ALANKOMAAT (Country) FinnishFrom Finnish
alanko "lowland" and
maat "lands". This is the Finnish name for the
Netherlands (for which it is also a translation).
ALBANIA (Region & Country) Late Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianMedieval Latin name for the region which was once occupied by the Illyrian tribe called Albanoi. This is the name of a country in the Balkans.
AMERICA (Region & Country) English, Italian, Romanian, Late RomanFrom the name of the explorer
AMERIGO Vespucci (1451-1512). This is the name of two continents (North and South America). As well, it is commonly used to refer to the United States of America.
AMERYKA (Region & Country) PolishPolish form of
AMERICA, used to refer to the continents and the United States of America.
ANGOLA (Country) Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, DutchPortuguese form of
Ngola, the royal title of the kings of Ndongo, an African kingdom which was conquered by the Portuguese in the 17th-century. It was a Portuguese colony until 1975, when it became an independent country.
ARGENTINA (Country) Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishFrom Latin
argentinus meaning "silvery", a derivative of
argentum meaning "silver". This is the name of a country in South America, arising from a Latinized form of Spanish
Río de la Plata meaning "river of silver".
ARMENIA (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Norwegian, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Ancient PersianFrom Greek
Αρμενια (Armenia), which was from Old Persian
Armina, which is itself probably of Armenia origin. This is the name of a country in the Caucasus region, called
Hayastan in Armenian.
BELGIUM (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
BELGICA, a province in the Roman Empire. Since 1830 this is the name of a country in western Europe. Dutch and French are the main spoken languages.
BRAZIL (Country) English, Croatian, SerbianFrom the name of a type of tree, called
pau-brasil in Portuguese (
brazilwood in English). It may ultimately derive from Portuguese
brasa meaning "ember". This is the name of a country in South America.
BULGARIA (Country) Late Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianFrom the name of the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed". This is the name of a country in southeastern Europe.
CANADA (Country) English, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, NorwegianDerived from the Iroquoian word
kanata meaning "village". This word was used by Native Americans to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to Stadacona. Cartier used the word to refer to the region.
CATHAY (Country) EnglishFrom Old Turkic
Khitai, the name of a people who ruled northern China as the Liao dynasty from the 10th to 12th century, also called the Khitan people. This is an archaic English synonym for
China.
ČESKO (Country) Czech, SlovakFrom the name of the Slavic tribe of the Czechs (see
ČECHY). This is the Czech name for the Czech Republic.
CHAD (Body of Water & Country) English, SpanishFrom Arabic
تشاد (Tshad), derived from a Kanuri word meaning "lake, large expanse of water". This is the name of a lake in central Africa, as well as the country that is named after it. The lake also borders Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
COLOMBIE (Country & Political Subdivision) FrenchFrench form of
COLOMBIA and sometimes of
COLUMBIA (for example
Colombie-Britannique for
British Columbia).
CONGO (River & Country) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, DanishFrom
Kongo, of uncertain origin, the name of a kingdom in central Africa that existed from the 14th to 19th century. The Congo River (also called the
Zaire River) was named after the kingdom. Belgian and French colonies were established in the 19th century, named after the river, which eventually led to two African countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo.
CROATIA (Country) English, Late RomanFrom Croatian
Hrvatska, from medieval Slavic
Khorvatu, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a country in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.
CZECHIA (Country) EnglishEnglish form of
ČECHY (via Polish
Czechy), used as an alternative name for the Czech Republic (and not as a name for
Bohemia).
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (Country) EnglishCombination of
CZECHIA and
SLOVAKIA. This was the name of a country that existed between 1918 and 1993, at which time it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
CZECHY (Region & Country) PolishPolish form of
ČECHY, used to refer both to the region of
Bohemia and the larger Czech Republic.
DAEHAN (Country) KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
大 (dae) meaning "big, great" and
韓 (han) meaning "Korea". This is the official Korean name for South
Korea.
DENMARK (Country) EnglishFrom Danish
Danmark, derived from the ethnic name
Dane, which is possibly from Germanic
den meaning "low ground", combined with
mark meaning "borderland". This is the name of a country in northern Europe.
DEUTSCHLAND (Country) GermanDerived from the German
deutsch meaning "German" (ultimately from Germanic
þeudo "people") and
Land. This is the German endonym for
Germany.
ÉIRE (Country & Island) IrishPossibly means "abundant land" in Old Irish. This is the Irish name of the country and island of Ireland. According to legend the island was named for the goddess
ÉRIU, though in fact it was she who was named for the island.
ELLADA (Country) GreekModern Greek form of Ancient Greek
‘Ελλαδα (Hellada), derived from
‘Ελλην (Hellen) "Greek", which is of uncertain origin. This is the Greek endonym for
Greece.
ENGLAND (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, NorwegianFrom Old English
Englaland meaning "land of the Angles", the Angles being one of the Germanic tribes that settled in the area in the post-Roman period.
ETHIOPIA (Country) EnglishFrom Greek
Αιθιοπια (Aithiopia), derived from
αιθω (aitho) meaning "to burn" and
ωψ (ops) meaning "face", referring to the skin colour of the inhabitants. This is the name of a country in eastern Africa.
FRANCE (Country) French, EnglishFrom Latin
Francia meaning "land of the Franks". The Franks were the Germanic tribe who settled in the region in the 3rd century. They derived their tribal name from the name of a type of spear that they used.
FRANKREICH (Country) GermanDerived from German
Frank, the name of a Germanic tribe, and
Reich meaning "empire, realm". This is the German name for
France.
GERMANY (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Germania, first attested in the writings of Julius Caesar, used to refer to the areas east of the Rhine and north of the Danube. The origin of the term is uncertain. This is an English exonym corresponding to German
Deutschland.
GHANA (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, SlovakFrom the name of the Ghana Empire, which was located in the southwestern Sahara and existed up to the 13th century.
Ghana, meaning "warrior" in Mande, was actually the title of the rulers, while the empire itself was more properly known as
Awkar. In 1957 this was adopted as the name of the newly independent country of Ghana, formerly the British colony Gold Coast, despite the fact that the country lies outside the empire's territory.
GREECE (Country) EnglishEnglish form of Latin
Graecia, the name used by the Romans for the land of the Greeks, derived from Greek
Γραικος (Graikos), which is of uncertain origin. It is possibly derived from the city of Graia in Boeotia.
GUINEA (Region, Country & Island) English, Italian, Spanish, GermanFrom Portuguese
Guiné, which is of unknown meaning, possibly of Berber origin. This name was used by the Portuguese to refer to a portion of western Africa. It was also applied by westerners to the island of New Guinea starting in the 16th century. It is now the name or part of the name of the countries of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea.
HAYASTAN (Country) ArmenianFrom the Armenian word
հայ (hay) meaning "Armenian" combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Armenian name for
Armenia.
HAYK (Country) Armenian (Archaic)From the Armenian word
հայ (hay) meaning "Armenian", of uncertain ultimate origin. Some theories claim it is from the name of the Armenian hero
HAYK, though it is more likely that they simply derive from the same source. This is an archaic Armenian name for
Armenia; the modern name is
Հայաստան (Hayastan).
HOLLAND (1) (Political Subdivision & Country) Dutch, English, GermanFrom Old Dutch
holt "forest" and
lant "land". This is the name of two provinces (North and South Holland) in the Netherlands. It is sometimes used to refer to the entire country of the
Netherlands.
HOLLANDE (Political Subdivision & Country) FrenchFrench form of
HOLLAND (1), referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
HUNGARY (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Hungaria, derived from Byzantine Greek
Ουγγροι (Oungroi), from Turkic
Onogur meaning "ten tribes". This is the name of a country in eastern Europe which was settled by the Hungarians in the 9th century. Because they were identified with the Huns, the
H was added to the beginning of their Latin name. The Hungarian name for the country is
Magyarország.
INDO (Country) JapaneseJapanese form of
INDIA. It is usually written in the katakana writing system.
IRAK (Country) German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, SlovakForm of
IRAQ.
IRAN (Country) Persian, Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Croatian, SerbianDerived from Middle Persian
Eran, related to Old Iranian
Arya meaning "Iranian, Aryan". This is the name of a country in western Asia, formerly called
Persia in the West.
IRAQ (Country) Arabic, English, Italian, CatalanFrom Arabic
العراق (al-'Iraq), probably derived from the name of the ancient Sumerian/Akkadian city of
URUK. This is the name of a country in the Middle East.
ITALY (Country) EnglishAnglicized form of
Italia, originally applied by the Greeks to the south of the Italian Peninsula. It may have been borrowed from Oscan
Víteliú possibly meaning "land of bulls". According to Roman mythology, the region was named for
ITALUS, though in fact it was he who was named for the region.
JORDAN (River & Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, Croatian, Serbian, German, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, BiblicalRiver which flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is
יַרְדֵן (Yarden), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down". The river has lent its name to the country to the east (in German, Swedish, Finnish and Polish this is only the name of the river, with the name of the country taking a different form).
JOSEON (Region & Country) KoreanThis was the name of two kingdoms in the history of Korea. The first was conquered by the Han Empire in the 2nd century BC. The second ruled Korea from the 14th century until the 19th century. The name of these kingdoms was written using the Sino-Korean characters
朝 (jo) meaning "dynasty" and
鮮 (seon) meaning "new", though the actual origin is assumed to be Korean. This name is now used in North Korea to refer to the country of North
Korea.
KONGO (Region, River & Country) Central African, Kongo, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Russian, Croatian, SerbianForm of
CONGO.
KOREA (Country) English, German, Dutch, Finnish, CzechFrom medieval Latin
Corea, itself derived from
GORYEO, the name of a kingdom which ruled most of the Korean Peninsula from the 10th to 14th centuries. This is the name of two countries, North and South Korea.
Hanguk and
Joseon are the Korean names for the countries.
MAGHRIB (Region & Country) ArabicFrom Arabic
المغرب (al-Maghrib) meaning "the place of the sunset, the west". This is the Arabic name of
Morocco as well as the entire region of western North Africa (known as
the Maghreb in English). In Arabic the name is usually written with the definite article:
المغرب (al-Maghrib).
MAGYARORSZÁG (Country) HungarianHungarian name for the country of
HUNGARY, derived from
magyar meaning "Hungarian" and
ország meaning "country".
Magyar itself is derived from a combination of two Uralic roots both meaning "man".
MEXICO (Country & Settlement) English, FrenchFrom Spanish
México, itself derived from Nahuatl
Mehxico. There are many theories regarding the ultimate origin, including Nahuatl
metztli meaning "moon" combined with
xictli meaning "navel". This is the name of a country in North America, as well as its capital city (the country is named after the city). In French
Mexico is the name of the capital city, while the country is called
Mexique.
MEXIQUE (Country) FrenchFrench form of
MEXICO (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
MONGOLIA (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) English, Spanish, ItalianFrom Mongolian
монгол (mongol), the name for the Mongolian people, possibly from
монг (mong) meaning "brave". This the name of a region in eastern Asia, now divided between the country of Mongolia (historically called Outer Mongolia) and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
MOROCCO (Country) EnglishThe name of a country in North Africa, named after the city
MARRAKESH. In Arabic the country is named
al-Maghrib (see
Maghrib).
NEPAL (Country) Nepali, Indian, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, SanskritFrom Sanskrit
नेपाल (Nepal), of unknown meaning. This is the name of a landlocked country in south Asia.
NETHERLANDS (Country) EnglishFrom English
nether meaning "lower" and
land, referring to the low-lying position of the country. This is the name of a country in northwestern Europe. It is sometimes called
Holland in English, though this is properly one of its subregions. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article,
the.
NIEMCY (Country) PolishFrom Slavic
němici meaning "mute, not able to speak", extended to mean "foreigner, German". This is the Polish name of
Germany.
NIGER (River & Country) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, Late RomanMeaning unknown, possibly of Berber origin, though influenced by Latin
niger "black". This is the name of a river in western Africa (and a country which is named after it).