The name of Kenya before Independence by: Arjen (webmaster)
hi Don,
Before it gained independence in 1963, Kenya was a colony of the British and its official name was "Colony of Kenya". To be more precise, the whole of Kenya fell under this except a ten-mile coastal strip whose official name was "Protectorate of Kenya" (it was apparently leased from the Sultan of Zanzibar). Both territories were run as one administrative entity, though.
The name Kenya comes from the mountain of the same name. The Kikuyu, who lived around that mountain, refered to it as Kirinyaga or Kerenyaga, meaning ‘mountain of whiteness’ because of the peak that's always covered in snow. However, the British were unable to pronounce Kirinyaga correctly, so it became Kenya.
