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Since 1819, more than 6,200 place (street and village) names divided into more than 3,900 name groups were known in Singapore. Based on digitised historical newspapers, dated back to 1830, municipal records and Malay dictionaries, the origins, meanings and date of naming for many place names are uncovered. As part of Singapore history, place names known since 1936 are recorded in this book.

Although place names are fairly static in nature, there have been more than 100 name changes. The naming trends transitioned from English to Malay and then back to English names. Discover that Toa Payoh was not named after a big swamp, Anderson Road was named before John Anderson, a former Governor, took up his job and many more new findings in this exciting book.

This book is a complete listing of all place names since 1936, together with the most comprehensive annotations to date — a first in Singapore. It is also the only book of its kind that analyses naming trends. Information on the origins or date of naming was based on primary sources such as old maps, minutes of municipal meetings, Chinese books and digitised newspapers.
Ng Yew Peng came to Singapore from Nan An County of Fujian Province, China, at the age of 11. He was awarded the Overseas Scholarship under the Colombo Plan and graduated with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He returned to Singapore and worked as an engineer in the Civil Service and various commercial organisations. From 1994 to 1998, he was stationed in Shanghai. After his retirement, he pursued further studies in Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University and the University of Nanjing in China. The first part of this book is an adaptation of his graduation thesis for the Master of Arts degree from the University of Nanjing.

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What's in the Name? How the Streets and Villages in Singapore Got Their Names