The city of Sydney has never been "officially" named as such. When the first European settlers arrived in January, 1788 the colony was officially named "New Albion". The small beach where the colonists decamped was named "Sydney Cove" in honour of Lord Sydney, also known as Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 January 1732 – 30 June 1800).For some (unknown) reason the name of this small cove became the default name of the entire colony, and the name "New Albion" disappeared completely. The name "Sydney" itself derives from a village in Normandy (France) called Saint-Denis.