Coins struck at the city before Alexander's conquest record the Aramean name of the city as "Mnbg" (meaning spring site). For the Assyrians it was known as Nappigu (). The place appears in Greek as "Bambyce" and Pliny (v. 23) recorded its Syrian name as "Mabog" (also "Mabbog", ). As a center of the worship of the Syrian goddess Atargatis, it became known to the Greeks as () 'city of the sanctuary', and finally as () 'holy city' (in ).