Gethsemane (Region) BiblicalFrom
Γεθσημανί (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic place name meaning
"oil press". In the New Testament this is the name of the garden where
Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem.
Gihon (River) BiblicalFrom Hebrew
גיחון (Gichon), derived from
גּיחַ (giyach) meaning
"to burst forth". According to the Old Testament, this was the name of a river that originated in the Garden of Eden.
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.
Glympton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from the name of the river
Glyme and Old English
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of small town 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.
Górka (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
góra meaning
"mountain". This is the name of various towns in Poland.
Gotham (Settlement) English, Popular CultureFrom Old English
gat "goat" and
ham "home". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire, famous for folk tales about its inhabitants pretending to be imbeciles in order to avoid a visit from the king. Based on this tale, writer Washington Irving applied the name to New York City in his satirical periodical
Salmagundi (1807). Subsequently, Gotham or Gotham City was used as the setting of the
Batman comics, starting 1940.
Grainville (Settlement) FrenchMeans
"Guarin's town" in Old French. This is the name of various towns in Normandy.
Grantham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
grand meaning "gravel" and
ham meaning "home, estate, settlement". This is the name of a town in Lincolnshire.
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.
Hailey (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
heg "hay" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Oxfordshire, England.
Hamilton (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"crooked hill" from Old English
hamel "crooked, mutilated" and
dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists). After the town name became a surname, it was used for several other cities, including ones in Scotland, Canada, Australia and the United States.
Harden (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hara "hare" and
denu "valley". This is the name of a town in West Yorkshire.
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.
Hind (Country) ArabicArabic form of
India, usually written with the definite article:
الهند (al-Hind).
Hofwegen (Settlement) DutchFrom Dutch
hof meaning "yard, court" and
weg meaning "way, path, road". This is the name of a town in the Netherlands.
Holland 1 (Political Subdivision & Country) Dutch, English, German, Danish, IcelandicFrom Old Dutch
holt "forest" and
lant "land". This is the name of two provinces (North and South Holland) in the Netherlands. It is sometimes informally used to refer to the entire country of the
Netherlands.
Holland 2 (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hoh "point of land, heel" and
land "land". This is the name of several towns in England.
Hollande (Political Subdivision & Country) FrenchFrench form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Holstein (Political Subdivision & Region) German, English, DutchFrom the name of a Saxon tribe, derived from Old Saxon
holt meaning "wood" and the suffix
-setio meaning "inhabitant". This is the name of a historical region in Germany, near the Danish border. It forms part of the name of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Hořovice (Settlement) CzechFrom Czech
hora meaning "mountain". This is the name of a town in the Czech Republic.
Houston (Settlement) Scottish, EnglishMeans
"Hugh's town", from the given name
Hugh and Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, town". This is the name of a town in Scotland. The American city of Houston is named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863), whose surname is derived from the Scottish town.
Hungary (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Hungaria, derived from Byzantine Greek
Οὔγγροι (Oungroi), from Turkic
Onogur meaning
"ten tribes". This is the name of a country in Eastern Europe that was settled by the Hungarians in the 9th century. Because they were identified with the Huns, the
H was added to the beginning of their Latin name. The Hungarian name for the country is
Magyarország.
Huxley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hux "insult, scorn" (possibly) and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Cheshire, England.
India (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Estonian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Tagalog, Ancient Roman, Ancient GreekDerived from the name of the
Indus River. In many languages of India, the name
Bharat is used to refer to the country. However, some southern Indian languages use spellings based on English
India.
Indija (Country) Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, LithuanianSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian and Lithuanian form of
India.
Indo (Country) Japanese, KoreanJapanese and Korean form of
India. It is usually written in katakana in Japan and Hangul in Korea.
Indonesia (Country) Indonesian, Malay, Buginese, Minangkabau, English, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, KoreanFrom Greek
Ἰνδός (Indos), referring to the
Indus, combined with
νῆσος (nesos) meaning "island". This name has been used since the 18th century by colonial powers to refer to the Indonesian archipelago and since 1945 to refer to the independent nation.
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.
Irak (Country) German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Thai, Lao, Mongolian, IndonesianForm of
Iraq in several languages.
Iran (Country) Persian, Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Hebrew, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, Thai, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean, MongolianDerived from Middle Persian
Eran, related to Old Iranian
Arya meaning
"Iranian, Aryan". This is the name of a country in western Asia, formerly called
Persia in the West.
Ireland (Country & Island) EnglishDerived from Irish Gaelic
Éire and English
land. This is the name of an island to the west of Great Britain. The country of Ireland occupies the majority of the island.
Isin (Settlement) SumerianMeaning unknown. This was the name of a city-state in Mesopotamia, originally Sumerian.
Israel (Country) English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Indonesian, Malay, Biblical, Biblical GreekFrom the name of the Old Testament hero Jacob, who was also called
Israel. This was the name of an ancient kingdom that existed until the 8th century BC. The modern country of Israel is named for it.
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.
Ithaca (Island) English, Greek MythologyFrom Greek
Ἰθάκη (Ithake), meaning unknown. This is the name of an island off the west coast of Greece. In Greek mythology Ithaca was the home of the hero Odysseus. Homer's epic the
Odyssey describes his long and perilous voyage home after the Trojan War.
Janków (Settlement) PolishFrom the given name
Janek. This is the name of several Polish towns.
Jankowo (Settlement) PolishFrom the given name
Janek. This is the name of several towns in Poland.
Janów (Settlement) PolishFrom the given name
Jan 1. This is the name of several towns in Poland.
Janowice (Settlement) PolishFrom the given name
Jan 1. This is the name of a number of towns in Poland.
Janowo (Settlement) PolishFrom the given name
Jan 1. This is the name of several towns in Poland.
Jayhun (River) ArabicArabic form of
Gihon, used also as the name of the Amu Darya river in central Asia.
Jemen (Country) German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Dutch, Afrikaans, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, MacedonianForm of
Yemen in several languages.
Jericho (Settlement) English, BiblicalMeaning uncertain, possibly related to the Hebrew word
יָרֵחַ (yareach) meaning
"moon", or otherwise to the Hebrew word
רֵיחַ (reyach) meaning
"fragrant". This is the name of a city in Palestine, mentioned several times in the Old Testament.
Jerusalem (Settlement) English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Luxembourgish, Afrikaans, Catalan, Bosnian, BiblicalFrom Hebrew
יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim), from an earlier Canaanite form like
Urushalim, probably meaning
"established by (the god) Shalim". This is the name of a city in Israel and Palestine. Originally a Canaanite city, it was conquered by the Israelites under King
David at the beginning of the 10th century BC. It is now regarded as a holy city by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Jordan (River & Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, German, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Slovene, BiblicalRiver that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is
יַרְדֵן (Yarden), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yarad) meaning
"descend" or
"flow down". The river has lent its name to the country to the east (in German, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish and Slovene this is only the name of the river, with the name of the country taking a different form).
Kailash (Mountain) Hindi, MarathiPossibly from Sanskrit
केलास (kelas) meaning
"crystal". This is the name of a mountain in the Himalayas that is believed to be the paradise of the Hindu god
Shiva.
Karmel (Mountain) Biblical HebrewMeans
"garden, vineyard" in Hebrew. This is the name of a mountain in
Israel mentioned in the Old Testament.
Kazahstan (Country) Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, RomanianSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Romanian form of Kazakh
Қазақстан (see
Kazakhstan).
Kemet (Region) Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
km meaning
"black", referring to the colour of the soil around the
Nile River. This was the Ancient Egyptian name for the Nile Valley in
Egypt.
Kendal (Settlement) EnglishFrom the name of the river
Kent combined with Old English
dæl meaning "valley, dale". This is the name of a town in Cumbria.
Kent (Political Subdivision & River) EnglishPossibly from a Brythonic element meaning
"border, edge, coast". This is the name of a historic kingdom and modern county in southeastern England, called
Cent in Old English,
Cantium in Latin. It is also the name of a river in Cumbria, northwestern England.
Kerry (Political Subdivision) IrishFrom Irish Gaelic
Ciarraí meaning
"Ciar's people". This is the name of an Irish county.
Kimberley (Settlement) EnglishMeans either
"Cyneburga's field",
"Cynebald's field" or
"Cynemær's field". This is the name of towns in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Norfolk. In the case of the city in South Africa, it was named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826-1902). His title was taken from the name of the town in Norfolk.
Kingsley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
cyning "king" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several towns in England.
Kingston (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
cyning "king" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of many towns in England, as well as other parts of the English-speaking world (including the capital of Jamaica).
Kolumbija (Country, Region, Settlement & Political Subdivision) Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, LithuanianSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian and Lithuanian form of
Columbia and
Colombia.
Kozłów (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
kozioł meaning
"male goat". This is the name of several Polish towns.
Kozłowo (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
kozioł meaning
"male goat". This is the name of several towns in Poland.
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.
Kynaston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Cynefrith's town" in Old English. This is the name of hamlets in Herefordshire and Shropshire.
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.
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.
Layton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
leac "leek, herb" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in England.
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.
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).
Libya (Country & Region) Berber, English, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Hausa, Swahili, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Ancient RomanFrom
Λιβύη (Libye), the Ancient Greek name for North Africa. It was derived from the Berber tribe of the
Libu, attested as
rbw in Ancient Egyptian. This name was revived in 1934 when the Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were merged, carrying forward when the country gained independence in 1951. It is called
ليبيا (Libiya) in Arabic.
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.
Lombardy (Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Italian
Lombardia, from Late Latin
Langobardia, the name of a region in northern Italy, which was named after the Germanic Langobards (or
Lombards as they are more often called), a people who invaded and occupied Italy in the 6th century. The Lombards' name is derived from
lang "long" and
bart "beard". In modern Italy this is now an administrative region, with a capital at
Milan.
London (Settlement) English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, IndonesianFrom Latin
Londinium, of unknown meaning. This is the capital city of the United Kingdom.
Loreto (Settlement) Italian, SpanishFrom Latin
Lauretum meaning
"laurel grove". This is the name of a town in eastern Italy.
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.