"Niger" is a transliteration of the French word "Niger". But it doesn't come from French itself. In ancient times, the Niger River had many names. Residents in Heyuan area call it Dinige River Oliba, which means "a lot of blood". Mande, an upstream resident, called it Baba, which means "the king of rivers". Germain people in the middle reaches call it "lssaberi", which means "big river". Niger River is the main river in West Africa, with a total length of 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles), and it is the third largest river in Africa after Nile River and Congo River. People think it was named by the Greeks. Along its river course, it has several names: the upper reaches are called Jiaobali (Malink means "big river"), the middle reaches are called Meobario and Issa Egeland, and the lower reaches are called Kwala and Kwala.