Nil (River) Arabic, French, German, Luxembourgish, Catalan, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Turkish, AzerbaijaniForm of
Nile in various languages. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article:
النيل (al-Nil).
Nile (River) EnglishFrom Latin
Nilus, which was from Greek
Νεῖλος (Neilos), possibly of Semitic origin meaning
"river". This is the name of a long river in Africa.
Nineveh (Settlement) English, BiblicalFrom Akkadian
𒉌𒉡𒀀 (Ninua), possibly related to
𒄩 (nūnu) meaning
"fish". When written, the name is usually prefixed with
𒌷 indicating a city. This may have referred to an aspect of
Ishtar, as from an early time the city was a center of worship of the goddess. The cuneiform symbols used to represent the city's name depict a fish within a house.
... [more] 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).
Nørup (Settlement) DanishMeaning unknown. This is the name of towns in Denmark.
Norway (Country) EnglishFrom Old English
Norþweg meaning
"north way". This is the name of a country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe.
Nowakowo (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
nowy meaning
"new". This is the name of towns in Poland.
Nowice (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
nowy meaning
"new". This is the name of a few towns in Poland.
Nubia (Region) English, Late RomanPossibly derives from the Egyptian word
nbw meaning
"gold". This was the name of an ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt.
Nysa (Region) Greek MythologyPossibly from an archaic Greek word meaning
"tree". In Greek mythology Nysa was the mountainous region where young
Dionysos was raised.
Ochtrup (Settlement) GermanThe name of a town in Germany, of uncertain meaning.
Odessa (Settlement) RussianFrom the name of the ancient Greek city of
Odessos (which was located at a different site). This is the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea.
Odessos (Settlement) Ancient GreekMeaning uncertain. This was the name of an ancient Greek city located on the west coast of the Black Sea, at the site of present-day Varna, Bulgaria.
Oirschot (Settlement) DutchPossibly from Dutch
oeros meaning "aurochs" and
schoot meaning "projection (of land)". This is the name of a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands.
Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) ItalianItalian form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Olympos (Mountain) Ancient Greek, GreekMeaning unknown. This is the name of the highest mountain in Greece. According to legend is the home of the Greek gods.
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.
Orléans (Settlement) FrenchFrench form of
Aurelianum, the name of a city in central France. The city in Louisiana,
La Nouvelle-Orléans or
New Orleans, was named after Philippe II, the Duke of Orléans.
Orleans (Settlement) EnglishEnglish form of
Orléans. This is the name of several towns in the Americas, notably the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.
Oz 1 (Region) LiteratureInvented by the American author L. Frank Baum for the setting of his fantasy novel
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). There are several unsubstantiated theories about how Baum created the name, though it seems probable he simply made it up.
Padua (Settlement) English, German, Spanish, DutchFrom Italian
Padova, Latin
Patavium, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.
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.
Pangaea (Region) EnglishCreated by the German geologist Alfred Wegener in 1915 to refer to a supercontinent that existed over 200 million years ago. He called it in German
Pangäa, from Greek
πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and
γαῖα (gaia) meaning "earth".
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.
Paris (Settlement) French, English, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Turkish, Persian, HausaFrom the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii. This is the capital city of France.
Pavia (Settlement) Italian, EnglishFrom Late Latin
Papia, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy. In classical Latin it was called
Ticinum.
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).
Peking (Settlement) German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, English (Archaic)Form of
Beijing in various languages, as well as an older English form.
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).
Pesaro (Settlement) Italian, EnglishFrom Latin
Pisaurum, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in central Italy.
Pest (Settlement) HungarianPossibly from a Slavic word meaning
"cave". This was the name of a city on the east bank of the Danube in Hungary. After a bridge was built across the river in 1849, Pest merged with
Buda to form
Budapest in 1873.
Petra (Settlement) Ancient Greek, EnglishFrom Greek
πέτρα (petra) meaning
"rock". This was the Greek name of the capital city of the Nabataeans, which may have been known as
Raqmu to its Semitic inhabitants. Its ruins lie in
Jordan.
Pey (Settlement) DutchMeaning unknown. This is the name of a town in Limburg in the Netherlands.
Peyton (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Pæga's town". This is the name of a town in Sussex.
Philadelphia (Settlement) Biblical, EnglishMeans
"brotherly love" from Greek
φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love" and
ἀδελφός (adelphos) meaning "brother". This was the name of a city in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation in the New Testament. It is now known as
Alaşehir (in Turkey). It is also the name of a city in the United States.
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.
Pieńsk (Settlement) PolishDerived from Polish
pień meaning
"stump, tree trunk". This is the name of a town in Silesia in Poland.
Poix (Settlement) FrenchPossibly from Old French
peis meaning
"fish". This is the name of a town in Picardy, France.
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.
Pontecorvo (Settlement) ItalianFrom Italian
ponte "bridge" and
curvo "curved". This is the name of a town in central Italy.
Portugal (Country) Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Indonesian, MalayFrom
Portugale, which was derived from
Portus Cale, the old name of the city of Porto. The name of the city was later applied to the entire country.
Prag (Settlement) German, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Luxembourgish, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, TurkishGerman, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Luxembourgish, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Turkish form of
Praha (see
Prague).
Praga (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian, GreekItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian and Greek form of
Praha (see
Prague).
Prague (Settlement) English, FrenchFrom Czech
Praha, possibly from the Slavic root
práh meaning
"ford". This is the name of the capital city of the Czech Republic.
Priestley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
preost "priest" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few small towns in England.
Princeton (Settlement) EnglishThe name of a town in New Jersey, originally called
Princetown when it was established in the early 18th century. It is said to have been named for William III, the Prince of Orange.
Provence (Region) French, English, GermanFrom Latin
provincia meaning
"province", a Roman territorial division. This is the name a region in southern France, originally acquiring its name because it was the first Roman province beyond the Alps.
Quds (Settlement) ArabicMeans
"holy" in Arabic. This is the Arabic name for
Jerusalem, usually written with the definite article:
القُدْس (al-Quds).
Quebec (Settlement & Political Subdivision) EnglishEnglish form of French
Québec, derived from the Algonquin word
kepec meaning
"narrows", referring to the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec city. This is the name of a Canadian province and also the capital city of that province.
Ramsey (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"garlic island", derived from Old English
hramsa "garlic" and
eg "island". This is the name of villages in England.
Ravenna (Settlement) ItalianMeaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. This is the name of a city in Italy.
Rayne (Settlement) EnglishPossibly from an Old English word meaning
"shelter". This is the name of a town in Essex.
Rennes (Settlement) French, EnglishFrom Latin
(Condate) Riedonum, derived from the name of the Gaulish tribe of the Redones. This is the name of a town in Brittany, France.
Rhodesia (Region) EnglishFrom the surname
Rhodes. This was a British-controlled region of Southern Africa, named after the politician and imperialist Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902). It is now the independent countries of
Zimbabwe and
Zambia.
Roe (River) IrishPossibly from Irish
rua meaning
"red". This is the name of a river in Ireland.
Romagna (Region & Political Subdivision) Italian, English, GermanFrom Latin
Romania, in this case the name of a historic region on the Adriatic coast of Italy (part of the modern administrative region of Emilia-Romagna).
Romania (Country & Region) English, Italian, Ancient RomanFrom Latin meaning
"land of the Romans" (see
Rome). This is the name of a country in Eastern Europe, so named in the 16th century because of its historic and linguistic connections to the Roman Empire.
... [more] Rome (Settlement) English, French, DutchMeaning uncertain, from Latin
Roma. It is possibly of Etruscan origin. This is the name of the capital city of Italy, formerly the capital of the Roman Kingdom, Republic and Empire. According to legend the city was named for
Romulus.
Romiley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
rum "roomy, spacious" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a town that is now part of Greater Manchester.
Romilly (Settlement) FrenchFrom the Latin name
Romilius, a derivative of
Romulus. This is the name of several communes in northern France.
Ross (Region & Settlement) ScottishFrom Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning
"promontory". This is the name of a historic region in northern Scotland, as well as towns in Scotland and northern England.
Rossum (Settlement) DutchFrom the older
Rotheheim, derived from Dutch
rothe "cleared area in a forest" and
heim "home". This is the name of a town in Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Royston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Royse's town" in Old English. The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose. This is the name of a town in Hertfordshire.
Ruanda (Country) German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, English, FrenchForm of
Brunei in several languages, as well as a variant spelling in other languages.
Rudawa (River) PolishMeaning unknown. This is the name of a river in Poland, near Krakow.
Ruotsi (Country) FinnishProbably borrowed from Old Norse
róðr meaning
"rowing", referring to people from the coastal region of Roslagen in Sweden. This is the Finnish name for
Sweden.
Rus (Region) Russian, Ukrainian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishProbably of Old Norse origin, possibly from
róðr meaning
"rowing", referring to the Norse Varangians and their main mode of transportation. This was the name of a medieval Slavic state of Eastern Europe (around Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia), originally founded by the Varangians in the 9th century.
Russia (Country) English, Italian, Late RomanDerived from the name of the medieval state of
Rus. The modern country of Russia includes the eastern portions of Rus, and has also expanded far to the east across Asia.
Rutherford (Settlement) ScottishFrom Old English
hriðer "cattle, ox" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This was the name of a town in southern Scotland.
Rwanda (Country) Rwandan, English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, SwahiliOf Kinyarwanda origin, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a small landlocked country in central Africa.
Ryley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
ryge "rye" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Lancashire, England.
Saint Clair (Settlement) FrenchName commemorating Saint
Clair. This is the name of several communes in France.
Saint Denis (Settlement) FrenchName commemorating Saint
Denis. This is the name of several communes in France.
Saint Maur (Settlement) FrenchName commemorating Saint
Maurus. This is the name of several communes in France.
Saint Pierre (Settlement & Island) FrenchName commemorating Saint
Peter. This is the name of several communes in France as well as a French island near Newfoundland.
Sakartvelo (Country) GeorgianFrom Georgian
ქართველი (kartveli), a term referring to a Georgian person, itself derived from the central region of
ქართლი (Kartli). It is prefixed with
სა (sa), indicating a place. This is the Georgian name for the country of
Georgia.
Salem (Settlement) English, BiblicalFrom Hebrew
שָׁלֵם (shalem) meaning
"complete, safe, peaceful". This is the name of a town in the Old Testament where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with
Jerusalem. Several places are named after the biblical town, mostly in America.