As in many provinces, there are several stories about where the name Zonguldak comes from, and the Ministry of Culture's account settles on none of them. The ground the city centre stands on was once marshland at the mouth of the Üzülmez stream.
The first explanation is the oldest settlement. A village-like settlement known in antiquity as Sandraka or Sandrake stood on the site and took its name from the Sandra stream — the Üzülmez, or Zonguldak, stream.
The second and third look at the marsh itself. On one reading, because the district was covered in reeds, a word meaning reed bed or marsh — zonguralık, zunguralık, zongalık, zungalık — changed over time into Zonguldak. A related assumption derives it from zonklatan, the shaking place, after the malaria the reeds and standing water brought.
