Verenigd Koninkrijk(Country)Dutch Dutch form of United Kingdom. It is literally a direct translation of the country's name, since it consists of the Dutch adjective verenigd meaning "united" combined with the Dutch noun koninkrijk meaning "kingdom".
Vermont(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, literally "green mountain" from French verde "green" + mont "mountain".
Vest-Agder(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Norwegian word vest meaning "west" and the place name agder. It means "the western part of Agder."... [more]
Vestfold(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the old name of the Olsofjord fold and the Norwegian word vest. The name means, "the region west of the fold."... [more]
Veszprém(Settlement)Hungarian Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights.
Vevey(Settlement)French Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.
Veyatie(Body of Water)Scottish The name of a loch in north-west Scotland, from the Gaelic Mheathadaidh, which is of uncertain derivation. This appears to be a tri-thematic name composed of meatha-, a derivative of Old Norse mjó or mjór "narrow", combined with an uncertain second element and the suffix -aidh, derived from Old Norse á "river"... [more]
Viangchan(Settlement)Khmer Khmer form of Vientiane via the Thai form เวียงจันทน์ (Wiangchan).
Vientiane(Settlement)English, French French form of Lao ວຽງຈັນ (Wiangchan) meaning "city of sandalwood" or "city of the moon" from Lao ວຽງ (wiang) meaning "city, town" and ຈັນ (chan) meaning "sandalwood" or "moon"... [more]
Villarreal(Settlement)Spanish Villarreal is a city in the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Villaviciosa(Settlement)Spanish, Filipino Combination of villa meaning "small town" and viciosa meaning "vigorous; abundant" (usually "vicious, profligate").... [more]
Vilnius(Settlement)Lithuanian, English From the name of the Vilnia River, which is derived from Lithuanian vilnis meaning "wave, ripple". This is the name of the capital city of Lithuania.
Vinh(Settlement)Vietnamese Shortened form of any of the place's previous names, such as Kẻ Vinh, Vinh Giang, Vinh Doanh or Vinh Thi, most likely from European influence. The use of the Sino-Vietnamese character 永 (vĩnh) comes from the old practice of phonetic matching, with the character itself holding no significant meaning... [more]
Vĩnh Long(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "forever" and 隆 (long) meaning "grand".
Vĩnh Phúc(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "everlasting" and 福 (phúc) meaning "fortune".
Vĩnh Phúc(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "forever, perpetual, eternal" and 福 (phúc) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing". This is the name of a province of Vietnam.
Vĩnh Yên(Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "forever, perpetual, eternal" and 安 (yên) meaning "calm, peaceful". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Vinland(Region)Old Norse Old Norse name for a place in modern Canada, named by viking Leif Eriksson c. 1000 AD. The first element of the name is uncertain, but it could be from Old Norse vín "wine" or vin "meadow".
Virginia(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, "country of the Virgin", after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.
Virginië(Political Subdivision)Dutch (Archaic), Afrikaans Archaic Dutch and modern Afrikaans form of Virginia. The modern Dutch form is written exactly the same as the English form.
Visby(Settlement)Swedish Visby is a city on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The area's been settled for a long time and was pre-13th century called just Vi "holy place, place of sacrifice, sanctuary"... [more]
Vistula(River)English, Amharic, Indonesian, Romanian, Swahili Borrowed from Latin, likely originating from the Indo-European root *weys- meaning "to flow". It is the longest river in Poland and has significant connections to Polish history and culture.
Víðbláinn(Other)Norse Mythology Derived from Old Norse víðr "wide, extensive" and blár "blue, dark, livid" (the colour used to describe corpses and bruises, e.g. hel-blár "black as death"; compare Bláinn)... [more]
Vladikavkaz(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the Caucasus" from Russian владеть (vladet) meaning "to own, to possess, to control" combined with Кавказ (Kavkaz) meaning "Caucasus"... [more]
Vladivostok(Political Subdivision)Russian literally 'Ruler of the East', 'Rule the East', 'Lord of the East', or 'Expansion to the East.' The name was first applied to the bay but, following an expedition by Alexey Shefner in 1860, was later applied to the new settlement.
Vladivostok(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the East" from Russian владеть (vladet') meaning "to possess, to control, to rule" and восток (vostok) meaning "the East". This is the name of a city in Russia.
Volga(River)English, Russian English and Russian name for the largest river in Europe. The Old Mari name of the river is Volgydo, which means "bright". The name volgydo is cognate to Finno-Ugric valkea meaning "white" or "bright"... [more]
Vũng Tàu(Settlement)Vietnamese Means "anchorage" in Vietnamese, so named for the European trading ships that used to visit the area during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Vuntut(Other)Cree National park in Yukon, Canada. Meaning "among the lakes" in Gwich'in.
Vurel(Other)Mormon The Mormon astronomical star said to be the seventh out of fifteen great ones throughout the galaxy.
Wagoh-ox-oan(Other)Mormon The tenth great star according to Mormon cosmology. The meanings of the first three parts of the name are uncertain, while the fourth part is, according to Joseph Smith, the name for a symbol representing a compound of Zub-zool-oan, whose meaning is given as "the beginning" or "first".
Waikato(River)Maori From the Māori word wai, meaning "water", and kato, meaning "flow; current". Together, this is often translated as "flowing water". The Waikato River is the biggest river in Aotearoa New Zealand, and is often referred to by locals as the 'Mighty Waikato'
Waine(Other)Mormon The ninth great star according to Mormon cosmology, which is preceded by Venisti and succeeded by Wagoh-ox-oan.
Walkden(Settlement)English (British) The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English 'denu', a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca.
Walpole(Settlement)English The name of two places in Norfolk and Suffolk. The place names probably derive from Old English walh "foreigner, Briton, serf" (genitive plural wala) and pol "pool", though the Norfolk place name may have Old English wall "wall" as the first element.
Walton(Settlement)English The name of several villages in England, particularly Lancashire. Named from Old English wale, meaning 'Celt, foreigner' (Compare Wales) and tun, meaning 'town, village'.
Wank(Mountain)Upper German The Wank is a mountain in southern Germany, situated in the Loisach valley close to the Austrian border in the southwestern Ester Mountains range near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Waterford(Settlement)Irish A city in Southern Ireland. Its name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vädur, 'ram', See Wetherby) and fjord, 'fjord'.
Waterloo(Settlement)Flemish, English The name of multiple town and cities throughout the world, most notably the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, where Napoleon was defeated. From the Flemish and Middle Dutch words 'water' and 'loo' (meaning forest, marsh).
Wausau(Region & Settlement)Indigenous American (Latinized, Rare) Term used in many Native American languages with varying similar meanings such as "to see from a distance" or "to hear from a distance." It was the Native American name for a valley in central Wisconsin that is still refered to as such by locals... [more]
Wauwautosa(Settlement)Algonquian Wauwautosa (an edge city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is named after the Potawatomi Chief Wauwataesie and the Potawatomi word for "firefly".
Waveney(River)English The name of a river that forms much of the boundary between the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in eastern England. It is derived from Old English wagen meaning "quagmire" and ēa "meaning "river; running water, stream."
Waverton(Settlement)English Possibly means "Weaver Town" from Old English waver meaning weaver, and ton meaning town.
Wawa(Settlement & Body of Water)Ojibwe Name of a town and lake in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe wording wewe, meaning "wild goose"
Wear(River)English A river in North-East England. It is taken to be of Old Celtic origin and meant 'blood-colored water', referring to the reddish-brown color of the river. In modern Welsh, the name would be waed dwr, 'blood water'... [more]
Weh(Island)Indonesian The name of an island in Indonesia, derived from Acehnese wèh meaning "move, go away, leave". The name probably refers to either the splitting of the original island into separate, smaller islands or the island's break off from Sumatra.
Wellington(Settlement)English From Old English Weolingtun meaning "wealthy estate". Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It is also the name of several settlements throughout the English-speaking world.
Wenlai(Country)Chinese Chinese form of Brunei. 文萊 or 文莱 (Wénlái) is the spelling more commonly used in mainland China while 汶萊 or 汶莱 (Wènlái) or (Wénlái) is the prominent spelling in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.
Wenningsted(Settlement)North Frisian Derived from North Frisian winning "gained land" and Low German stede "settlement".
West Virginia(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War.
Wetherby(Settlement)English A town in West Yorkshire. It's name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vadur, Norwegian vær) and byr, 'farm'. See Waterford.
Wharekauri(Settlement)Maori This is misnomer of the Chatham Islands and Chatham Island. A Maori man made this mistake before 1835. This came from a settlement on Chatham Island named Wharekauri. The Maori have called Chatham Island that to this day.
Why(Settlement)English (American) Small community in Arizona State, US. Arizona law stated that a settlement's name must have at least 3 letters, so the towns founders named the town, which was situated on a Y-section, "Why" instead of "Y"... [more]
Wichita(Settlement)English Name of a city in Kansas, named after the Native American tribe Wichita. Possibly from Wichita We-chate hatchee, "Red Water River".
Wicklow(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish, Old Norse Town and county in Ireland. From Old Norse 'víkingalág' or 'vikinga-ló', meaning "meadow of the Vikings".
Wigan(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its etymology is uncertain but may represent Brittonic *wig, "a dwelling" (c.f. Welsh gwig), with the nominal suffix -an. Another possibility is that Wigan preserves a personal name corresponding to Gaulish Vicanus, Old Breton Uuicon or Welsh Uuicant.
Wiltshire(Political Subdivision)English The name of a county in southwest central England, earlier Wiltonshire, derived from Wilton (once the county's principal town) and Old English scir meaning "shire, administrative division".
Windhoek(Settlement)Afrikaans, Dutch, English This is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It’s unknown how this place got it’s name, most think it’s from the Afrikaans word wind-hoek, which means ''wind corner''... [more]
Windsor(Settlement)English City in Ontario, Canada, from an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.
Wisconsin(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from French Ouisconsin, likely from the Miami word Meskonsing "it lies red".
Woodstock(Settlement)English Name of many towns and cities throughout the world. Means "wood place".
Woolhope(Settlement)English (British) Means "Wulfgifu's valley", derived from the Old English feminine given name Wulfgifu and Middle English hop meaning "small valley"... [more]