Rio de Janeiro

Meaning

Proper Noun

• state Southeast Region (region) Brazil (country) .
• municipality, state capital Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazil (country); former capital of Brazil (country).

Origin

• From Portuguese Rio de Janeiro ("River of January"). The city was named after the Guanabara Bay (the word rio, which in modern Portuguese means "river", could also mean other water body such as bays in the 16th century) and the date it was discovered by Portuguese founders: January 1, 1502.