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.
LANGLEY (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
lang "long" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of numerous towns in the United Kingdom and North America.
LAOS (Country) French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Indian, Hindi, Nepali, Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog, FilipinoThe 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.
LAYTON (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
leac "leek, herb" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in England.
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.
LESSELYN (Region) Medieval ScottishProbably from Gaelic
leas celyn meaning
"garden of holly". This was the name of a location in Aberdeenshire.
LIBERIA (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Spanish, PolishDerived from Latin
liber meaning
"free". This was the name of a colony established in western Africa by free African Americans in the 1820s. It declared its independence in 1847, and was one of only two independent countries in Africa in the early 20th century (along with
Ethiopia).
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).
LORETO (Settlement) Italian, SpanishFrom Latin
Lauretum meaning
"laurel grove". This is the name of a town in eastern Italy.
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.
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.
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.