Sierra Leone

[Tartan Tiger]

Why does Sierra Leone have a french sounding name?

[Narolines]

It's Portuguese for Lion Mountains - they were the first Europeans to land there and explore it.

[gary baldy]

In the spirit of congratulating people for good answers - nice one Narolines. Lovely answer.
Ive learnt something good today.

[Hannah_me]

No, the word is not Portuguese i'm afraid.

Portuguese for Lion=Leao and mountain=montanha or serra.

The word sierra is actually spanish for mountain.

Im pretty sure Leone is an italian word, meaning lion.

Hope this helps! Dont know why the country is called that, but just thought i would correct the previous translation :-)