<p><strong>Door/Gate/Outlet/Entrance</strong></p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiamen#Name" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Xiamen</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The name was formerly written using the Chinese characters meaning "Lower Gate". </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Lower Gate should equate to 下门.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>When its port prospered under the Qing, the name was considered unrefined and changed to homophonous characters meaning "Mansion Gate". </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Mansion Gate is the current name 厦门.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Etymology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Macau</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The present Chinese name (Chinese: 澳門; pinyin: Àomén; Cantonese Yale: Oumún) means "Bay Outlet".</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p><strong>Gate</strong> exists in British English also but with a very different meaning (road), think:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Gate Helmsley</p></li>
<li><p>Harrogate</p></li>
</ul>

<p>and second similar idea is found on the wiki page for:</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymy" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Toponymy</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>George R. Stewart theorized, in his book Names on the Globe, that Hellespont originally meant something like "narrow Pontus" or "entrance to Pontus", "Pontus" being an ancient name for the region around the Black Sea, and by extension, for the sea itself.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T08:29:13.567Z
Good answer. As for the Hellespont it comes from Greek ΕΛΛΗΣΠΟΝΤΟΣ which can be split: ΕΛΛΗΣ ΠΟΝΤΟΣ (ΠΟΝΤΟΣ of ΕΛΛΗ). ΕΛΛΗ was the name of the mythological woman who fell into it, when travelling on the golden ram.  ΠΟΝΤΟΣ in Ancient Greek meant "sea road", "sea path", "sailable sea" before it came to be generalised to "sea".
Ludi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T09:59:32.160Z
@Ludi does the, supposed, "entrance" part work, as I was hoping it would?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T11:13:12.170Z
I have not heard that etymology. The etymology I mentioned is very old and the standard in Greek etymological lexicons such as Μπαμπινιώτης, but might still be wrong. I don't know what word Steward refers to, but Ancient Greek is a very rich language. There are lots of rare words.
Ludi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T06:18:09.660Z
2017-09-05T06:25:15.913Z
2017-09-05T06:25:15.913Z
Mou某
<p>A place's name ended with 门 (gate/door) is usually an entry point of a city, providence or region. </p>

<p>The first part of the name may not even necessary be the providence's name. For example, 鲤鱼门 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Yue_Mun" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lei Yue Mun</a>) is the east gate of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, but it isn't called Victoria Harbour Gate, because  the name Victoria Harbour didn't exist 200 years ago. </p>

<p>As for why it is called 鲤鱼门 (Lei Yue Mun), no one know for sure. May be it came from the legend of <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AF%89%E8%BA%8D%E9%BE%8D%E9%96%80" rel="nofollow noreferrer">鯉躍龍門</a> (A carp that can jump over the top of Dragon Gate Fall would turn into a dragon), maybe it's because the terrain there looked like a 鲤鱼 (carp), or may be it was famous for carp fishing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T01:22:47.003Z
2017-09-05T05:14:09.440Z
2017-09-05T05:14:09.440Z
Tang Ho
<p>They are just names.  But some stories can be found for them.</p>

<p>The name of 厦门 comes from 厦门城 (AD 1387). 厦门城 means “国家大厦之门”--the entrance of the nation <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8E%A6%E9%97%A8%E5%9F%8E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a>.</p>

<p>And 澳门 comes from 濠镜澳, which means 盛产蚝且水域如镜的港湾 <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BE%B3%E9%96%80" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a>.</p>

<p>Basically, 门 means gate/port when is found in a city's name.  But sometimes it is from some historical events/location.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T05:21:37.033Z
2017-09-05T05:21:37.033Z
Aria Ax
<p>Are there other Chinese cities besides 厦门 and 澳门 which end in 门 and what does 门 mean in this context?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T01:03:12.590Z
The basic meaning of 门 is 'door'. The rest is all about etymology.
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T01:06:07.003Z
see 中国所有城市名字 （６６１市）besides 澳门 and 厦门 find 海门市 in 江苏，江门 in 广东，荆门 and 天门市 in 湖北，三门峡 in 河南，玉门市 in 甘肃，
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-05T09:34:57.357Z
门 in such context means gateway.
Daniel Yang
<meaning-in-context><etymology><history>
What is the 门 in 厦门 and 澳门？
# What is the 门 in 厦门 and 澳门？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-05)

Are there other Chinese cities besides 厦门 and 澳门 which end in 门 and what does 门 mean in this context?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, etymology, history

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The basic meaning of 门 is 'door'. The rest is all about etymology.  
> **username_2**: see 中国所有城市名字 （６６１市）besides 澳门 and 厦门 find 海门市 in 江苏，江门 in 广东，荆门 and 天门市 in 湖北，三门峡 in 河南，玉门市 in 甘肃，  
> **username_3**: 门 in such context means gateway.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-09-05. Score: 4

**Door/Gate/Outlet/Entrance**

[Xiamen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiamen#Name)

> The name was formerly written using the Chinese characters meaning "Lower Gate".

Lower Gate should equate to 下门.

> When its port prospered under the Qing, the name was considered unrefined and changed to homophonous characters meaning "Mansion Gate".

Mansion Gate is the current name 厦门.

[Macau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau#Etymology)

> The present Chinese name (Chinese: 澳門; pinyin: Àomén; Cantonese Yale: Oumún) means "Bay Outlet".

---

**Gate** exists in British English also but with a very different meaning (road), think:

* Gate Helmsley
* Harrogate

and second similar idea is found on the wiki page for:

[Toponymy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymy)

> George R. Stewart theorized, in his book Names on the Globe, that Hellespont originally meant something like "narrow Pontus" or "entrance to Pontus", "Pontus" being an ancient name for the region around the Black Sea, and by extension, for the sea itself.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Good answer. As for the Hellespont it comes from Greek ΕΛΛΗΣΠΟΝΤΟΣ which can be split: ΕΛΛΗΣ ΠΟΝΤΟΣ (ΠΟΝΤΟΣ of ΕΛΛΗ). ΕΛΛΗ was the name of the mythological woman who fell into it, when travelling on the golden ram.  ΠΟΝΤΟΣ in Ancient Greek meant "sea road", "sea path", "sailable sea" before it came to be generalised to "sea".  
> **username_4**: @username_5 does the, supposed, "entrance" part work, as I was hoping it would?  
> **username_5**: I have not heard that etymology. The etymology I mentioned is very old and the standard in Greek etymological lexicons such as Μπαμπινιώτης, but might still be wrong. I don't know what word Steward refers to, but Ancient Greek is a very rich language. There are lots of rare words.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2017-09-05. Score: 3

A place's name ended with 门 (gate/door) is usually an entry point of a city, providence or region.

The first part of the name may not even necessary be the providence's name. For example, 鲤鱼门 ([Lei Yue Mun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Yue_Mun)) is the east gate of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, but it isn't called Victoria Harbour Gate, because the name Victoria Harbour didn't exist 200 years ago.

As for why it is called 鲤鱼门 (Lei Yue Mun), no one know for sure. May be it came from the legend of [鯉躍龍門](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AF%89%E8%BA%8D%E9%BE%8D%E9%96%80) (A carp that can jump over the top of Dragon Gate Fall would turn into a dragon), maybe it's because the terrain there looked like a 鲤鱼 (carp), or may be it was famous for carp fishing.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2017-09-05. Score: 1

They are just names. But some stories can be found for them.

The name of 厦门 comes from 厦门城 (AD 1387). 厦门城 means “国家大厦之门”--the entrance of the nation [1](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8E%A6%E9%97%A8%E5%9F%8E).

And 澳门 comes from 濠镜澳, which means 盛产蚝且水域如镜的港湾 [2](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BE%B3%E9%96%80).

Basically, 门 means gate/port when is found in a city's name. But sometimes it is from some historical events/location.


---

