The city is first mentioned by Ptolemy around 150 AD in his Geography. It is then called Juliomagus (written Ιουλιομαγος in ancient Greek). The city appears again on the Tabula Peutingeriana, under the name of Iuliomago.
The antique name of Angers, Juliomagus, is composed of Julius, probably a dedication to Julius Caesar, and of the Celtic word magos, which means "market". Similar town dedications were common in Roman Gaul, and toponyms often kept a Gallic element. Later, the determinant Andecavorum was often added to the name, which thus became Juliomagus Andecavorum. Andecavorum refers to the Andecavi, the Gallic people that lived in and around the city.
Andecavorum finally gave to the city its current name. Around 400 AD, the primitive form, Juliomagus, was replaced by the term civitas, forming civitas Andecavorum, a common change in Gaul also visible in the names of Paris, Tours or Évreux which then started to use the name of the local Gallic tribes.
During the Middle Ages, Angers is successively mentioned as Andecava civitas (6th century), Andecavis (769 AD), Andegavis (between 861 and 882), Angieus (in 1127) and Angeus (in 1205). The form Angiers appears during the 12th century, and is later corrupted in Angers. The final -s is a trace of the Latin ablative-locative cases.
Andecavum gave also the name Anjou, which designates the province where Angers is. This double formation is quite common in France, for example with Poitiers/Poitou and Bourges/Berry.
NicknamesAngers bears several nicknames:
"Athènes de l’Ouest" (Western Athens), a nickname from the 19th century, inspired by the university, colleges and cultural circles; "Ville des fleurs" (City of Flowers), a nickname from the Second French Empire (1852–1870); "Ville verte" (Green City), in reference of the numerous parks and the horticulture tradition; "Angers la Blanche" (Angers the White), because of its tufa façades, or "Angers la Noire" (Angers the Black) because of its slate rooves.
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