Kazahstan (Country) Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, RomanianSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Romanian form of Kazakh
Қазақстан (see
Kazakhstan).
Keilah (Settlement) BiblicalFrom Hebrew
קְעִילָה (Qeʿila) meaning
"fortress, citadel". This was the name of a town in Judah mentioned in the Old Testament.
Kemet (Region) Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
km meaning
"black", referring to the colour of the soil around the
Nile River. This was the Ancient Egyptian name for the Nile Valley in
Egypt.
Kendal (Settlement) EnglishFrom the name of the river
Kent combined with Old English
dæl meaning "valley, dale". This is the name of a town in Cumbria.
Kent (Political Subdivision & River) EnglishPossibly from a Brythonic element meaning
"border, edge, coast". This is the name of a historic kingdom and modern county in southeastern
England, called
Cent in Old English,
Cantium in Latin. It is also the name of a river in Cumbria, northwestern England.
Kenya (Country & Mountain) English, Kikuyu, Swahili, French, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Greek, TurkishThe country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called
Kĩrĩnyaga meaning
"the one having stripes".
Kerry (Political Subdivision) IrishFrom Irish Gaelic
Ciarraí meaning
"Ciar's people". This is the name of an Irish county.
Kimberley (Settlement) EnglishMeans either
"Cyneburga's field",
"Cynebald's field" or
"Cynemær's field". This is the name of towns in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Norfolk. In the case of the city in South Africa, it was named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826-1902). His title was taken from the name of the town in Norfolk.
Kingston (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
cyning "king" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of many towns in
England, as well as other parts of the English-speaking world (including the capital of Jamaica).
Kōbe (Settlement) JapanesePossibly means
"shrine supporters", in reference to the families who tended the local Ikuta Shrine. This is the name of a city in
Japan.
Kobe (Settlement) JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
神戸 (see
Kōbe).
Kolkata (Settlement) Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, EnglishOf uncertain meaning, possibly from the name of the Hindu goddess
Kali 1 combined with Bengali
ক্ষেত্র (kshetra) meaning "field" or
ঘাট (ghāt) meaning "pier". This is the name of a city in West Bengal in India. It was established as a trading city by the British in the 17th century, on the site of the fishing village of
কলিকাতা (Kalikātā). It was formerly called
Calcutta.
Kolumbija (Country, Region, Settlement & Political Subdivision) Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, LithuanianSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian and Lithuanian form of
Columbia and
Colombia.
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.
Kozłów (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
kozioł meaning
"male goat". This is the name of several Polish towns.
Kozłowo (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
kozioł meaning
"male goat". This is the name of several towns in
Poland.
Kraków (Settlement) PolishFrom the name of the city's legendary founder
Krak, of uncertain meaning. This is a city in southern
Poland.
Kurdistan (Region) Kurdish, Arabic, English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, RussianFrom Kurdish
کوردستان (Kurdistan), from the Persian ethnic name
کرد (Kord) meaning "Kurd" combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stān) meaning "land of". This is the name of the region in the midst of
Iran,
Iraq and
Turkey that is primarily inhabited by the Kurdish people.
Kynaston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Cynefrith's town" in Old English. This is the name of hamlets in Herefordshire and Shropshire.
Kyrgyzstan (Country) Kyrgyz, EnglishFrom Kyrgyz
Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan), a combination of the name of the Kyrgyz people and the Persian suffix
ستان (stān) 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.
Landau (Settlement) GermanFrom Old High German
lant meaning "land" and
auwa meaning "damp valley". This is the name of a town in the Palatinate region of
Germany.
Lanka (Island) HinduismMeaning unknown. According to Hindu texts, this was the name of the island stronghold of the demon king
Ravana. It is uncertain whether this island can be identified with
Sri Lanka, though Sri Lanka does take its name from it.
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.
Lassy (Settlement) FrenchDerived from
Lascius, a Gallo-Roman name of unknown meaning. This is the name of a commune in Calvados,
France.
Lecce (Settlement & Political Subdivision) ItalianFrom Latin
Licea or
Litium, earlier
Lupiae. This is the name of a city in southern
Italy, as well as a province named for it.
Lehi (Region) BiblicalMeans
"jawbone" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the site where the hero
Samson killed 1,000 men using only a donkey's jawbone.
Leire (Mountain) BasquePossibly from Latin
legionarius meaning
"pertaining to a legion". This is the name of a mountain in Navarre, the site of an old monastery.
Leitzkau (Settlement) GermanPossibly of Slavic origin. This is the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt,
Germany.
Lennox (Region) ScottishFrom Gaelic
Leamhnachd, possibly meaning
"lace of elms". This is the name of a district in
Scotland.
León (Settlement & Political Subdivision) SpanishDerived from Latin
legio (genitive
legionis) meaning
"legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there. This is the name of a city and province in northern
Spain.
Lesselyn (Region) Medieval ScottishProbably from Scottish Gaelic
leas celyn meaning
"garden of holly". This was the name of a location in Aberdeenshire.
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 (Lībiyā) in Arabic.
Lilliput (Island) LiteratureCreated by the Irish author Jonathan Swift for one of the islands in his novel
Gulliver's Travels (1726). The novel's hero Gulliver is shipwrecked here, a place inhabited by a society of tiny people. Lilliput, a satirical version of Great
Britain, is in conflict with the neighbouring island of Blefuscu, a satirical version of
France. Though Swift did not explain the source of the name, he may have based it on English
little and the archaic word
put meaning "fool, silly man".
Lincoln (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Brythonic
lindo "lake, pool" and Latin
colonia "colony". This is a city in eastern
England, called
Lindum Colonia by the Romans.
Lindsey (Region) EnglishMeans
"Lincoln island" in Old English. This is the name of a region and historical kingdom in Lincolnshire.
Linton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
lind "linden tree" or
lin "flax" combined with
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several towns in the United Kingdom.
Linwood (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
lind "linden tree" and
wudu meaning "wood, forest". This is the name of a few English towns.
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).
Livet (Settlement) FrenchPossibly of Gaulish origin. This is the name of several communes in
France (especially Normandy).
Lombardy (Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Italian
Lombardia, from Late Latin
Langobardia, the name of a region in northern
Italy, which was named after the Germanic Langobards (or
Lombards as they are more often called), a people who invaded and occupied Italy in the 6th century. The Lombards' name is derived from
lang "long" and
bart "beard". In modern Italy this is now an administrative region, with a capital at
Milan.
London (Settlement) English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, IndonesianFrom Latin
Londinium, of unknown meaning. This is the capital city of the
United Kingdom.
Lorne (Region) EnglishPossibly from the name of the legendary king of Dál Riata, Loarn mac Eirc. This is the name of a region in western
Scotland.
Lorraine (Political Subdivision) French, EnglishUltimately from Latin
Lothari regnum meaning
"kingdom of Lothar". Lothar was a Frankish king, the great-grandson of Charlemagne, whose realm was in the part of
France now called
Lorraine, or in German
Lothringen.
Los Angeles (Settlement) EnglishShortened form of Spanish
Pueblo de los Ángeles meaning
"town of the angels", itself a shortened form of the original name, reportedly
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula meaning "the town of Our Lady the queen of the angels of Porziuncola".
... [more] Lothian (Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Latin
Leudonia, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a region in
Scotland, around Edinburgh.
Louisiana (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom French
Louisiane, named after King
Louis XIV of France by the explorer René-Robert Cavelier in 1682. It originally referred to a large territory in the middle of North
America. It was sold by
France to the
United States in 1803, and the southern tip became the American state of Louisiana in 1812.
Loyola (Settlement) SpanishFrom Basque
Loiola, from
loi meaning
"mud". This is the name of a place near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of
Spain.
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] Lyndon (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
lind "linden tree" and
dun meaning "hill". This is the name of a few towns in the United Kingdom.
Lyon (Settlement) French, English, GermanFrom Latin
Lugdunum, derived from the name of the Celtic god
Lugus combined with Gaulish
dunon meaning "hill fort, citadel". This is the name of a city in central
France.
Macarena (Settlement) SpanishBarrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple that may have been named for a person
Macarius (see
Macario).
Madrid (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Mongolian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogFrom Old Spanish
Magerit, itself from Arabic
مجريط (Majrīṭ), of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from Arabic
مجرى (majrā) meaning
"watercourse, channel" or from Latin
matrix meaning
"source, origin (of a river)". This is the name of the capital city of
Spain as well as an autonomous community surrounding it.
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 (majār) meaning "Hungarian" combined with the suffix
ستان (stān) 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 the south of
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.
Maldwyn (Political Subdivision) WelshFrom Welsh
Trefaldwyn, misinterpreting it as if meaning "town of Maldwyn". In fact it means "town of
Baldwin" (in Welsh both
m and
b mutate to
f). This is another name of the old county of Montgomeryshire.
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 West
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".
Malleville (Settlement) FrenchMeans
"bad town" in Norman French. This is the name of communes in Normandy,
France.
Man (Island) EnglishFrom Old Irish
Mana, possibly from the Celtic root *
moniyo- meaning
"mountain". The Isle of Man is an island between
Britain and
Ireland. It is a self-governing British dependency.
Manainn (Island) IrishIrish form of
Man (from the Old Irish dative case of
Mana).
Manfredonia (Settlement) ItalianFrom the given name
Manfredi, referring to a 13th-century king of Sicily. This is the name of a town in Apulia,
Italy, founded by King Manfred on the site of the Roman city of Sipontum.
Mannin (Island) ManxManx form of
Man (from
Manainn, the Old Irish dative case of
Mana).
Marche (Political Subdivision) Italian, EnglishFrom the plural of Late Latin
marca meaning
"borderland, march", of Germanic origin. This is the name of a region in central
Italy, named for the March of Ancona, a frontier region in the Carolingian Empire.
Marlow (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"remnants of a lake" in Old English, from
mere "lake" and
lafe "remnants, remains". This is the name of a town in Buckinghamshire,
England.
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.
Marrakech (Settlement) French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, CroatianFrench, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Croatian form of Arabic
مرّاكش (see
Marrakesh).
Massy (Settlement) FrenchDerived from
Maccius, a Gallo-Roman name of unknown meaning. This is the name of several communes in
France.
Maxwell (Settlement) ScottishMeans
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". This is the name of a place in Roxburghshire,
Scotland.
Maylis (Settlement) FrenchMeaning uncertain, though said to derive from Occitan
mair "mother" and French
lys "lily". This is the name of a commune in southern
France.
Mediterranean (Body of Water) EnglishFrom Late Latin
Mediterraneum, a compound of
medius "middle" and
terra "land, earth". This is the name of the sea between
Europe,
Africa and
Asia. It was not used by the classical Romans, who instead called it
Mare Magnum "great sea" or
Mare Nostrum "our sea".
Mehika (Country) SloveneSlovene form of
Mexico (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
Meirionnydd (Political Subdivision) WelshProbably from the Roman name
Marianus. This is the name of a Welsh county (Anglicized as
Merioneth).
Meißen (Settlement) GermanProbably of Slavic origin. This is the name of a town in eastern
Germany.
Meizhou (Region) ChineseFrom Chinese
美 (měi), referring to America, and
洲 (zhōu) meaning "continent, island". This is the Chinese name for the continents of North and South
America.
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.
Memphis (Settlement) English, Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)Greek form of Egyptian
mn-nfr meaning
"enduring beauty". This was the name of an important city in Lower
Egypt, serving as the capital during the Old Kingdom period. It acquired its current name in the New Kingdom period from a nearby pyramid of Pepi I. This is also the name of a city in Tennessee.
Mendoza (Settlement) BasqueFrom Basque
mendi "mountain" and
hotz "cold". This is the name of a town in Álava,
Spain.
Mérida (Settlement) SpanishFrom Latin
Emerita Augusta meaning "veterans of
Augustus". This was a colony founded by the emperor Augustus for his veterans, and it is now a city in Extremadura,
Spain. There are other cities named after it in
Mexico and
Venezuela.
Messene (Settlement) Ancient GreekMeaning unknown. This was the name of an ancient Greek city on the Peloponnese.
Messina (Settlement) Italian, EnglishLater form of
Messana, the Latin form of
Messene. This is the name of a city on Sicily. Founded by Greek settlers as
Ζάγκλη (Zankle), it was renamed in honour of the Greek city of Messene in the 5th century BC.