The early name of this street was ‘Attap Street’ (亚答街), generally believed to have been derived from the common use of Attap roofing (palm thatch) by most of the shops there. However, among the locals other names also existed such as ‘Bak Kow Street’ (木扣街) or “Bak Street” (木街). These names were related to the Teochew “Bak Kow Kongsi” (木扣公司). “Bak Kow” or “Bak” are pronunciations in the Teochew dialect for wood. Thus, “Bak Kow Street” echoes the English translation of “Carpenter Street” when this back lane alley was the domain of carpentry.
亚答街
“亚答街”这个名字的由来，一般说法是源于早年的店屋以亚答叶为屋顶；它在民间，还曾经有个古老的地名叫“木扣街”，也可以称为木街，跟潮州人在这里的地方组织“木扣公司”有关，“木扣”或许音译自潮语“木”的文读。木扣街一名可以呼应英文的Carpenter Street，这条后街早年正是木匠云集的地方。
