Baard (Settlement) FrisianPossibly from a given name that was a variant of
Bert. This is the name of a town in Frisia in the Netherlands.
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.
Baggio (Settlement) ItalianFrom Latin
Badalocum meaning
"watch place". This is the name of an Italian town, now a district of Milan.
Bagley (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Bacga (of uncertain meaning) combined with
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.
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).
Banff (Settlement) Scottish, EnglishPossibly from Gaelic
banbh meaning
"young pig". This is the name of a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is also the name of a town and national park in Alberta, Canada.
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.
Bardsley (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English name
Beornræd and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a village near Manchester.
Batra (Settlement) ArabicArabic form of
Petra. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article:
البتراء (al-Batra).
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).
Becske (Settlement) HungarianPossibly derived from the Hungarian given name
Benedek. This is the name of a small town in Hungary.
Beers (Settlement) DutchPossibly from Dutch
baar meaning
"bar". This is the name of a town in the Netherlands (plus a smaller one in Frisia).
Beesley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beos "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a hamlet or farm in Lancashire, England.
Begbie (Settlement) ScottishDerived from the Old Norse name
Baggi and
býr meaning "farm, settlement". This is the name of a small town in East Lothian, Scotland.
Begoña (Settlement) Basque, SpanishPossibly from Basque meaning
"lower foot". This is the name of a district (formerly a separate town) of Bilbao, Spain.
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".
Belgium (Country) English, Hungarian, MalayFrom Latin
Belgica, a province in the Roman Empire. Since 1830 this is the name of a country in Western Europe. Dutch and French are the main spoken languages.
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.
Bengal (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Persian
بنگاله (Bangaleh), probably from the name of the ancient kingdom of
Vanga. This is a region in south Asia, now divided between the country of
Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
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.
Bentley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several English towns.
Benton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
tun "enclosure". This is the name of towns in England.
Bergamo (Settlement) Italian, EnglishFrom Latin
Bergomum, possibly from a Celtic word meaning
"mountain". This is the name of a city in northern Italy.
Berkeley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Gloucestershire, 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.
Blakesley (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English byname
Blæcwulf "black wolf" combined with
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Northamptonshire.
Blidworth (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English byname
Blīþa "happy, blithe" and
worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire, England.
Bloxham (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English byname
Blocca and
ham meaning "home, homestead". This is the name of a town in Oxfordshire.
Bohemia (Region) English, Spanish, Late RomanFrom Latin
Boiohaemum, from the name of the Gaulish tribe the
Boii combined with Old German
heim "home". This is the name of a historical region within the Czech Republic. The region is called
Čechy in Czech, while the country is called
Česko.
Bohon (Settlement) FrenchMeaning unknown. This is the name of a town in Manche, France.
Boll (Settlement) GermanFrom Middle High German meaning
"hill". This is the name of several towns in Germany.
Bologna (Settlement) Italian, English, GermanFrom Latin
Bononia, possibly derived from a Celtic word meaning
"settlement". This is the name of a city in northern Italy.
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.
Borja (Settlement) SpanishFrom Arabic
بُرْج (burj) meaning
"tower". This is the name of a town in Aragon, Spain.
Boston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Botwulf's stone", from the Old English name
Botwulf combined with
stan "stone". This is a town in Lincolnshire, England, and a city in the United States that is named after it.
Botsvana (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Icelandic, Bulgarian, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, MongolianForm of
Botswana in several languages.
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.
Brackenrig (Settlement) ScottishFrom Middle English
braken meaning "bracken" (via Old Norse
brækni) and
rigg meaning "ridge" (via Old Norse
hryggr). This is the name of several Scottish towns.
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.
Bradley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brad "broad" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several towns in England.
Brazil (Country) English, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, MalayFrom the name of a type of tree, called
pau-brasil in Portuguese (
brazilwood in English). It may ultimately derive from Portuguese
brasa meaning "ember". This is the name of a country in South America.
Brazilia (Country & Settlement) Romanian, GeorgianRomanian and Georgian form of
Brazil. This is also the Georgian name for Brazil's capital city
Brasília.
Bretagne (Region & Island) French, German, DutchFrench form of
Britannia (see
Britain). In French this typically refers to the region known as Brittany in France, while Great Britain is called
Grande-Bretagne.
Brierley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brer "briar" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.
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".
Brittany (Region) EnglishFrom
Britannia (see
Britain). This is the name of a region in northwestern France, so called because many Britons settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It had earlier been called
Armorica. In the Middle Ages it was sometimes called
Britannia Minor to distinguish it from the island of Great Britain. In French, both the island and the region are called
Bretagne.
Brodie (Settlement) EnglishProbably from Gaelic
broth meaning
"ditch, mire". This is the name of an estate and castle in Moray, Scotland.
Brooklyn (Settlement) EnglishName of a borough of New York City, originally derived from the Dutch town of
Breukelen meaning either
"broken land" (from Dutch
breuk) or
"marsh land" (from Dutch
broek).
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] Buckley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
bucc "buck, male deer" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few minor towns in England.
Buda (Settlement) HungarianPossibly from the given name
Bleda (which belonged to the brother of Attila the Hun). This was the name of a Hungarian city on the west bank of the Danube. Today it is a part of
Budapest, having merged with
Pest in 1873.
Buganda (Region & Political Subdivision) GandaThe name of a region within Uganda and also the root of the country's name (see
Uganda).
Buren (Settlement) DutchFrom Old Dutch
bur "house, dwelling". This is a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in Gelderland.
Burnham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home". This is the name of several towns in England.
Burton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
burg "fortress, castle" and
tun "enclosure". This is the name of several English towns.
Bustillo (Settlement) SpanishFrom a diminutive of Late Latin
bustum meaning
"ox pasture". This is the name of towns in Spain.
Busto (Settlement) Spanish, ItalianFrom Late Latin
bustum meaning
"ox pasture". This is the name of several towns in Spain and Italy.