How Senegal Got Its Name
Although many people think Senegal is derived from the Senegal River, one popular theory of how Senegal got its name is that it stems from a miscommunication between the Wolof fishermen and 15th century Portuguese sailors. The Wolof phrase sunu gaal means “our canoe.” It is said that when the Wolof people saw the Portuguese ships, they were saying the phrase “sunu gaal” in reference to the ships, but the Portuguese sailors thought they were referring to the name of the place.
