This excerpt from a history of Angola on the excellent Country Studies site reveals the origins of the former Portuguese colony's name.
Shortly after Cão made his initial contact with the Kongo Kingdom of northern Angola in 1483, he established links farther south with Ndongo--an African state less advanced than Kongo that was made up of Kimbundu-speaking people. Their ruler, who was tributary to the manikongo, was called the ngola a kiluanje. It was the first part of the title, its pronunciation changed to "Angola," by which the Portuguese referred to the entire area.
Country Studies compiles on-line versions of handbooks for a wide variety of countries commissioned by the U.S. Department of the Army between 1986 and 1998. Although not every country is covered, the information here seems much more comprehensive then what you'll find in the CIA World Factbook.
Posted by alokem at March 19, 2004 02:11 PM