Ancient Submitted Place Names

These names were used in various ancient regions.
type
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Abae (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Actium (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Adriatic Sea (Body of Water) Ancient Roman
The Adriatic Sea is located near Central Italy. It is named after Adria. See Hadria for more info.
Akeldama (Region) Biblical, Ancient Aramaic
"Field of blood"
Alabanda (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Alpeis (Mountain) Ancient Greek, Greek
Ancient Greek and modern Greek form of Alps.
Antioch (Settlement) Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
Anglicized version of Antiocheia
Antiocheia (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Derived from the Greek name Antiochos and the feminine suffix -ειᾰ (-eia). This was the name of multiple ancient cities founded by Seleucus I Nicator and named for his father, Antiochus, the most famous of which - Antioch on the Orontes - later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, was made the capital of the province of Syria, and became an important centre of early Christianity.
Antiochia (Settlement) Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of Antiocheia.
Apulia (Political Subdivision) English, Ancient Roman, Polish, Spanish
From Latin Apulia, itself of unknown origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep-, meaning "water". This is the name of a region in southern Italy.
Ashkelon (Settlement) Ancient Hebrew
An ancient city of southwest Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea. Inhabited as early as the third millennium bc, it was a seat of worship for the goddess Astarte.
Aztlan (Other & Settlement) Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Aztec
From the very name of the mythical homeland of the Aztec peoples. Etymology uncertain, often said to mean "place of the herons", from Nahuatl aztatl "heron, snowy egret" and the locative suffix -tlan, though this doesn’t fit Nahuatl morphology... [more]
Bernicia (Political Subdivision) Anglo-Saxon
Birka (Settlement) Old Norse, Old Swedish
Possibly taken from a Latinization of Norse Bjǫrkey "Birch island", although some believe it's derived from Old Norse birk "market place". Birka was a Viking age town and an important trading and market place during the Viking Age located on the island Björkö (modern form of Bjǫrkey) in Lake Mälaren, outside of Stockholm, Sweden.
Byzance (Settlement) Ancient Greek (Gallicized), History (Gallicized)
French form of Byzantion via the Latinized form Byzantium.
Campania (Political Subdivision) Italian, English, Galician, Spanish, Ancient Roman
From Latin Campania, itself from campania felix, denoting the fertile countryside around Mount Vesuvius. This is the name of a region in southern Italy.
Caria (Region) Ancient Greek
Caria was an ancient province near the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor.
Carmania (Political Subdivision & Region) Old Persian (Latinized), English, Italian, Spanish
Latinized form of ancient Persian Karmana via its hellenized form Karmania. This was the name of a region and province of several Persian empires.
Carpathus (Island) Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of Karpathos.
Chicomoztoc (Settlement & Other) Nahuatl, Aztec
From Nahuatl chicome (“seven”), oztotl (“cave”), and -c (“place”).
Chorasmia (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English, Greek
Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman name for the region of Khwarazm in Central Asia. It was named after the Chorasmians, a local Iranian tribe who were known as Χωράσμιοι (Chorasmioi) to the Greeks and as Chorasmii to the Romans.... [more]
Cracovia (Settlement) Galician, Italian, Ancient Roman, Sicilian, Spanish
Galician, Italian, Latin, Sicilian and Spanish form of Krakow.
Cuzco (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Inca (Hispanicized), Quechua (Hispanicized), Spanish (Archaic)
Traditional spelling of Cusco, a city in Peru which was the capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco is the Hispanicized form of Quechua Qusqu meaning "rock, boundary stone; heap of earth and stones; nucleus; navel; bed, dry bed of a lake".
Ephesus (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Turkish, Hittite
"Overseer", tho it may just be folk-etymology
Erana (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Etruria (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman, History
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an ancient country in the Italian Peninsula (located in what is now Tuscany) inhabited by the Etruscans.... [more]
Eturkalamma (Other) Babylonian
Means "house, cattle pen of the land", deriving from the Akkadian elements erṣutu ("ground, earth, soil, land"). Name of the temple of Ishtar in Babylon, where she was worshipped as Belet-babili.
Florentia (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Greek
Latin and Greek form of Florence.
Frakkland (Country) Icelandic, Old Norse
Ultimately from Old Norse frakkar "Franks" and land "land". This is the Icelandic and Old Norse form of France.
Gadeira (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of Phoenician 𐤂𐤃𐤓 (gdr) (see Cádiz).
Gader (Settlement) Phoenician
Phoenician form of Cádiz.
Ganges (River) English, Ancient Greek
From Ancient Greek Γάγγης (Ganges) derived from Sanskrit गङ्गा (ganga) meaning "swift-goer", itself from गच्छति (gacchati) meaning "to go". This is the name of a river in South Asia that flows through India and Bangladesh.
Garðaríki (Country) Old Norse
Old Norse term for an area located in modern Russia.
Grœnland (Country) Old Norse
Means "green land" in Old Norse. From grœnn "green" and land "land".
Hadria (Settlement) Ancient Roman
The name of two Roman settlements. The first one is modern Adria. It is an important Etruscan port town in northern Italy. The second one is modern Atri. It is named after the northern town in Italy... [more]
Hara Berezaiti (Mountain) Avestan, Persian Mythology
Means "high watch" or "high guard" in Avestan, from 𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬍 (harā) meaning "watch, guard, protect" and 𐬠𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬀𐬧𐬙 (berezant) meaning "high, tall". This is the name of a mountain in Zoroastrian legend, also considered the home of Mithra.
Helikon (Mountain) Ancient Greek
Means "the tortuous mountain", derived from Greek ἕλιξ (helix) "spiral" (genitive ἕλικος). This is the name of a famous mountain in Boeotia, Greece.
Hestitona (Settlement) Anglo-Saxon (Latinized)
Latinized form of Old English Hengestestun meaning "town of Hengest", derived from the genitive of the Old English personal name Hengest and tun "enclosure, yard, town"... [more]
Himalaya (Mountain) Sanskrit, Nepali, English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog
Means "abode of snow" in Sanskrit, from हिम (hima) meaning "snow, frost, cold, winter" and आलय (alaya) meaning "abode, dwelling". This is the name of a mountain range in Asia.
Hyperoxiane (Region) Ancient Greek
Means "beyond the river Oxus", derived from Greek ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning "over, above, beyond" combined with the Greek noun Ὦξος (Oxos) meaning "Oxus"... [more]
Icaria (Island) Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
The island where Icarus, son of Daedalus, was buried. Daedalus gave the island the name Icaria in his honor... [more]
Isca (River) Old Celtic (Latinized), History
Romanized form of a Celtic river name, from Common Celtic *iska- "water" (cognate with whiskey). This is the Latin name for both the River Exe and the River Usk, after which the towns of Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta) got their Roman names.
Ísland (Country & Island) Icelandic, Faroese, Old Norse
Form of Iceland.
Ister (River) Ancient Greek (Latinized), Ancient Roman
Latinized form of Istros. The Romans used this as an alternative name for the Danube river, which was primarily known to them under the name Danubius.
Istros (Island & River) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek name for the Greek island of Gyali as well as for the lower section of the Danube river. In the case of the latter, the name is a loanword from either Dacian or Thracian... [more]
Iudaea (Region) Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin
Latin form of Judea.
Iuverna (Country & Island) Ancient Roman
A Roman name for Ireland, from Old Celtic *Iveriu "Ireland" (accusative case *Iverionem, ablative *Iverione) - from which eventually arose Irish Ériu and Éire.
Jorsala (Settlement) Old Norse
Old Norse name for Jerusalem. The name was probably inspired by Uppsala.
Jórvík (Settlement) Old Norse, Icelandic
Icelandic and Old Norse form of York. It is believed to be derived from Old English Eoforwic, itself believed to be derived from Latin Eboracum possibly meaning "place of the yew trees".
Karmania (Political Subdivision & Region) Old Persian (Hellenized)
Hellenized form of Karmana, the ancient Persian name of a region and province of several Persian empires. It is better known under its Latin and English name Carmania.
Karpathos (Island) Ancient Greek, Greek
The second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, located between Crete and Rhodes.
Kashmira (Region) Sanskrit, Kannada
Sanskrit and Kannada form of Kashmir.
Kaukasos (Mountain) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of Caucasus.
Kumayri (Settlement) Ancient Armenian
Old Armenian form of Gyumri.
La Cadière (Settlement) Frankish
Langbarðaland (Country) Old Norse
Old Norse name for Italy.
Laodicea (Settlement) Ancient Greek (Latinized), Biblical
Latinized form of Greek Λαοδίκεια (Laodikeia), which was derived from the Greek name Laodike and the feminine suffix -εια (-eia)... [more]
Londinensi (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin
Latin form of London, the capital city of the United Kingdom.
Lucania (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient Roman, Italian, History
From the Osco-Sabellic luc, meaning "light", associated with the morning star Lucifer in the east, as Lucania was east of the river Sele (then known as Silarus). This was the homeland of the Oscan Lucani people, now known as Basilicata.
Lumbini (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Nepali, Sanskrit
Means "the lovely" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), located in what is now Nepal (in a province of the same name).
Lumbini (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Nepali, Sanskrit
Means "the lovely" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), located in what is now Nepal (within a province of the same name). It is now regarded as a pilgrimage site by Buddhists.
Machelonia (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) Ancient Greek, English, Italian
Derived from Μαχελονία (Machelonia), the ancient Greek name for a region and satrapy of the Sasanian Empire. It was named after the Colchian (i.e. Kartvelian) tribe that lived there, who were known to the ancient Greeks as the Μαχελῶνες (Machelones) or the Μαχελονοι (Machelonoi)... [more]
Malvern (Other) Brythonic
Derived from moel-bryn, meaning "bare or bald hill." A town in Worchestershire, England bears this name.
Massalia (Settlement) Greek, Ancient Greek
Greek form of Marseille, also the name of an ancient colony and city located in what is now southern France.
Mictlan (Settlement) Aztec, Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Meaning ‘underworld’ in Aztec.
Miklagarðr (Settlement) Old Norse
Old Norse name for the city of Constantinople, which has been known as Istanbul since 1923.
Modiin (Settlement) Ancient Hebrew
Comes from the Hebrew word "להודיע" (to inform).... [more]
Mutina (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of Modena, from Etruscan Mutna, of uncertain meaning.
Notion (Settlement) Ancient Greek
From Greek Νότιον (Notion), meaning "southern". This was the name of a city-state on the west coast of Anatolia, near present-day Izmir, Turkey.
Olisipo (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Ancient name of Lisboa used while the city were a part of the Roman Empire. Probably derived from the name Odysseus.
Omeyocan (Settlement) Aztec, Aztec and Toltec Mythology
It means "the place of duality." The word is composed of ōme ('two') and -yō (suffix for abstractions), which gives ōmeyōtl or duality; and -cān (place).
Orcadia (Island) Medieval, Old Celtic (Latinized)
A medieval name for the Orkney Islands, the famous archipelago of the northwest coast of Scotland. It comes from the Roman name Orcades which was probably derived from Celtic *forko- "young pig"... [more]
Ostia (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Italian
From Latin ōs, meaning "mouth", transferred to mean "opening, entrance". This was a major port city in Ancient Rome, which is still the name of a coastal area of the modern city of Rome.
Pandosia (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Pandosia (Ancient Greek: Πανδοσία) was an ancient city of Bruttium, in what is now Calabria, southern Italy. According to Livy it was situated near the border between Bruttium and Lucania (now Basilicata).
Pannonia (Region) Medieval Hungarian, Ancient Roman
Pannonia was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia... [more]
Parma (Settlement) Italian, English, Ancient Roman, Catalan, German, Maltese, Spanish, Russian
From Latin Parma, itself from Etruscan parme, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.
Pen-y-ghent (Mountain) English, Old Celtic
A mountain in Yorkshire, Northern England. In the Cumbric Language, the element pen, exactly as in Welsh, meant 'head, top, summit', and y, also as in Welsh, meant the definite article 'the'... [more]
Phasis (Settlement & River) Ancient Greek
The ancient Greek name for the Rioni River as well as a historical town along that river, meaning unclear. It may be of Georgian-Zan (Mingrelian and Laz), Svan or Semitic origin.
Phoenice (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Phoenice or Phoenike was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.45 It was also the location of the Treaty of Phoenice which ended the First Macedonian War,6 as well as one of the wealthiest cities in Epirus until the Roman conquest.... [more]
Pompeii (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Possibly derived from the Oscan pompe "five", becoming the Latin second declension plural, pompeii. This may be because the community formerly consisted of five hamlets, or was perhaps settled by a family group (gens Pompeia).... [more]
Pritani (Country) Brythonic
Original Brythonic form of Britain.
Saloniki (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Greek, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Latvian, Mongolian, Polish, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek
Greek short form of Thessaloniki, as well as the usual form used in numerous languages.
Sark (Island) English, Ancient Semitic, Medieval Scandinavian
One of the Channel Islands in England. Could be derived from the Proto-Semetic 'śrq', meaning "redden", "rise", or "east", as Sark is the easternmost island. Alternatively, it come from Old Norse 'serkr', meaning "shirt".
Scania (Region & Political Subdivision) English, Italian, Ancient Roman
English, Italian and Latin form of Skåne.
Serdica (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Latin and Ancient Greek name for the Bulgarian city now known as Sofia. Named after the Celtic tribe Serdi.
Serkland (Region) Old Norse
Old Norse name for a region around the Caspian Sea in the Middle East. The name is composed of Old Norse serkr "gown" and land "country". Serkland does not correspond with any modern country or region.
Shrilanka (Country & Island) Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Telugu
Form of Sri Lanka used in multiple languages.
Sicilia (Political Subdivision & Island) Ancient Roman, Italian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog
Ancient Roman (i.e. Classical Latin) form of Sicily, which some modern countries have adopted as their name for the island.
Sikelia (Island & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek, Greek
Ancient Greek and modern Greek form of Sicily.
Sparta (Settlement) English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Manx, Polish, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman
From Doric Greek Σπάρτα (Sparta) and Attic Greek Σπάρτη (Spartē), which is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from σπάρτον (sparton) meaning "rope, cable" - a reference to the cords laid as the city’s foundation boundaries, though this could be just a folk etymology.... [more]
Svecia (Country) Ancient Roman
Latin form of Sverige.
Tamesis (River) Brythonic (Latinized)
Derived from Proto-Celtic *tamēssa possibly meaning "dark". This was a Latin name for the English River Thames.
Tetzcohco (Settlement) Aztec
Original Nahuatl form of Texcoco.
Thebes (Settlement) English, Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
Perhaps ultimately from Semitic teba "chest, box". This is the name of a city in Boeotia, Greece, which played an important role in many Greek myths (as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others).
Thessalonica (Settlement) Ancient Greek (Latinized)
The name of a Greek city, which was named after the princess Thessalonike of Macedon. Her name means "Thessalian victory, victory in Thessaly" from Greek Θεσσαλός (Thessalos) "Thessalian" and νίκη (nike) "victory"... [more]
Thyrea (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Thyrea was a town of Cynuria, and was fought over between ancient Argolis and ancient Laconia. According to Pausanias, Thyrea was named after a mythological figure: Thyraeos, the son of Lycaon.
Tirintha (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek name of Tyrins.
Transoxania (Region) Ancient Roman
Means "beyond the river Oxus", derived from Latin trans meaning "across, beyond" combined with the Latin noun Oxus meaning "the river Oxus".... [more]
Tyras (River) Ancient Greek
Derived from Scythian tūra meaning "quick, rapid, strong". This is the ancient Greek name for the Dniester river, which is known as Dneisteros in modern Greek.
Ulcisia Castra (Region) Ancient, Ancient Roman
Latin for "wolf castle". Now is a part of Szentendre.
Uppsalir (Settlement) Old Norse, Icelandic
Old Norse and Icelandic form of Uppsala.
Vesuvius (Mountain) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman
There are three theories about the origin of the name Vesuvius:... [more]
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".
Wedone (Settlement) Anglo-Saxon
Variant of Weodun
Weodun (Settlement) Anglo-Saxon
From Old English weoh, "idol, image", and dun "hill"
Wicklow (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Irish, Old Norse
Town and county in Ireland. From Old Norse 'víkingalág' or 'vikinga-ló', meaning "meadow of the Vikings".
Yava (Political Subdivision & Island) Azerbaijani, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Russian, Sanskrit, Ukrainian, Uzbek
Form of Java.