Place Names Starting with W

WAKEFIELD (Settlement) English
From Old English wacu "wake, vigil" and feld "field". This is the name of a city in England.

WALMERSLEY (Settlement) English
Meaning uncertain. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing". The first element may be a given name such as WEALDMÆR or WEALHMÆR. This is the name of a town near Manchester.

WARSAW (Settlement) English
From Polish Warszawa, derived from the given name Warsz, a short form of WARCISŁAW. This is the name of the capital city of Poland.

WARSCHAU (Settlement) German, Dutch
German and Dutch form of Warszawa (see WARSAW).

WARSZAWA (Settlement) Polish
Polish form of WARSAW.

WARWICK (Settlement) English
From Old English wer "weir, dam" and wíc "village, town". This is the name of a town in England.

WASHINGTON (Settlement & Political Subdivision) English
Means "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name WASSA and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of a town in northern England. It is also the name of the capital city and a state in the United States, both named after the president George Washington (1732-1799), whose surname was derived from the name of the English town.

WĘGRY (Country) Polish
Polish form of HUNGARY.

WEIßRUSSLAND (Country) German
Means "white Russia", a German calque of BELARUS.

WEMBLEY (Settlement) English
Means "WEMBA's clearing" in Old English. This was the name of a town that is now part of Greater London.

WESTCOTT (Settlement) English
From Old English west "west" and cot "cottage". This is the name of several towns in England.

WESTLEY (Settlement) English
From Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few small English towns.

WHITNEY (Settlement) English
Probably from Old English hwit "white" and eg "island". This is the name of a small town in Herefordshire.

WICKHAM (Settlement) English
From Old English wíc "village, town" (of Latin origin) and ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a few towns in England.

WIEREN (Settlement) Dutch
Means "seaweed" in Dutch. This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands.

WILLEY (Settlement) English
From Old English wilig "willow" or weoh "idol, image" combined with leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few towns in England.

WILLOUGHBY (Settlement) English
From Old English wilig meaning "willow" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement". This is the name of several towns in England.

WILTON (Settlement) English
From Old English wilig meaning "willow", well 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) English
Derived from Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin castrum meaning "camp, fortress". This is the name of a city in southern England.

WINSLOW (Settlement) English
Means "WINE's hill" in Old English. This is the name of a town in Buckinghamshire.

WINTHROPE (1) (Settlement) English
Means "Wine's village", from the given name WINE and Old English þrop "village". This is the name of a town in Lincolnshire.

WINTHROPE (2) (Settlement) English
Means "Wigmund's village", from the given name WIGMUND and Old English þrop "village". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire.

WINTON (Settlement) English
Means "WINE's enclosure" in Old English. This is the name of various towns in England.

WIT-RUSLAND (Country) Dutch
Means "white Russia", a Dutch calque of BELARUS.

WŁOCHY (Country) Polish
From old Slavic волхъ (volxu) meaning "foreigner, Roman". This is the Polish name for Italy.

WORTHAM (Settlement) English
From Old English worþ "enclosure" and ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a town in Suffolk.

WYLYE (River) English
Possibly from a Celtic word meaning "tricky". This is the name of a river in southern England.

WYMONDHAM (Settlement) English
From the given name WIGMUND combined with Old English ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a town in Norfolk.

WYRZYKI (Settlement) Polish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from the Polish prefix wy "away from" and rzek "river". This is the name of a few small Polish towns.