Aegean (Body of Water) EnglishFrom Greek
Αἰγαῖος (Aigaios), said to have been named for the mythological figure
Aigeus. It might instead be derived directly from
αἶγες meaning
"waves". This is the name of a sea within the Mediterranean, between Greece and Turkey.
Afghanistan (Country) Pashto, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, MalayFrom Pashto
افغانستان (Afghanistan), from the Persian ethnic name
افغان (Afghan) meaning "Afghan, Pashtun" combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a country in central Asia.
Alemannia (Region) Ancient RomanLatin name for the lands where the Alemanni lived. The Alemanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes who lived around the upper Rhine River in the time of the Roman Empire.
Amersfoort (Settlement) DutchMeans
"ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch. This is the name of a city in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Amstel (River) DutchMeans
"water place" in Dutch. This is the name of a river in the Netherlands, which lent its name to
Amsterdam.
Aquino (Settlement) ItalianDerived from Latin
aqua meaning
"water". This is the name of a town in Italy.
Arabestan (Region & Country) PersianFrom Persian
عرب ('arab) meaning "Arab" combined with the suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for both the Arabian Peninsula and the country of
Saudi Arabia (alongside the fuller form
عربستان سعودی ('Arabestan e-Sa'udi)).
Arizona (Political Subdivision) EnglishThe name of an American state. It is derived from Spanish
Arizonac, possibly from a local O'odham name meaning
"small spring" (
ʼali "small, child" and
ṣon "water spring"). Alternatively it derive from Basque meaning
"good oak" (
haritz "oak" and
ona "good").
Asgard (Region) Norse MythologyEnglish form of Old Norse
Ásgarðr meaning
"enclosure of the Æsir", composed of Old Norse
áss meaning "god, Æsir" and
garðr meaning "enclosure, stronghold". This is the name of the home of the Æsir gods in Norse Mythology.
Asturias (Political Subdivision) SpanishPossibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water". This was the name of an 8th to 10th-century kingdom of northern Iberia. It is now the name of a Spanish province.
Aurelianum (Settlement) Ancient RomanMeans
"of Aurelianus" in Latin. This was the name of a city in Gaul (modern
Orléans, France), which was renamed in honour of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Aurelian.
Avon (River) EnglishMeans
"river" in Brythonic (modern Welsh
afon). This is the name of several rivers in Britain.
Ayton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
ea "river" or
ieg "island" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire.
Babylon (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical GreekGreek form of Akkadian
𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Babili), which appears to mean
"gateway of God", from Akkadian
𒆍 (babu) meaning "gate" and
𒀭 (ilu) meaning "God", though it may in fact derive from a non-Semitic language. This was the name of a major city in ancient Mesopotamia, the capital of the Babylonian Empire. It was located in present-day Iraq.
Bahrain (Country & Island) Arabic, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Romanian, Catalan, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogMeans
"two seas" in Arabic, derived from
بحر (bahr) meaning "sea" combined with the dual suffix
ين (ayn). This is the name of a small island country in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article:
البحرين (al-Bahrayn).
Bangladesh (Country) Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Mongolian, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Indonesian, MalayFrom Bengali
বাংলাদেশ (Bangladesh) meaning
"country of the Bengali people", from the name of the Bengali people
বাংলা (Bangla) combined with
দেশ (desh) "country, state". The ethnic name is derived from that of the ancient kingdom of
Vanga. This is the name of a country in south Asia.
Bavaria (Political Subdivision) English, Late RomanFrom Late Latin
Baiovarii, the name of a Germanic tribe, named after an earlier Gaulish tribe the
Boii. This is the name of a state in Germany (called
Bayern in German).
Belgica (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient RomanDerived from the
Belgae, a Celtic-Germanic confederation of tribes that inhabited northern Gaul (modern
Belgium). Their name is probably derived from a Celtic root meaning "to swell with anger".
Belize (Country & River) English, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Turkish, Indonesian, MalayFrom Spanish
Belice, earlier
Balis, from the name of the Belize River, which may itself be from Mayan
beliz meaning
"muddy water". This is the name of a country on the Atlantic coast of Central America.
Benin (Settlement, Body of Water & Country) English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Indonesian, MalayFrom Portuguese
Benim, derived from Itsekiri
Ubinu, the name of the capital city of the historical Benin Kingdom (present-day Benin City in Nigeria). Allegedly it was initially named
Ile-Ibinu meaning
"land of anger" because of disputes between different factions. The Bight of Benin (a large bay) was named after the Benin Kingdom, and the modern country of Benin, west of Nigeria, was named after the bay in 1975 (formerly named
Dahomey).
Benington (Settlement) EnglishMeans either
"settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or
"settlement by the River Beane" in Old English. This is the name of towns in England.
Bethany (Settlement) BiblicalFrom Greek
Βηθανία (Bethania), which is of uncertain meaning. The first part of the name is derived from Hebrew/Aramaic
בַּיִת (bayit) meaning "house". Suggestions for the second part of the name include
עָנָה ('anah) leading to
"house of affliction" or
תְּאֵנָה (te'enah) leading to
"house of figs". In the New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha.
Bethel (Settlement) BiblicalMeans
"house of God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a town north of Jerusalem, where
Jacob saw his vision of the stairway.
Bethlehem (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, BiblicalMeans
"house of bread" in Hebrew, from the roots
בַּיִת (bayit) meaning "house" and
לֶחֶם (lechem) meaning "bread". This is the name of a city in Palestine. It appears in the both the Old Testament and the New Testament, notably as the town where
Jesus is born.
Beverley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beofor "beaver" and (possibly)
licc "stream". This is the name of a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Blackburn (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
blæc "black" and
burna "stream". This is the name of a city in Lancashire, England.
Bombay (Settlement) French, Spanish, English (Rare)From Portuguese
Bombaim, probably derived from Marathi
Mumbai, possibly with influence from Portuguese
bom bain meaning
"good little bay". This is an older English name for
Mumbai, officially used until 1995. It is also the form still commonly used in French and Spanish.
Botswana (Country) Tswana, English, Shona, German, French, Italian, Catalan, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, RomanianMeans
"place of the Tswana people" in the Tswana language, from the locative prefix
bo- combined with the name of Tswana people, itself of uncertain origin, possibly from
tswa "to go out" or
tshwana "to resemble". This is the name of a country in Southern Africa. During the British colonial period the region was called
Bechuanaland, which was more accurately rendered as
Botswana when the country achieved independence in 1966.
Bradford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brad "broad" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of a city in West Yorkshire, as well as several other towns.
Bristol (Settlement) EnglishName of a city in southwestern England, derived from Old English
Brycgstow meaning
"the site of the bridge".
Britain (Island) EnglishFrom
Britannia, the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, the land of the Britons. It derives from the name of the Britons, recorded in Greek in the 4th century BC as
Πρεττανική (Prettanike), and reconstructed as Proto-Brythonic *
Pritanī, possibly meaning "tattooed people".
Brunei (Country) Malay, Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, Hindi, TagalogPossibly from Sanskrit
वरुण, the Hindu god
Varuna or figuratively meaning
"water, ocean". However, according to tradition,
Brunei was from the Malay phrase
baru nah meaning "there!" or "that's it!", which was supposedly declared by Brunei's first sultan Muhammad Shah when he discovered it in the 14th century.
... [more] Burnham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home". This is the name of several towns in England.
Carlisle (Settlement) EnglishOriginally called by the Romans
Luguvalium meaning
"stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element
ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city. This is the name of a city in Cumbria in northern England.
Catalonia (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Catalan
Catalunya, of uncertain meaning, possibly from Latin
castellum "castle" or
Gauthia Launia "land of the Goths". This is the name of a region in eastern Spain.
Čechy (Region) Czech, SlovakFrom the name of the Slavic tribe of the Czechs, probably derived from the Slavic root
čelo meaning "family, tribe". This is the Czech name of
Bohemia, while the Czech Republic is called
Česko.
Česko (Country) Czech, SlovakFrom the name of the Slavic tribe of the Czechs (see
Čechy). This is the Czech name for the Czech Republic.
Chad (Body of Water & Country) English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, MalayFrom Arabic
تشاد (Tshad), derived from a Kanuri word meaning
"lake, large expanse of water". This is the name of a lake in central Africa, as well as the country that is named after it. The lake also borders Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Cockburn (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
cocc "rooster" and
burna "stream". This was the name of a town in Berwickshire, Scotland.
Courtenay (Settlement) FrenchFrom the Gallo-Roman given name
Curtenus, derived from Latin
curtus "short". This is the name of a few French communes.
Crawford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
crawe "crow" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name various small towns in England.
Cremona (Settlement & Political Subdivision) ItalianProbably from the name of the Celtic tribe the Cenomani, or possibly from a pre-Latin word meaning "stone". This is the name of a city and province in northern
Italy.
Daehan (Country) KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
大 (dae) meaning "big, great" and
韓 (han) meaning "Korea". This is the official Korean name for South
Korea.
Danube (River) EnglishFrom Latin
Danubius, from Indo-European
Danu, probably meaning
"river, water". This is the name of a river that flows east through Europe to the Black Sea.
Denmark (Country) EnglishFrom Danish
Danmark, derived from the ethnic name
Dane, which is possibly from Germanic
den meaning "low ground", combined with
mark meaning "borderland". This is the name of a country in Northern Europe.
Devon (Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom the name of the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe. This is the name of a county in England.
Dogil (Country) KoreanDerived via Japanese from Dutch
Duits meaning "German". This is the Korean name for
Germany.
Doitsu (Country) JapaneseDerived from Dutch
Duits meaning "German". This is the Japanese name for
Germany.
Douglas (River & Settlement) ScottishFrom Gaelic
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). This is the name of a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, as well as a town that sits upon it in Lanarkshire.
Eaton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
ea "river" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several English towns.
Egypt (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Aegyptus, itself from Greek
Αἴγυπτος (Aigyptos), which was probably derived from Egyptian
ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ, the name of the temple to the god
Ptah in
Memphis, meaning
"the house of the soul of Ptah". Descendants of the Latin name are used in most European languages to refer to the ancient kingdom and modern country of Egypt. However, the name the ancient Egyptians used to refer to the Nile Valley was
Kemet, and the Arabic speakers of modern Egypt call it
Masr.
England (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, NorwegianFrom Old English
Englaland meaning
"land of the Angles", the Angles being one of the Germanic tribes that settled in the area in the post-Roman period. This is the name of a country (part of the
United Kingdom) on the southern portion of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as
England.
Esharra (Other) Ancient AssyrianFrom Sumerian
𒂍 (e) meaning "temple, house" and
𒊹 (shar) meaning "totality, world". This was the name of the main temple dedicated to the god Ashur in the city of
Ashur.
Ewart (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
ea "river" and
worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Northumberland, England.
Farnham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
fearn "fern" and
ham "home" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure". This is the name of several towns in England, notably in Surrey.
France (Country) French, EnglishFrom Latin
Francia meaning
"land of the Franks". The Franks were the Germanic tribe who settled in the region in the 3rd century. They derived their tribal name from the name of a type of spear that they used.
Friuli (Region) Italian, English, SpanishFrom the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii (now called
Cividale del Friuli) meaning
"forum of Julius". This is the name of a region in northeastern Italy.
Gilead (Region) BiblicalMeans
"heap of witness" in Hebrew. This is the name of a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, as mentioned in the Old Testament.
Glyme (River) EnglishMeans
"bright stream" in Brythonic. This is the name of a river in Oxfordshire, England.
Gorjestan (Country) PersianFrom Persian
گرج (Gorj) meaning "Georgia (country)" combined with the suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the modern Persian name for the country of
Georgia.
Greece (Country) EnglishEnglish form of Latin
Graecia, the name used by the Romans for the land of the Greeks, derived from Greek
Γραικός (Graikos), which is of uncertain origin. It is possibly derived from the city of Graia in Boeotia.
Guatemala (Country) Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, TurkishFrom Nahuatl
Cuauhtemallan meaning
"place of the woodpile". This is the name of a country in Central America.
Hanguk (Region) KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
韓 (han) meaning "Korea" and
國 (guk) meaning "country, land". This is the term used in South Korea to refer to South
Korea or the entire Korean Peninsula.
Harel (Other) Biblical HebrewMeans
"altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew. In the Hebrew Old Testament this name is applied to the altar in the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 43:15).
Harford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
heorot "hart, male deer" or
here "army" combined with
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of towns in England.
Harley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hara "hare" or
hær "rock, heap of stones" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of towns in England.
Hayastan (Country) ArmenianFrom the Armenian word
հայ (hay) meaning "Armenian" combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Armenian name for
Armenia.
Holland 2 (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hoh "point of land, heel" and
land "land". This is the name of several towns in England.
Indiana (Political Subdivision) EnglishMeans
"land of the Indians". This is the name of an American state.
Indus (River) English, Ancient RomanFrom Old Persian
Hindus, which was from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning
"body of trembling water, river". This is the name of a river in Pakistan and India.
Irvine (River & Settlement) ScottishDerived from Brythonic elements meaning
"green water". This is a river and city in North Ayrshire, Scotland.
Italy (Country) EnglishAnglicized form of
Italia, originally applied by the Greeks to the south of the Italian Peninsula. It may have been borrowed from Oscan
Víteliú possibly meaning
"land of bulls". According to Roman mythology, the region was named for
Italus, though in fact it was he who was named for the region.
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 (stan) 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.
Kyrgyzstan (Country) Kyrgyz, EnglishFrom Kyrgyz
Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan), a combination of the name of the Kyrgyz people and the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) 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.
Lennox (Region) ScottishFrom Gaelic
Leamhnachd, possibly meaning
"lace of elms". This is the name of a district in Scotland.
Lesselyn (Region) Medieval ScottishProbably from Scottish Gaelic
leas celyn meaning
"garden of holly". This was the name of a location in Aberdeenshire.
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.
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.
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 (Majrit), of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from Arabic
مجرى (majra) 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).
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.
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.
Mexico (Country & Settlement) English, French, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, DutchFrom Spanish
México, itself derived from Nahuatl
Mehxico. There are many theories regarding the ultimate origin, including Nahuatl
metztli meaning "moon" combined with
xictli meaning "navel". This is the name of a country in North America, as well as its capital city (the country is named after the city). In French and Swedish
Mexico is the name of the capital city, while the country is called
Mexique in French and
Mexiko in Swedish.
Milan (Settlement) English, FrenchFrom Latin
Mediolanum, perhaps derived from Celtic elements meaning
"middle of the plain". This is the name of a major city in Italy.
Nairobi (Settlement) English, Swahili, Kikuyu, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Japanese, KoreanFrom Maasai
enkare nyrobi meaning
"cold water", referencing a nearby river. This is the name of the capital city of
Kenya. It was founded in 1899 by the British colonial authorities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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] Rutherford (Settlement) ScottishFrom Old English
hriðer "cattle, ox" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This was the name of a town in southern Scotland.
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.
Sandford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
sand "sand" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of several towns in England.
Saxony (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom the name of the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from Germanic *
sahsą meaning "knife". This is the name of a historical region in Germany, and appears in the names of the German states of Saxony, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
Scotland (Country) EnglishMeans
"land of the Scots", from Latin
Scoti meaning "Gaelic speaker". This is the name of a country (part of the
United Kingdom) in the north of the island of Great Britain.
Seabrook (Settlement) EnglishFrom the old name of a river combined with Old English
broc "stream". This is the name of a town in Buckinghamshire, England.
Sherborne (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
scir "bright" and
burna "spring, fountain, stream". This is the name of several towns in England.
Spain (Country) EnglishDerived from
Hispania, the Latin name of the Iberian Peninsula, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from Punic
I-Shaphan meaning
"land of the rabbits".
Timbuktu (Settlement) English, Arabic, BamilekeMeaning uncertain. It could be derived from Songhai meaning
"hollow, hole", or from Berber meaning
"place of small dunes". This is the name of a city in central Mali. Descriptions of the city's wealth and remoteness first reached Europe from the 16th-century Berber author Leo Africanus. Since then the city has been used in Western Culture as a symbol for a distant, mysterious place.
Trefaldwyn (Settlement) WelshMeans
"town of Baldwin" in Welsh. This is another name for the town of Montgomery in Wales.
Turan (Region) Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, ArabicHistorical region in central Asia, originally inhabited by nomadic Iranian peoples and traditionally said to mean
"land of Tur". It is mentioned frequently in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Turkey (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Turcia, derived from the ethnonym
Turk, which is from Old Turkic possibly meaning "ancestry". This is the name of a country situated on the Anatolian peninsula.
Tyrone (Political Subdivision) IrishFrom Irish Gaelic
Tir Eoghain meaning
"land of Eoghan". This is the name of a county in Northern Ireland.
Uganda (Country) English, Ganda, Swahili, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, MalayFrom
Buganda, the name of a kingdom within Uganda, which means
"land of the Ganda" in the Luganda language. The
Ganda are an ethnic group, their name possibly deriving from a Bantu word meaning "family". Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa.
Uzbekistan (Country) English, Russian, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, SwedishFrom Uzbek
O'zbekiston, derived from the ethnic name
O'zbek (which is probably in part from Turkic
beg meaning "chieftain, master") combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a country in central Asia.
Valencia (Settlement & Region) Spanish, Italian, English, GermanThe name of a city and surrounding region in eastern Spain, originally named in Latin
Valentia (Edetanorum) meaning
"strength (of the Edetani people)", and derived from Latin
valentius "strength, vigour", from
valens "strong, vigorous". Besides the city in Spain, this is also the name of a city in Venezuala.
Valhalla (Other) Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Valhǫll meaning
"hall of the battle-dead", from
valr meaning "those slain in battle" and
hǫll meaning "hall, manor". In Norse mythology this is the name of Odin's enormous hall where half of all warriors go after they die.
Vienna (Settlement) English, ItalianMeaning uncertain. It could be from Celtic
vedunia meaning
"forest stream", or possibly from the name of an earlier Roman settlement
Vindobona. This is the name of the capital of Austria.
Wilton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
welig meaning "willow",
wille meaning "well, spring, water hole", or the name of the River
Wylye, combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of various towns in England.
Winchester (Settlement) EnglishDerived from
Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin
castrum meaning "camp, fortress". This is the name of a city in southern England.
Wyrzyki (Settlement) PolishMeaning uncertain, possibly from the Polish prefix
wy "away from" and
rzek "river". This is the name of a few small Polish towns.
Zaire (River & Country) Portuguese, EnglishOlder name of the
Congo River, said to be derived via Portuguese from Kikongo
nzadi o nzere meaning
"river swallowing rivers". This was also the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zealand (Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, SwedishFrom Dutch
Zeeland, from Middle Dutch
Seelant, derived from
see "sea" and
lant "land". This is the name of a province in the western Netherlands (now typically called
Zeeland in many languages). It is also borne by the country of New Zealand in the South Pacific, which was named by the Dutch in the 17th century.