Nairobi

The term 'Nairobian' and the city name Nairobi derive from the Maasai language (also spelled Maa), spoken by the semi-nomadic Maasai pastoral people who traditionally inhabited the region. The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyrobi (also spelled Enkare Nairobi or Enkare Nyorobi), which translates to 'cool water' or 'cold water'. This phrase is composed of enkare (or nkare), meaning 'water' or 'river', and nyrobi (or nairobi), meaning 'cool' or 'cold'.

The name specifically refers to the Nairobi River and several permanent streams that flow through the area, providing cool, refreshing water in the highland climate. The region, situated at an elevation of about 1,795 meters (5,889 feet) above sea level, has a notably cooler climate than the hot, arid lowlands typical of much of Kenya. For the Maasai herders who moved through the area with their cattle, goats, and sheep, these cool, reliable water sources in the midst of an otherwise dry landscape made the location a valuable resting point and watering station.

The area was characterized by extensive swampland and seasonal marshes fed by the Nairobi River and its tributaries—the Ngong, Motoine, and Mathare rivers. Early European visitors and railway surveyors described it as a 'swamp in a bleak, treeless landscape' with papyrus reeds and soggy grasslands, hardly an obvious choice for a major settlement. The Maasai used it primarily as temporary grazing grounds during seasonal migrations rather than as a permanent settlement site.

Nairobi's transformation from pastoral watering hole to capital city was entirely a consequence of the Uganda Railway (nicknamed the 'Lunatic Express' by critics who questioned its enormous cost). British colonial engineers, constructing a railway from the port of Mombasa to Lake Victoria in Uganda (1896-1901), needed a supply depot and maintenance station roughly at the railway's midpoint. They selected the Nairobi site in 1899 despite its swampy conditions because it offered the last flat ground before the railway's steep climb into the highlands toward Fort Smith (now Kikuyu). The mild climate and reliable water supply were additional factors.

The railway depot quickly grew into a settlement, attracting Indian laborers, British administrators, and African workers. In 1907, the British colonial government transferred the capital of the East Africa Protectorate from Mombasa to Nairobi due to its more central location and cooler climate. Upon Kenya's independence on December 12, 1963, Nairobi became the national capital. Today, the city is nicknamed the 'Green City in the Sun' for its vegetation and pleasant highland climate—far removed from its swampy origins. The demonym 'Nairobian' follows English naming conventions.