The Top 10: Misnomers – Things Given Incorrect Names

A catalogue of errors, mistakes and confusions

One of the most famous landmarks in Athens (Getty/iStock)

This list was proposed by Graham Kirby, who started off with the first one.

1. The Parthenon. It was actually the name of a smaller temple 100 yards away; what we call the Parthenon was originally the Hekatompedon, the “hundred-foot temple”.

2. Mountain chicken. Definitely a frog not a chicken, said Jack Franks.

3. Panama hats. Made famous by Teddy Roosevelt when he visited the canal, they were originally from Ecuador, where they were known as Montecristi hats. Another from Graham Kirby.

4. Rock salmon. Name used by fish and chips shops for various shark species, including dogfish, because it sounded more appealing. Nominated by Graham Fildes.

5. Chinese chequers. A game invented in Germany, given a name by the US marketing people which they thought would be attractive. Thanks to Paul Anthony Jones, author of a list of misnomers on the Mental Floss blog, via Steven Fogel.

6. Elephant shrews. Neither elephants nor shrews, but more closely related to elephants, despite being only 20cm long. Nominated by Simon Cook.

7. The Big Bang was pretty quiet. “The name was given in mockery: Georges Lemaitre preferred ‘the hypothesis of the primeval atom’, which we can all agree is much better,” said Graham Kirby.

8. Pont Neuf, or new bridge, is the oldest bridge in Paris, completed in 1607. Another from Paul Anthony Jones via Steven Fogel.

9. Arabic numerals originated in India. They are named after the Arabian mathematicians who introduced them to Europe in the Middle Ages. Yet another from Paul Anthony Jones via Steven Fogel.

10. Eros. The statue is called the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, so that didn’t work: no one remembers the seventh earl of Shaftesbury, who helped abolish child labour, and whom it commemorates. The naked winged figure is actually Anteros, Eros’s more decorous brother. To meet some of the objections to its sensuous vulgarity the statue was renamed The Angel of Christian Charity, but no one called it that either. Thanks to Tim.

Next week: Famous modern people whose faces are unknown, such as Banksy.

Coming soon: Underrated Harry Potter characters (good one, this).

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk