What's In A Name?

Papan (planks), Dinding (wall) - and one thinks of a house.
Add Lumut (weeds) - and one thinks of old house by the river or stream.
Add Parit (drain, stream) - yes, it is old house covered by weed by the stream.
Add Titi Serong (inclined bridge) - aha.
The old house with weed is accessible by an inclined bridge across the stream. Or all those could have been objects in an oil painting.
But no. They are all names of places in a state called Perak (silver) in the northern half of peninsular Malaysia. Actually, the mineral should have been tin or timah instead of silver or perak, as the state was the tin mining hub, if we can use the fashionable word 'hub', during its golden era.
In Kedah, a northern state there are places called Langgar (knock) and Pokok Sena (a kind of tree). Imagine another place named Gajah Mati (dead elephant), and a story unfolds - Gajah Mati Langgar Pokok Sena. Elephant dead after hitting a Sena tree. That story was told by a friend of a friend.
Not many places now named in that manner. We are getting more modern and successful that new residential areas and settlements bear words such as:

• jaya (success) as in Subang Jaya, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya;
• perdana (prime) as in Perdana Putra;
• seri (radiant) as in Seri Kembangan;

or names such as Beverly this and that!
I guess the same trend is followed everywhere. Many years ago I traveled in New Mexico, USA and spotted the name of a town 'Truth or Consequence.' I wonder what was the story behind that name. I know what happened at Alamagordo. Its well-documented. But Truth or Consequence? I don't know.
Who then said what's in a name.