once widespread in Asia, whose Portuguese name was " Pataca Mexicana ". Until 1959, the currency in Portuguese Timor was also a pataca , which was then replaced by the escudo.
penny	England	see penny
peseta	historical: Spain	The name is derived from the Catalan word "peceta" (diminutive of "peça"), which means "small piece".
peso	Argentina Chile Dominican Republic Colombia Cuba Mexico Philippines Uruguay	Peso comes from the Spanish word for weight, abbreviated: $ and is the short form for Peso de a ocho , i. H. Weight of eight, with real to be added, i.e. the piece weighing eight reals.
penny	historical: Germany	The pfennig, penning or penny, which has been widespread in Western Europe since the early Middle Ages, possibly got its name from the Latin "panna" = "bowl, pan".
lb	Egypt Great Britain Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Lebanon Sudan South Sudan Syria	The currency symbol is £ (or L) and is derived from the Latin libra (pound). The name Sterling comes from an old English silver coin of the same name weighing 1.555 grams (1/240 pounds). Either the name is derived from "easterling" (Ostling) and referred to the coins of the northern German Hanseatic cities (east of England), or it comes from "star" or "starling", as there are stars on some medieval English Coins appear.
Piasters	Egypt Jordan	Piaster is the name of an ancient Spanish coin of great value. This currency designation was also used in the formerly Spanish America. Egypt and Jordan use this currency denomination (arab.قرش qirsch , pluralقروش qurūsch ) as the smallest currency unit for the Egyptian pound or the Jordanian dinar.
Pula	Botswana	The currency was named after the state motto “Pula”, which means something like “rain”, or after a solemn welcome (for example: “Let rain come!”). The word comes from the Tswana language .

Q

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Quetzal	Guatemala	The quetzal got its name after the long-tailed tropical bird, which is also depicted in the national coat of arms of Guatemala. The word quetzal also occurs in quetzalcoatl , the feathered serpent.

R.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
edge	South Africa	Rand is the Afrikaans word for mountain range. In Witwatersrand (German white water mountain range) was a name for Gauteng , the region near Johannesburg, in which gold was mined.
Renminbi	People's Republic of China	Renminbi (人民币) means people's currency ( renmin = people + bi = currency). The international name is yuan ( see there ).
Real Rial Riyal	Brazil Iran Yemen Qatar Oman Saudi Arabia	The name Real comes from the Latin word for royal . The currency unit of the same name, which has been valid in Brazil since July 1, 1994, is derived from the word for real . In the countries of Arabia, ryal or rial originally referred to the (European) large silver coins (taler, peso). In Iran the rial replaced (ریال) an older currency called " Toman ".
Ringgit	Malaysia	The Malay word ringgit means " jagged " and refers to the jagged edges of the Spanish silver dollars, which were once used as currency in Southeast Asia.
ruble	Russia Belarus	The term ruble is probably derived from the Russian "rubitj" and refers to the chopping off of parts of larger silver bars.
Rufiyaa	Maldives	National language name of the Maldivian rupee.
Rupiah	Indonesia	The name rupiah is derived from the Indian rupee, which was introduced by the Japanese occupiers during World War II. From 1610 to 1817 the Dutch guilder was used in the Dutch East Indies .
rupee	India Mauritius Nepal Pakistan Seychelles Sri Lanka	The word रूप्य rūpya (currency symbol: ₨) comes from Sanskrit and means “processed silver”. The rupee (Engl. Rupee ) is known in India under various names. These include: Taka, Tanka, Rubai and Rupaye.

S.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Shekel	Israel	Shekel or Sheqel (currency symbol: ₪) is derived from the term for “weigh” in the Semitic languages. Originally, the shekel weighed one ounce . 60 shekels went to a mine. The Hebrew name is " שקל חדש”(“ Sheqel Chadash ”), and becomes common ש"ח("Chess") abbreviated. The currency symbol ₪is a combination of the first two letters of the words sheqel (ש) and chadash (ח).
Shilling	historical: Austria	The origin of the word schilling is not clear. In Gothic it referred to the Roman gold coin (solidus), which was also worn as jewelry. It may also come from the Germanic word Skildulingaz , which means shield-like thing or shield-ling. Later shillings also officially bear the Latin name solidus.
Sesterce	historically in the Roman Empire	The name is derived from semis tertius (third half = 2 ½) is a coin of the Roman republic and imperial times. The sesterce was originally used as a silver coin of 2 ½ asses together with the denarius (10 asses) and the quinar (5 asses) around 211 BC. Introduced.
shilling	historical: Great Britain today in Kenya Somalia Tanzania Uganda	The countries where the shilling currency is still used today are former colonies of Great Britain , where the shilling was in use until 1970, before the decimal system was converted. Like “Schilling”, the word goes back to terms such as “Skullinger”, “Skilligs” or “Scilling”, which Germanic peoples used for the Byzantine solidus .
Sol	Peru	In Peru in 1863 the name Sol, meaning “sun” (symbol of the country since the Inca times ) , was chosen as the currency unit. Due to the high inflation, Peru switched to the Inti (meaning: "sun" in the Inca language Quechua ) in 1985 .
Som	Kyrgyzstan	The word " som " means " pure " in many Turkic languages and implies " pure gold ".
Somoni	Tajikistan	The name Somoni is derived from the Persian Samanid dynasty . The currency was named after the Tajik father of the nation , the Samanid ruler Ismail Somoni .
Sucre	Ecuador	The Sucre is named after the independence fighter Marshal Antonio José de Sucre , who routed the Spanish troops in 1822.
Sum	Uzbekistan	The word " som " means " pure " in many Turkic languages and implies " pure gold ".

T

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Taka	Bangladesh	The word " taka " (৳ ৫) comes from Sanskrit and describes an old silver coin.
Tala	Samoa	Tala is the Samoan name for the dollar.
talent	historical: Babylonia	Talent is derived from the Greek word talanton (= scales, weight). Through the New Testament , the designation of a unit of currency took on the connotation "entrusted, assets, entrusted goods". (Compare: Matthew 25, 14-19: "For it is like a man who traveled abroad, called his own servants and gave them his possessions: and he gave one five talents, another two, another one, each according to his own ability, and traveled abroad ... ")
Valleys	historically in the Holy Roman Empire and in the German Confederation	The thaler, originally spelled Thaler, was a larger piece of silver that corresponded to the guldengroschen . Since this was minted in large quantities by the von Schlick men after the discovery of the significant silver deposits in Joachimsthal in Bohemia, the name Joachimsthaler , then simply Thaler , first prevailed for the coin . Later, thaler was understood to mean all large silver coins that weighed more than a lot. Greater importance was the thaler with the Empire Decide the 16th century, who raised him as Reichstaler next to the guilder to the official National Currency. The taler was called Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Daler , Dutch Daler , later Daalder , Portuguese Dolera , English dollar , Czech and Slovenian Tolar and Russian Талер Taler .
Tenge Teňňe	Kazakhstan Turkmenistan	The word Tenge is related to the Russian word "деньги" (= money), which in turn was borrowed from Turkish and there "Libra" (Turkish scale. Terazi = balance with two scales / Zodiac, also: kantar = running or fast weight scale / decimal scale , baskül = bridge, decimal scale ) means. The word originally comes from the Mongolian word “tekh (e)” from the Chinese “ dengzi ” (= scales).
Tolar	historical: Slovenia	derived from taler
Toman	historical: Persia	Gold coin, today a toman denotes ten Iranian rials .
Tögrög	Mongolia	The Tögrög or Tugrik (currency symbol: ₮, Mongolian: "төгрөк") roughly means " the round ". One tögrög equals one hundred möngö .

W.

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
won	North Korea South Korea	The won ( Hangeul : 원; Hanja : 圓 ; currency symbol: ₩) is the currency in both Korean states and, like the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen, simply means “ round thing ”.

Y

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Yen yuan	Japan People's Republic of China	The yen was originally written the same way as the Chinese yuan ( 圓 ). Modern Japanese spelling uses a different character ( 円 ) than the simplified Chinese script ( 元 ). Yen / Yuan literally means "round object". The representation in the Latin alphabet (¥) is the same for both currencies. However, the People's Republic of China tends to use only a single slash. The international spelling of the yen and the pronunciation with "Y" at the beginning of the word are based on the historical pronunciation.

Z

currency	distribution	Meaning / origin
Zloty	Poland	The Polish złoty, Złoty Polski (from Polish złoto = gold; plural: złote or złotych , depending on the number; thus “guilder”) was the name of the currency of the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th to the 19th century.