Name
Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Yau Ma Ti, Yaumati or Yau-ma-Tee.
Yau (油) literally means "oil", Ma (麻) can either refer to "sesame" or "jute", and Tei (地) means "field" or "open ground". Hence, Yau Ma Tei can be interpreted to mean either "oil-sesame field" or "oil and jute ground". This dual-interpretation is perhaps the reason why there are two explanations for the origin of the place name.
The area is also named Waterloo in English, after Waterloo Road. This name was used for the MTR station in the area when it was opened in 1979.
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