Algiers(Settlement)English, Dutch From Arabic الجزائر (al-Jaza'ir) meaning "the islands". This is the name of the capital city of Algeria, so named because of the islands in its bay.
Arabestan(Region & Country)Persian From Persian عرب ('arab) meaning "Arab" combined with the suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for both the Arabian Peninsula and the country of Saudi Arabia (alongside the fuller form عربستان سعودی ('Arabestan e-Sa'udi)).
Cairo(Settlement)English From Arabic القاهرة (al-Qahirah) meaning "the victorious", in honour of the conquering Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah (932-975). This is the name of the capital city of Egypt.
California(Political Subdivision & Island)English, Spanish, Italian, Literature From the name of a fictional utopian island populated only by women in the 16th-century novel The Adventures of Esplandián by the Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The name comes from the island's queen, Calafia, itself probably derived from Arabic خليفة (khalifah), an Islamic title meaning "successor". This is the name of an American state as well as two states of Mexico (Baja California and Baja California Sur).
Chad(Body of Water & Country)English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Malay From Arabic تشاد (Tshad), derived from a Kanuri word meaning "lake, large expanse of water". This is the name of a lake in central Africa, as well as the country that is named after it. The lake also borders Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Comoros(Country)English From French Comores, derived from Arabic qamar meaning "moon". This is the name of an island country off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean.
Czad(Body of Water & Country)Polish Polish form of Chad.
Fátima(Settlement)Portuguese Derived from the Arabic feminine name Fatimah, apparently after a Moorish princess who converted to Christianity during the Reconquista. This is the name of a town in Portugal, which became an important Christian pilgrimage center after 1917 when three local children reported witnessing repeated apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Hira(Other)Arabic Meaning unknown. This is the name of the cave near Mecca where the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation.
Maghrib(Region & Country)Arabic From Arabic المغرب (al-Maghrib) meaning "the place of the sunset, the west". This is the Arabic name of Morocco as well as the entire region of western North Africa (known as the Maghreb in English). In Arabic the name is usually written with the definite article: المغرب (al-Maghrib).
Majar(Country)Arabic Arabic form of magyar (see Magyarország). It is usually written with the definite article: المجر (al-Majar).
Marrakesh(Settlement)English, Dutch From Arabic مرّاكش (Marrakush), possibly from Berber Murt n Akush meaning "land of God". This is the name of a city in Morocco.
Morocco(Country)English The name of a country in North Africa, named after the city Marrakesh. In Arabic the country is named al-Maghrib (see Maghrib).
Qahirah(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Cairo, usually written with the definite article: القاهرة (al-Qahirah).
Quds(Settlement)Arabic Means "holy" in Arabic. This is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, usually written with the definite article: القُدْس (al-Quds).
Samarra(Settlement)Arabic, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German This is the name of a city in Iraq, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century. It was possibly built at the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Surmarrati, which is of uncertain meaning.
Saudi Arabia(Country)English From the family name Al Su'ud combined with Arabia, referring to the Arabian Peninsula. This is a kingdom in the Middle East on the Arabian Peninsula. It was named by its founder Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud in 1932.