Kongo (Region, River & Country) Kongo, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Turkish, GeorgianForm of
Congo in many languages.
Korea (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Greek, Georgian, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogFrom medieval Latin
Corea, itself derived from
Goryeo, the name of a kingdom that 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.
Kyrgyzstan (Country) Kyrgyz, EnglishFrom Kyrgyz
Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan), a combination of the name of the Kyrgyz people and the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The ethnic name may be derived from the Turkic word
kyrk meaning "forty". This is the name of a country in central Asia.
Laos (Country) French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Hebrew, Hindi, Nepali, Malay, Indonesian, TagalogThe name of a country in southeastern Asia, derived from the Lao people, the majority ethnic group. Their name may be derived from an Austroasiatic root meaning "human". The name
Laos was originally applied to the region by France, who established it as a colony in 1893. It achieved independence in 1953.
Liberia (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Spanish, PolishDerived from Latin
liber meaning
"free". This was the name of a colony established in Western Africa by free African Americans in the 1820s. It declared its independence in 1847, and was one of only two independent countries in Africa in the early 20th century (along with
Ethiopia).
Libya (Country & Region) Berber, English, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Hausa, Swahili, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Ancient RomanFrom
Λιβύη (Libye), the Ancient Greek name for North Africa. It was derived from the Berber tribe of the
Libu, attested as
rbw in Ancient Egyptian. This name was revived in 1934 when the Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were merged, carrying forward when the country gained independence in 1951. It is called
ليبيا (Libiya) in Arabic.
Lithuania (Country) EnglishFrom a Latinized form of Lithuanian
Lietuva, possibly derived from the name of the small river Letavka. This is the name of a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.
Litva (Country) Russian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, GeorgianRussian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian and Georgian form of
Lietuva (see
Lithuania).
Luxembourg (Country, Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, French, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Croatian, EstonianFrom Old High German
Lucilinburhuc, derived from
luzil "small" and
burg "castle". This was the name of a castle built by Count Siegfried in the 10th century. The city of Luxembourg and the surrounding territory became a duchy in the 14th century, and it is now a small landlocked country between
Germany,
France and
Belgium. This is also the name of a province of southern Belgium.
... [more] 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".
Majarestan (Country) PersianFrom Persian
مجار (majar) meaning "Hungarian" combined with the suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for
Hungary.
Makedonien (Region, Political Subdivision & Country) German, Danish, SwedishGerman, Danish and Swedish form of
Macedonia. In German this refers only to the region, while the modern country is called
Mazedonien or
Nordmazedonien.
Malavi (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Persian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Urdu, HindiForm of
Malawi in several languages.
Malawi (Country) Chewa, English, Swahili, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkmen, ArabicPossibly from Chewa
malawi meaning
"flame, fire". This is the name of a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It was renamed from Nyasaland when the country gained independence from Britain in 1964. Hastings Banda, the country's first president and the man who chose the name, claimed to have seen it on an old map in the form
Maravi, referring to a lake.
Malaysia (Country) Malay, English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Romanian, Indonesian, TagalogFrom the name of the Malay people, of uncertain origin. It is possibly from the name of a river, itself derived from Malay
melaju or Javanese
mlayu meaning
"to run, to go fast". This is the name of a country in Asia.
Mali (Country) Manding, Fula, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Sinhalese, Hindi, Chinese, Mongolian, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogA landlocked country in Western Africa, named after an empire that lasted until the 17th century. The empire's name is possibly from a dialectal variant of the name of the Mande peoples. Alternatively, it could be from the name of the empire's capital (which has not been located) or from a Mande word meaning "hippopotamus".
Marokko (Country) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, MongolianForm of
Morocco in several languages.
Maroko (Country) Polish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Georgian, IndonesianForm of
Morocco in several languages.
Mehika (Country) SloveneSlovene form of
Mexico (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
Meksiko (Country & Settlement) Finnish, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Afrikaans, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, IndonesianFinnish, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Afrikaans, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali and Indonesian form of
Mexico. In Finnish it refers only to the country, not the capital city.
México (Country & Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Estonian, SloveneSpanish (and Portuguese) form of
Mexico. This native spelling is also used in several other languages to refer to the capital city, while the name of the country has other forms.
Mexico (Country & Settlement) English, French, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, DutchFrom 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 and Swedish
Mexico is the name of the capital city, while the country is called
Mexique in French and
Mexiko in Swedish.
Mexique (Country) FrenchFrench form of
Mexico (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
Misr (Country) Arabic, Pashto, UrduFrom a Semitic root possibly meaning
"border". This is the Arabic, Pashto and Urdu name for the country of
Egypt.
Mongolia (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) English, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Indonesian, MalayFrom 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.
Mongolija (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) Latvian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, SloveneLatvian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian and Slovene form of
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).
Mouko (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
蒙古 (see
Mōko).
Mozambique (Island & Country) English, French, Spanish, Dutch, DanishFrom the name of an island off the southeastern coast of Africa, named
Moçambique by the Portuguese after the 15th-century local sultan
موسى بن بيك (Musa bin Bik). This island became the region's Portuguese colonial capital in the 16th century, and the name was eventually applied to a large area of mainland Africa. Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
Myanmar (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, HindiFrom Burmese
မြန်မာ (Myanma), the name of the main Burmese ethnic group (also called the Bamar), which is of unknown origin. This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia. It was formerly called
Burma, derived from a variant of this term.
Namibia (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Armenian, Swahili, Indonesian, Malay, Japanese, KoreanFrom the name of the Namib Desert, meaning
"desert, vast place" in Khoekhoe. This is a country in southwestern Africa.
Namibiya (Country) Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Arabic, Persian, Azerbaijani, Hindi, BengaliForm of
Namibia used in various languages.
Narnia (Country) LiteratureThe name of a fictional country in C. S. Lewis's
Chronicles of Narnia series of fantasy novels (first released 1950). It was inspired by the Latin name of Narni, an Italian town in the region of Umbria.
Nepal (Country) Nepali, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, 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
němĭcĭ meaning
"foreigner, German", derived from
němŭ meaning "mute, incomprehensible". 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 that is named after it).
Nigeria (Country) English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, GeorgianFrom the name of the
Niger River, applied in the 19th century to the British colonial territory in Western Africa. It continued to be used after the territory became an independent country in 1960.
Nippon (Country) JapaneseMeans
"origin of the sun, sunrise", from Sino-Japanese
日 (nichi) meaning "sun" and
本 (hon) meaning "root, origin". This is the Japanese name for
Japan.
Nizozemsko (Country) CzechFrom Czech
nízký "low" and
země "land". This is the Czech name for the
Netherlands (for which it is also a translation).
Norway (Country) EnglishFrom Old English
Norþweg meaning
"north way". This is the name of a country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe.
Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) ItalianItalian form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Oman (Country) English, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Mongolian, Hindi, Bengali, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Korean, TagalogFrom Arabic
عمان ('Uman), probably from the name of an ancient town called
Omana by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the 1st century. It can probably be identified with the modern city of Suhar, and is from an Arabic root meaning
"to settle, to remain, to dwell". This is the name of a country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
Pakistan (Country) Urdu, Punjabi, English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, SerbianFrom Persian
پاک (pak) meaning "pure" and the suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The name was coined in 1933 by the Pakistani nationalist Choudhry Rahmat Ali who justified it as an acronym of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir and Sindh, plus the final three letters of Baluchistan.
Panama (Country & Settlement) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Japanese, KoreanFrom Spanish
Panamá, of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from the name of a tree commonly found in the area (species Sterculia apetala). Alternatively it could be related to Guaraní
panambi meaning
"butterfly" or Kuna
bannaba meaning
"distant, far away". This is the name of a country in Central America. It is also the name of its capital, usually called
Panama City in English.
Paraguay (Country, River & Settlement) Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, GuaraniThe name of a landlocked country in South America. It is derived from a river of the same name, of uncertain meaning. It possibly means
"water from the sea" in Guaraní, from
para "sea",
gua "from" and
y "water". In Guaraní
Paraguái is the name of the country and the river, with
Paraguay the name of the capital city Asunción.
Pays-Bas (Country) FrenchFrom French
pays "country, land" and
bas "low". This is the French name for the
Netherlands (for which it is also a translation).
Persia (Country) Ancient Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianLatin form of Greek
Περσίς (Persis), from Old Persian
Parsa. This is the name used in the West for a region in western Asia, as well as several empires that were based there, including the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. This was also the Western name for the country of Iran until 1935, when the king requested that the native name
Iran be used instead.
Peru (Country) English, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, HindiFrom Spanish
Perú, older
Birú, which was possibly derived from the name of a chieftain (who nevertheless resided in modern-day Panama).
Philippines (Country) English, FrenchFrom Spanish
Filipinas, which was derived from the given name
Felipe, bestowed in 1543 in honour of the crown prince Philip (later king Philip II) of Spain by the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who originally used it only to refer to the islands of Leyte and Samar. It now refers to the entire archipelago and nation of the Philippines in southeastern Asia. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article,
the.
Poland (Country) EnglishFrom the name of the Slavic tribe of the Poles, derived from the medieval Slavic word
polje meaning "field", combined with
land. This is the name of a country in Eastern Europe.