Macau
Updated: Sep 29, 2022
Country Name
Macau, and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR).
Location
China surrounds Macau along every border except in the southeast. From there, Macau shares a border with the Pacific Ocean.
Vietnam is to the southwest of Macau, and the island nation of Taiwan is situated to the east of Macau.

Reason for Naming
The first known written record of the name "Macau", translated as "Ya/A Ma Gang" ("亞/阿-媽/馬-港"), is found in a letter dated 20 November 1555.
The local inhabitants believed that the sea-goddess Mazu (alternatively called A-Ma) had blessed and protected the harbor and called the waters around A-Ma Temple using her name.
When Portuguese explorers first arrived in the area and asked for the place's name, the locals thought they were asking about the temple and told them it was "Ma Kok" (媽閣).
The earliest Portuguese spelling for this was Amaquão. Multiple variations were used until Amacão / Amacao and Macão / Macao became common during the 17th century.