Why go
The story turns a familiar square into a clue: Brabo's gesture refers to the giant Antigoon and the throwing of a hand into the Scheldt. Keeping the legend separate from linguistic theories makes the city name more interesting without presenting folklore as fact.
The full story
According to Antwerp folklore, the giant Antigoon demanded a toll from boatmen on the Scheldt and cut off a hand from anyone who refused. A young hero, Silvius Brabo, defeated him and threw the giant's hand into the river. The tale links Antwerpen to the Dutch words for hand and throwing, and the Brabo statue in Grote Markt gives it a visible home. It is a memorable civic story, but it is not a settled explanation of the name. Other proposals connect the word to a wharf or to raised ground and sediment beside a river bend. Those readings fit Antwerp's early setting as a river crossing and trading place, although the exact linguistic path remains disputed. The difference matters when you look at the square and then walk to the Scheldt: the statue expresses how the city tells its story, while the riverbank helps explain why the settlement took root.