Komi(Political Subdivision)Komi, Russian From the name of the Komi people, which is most likely derived from the Finno-Ugric word kojema meaning "man, human", but also possibly from the name of the Kama River... [more]
Komodo(Settlement & Island)Indonesian Meaning uncertain, possibly from the name of a local ethnic group. This is the name of an island and village in eastern Indonesia.
Kota Bharu(Settlement)Malay, English Means "new city" in Malay, from kota meaning "city, town, fort" and baharu meaning "new". This is the name of the capital city of the Malaysian state of Kelantan.
Kriti(Political Subdivision & Island)Greek, Malay Modern Greek transcription of Krete (see Crete) as well as the Malay form. This is the name of the largest and most populous island of Greece.
Krung Thep(Settlement)Thai, English Means "city of gods" from Thai กรุง (krung) meaning "city" and เทพ (thep) meaning "god, deity". This is a Thai name for Bangkok, used as a shortened form of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon... [more]
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon(Settlement)Thai Means "city of gods, great city" from Thai กรุง (krung) meaning "city", เทพ (thep) meaning "god, deity", มหา (maha) meaning "grand, great" and นคร (nakhon) meaning "city"... [more]
Kuala Lumpur(Settlement)Malay, English Means "muddy confluence" from Malay kuala meaning "confluence" and lumpur meaning "mud". This is the name of the capital city of Malaysia.
Kuala Terengganu(Settlement)Malay, English From Malay kuala meaning "confluence" and the name Terengganu. This is the name of the capital city of the Malaysian state of Terengganu.
Kuantan(Settlement)Malay, English Uncertain, possibly from the name of a Sumatran village or of Chinese origin. The name was first mentioned by writer Munshi Abdullah (1796-1854) around 1851 or 1852. This is the name of the capital city of the Malaysian state of Pahang.
Kuching(Settlement)Malay, English Probably either derived from Malay kucing meaning "cat" or from Cochin (or Kochi), the name of a city in India. Other theories suggest that the name comes from Malay mata kucing, the name of a type of fruit, or from Chinese 古 (gǔ) meaning "past, classic, old" combined with 井 (jǐng) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit"... [more]
Kumamoto(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Kyōto(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Alternate transcription of Kyoto.
Kyoto(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 京都 (kyōto) meaning "capital city", itself borrowed from Middle Chinese. This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Laayoune(Settlement)English, Slovene From French Laâyoune derived from Arabic اَلْعَيُون (al-ʿayūn) meaning "the springs". This is the name of the capital city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, though it is administered by Morocco.
Lagos(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Western African, Hausa, Igbo, English From Portuguese lagos meaning "lakes". This is the name of a city in Nigeria as well as a state of the same name.
Lai Châu(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 萊 (lai) meaning "pigweed" and Thai เจ้า (jâo) meaning "master".
Lampung(Political Subdivision)Indonesian From the name of the 7th-century kingdom of Tolang Pohwang, itself derived from Lampungese to meaning "people" and Lang Pohwang, an old name for the region, which is of uncertain origin and meaning... [more]
Lánao(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)Spanish Spanish form of Lanao.
Lanao(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Maranao ranaw meaning "lake, body of water". This is the name of a lake and two provinces in the southern Philippines.
Lạng Sơn(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 諒 (lạng) meaning "excuse, forgive" and 山 (sơn) meaning "mountain". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which it is located.
Lebanon(Country & Mountain)English, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai Derived from the Pro-West Semitic root laban meaning "white". This is the name of a country and mountain range in Western Asia.
Lhasa(Settlement)Tibetan, English Probably from Tibetan ལྷ་ས (lha sa) meaning "land of gods", derived from ལྷ (lha) meaning "deity, god" and ས (sa) meaning "land, earth". Alternatively, it may have been an alteration of Old Tibetan ར་ས (ra sa) meaning "land of goats" or "fortified land" from ར (ra) meaning "goat" or "enclosure" and ས (sa) meaning "land, earth"... [more]
Lhokseumawe(Settlement)Indonesian From the Acehnese name Lhôk Seumaw'è from lhôk meaning "deep" and Seumaw'è referring to the swirling water in the sea along the coast of eastern Aceh. This is the name of a city in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Lisbon(Settlement)English From Portuguese Lisboa derived from Latin Olisīpō, which is of uncertain meaning. Folk etymologies state that it comes from the name Odysseus or Ulysses, though it may have been derived from Phoenician ʿlyṣ ʿbʾ or ʿaliṣ-ʿuboʾ meaning "safe harbour"... [more]
Longyearbyen(Settlement)Norwegian Means "the Longyear town" in Norwegian. Longyearbyen is the main settlement of the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. The town was named after American businessman John Munro Longyear (1850-1922) whose company helped develop the settlement.
Luzon(Island)Filipino, Tagalog, Ilocano, Pampangan, English Of uncertain meaning, probably from Tagalog lusong meaning "mortar (for pounding rice)". This is the name of the largest island in the Philippines.
Madura(Island)Indonesian, Javanese Either from Indonesian madu meaning "honey" combined with dara meaning "maiden, girl" or from Sanskrit मथुरा (mathura) referring to the Indian city of Mathura (which is believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna)... [more]
Magadan(Settlement)Biblical Hebrew Derived from Hebrew מגדל (Migdal) meaning "tower"; ultimately from Aramaic מגדלא (Magdala) "elegant, great" or "tower". The King James' Version of the Bible provide the name Magdala, while some Greek manuscripts and the Revised Version provide the name "Magadan"... [more]