French question: Dominigue vs. Dominique

LarryUSA   Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:28 pm GMT
Reading about the recent Haiti earthquake, brought me to the subject that the country was once known as "Saint-Dominigue" in French colonial times, which according to Wikipedia is the French variant of Santo Domingo.

My question is: I thought that the name "Dominique" was the French variant of Domingo or Dominic. Is there a particular reason why Santo Domingo was called "Saint-Dominigue" as opposed to "Saint-Dominique"? Is it merely a variant or is it an exonym?

Are there other instances outside of Hispaniola where the form "Dominigue" is used as opposed to "Dominique" in French

Thanks, just wondering
Invité d'honneur   Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:14 pm GMT
The name is "Saint-Domingue" not *"Saint-Dominigue" (one i, not two).

"Domingue" isn't a personal name in use in French. "Saint-Domingue" is just an adaptation of "Santo Domingo" into something more French-sounding.
LarryUSA   Wed Jan 13, 2010 6:45 pm GMT
Ok, thanks that's what I assumed was the case, just wanted to see it confirmed.