<p>The Earth is more or less spherical, and more or less rotates steadily about an axis between the north and south poles, with a very long term (26000 years) precession and shorter term nutations. That the Earth is more or less spherical and that it rotates about an axis was known to the ancients.</p>
<p>This daily rotation makes the Sun rise more or less in the east, set more or less in the west, and at noon in places north of the tropics, the Sun is south of the zenith (vertical). Northward is where it gets colder the further north one goes. In addition, the northern hemisphere is blessed in having Polaris as a guide star by which one can determine which way is north.</p>
<p>This north-south, east-west set of directions were very important to seagoing civilizations. Regarding maps, which direction was at the top of a map and which direction was to the right varied from civilization to civilization. Some had south at the top and north at the bottom. Others had east at the top and the west at the bottom. Yet others had north at the top and south at the bottom. It wasn't until Mercator's time (mid to late 16th century) that European mapmakers settled on arbitrarily placing north that the top of a map and east to the right. That was about the same time that western European hegemony started, which is why modern maps almost universally have north at the top. It's a bit arbitrary, a bit chance that north is at the top of most maps.</p>
<p>Regarding etymology, this is the wrong site for that kind of question.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-22T15:23:57.997Z
2022-12-26T15:17:09.410Z
2022-12-26T15:17:09.410Z
David Hammen
<p>Since you didn't specify which kind of poles you're talking about: there is a specific reason that North and South <em>magnetic poles</em> are named as such, unrelated to why we consider North to be &quot;up&quot; by convention geographically.</p>
<p>&quot;North&quot; is the direction a North-seeking compass points to, and &quot;South&quot; the direction a south-seeking compass points to.</p>
<p>A bar magnet has two poles: a magnetic north (where magnetic field lines point outwards) and a magnetic south pole (where magnetic field lines point inward). A magnetic north pole is attracted to a magnetic south pole, and vice versa. So a compass needle, which is a magnetised metal needle, will point towards a magnetic pole of the opposite sense to that of the magnetised tip of the needle.</p>
<p>The Earth's magnetic field has a magnetic south pole located in the Northern hemisphere, and a magnetic north pole located in the Southern hemisphere. So a compass magnetised with a north magnetic pole at the needle tip will &quot;seek&quot; the Earth's magnetic pole in northern hemisphere, and vice versa.</p>
<p>The physics of magnetism was not understood historically in order to decide the naming convention for the geographical directions, rather the sense of magnetic poles were named to match the geographic sense later on when the physics was understood.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-28T11:21:59.167Z
2024-06-28T11:21:59.167Z
WJB
<p>When I view Earth from a distance in my mind, I always think of the North pole as being &quot;up&quot;, and South pole as being &quot;down&quot;. Yes, I know Earth is tilted, but it's still up/down.</p>
<p>This means my &quot;camera&quot; is always placed in a certain way in this endless void. But it's based on nothing other than my perception that there is a &quot;North&quot; or &quot;up&quot; on Earth.</p>
<p>But why are they referred to as the North/South poles? Did they just pick these at random? Could the South pole just as well have been the North pole to humans?</p>
<p>I don't think it really matters, but it's something which I've often thought about and cannot find the answer to.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-20T16:30:00.677Z
They're being called like this because they're located in directions away/towards the Sun when viewed from the northern hemisphere. It's the North Pole because it's north of Europe, away from the Sun. The South Pole is to the south, "south" means "towards the Sun" and in other languages may have the same term as "noon" (e.g. in Latin meridies). There isn't as much land in the southern hemisphere, but I guess the Aborigines and the Maori have an equivalent term for "north" which today is translated as "south".
Giovanni
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-20T19:00:58.007Z
Sorry, but my brain is having problems understanding how one place can be "toward the sun" when Earth spins around itself all the time?
Milagro
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-20T19:03:08.277Z
See also: [What are the historical origins of terms for north, south, east and west?](https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/1077/what-are-the-historical-origins-of-terms-for-north-south-east-and-west)
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-20T19:06:02.680Z
I think you'll find some surprising things there.  But why is north up rather south up on a map is indeed from cultural history.  As to why are the Poles north and south rather than like northeast or east has a couple key reasons.  And having the Poles top and bottom tends to orient maps in more useful ways than other directions.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-20T19:15:19.503Z
Probably more of a history question than an earth science question.
jeffronicus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-21T06:54:59.440Z
What spins around what is just a question of the reference point. When viewed from Earth, the Sun spins around it. At noon, when the Sun is highest in the sky, it is in a certain direction. This direction is being called "south". So it's about where the Sun is at _noon_, when watched from the northern hemisphere.
Giovanni
<poles>
Were the "North" and "South" poles' names picked randomly or based on some science?
Milagro
# Were the "North" and "South" poles' names picked randomly or based on some science?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-12-20)

When I view Earth from a distance in my mind, I always think of the North pole as being "up", and South pole as being "down". Yes, I know Earth is tilted, but it's still up/down.

This means my "camera" is always placed in a certain way in this endless void. But it's based on nothing other than my perception that there is a "North" or "up" on Earth.

But why are they referred to as the North/South poles? Did they just pick these at random? Could the South pole just as well have been the North pole to humans?

I don't think it really matters, but it's something which I've often thought about and cannot find the answer to.

**Tags:** poles

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: They're being called like this because they're located in directions away/towards the Sun when viewed from the northern hemisphere. It's the North Pole because it's north of Europe, away from the Sun. The South Pole is to the south, "south" means "towards the Sun" and in other languages may have the same term as "noon" (e.g. in Latin meridies). There isn't as much land in the southern hemisphere, but I guess the Aborigines and the Maori have an equivalent term for "north" which today is translated as "south".  
> **username_0**: Sorry, but my brain is having problems understanding how one place can be "toward the sun" when Earth spins around itself all the time?  
> **username_2**: See also: [What are the historical origins of terms for north, south, east and west?](https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/1077/what-are-the-historical-origins-of-terms-for-north-south-east-and-west)  
> **username_2**: I think you'll find some surprising things there.  But why is north up rather south up on a map is indeed from cultural history.  As to why are the Poles north and south rather than like northeast or east has a couple key reasons.  And having the Poles top and bottom tends to orient maps in more useful ways than other directions.  
> **username_3**: Probably more of a history question than an earth science question.  
> **username_1**: What spins around what is just a question of the reference point. When viewed from Earth, the Sun spins around it. At noon, when the Sun is highest in the sky, it is in a certain direction. This direction is being called "south". So it's about where the Sun is at _noon_, when watched from the northern hemisphere.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-12-22. Score: 6

The Earth is more or less spherical, and more or less rotates steadily about an axis between the north and south poles, with a very long term (26000 years) precession and shorter term nutations. That the Earth is more or less spherical and that it rotates about an axis was known to the ancients.

This daily rotation makes the Sun rise more or less in the east, set more or less in the west, and at noon in places north of the tropics, the Sun is south of the zenith (vertical). Northward is where it gets colder the further north one goes. In addition, the northern hemisphere is blessed in having Polaris as a guide star by which one can determine which way is north.

This north-south, east-west set of directions were very important to seagoing civilizations. Regarding maps, which direction was at the top of a map and which direction was to the right varied from civilization to civilization. Some had south at the top and north at the bottom. Others had east at the top and the west at the bottom. Yet others had north at the top and south at the bottom. It wasn't until Mercator's time (mid to late 16th century) that European mapmakers settled on arbitrarily placing north that the top of a map and east to the right. That was about the same time that western European hegemony started, which is why modern maps almost universally have north at the top. It's a bit arbitrary, a bit chance that north is at the top of most maps.

Regarding etymology, this is the wrong site for that kind of question.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2024-06-28. Score: 1

Since you didn't specify which kind of poles you're talking about: there is a specific reason that North and South *magnetic poles* are named as such, unrelated to why we consider North to be "up" by convention geographically.

"North" is the direction a North-seeking compass points to, and "South" the direction a south-seeking compass points to.

A bar magnet has two poles: a magnetic north (where magnetic field lines point outwards) and a magnetic south pole (where magnetic field lines point inward). A magnetic north pole is attracted to a magnetic south pole, and vice versa. So a compass needle, which is a magnetised metal needle, will point towards a magnetic pole of the opposite sense to that of the magnetised tip of the needle.

The Earth's magnetic field has a magnetic south pole located in the Northern hemisphere, and a magnetic north pole located in the Southern hemisphere. So a compass magnetised with a north magnetic pole at the needle tip will "seek" the Earth's magnetic pole in northern hemisphere, and vice versa.

The physics of magnetism was not understood historically in order to decide the naming convention for the geographical directions, rather the sense of magnetic poles were named to match the geographic sense later on when the physics was understood.


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