Paramaribo
Suriname · Americas
About Paramaribo
Paramaribo, locally nicknamed Foto, is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 252,581 people as of the 2025 estimate, almost half of Suriname's population. The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
The city is named for the Paramaribo tribe living at the mouth of the Suriname River; the name is from Tupi–Guarani para "large river" + maribo "inhabitants".
The name Paramaribo is probably a corruption of the name of a native village, spelled Parmurbo in the earliest Dutch sources. This was the location of the first Dutch settlement, a trading post established by Nicolaes Baliestel and Dirck Claeszoon van Sanen in 1613. English and French traders also tried to establish settlements in Suriname, including a French post established in 1644 near present-day Paramaribo.
All earlier settlements were abandoned sometime before the arrival of English settlers in 1650 to found Surinam. They were sent by the English governor of Barbados, Lord Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, and established a town...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.