Aalst (Settlement) DutchPossibly from Germanic *
alhs meaning
"temple, shelter". This is the name of various towns in Belgium and the Netherlands.
America (Region & Country) English, Italian, Romanian, Late RomanFrom the name of the explorer
Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512). This is the name of two continents (North and South America). As well, it is commonly used to refer to the United States of America.
Amerika (Region & Country) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Luxembourgish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, Bashkir, Chechen, Indonesian, Malay, JapaneseForm of
America, used to refer to the continents and sometimes to the United States of America.
Ameryka (Region & Country) Polish, UkrainianPolish and Ukrainian form of
America, used to refer to the continents and the United States of America.
Amrika (Region & Country) Arabic, PersianArabic and Persian form of
America, used to refer to the continents and the United States of America.
Amsterdam (Settlement) Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, PolishMeans
"dam on the Amstel" in Dutch. This is the name of the capital city of the Netherlands, first mentioned with this name in the 13th century.
Angel (Region) DanishPossibly derived from Germanic roots meaning
"narrow, tight, tapering" or
"hook". This is the name of a peninsula in northern Germany near Denmark, the original home of the Germanic tribe the Angles.
Annesley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
anne "alone, solitary" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire.
Ansley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
ansetl "hermitage" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Warwickshire.
Appleby (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
æppel "apple" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement". This is the name of towns in England.
Appleton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
æppeltun "orchard". This is the name of towns in England.
Asch (Settlement) DutchFrom Old Dutch
ask meaning
"ash tree". This is the name of a town in the Netherlands.
Asgard (Region) Norse MythologyEnglish form of Old Norse
Ásgarðr meaning
"enclosure of the Æsir", composed of Old Norse
áss meaning "god, Æsir" and
garðr meaning "enclosure, stronghold". This is the name of the home of the Æsir gods in Norse Mythology.
Ashley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.
Ashton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several English towns.
Ashworth (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
worþ "enclosure". This was the name of a town in Lancashire.
Assendorp (Settlement) DutchFrom Dutch
es meaning "ash tree" (plural
essen) and
dorp meaning "village". This is the name of a city in the Netherlands.
Aston (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
east "east" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of many towns in England.
Audley (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Ealdgyð's clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a village in Staffordshire, England.
Avonlea (Settlement) LiteratureCreated by Lucy Maud Montgomery as the setting for her novel
Anne of Green Gables (1908). She may have based the name on the Arthurian island of
Avalon, though it also resembles the river name
Avon and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Ayton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
ea "river" or
ieg "island" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire.
Baard (Settlement) FrisianPossibly from a given name that was a variant of
Bert. This is the name of a town in Frisia in the Netherlands.
Bardsley (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English name
Beornræd and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a village near Manchester.
Beesley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beos "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a hamlet or farm in Lancashire, England.
Begbie (Settlement) ScottishDerived from the Old Norse name
Baggi and
býr meaning "farm, settlement". This is the name of a small town in East Lothian, Scotland.
Bentley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several English towns.
Benton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
tun "enclosure". This is the name of towns in England.
Berkeley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Gloucestershire, England.
Beverley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
beofor "beaver" and (possibly)
licc "stream". This is the name of a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Blackburn (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
blæc "black" and
burna "stream". This is the name of a city in Lancashire, England.
Blakesley (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English byname
Blæcwulf "black wolf" combined with
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Northamptonshire.
Blidworth (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English byname
Blīþa "happy, blithe" and
worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire, England.
Bohemia (Region) English, Spanish, Late RomanFrom Latin
Boiohaemum, from the name of the Gaulish tribe the
Boii combined with Old German
heim "home". This is the name of a historical region within the Czech Republic. The region is called
Čechy in Czech, while the country is called
Česko.
Boston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Botwulf's stone", from the Old English name
Botwulf combined with
stan "stone". This is a town in Lincolnshire, England, and a city in the United States that is named after it.
Bradford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brad "broad" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of a city in West Yorkshire, as well as several other towns.
Bradley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brad "broad" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several towns in England.
Brierley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
brer "briar" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.
Buckley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
bucc "buck, male deer" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few minor towns in England.
Burnham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home". This is the name of several towns in England.
Burton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
burg "fortress, castle" and
tun "enclosure". This is the name of several English towns.
Cawston (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old Norse given name
Kálfr combined with Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in Norfolk and Warwickshire.
Chadwick (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"village belonging to Chad" in Old English. This is the name of towns in Lancashire and Warwickshire.
Cheshire (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishShortened form of
Chestershire, a combination of
Chester and
shire.
Chester (Settlement) EnglishFrom Latin
castrum meaning
"camp, fortress". This is the name of a city in Cheshire, England.
Cockburn (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
cocc "rooster" and
burna "stream". This was the name of a town in Berwickshire, Scotland.
Colton (Settlement) EnglishMeans "
Cola's town" in Old English. This is the name of several English towns.
Crawford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
crawe "crow" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name various small towns in England.
Dallas (Settlement) EnglishSeveral of the places bearing this name, including probably the city in Texas, were named for the American vice president George M. Dallas (1792-1864). His surname is of Old English origin meaning "valley house".
Debenham (Settlement) EnglishFrom the Old English river name
Deben combined with
ham meaning "home, homestead". This is the name of a town in Suffolk, on the River Deben.
Deighton (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
dic "ditch" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of various towns in England.
Denmark (Country) EnglishFrom Danish
Danmark, derived from the ethnic name
Dane, which is possibly from Germanic
den meaning "low ground", combined with
mark meaning "borderland". This is the name of a country in Northern Europe.
Deutschland (Country) GermanDerived from German
deutsch meaning "German" (ultimately from Germanic *
þeudō "people") and
Land. This is the German endonym for
Germany.
Dogil (Country) KoreanDerived via Japanese from Dutch
Duits meaning "German". This is the Korean name for
Germany.
Doitsu (Country) JapaneseDerived from Dutch
Duits meaning "German". This is the Japanese name for
Germany.
Dudley (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Dudda's clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a city in the West Midlands, England.
Eaton (Settlement) EnglishDerived from Old English
ea "river" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several English towns.
Endla (Body of Water) EstonianFrom the medieval personal name
Ent or
Endo, which are of uncertain origin, possibly derivatives of the personal name
Hendrik or
Andres. This is the name of an Estonian lake often appearing in folk poetry.
England (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, NorwegianFrom Old English
Englaland meaning
"land of the Angles", the Angles being one of the Germanic tribes that settled in the area in the post-Roman period. This is the name of a country (part of the
United Kingdom) on the southern portion of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as
England.
Essen (Settlement) German, EnglishFrom older
Astnide, possibly a derivative of Old High German
asc meaning
"ash tree". This is the name of a city in Germany, founded in the 9th century.
Ewart (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
ea "river" and
worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Northumberland, England.
Farnham (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
fearn "fern" and
ham "home" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure". This is the name of several towns in England, notably in Surrey.
Foulden (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
fugol meaning "bird" and
dun meaning "hill". This is the name of a town in Norfolk.
France (Country) French, EnglishFrom Latin
Francia meaning
"land of the Franks". The Franks were the Germanic tribe who settled in the region in the 3rd century. They derived their tribal name from the name of a type of spear that they used.
Frankenstein (Settlement) GermanFrom German
Franken, the name of the Germanic tribe of the Franks, and
Steinn meaning "stone". This is the name of a few small towns in Germany.
Frankreich (Country) GermanDerived from German
Franken, the name of the Germanic tribe of Franks, and
Reich meaning "empire, realm". This is the German name for
France.
Gary (Settlement) EnglishCity in Indiana that was named after businessman Elbert Henry
Gary (1846-1927), the founder of U.S. Steel.
Gaul (Region) EnglishFrom French
Gaule, the name of a historical region that was situated approximately in the area of modern
France. In the Roman era it was called
Gallia, which may be the origin of
Gaule, though the evolution of the word would be irregular. It is more likely derived from Frankish
walh meaning
"foreigner, Celt".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Huxley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
hux "insult, scorn" (possibly) and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Cheshire, England.
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.
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).
Kynaston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Cynefrith's town" in Old English. This is the name of hamlets in Herefordshire and Shropshire.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Midgard (Region) Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Miðgarðr meaning
"middle enclosure". In Norse mythology this is the name of the realm where humans live.
Montgomery (Settlement) FrenchMeans
"Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. This is the name of communes in Calvados, France.
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.
Norway (Country) EnglishFrom Old English
Norþweg meaning
"north way". This is the name of a country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe.
Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) ItalianItalian form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Peyton (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Pæga's town". This is the name of a town in Sussex.
Priestley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
preost "priest" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few small towns in England.
Princeton (Settlement) EnglishThe name of a town in New Jersey, originally called
Princetown when it was established in the early 18th century. It is said to have been named for William III, the Prince of Orange.
Rhodesia (Region) EnglishFrom the surname
Rhodes. This was a British-controlled region of Southern Africa, named after the politician and imperialist Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902). It is now the independent countries of
Zimbabwe and
Zambia.
Romiley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
rum "roomy, spacious" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a town that is now part of Greater Manchester.
Royston (Settlement) EnglishMeans
"Royse's town" in Old English. The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose. This is the name of a town in Hertfordshire.
Ruotsi (Country) FinnishProbably borrowed from Old Norse
róðr meaning
"rowing", referring to people from the coastal region of Roslagen in Sweden. This is the Finnish name for
Sweden.
Rus (Region) Russian, Ukrainian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishProbably of Old Norse origin, possibly from
róðr meaning
"rowing", referring to the Norse Varangians and their main mode of transportation. This was the name of a medieval Slavic state of Eastern Europe (around Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia), originally founded by the Varangians in the 9th century.
Russia (Country) English, Italian, Late RomanDerived from the name of the medieval state of
Rus. The modern country of Russia includes the eastern portions of Rus, and has also expanded far to the east across Asia.
Rutherford (Settlement) ScottishFrom Old English
hriðer "cattle, ox" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This was the name of a town in southern Scotland.
Ryley (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
ryge "rye" and
leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Lancashire, England.
Sandford (Settlement) EnglishFrom Old English
sand "sand" and
ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of several towns in England.
Saxony (Region & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom the name of the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from Germanic *
sahsą meaning "knife". This is the name of a historical region in Germany, and appears in the names of the German states of Saxony, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.