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 (stān) 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 (stān) 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.
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.
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 (Lībiyā) 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.
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.
Los Angeles (Settlement) EnglishShortened form of Spanish
Pueblo de los Ángeles meaning
"town of the angels", itself a shortened form of the original name, reportedly
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula meaning "the town of Our Lady the queen of the angels of Porziuncola".
... [more] Lothian (Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom Latin
Leudonia, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a region in
Scotland, around Edinburgh.
Louisiana (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom French
Louisiane, named after King
Louis XIV of France by the explorer René-Robert Cavelier in 1682. It originally referred to a large territory in the middle of North
America. It was sold by
France to the
United States in 1803, and the southern tip became the American state of Louisiana in 1812.
Luxembourg (Country, Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, French, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Croatian, EstonianFrom Old High German
Lucilinburhuc, derived from
luzil "small" and
burg "castle". This was the name of a castle built by Count Siegfried in the 10th century. The city of Luxembourg and the surrounding territory became a duchy in the 14th century, and it is now a small landlocked country between
Germany,
France and
Belgium. This is also the name of a province of southern Belgium.
... [more] 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.
Macarena (Settlement) SpanishBarrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple that may have been named for a person
Macarius (see
Macario).
Magdala (Settlement) Ancient Aramaic, Biblical GreekThe name of an ancient town in northern Israel on the Sea of Galilee. It is derived from Aramaic
מגדלא (maḡḏala) meaning
"tower", with the cognate Hebrew form being
מִגְדָּל (Miḡdal). This town is mentioned briefly in the New Testament. It is the source of the surname of the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, who likely came from that town.
Majarestan (Country) PersianFrom Persian
مجار (majār) meaning "Hungarian" combined with the suffix
ستان (stān) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for
Hungary.
Makedonien (Region, Political Subdivision & Country) German, Danish, SwedishGerman, Danish and Swedish form of
Macedonia. In German this refers only to the region, while the modern country is called
Mazedonien or
Nordmazedonien.
Maldwyn (Political Subdivision) WelshFrom Welsh
Trefaldwyn, misinterpreting it as if meaning "town of Maldwyn". In fact it means "town of
Baldwin" (in Welsh both
m and
b mutate to
f). This is another name of the old county of Montgomeryshire.
Malta (Country & Island) Maltese, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Finnish, Basque, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Albanian, Romanian, Greek, Latvian, Lithuanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay, MongolianFrom Arabic
مالطا (Mālṭā), possibly from Greek
μέλι (meli) meaning
"honey". This is the name of a European island nation in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Man (Island) EnglishFrom Old Irish
Mana, possibly from the Celtic root *
moniyo- meaning
"mountain". The Isle of Man is an island between
Britain and
Ireland. It is a self-governing British dependency.
Manainn (Island) IrishIrish form of
Man (from the Old Irish dative case of
Mana).
Manfredonia (Settlement) ItalianFrom the given name
Manfredi, referring to a 13th-century king of Sicily. This is the name of a town in Apulia,
Italy, founded by King Manfred on the site of the Roman city of Sipontum.
Mannin (Island) ManxManx form of
Man (from
Manainn, the Old Irish dative case of
Mana).
Marche (Political Subdivision) Italian, EnglishFrom the plural of Late Latin
marca meaning
"borderland, march", of Germanic origin. This is the name of a region in central
Italy, named for the March of Ancona, a frontier region in the Carolingian Empire.
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.
Mediterranean (Body of Water) EnglishFrom Late Latin
Mediterraneum, a compound of
medius "middle" and
terra "land, earth". This is the name of the sea between
Europe,
Africa and
Asia. It was not used by the classical Romans, who instead called it
Mare Magnum "great sea" or
Mare Nostrum "our sea".
Mehika (Country) SloveneSlovene form of
Mexico (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
Meirionnydd (Political Subdivision) WelshProbably from the Roman name
Marianus. This is the name of a Welsh county (Anglicized as
Merioneth).
Meksiko (Country & Settlement) Finnish, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Afrikaans, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, IndonesianFinnish, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Afrikaans, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali and Indonesian form of
Mexico. In Finnish it refers only to the country, not the capital city.
Memphis (Settlement) English, Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)Greek form of Egyptian
mn-nfr meaning
"enduring beauty". This was the name of an important city in Lower
Egypt, serving as the capital during the Old Kingdom period. It acquired its current name in the New Kingdom period from a nearby pyramid of Pepi I. This is also the name of a city in Tennessee.
Mérida (Settlement) SpanishFrom Latin
Emerita Augusta meaning "veterans of
Augustus". This was a colony founded by the emperor Augustus for his veterans, and it is now a city in Extremadura,
Spain. There are other cities named after it in
Mexico and
Venezuela.
Messene (Settlement) Ancient GreekMeaning unknown. This was the name of an ancient Greek city on the Peloponnese.
Messina (Settlement) Italian, EnglishLater form of
Messana, the Latin form of
Messene. This is the name of a city on Sicily. Founded by Greek settlers as
Ζάγκλη (Zankle), it was renamed in honour of the Greek city of Messene in the 5th century BC.
México (Country & Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Estonian, SloveneSpanish (and Portuguese) form of
Mexico. This native spelling is also used in several other languages to refer to the capital city, while the name of the country has other forms.
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.
Mexique (Country) FrenchFrench form of
Mexico (referring only to the country, not the capital city).
Midgard (Region) Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Miðgarðr meaning
"middle enclosure". In Norse mythology this is the name of the realm where humans live.
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.
Miranda (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, PortuguesePossibly a derivative of Latin
mirandus "admirable, wonderful". This is the name of several towns in
Spain,
Portugal and the Americas. It is also the name of a Venezuelan state.
Misr (Country) Arabic, Pashto, UrduFrom a Semitic root possibly meaning
"border". This is the Arabic, Pashto and Urdu name for the country of
Egypt.
Moldau (Country, River & Region) GermanGerman form of
Moldova. As a German river name, it refers both to the Moldova River and the
Vltava River in the Czech Republic.
Moldva (Region & River) HungarianHungarian variant of
Moldova (referring to the former principality and the region in northeastern Romania). This is also the Hungarian name for the
Vltava River in the Czech Republic.
Montana (Political Subdivision) EnglishDerived from Latin
montanus "mountainous". This is the name of an American state.
Moriah (Mountain) BiblicalPossibly means
"seen by Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots
רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is both the place where
Abraham is to sacrifice
Isaac and the mountain upon which
Solomon builds the temple.
Naples (Settlement) EnglishFrom Latin
Neapolis, from Greek
Νεάπολις (Neapolis) meaning
"new city". This is the name of a city in southern
Italy, originally founded as a Greek colony.
Nazaret (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Greek, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ancient Greek, Biblical GreekForm of
Nazareth in various languages.
Nepal (Country) Nepali, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, SanskritFrom Sanskrit
नेपाल (Nepāl), of unknown meaning. This is the name of a landlocked country in south
Asia.
Netherlands (Country) EnglishFrom English
nether meaning "lower" and
land, referring to the low-lying position of the country. This is the name of a country in northwestern
Europe. It is sometimes called
Holland in English, though this is properly one of its subregions. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article,
the.
Neuville (Settlement) FrenchMeans
"new town" in French. This is the name of various towns in
France.
Nevada (Political Subdivision) EnglishMeans
"snow-capped, snow-covered" in Spanish. This is the name of an American state.
Niemcy (Country) PolishFrom Slavic
němĭcĭ meaning
"foreigner, German", derived from
němŭ meaning "mute, incomprehensible". This is the Polish name of
Germany.
Niger (River & Country) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, Late RomanMeaning unknown, possibly of Berber origin, though influenced by Latin
niger "black". This is the name of a river in West
Africa (and a country that is named after it).
Nigeria (Country) English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, GeorgianFrom the name of the
Niger River, applied in the 19th century to the British colonial territory in West
Africa. It continued to be used after the territory became an independent country in 1960.
Nil (River) Arabic, French, German, Luxembourgish, Catalan, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Turkish, AzerbaijaniForm of
Nile in various languages. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article:
النيل (al-Nīl).
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.
Nineveh (Settlement) English, BiblicalFrom Akkadian
𒉌𒉡𒀀 (Ninua), possibly related to
𒄩 (nūnu) meaning
"fish". When written, the name is usually prefixed with
𒌷 indicating a city. This may have referred to an aspect of
Ishtar, as from an early time the city was a center of worship of the goddess. The cuneiform symbols used to represent the city's name depict a fish within a house.
... [more] Nizozemsko (Country) CzechFrom Czech
nízký "low" and
země "land". This is the Czech name for the
Netherlands (for which it is also a translation).
Norway (Country) EnglishFrom Old English
Norþweg meaning
"north way". This is the name of a country in Scandinavia in Northern
Europe.
Nowice (Settlement) PolishFrom Polish
nowy meaning
"new". This is the name of a few towns in
Poland.
Nubia (Region) English, Late RomanPossibly derives from the Egyptian word
nbw meaning
"gold". This was the name of an ancient region and kingdom in
Africa, south of
Egypt.
Nysa (Region) Greek MythologyPossibly from an archaic Greek word meaning
"tree". In Greek mythology Nysa was the mountainous region where young
Dionysos was raised.
Odessa (Settlement) RussianFrom the name of the ancient Greek city of
Odessos (which was located at a different site). This is the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea.
Odessos (Settlement) Ancient GreekMeaning uncertain. This was the name of an ancient Greek city located on the west coast of the Black Sea, at the site of present-day Varna,
Bulgaria.
Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) ItalianItalian form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Orléans (Settlement) FrenchFrench form of
Aurelianum, the name of a city in central
France. The city in Louisiana,
La Nouvelle-Orléans or
New Orleans, was named after Philippe II, the Duke of Orléans.
Orleans (Settlement) EnglishEnglish form of
Orléans. This is the name of several towns in the Americas, notably the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.
Orontes (River) English, Ancient GreekGreek form of Akkadian
𒀀𒊏𒀭𒌓 (Araantu), possibly meaning
"fennel, grass". This is the name of a river that flows through Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
Pacific (Body of Water) EnglishFrom Portuguese
Pacífico meaning
"peaceful", from Latin
pacificus, a derivative of
pax "peace". This name was coined by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 because he encountered relatively calm seas while sailing it.
Pakistan (Country) Urdu, Punjabi, English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, SerbianFrom Persian
پاک (pāk) meaning "pure" and the suffix
ستان (stān) 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.
Palestina (Country & Region) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Russian, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Indonesian, Tagalog, HebrewForm of
Palestine in several languages. In modern Hebrew this refers to the region, with
פָלַסְטִין (Falastin) used for the country.
Palestine (Country & Region) English, FrenchFrom Latin
Palaestina, derived from Greek
Παλαιστίνη (Palaistine), from a Semitic source such as Hebrew
פְּלֶשֶׁת (Pelesheṯ) meaning
"land of the Philistines". This is the name of a historical region between the eastern coast of the
Mediterranean Sea and the
Jordan River. In modern times it is the name of a partially recognized country located in a portion of the region (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with the remainder being the country of
Israel).
Pangaea (Region) EnglishCreated by the German geologist Alfred Wegener in 1915 to refer to a supercontinent that existed over 200 million years ago. He called it in German
Pangäa, from Greek
πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and
γαῖα (gaia) meaning "earth".
Pavia (Settlement) Italian, EnglishFrom Late Latin
Papia, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a city in northern
Italy. In classical Latin it was called
Ticinum.
Pays-Bas (Country) FrenchFrom French
pays "country, land" and
bas "low". This is the French name for the
Netherlands (for which it is also a translation).