Kavango Region
/kəˈvæŋɡoʊ ˈriːdʒən/noun
A region of northern Namibia named after the Kavango people and the Kavango River.
Did you know?The name “Kavango” is associated with the Kavango people and river, but scholars do not have a securely established literal translation for the ethnonym.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Bantu languages
Kavango
“Name associated with the Kavango people and the river system in the area; the deeper original meaning is uncertain.”
19th Century
European records
Okavango
“Recorded name for the major river flowing through Angola, Namibia, and Botswana; spelling reflects European transcription.”
1880s–1900s
German colonial usage
Kavango
“Colonial administrative and geographic designation for the people and territory north of the central Namibian interior.”
20th Century
English
Kavango
“Established English-language geographic name for the river, people, and region.”
1990
Namibian English
Kavango Region
“Administrative region created in independent Namibia.”
2013
Namibian English
Kavango East; Kavango West
“The former Kavango Region was divided into two administrative regions.”