Editing Klaipėda (section)

==Names==
[[File:Klaipėda seal.png|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Memel city seal, 1446 (diameter {{convert|200|mm|1|abbr=on}}). From the Archive of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, [[Berlin]].]]
The [[Teutonic Knights]] built a [[Klaipėda Castle|castle]] in the *Pilsāts Land of the [[Curonians]] and named it ''Memelburg'', which would later be shortened to ''Memel''. From 1252 to 1923 and from 1939 to 1945, the town and city were officially named ''Memel''. Between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use{{Clarification needed|reason=Which names? Memel, Memelburg or Klaipeda?|date=April 2023}}. Since 1945, the Lithuanian name of ''Klaipėda'' has been used.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

The names ''Memelburg'' and ''Memel'' are found in most written sources from the 13th century onwards, while ''Klaipėda'' is found in Lithuanian sources since the 15th century. The city was initially mentioned as ''Caloypede'' in the letter of [[Vytautas]] in 1413,<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=http://www.mlimuziejus.lt/3/31/312/312.htm |title=Mažosios Lietuvos istorijos muziejus |quote="1413 – pirmąkart paminėtas vardas Klaipėda (Caloypede)" |website=Mlimuziejus.lt |access-date=2 August 2019 |archive-date=9 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509113156/http://www.mlimuziejus.lt/3/31/312/312.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> and in negotiation documents from 1420, the city was named ''Klawppeda.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.klaipedainfo.lt/de/index.php?page=9&sub=3 |title=www.klaipedainfo.lt |access-date=31 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311080257/http://klaipedainfo.lt/de/index.php?page=9&sub=3 |archive-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> In the [[Treaty of Melno]] of 1422, the city's name was listed as ''Cleupeda''. According to [[Samogitian language|Samogitian]] [[folk etymology]], the name ''Klaipėda'' refers to the boggy terrain of the town (''klaidyti''=obstruct and ''pėda''=foot). Most likely, the name is of [[Curonian language|Curonian]] origin and means "even ground"; it likely originates from a combination of "klais/klait" (flat, open, free) and "peda" (sole of the foot, ground), as a reference to relatively flat terrain of the original settlement's surroundings. {{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

The lower reaches of the river [[Neman]] were named either *''Mēmele'' or *''Mēmela'' by [[Scalovians]] and local Curonian inhabitants. In the [[Kursenieki|Latvian Curonian]] language, it means ''mute, silent'' (''memelis, mimelis, mēms''), as a reference to peaceful flow of the Neman. This name was adopted by German speakers, and also was chosen for the new city founded further away at the lagoon.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

The name of the city in the [[Samogitian language]] is spelled slightly differently: {{lang|sgs|Klaipieda}}. The most notable non-Lithuanian names include: {{langx|lv|Klaipēda}}; {{langx|pl|Kłajpeda}}; {{langx|ru|link=no|Клайпеда}}; {{langx|de|link=no|Memel}}.