The city of Doha was founded under the name Al-Bidda. The name “Doha” came from the Arabic Ad-Dawḥa, “the big tree.” The reference might be to a prominent tree that stood at the site where the original fishing village arose, on the eastern coast of the Qatar peninsula. Or it might have been derived from “dohat” — Arabic for bay or gulf — referring to the Doha Bay area surrounding the Corniche.