Malay Origin Place Names

This is a list of place names in which the origin is Malay. Malay is a language spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand.
type
usage
origin
Bornéo (Island) French
French form of Borneo.
Borneo (Island) Malay, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Archaic)
From a European (probably Portuguese) rendering of the name of the Sultanate of Brunei. This is an island in southeastern Asia divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. It is called Kalimantan in Indonesian.
Bornéu (Island) Portuguese
Portuguese form of Borneo.
Borunei (Country) Persian
Persian form of Brunei.
Brounei (Country) Greek
Greek form of Brunei.
Brunai (Country) Bengali, Thai, Arabic
Bengali and Thai form of Brunei, as well as an alternate Arabic transcription.
Brunay (Country) Arabic
Arabic form of Brunei.
Brunéi (Country) Spanish, Javanese, Sundanese, French
Spanish, Javanese and Sundanese form of Brunei, as well as a French variant.
Brunei (Country) Malay, Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, Hindi, Tagalog
Possibly from Sanskrit वरुण, the Hindu god Varuna or figuratively meaning "water, ocean". However, according to tradition, Brunei was from the Malay phrase baru nah meaning "there!" or "that's it!", which was supposedly declared by Brunei's first sultan Muhammad Shah when he discovered it in the 14th century.... [more]
Brunej (Country) Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian
Form of Brunei in several languages.
Bruneja (Country) Latvian
Latvian form of Brunei.
Brunėjus (Country) Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Brunei.
Bruney (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Armenian, Azerbaijani
Form of Brunei in several languages.
Džakarta (Settlement) Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene
Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Serbian and Slovene form of Jakarta.
Dżakarta (Settlement) Polish
Polish form of Jakarta.
Dzhakarta (Settlement) Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Kazakh
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian and Kazakh form of Jakarta.
Giacarta (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Jakarta.
Jacarta (Settlement) Portuguese
Portuguese form of Jakarta.
Jakarta (Settlement) Indonesian, Malay, Javanese, Acehnese, Balinese, Minangkabau, Sundanese, English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Arabic, Hindi
From Sanskrit जयकर्ता (Jayakarta) meaning "victory accomplished", from जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and कृत (krta) meaning "done, accomplished". This is the name of the capital city of Indonesia. It was known as Batavia during the colonial (Dutch) era.
Jakaruta (Settlement) Japanese
Japanese form of Jakarta.
Malaisie (Country) French
French form of Malaysia.
Malaizija (Country) Latvian, Lithuanian
Latvian and Lithuanian form of Malaysia.
Malásia (Country) Portuguese
Portuguese form of Malaysia.
Malasia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Malaysia.
Malaysia (Country) Malay, English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Romanian, Indonesian, Tagalog
From the name of the Malay people, of uncertain origin. It is possibly from the name of a river, itself derived from Malay melaju or Javanese mlayu meaning "to run, to go fast". This is the name of a country in Asia.
Malayzia (Country) Armenian
Armenian form of Malaysia.
Malayziya (Country) Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Azerbaijani
Form of Malaysia in several languages.
Maleisië (Country) Dutch, Afrikaans
Dutch and Afrikaans form of Malaysia.
Maleshiya (Country) Hindi
Hindi form of Malaysia.
Malesia (Country) Finnish, Greek, Thai, Italian
Finnish, Greek and Thai form of Malaysia, as well as an older Italian variant.
Malezi (Country) Persian
Persian form of Malaysia.
Somalia (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Albanian, Indonesian, Malay
From the ethnic name Somali, of uncertain meaning. The Somali people connect it to their mythical ancestor Samaale. Italian and British colonists applied the ethnic name to the Horn of Africa region in the 19th century. It became an independent country in 1960.
Yakarta (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Jakarta.