Ararat (Mountain) Armenian, Biblical, Biblical HebrewFrom the name of the ancient kingdom of Urartu. This is the name of a mountain in Turkey (formerly part of Armenia), the place where
Noah's Ark came to rest according to the Old Testament. It is usually called
Մասիս (Masis) in Armenian.
Ashur (Settlement & Region) English, Arabic, Persian, AkkadianFrom Akkadian
𒀸𒋩 (Assur), meaning unknown. This was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, supposedly named for the god
Ashur, though the god was in fact probably named for the city. The empire, Assyria, was also named for it. The city was destroyed in the 14th century by the forces of Tamerlane.
... [more] Babylon (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical GreekGreek form of Akkadian
𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Babili), which appears to mean
"gateway of God", from Akkadian
𒆍 (babu) meaning "gate" and
𒀭 (ilu) meaning "God", though it may in fact derive from a non-Semitic language. This was the name of a major city in ancient Mesopotamia, the capital of the Babylonian Empire. It was located in present-day Iraq.
Bethany (Settlement) BiblicalFrom Greek
Βηθανία (Bethania), which is of uncertain meaning. The first part of the name is derived from Hebrew/Aramaic
בַּיִת (bayit) meaning "house". Suggestions for the second part of the name include
עָנָה ('anah) leading to
"house of affliction" or
תְּאֵנָה (te'enah) leading to
"house of figs". In the New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha.
Bethel (Settlement) BiblicalMeans
"house of God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a town north of Jerusalem, where
Jacob saw his vision of the stairway.
Bethlehem (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, BiblicalMeans
"house of bread" in Hebrew, from the roots
בַּיִת (bayit) meaning "house" and
לֶחֶם (lechem) meaning "bread". This is the name of a city in Palestine. It appears in the both the Old Testament and the New Testament, notably as the town where
Jesus is born.
Canaan (Region) English, French, BiblicalFrom Hebrew
כְּנַעַן (Kena'an), possibly from a root meaning
"low, humble". This was the name of an ancient region, the home of the biblical Canaanites, in what is now Palestine and Israel.
Eden (Region) Hebrew, BiblicalPossibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning
"pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning
"plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Esharra (Other) Ancient AssyrianFrom Sumerian
𒂍 (e) meaning "temple, house" and
𒊹 (shar) meaning "totality, world". This was the name of the main temple dedicated to the god Ashur in the city of
Ashur.
Galilee (Region) English, BiblicalFrom Hebrew
גָּלִיל (Galil) meaning "district, roll". This is a region in northern Israel, mentioned in the Old and New Testament.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
Karmel (Mountain) Biblical HebrewMeans
"garden, vineyard" in Hebrew. This is the name of a mountain in
Israel mentioned in the Old Testament.
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.
Misr (Country) Arabic, Pashto, UrduFrom a Semitic root possibly meaning
"border". This is the Arabic, Pashto and Urdu name for the country of
Egypt.
Nazaret (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Greek, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ancient Greek, Biblical GreekForm of
Nazareth in various languages.
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] Salem (Settlement) English, BiblicalFrom Hebrew
שָׁלֵם (shalem) meaning
"complete, safe, peaceful". This is the name of a town in the Old Testament where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with
Jerusalem. Several places are named after the biblical town, mostly in America.
Santa Ana (Settlement) SpanishThe name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint
Anna.
Santana (Settlement) PortugueseThe name of several places in the Portuguese-speaking world, in honour of Saint
Anna.
Santiago (Settlement) Spanish, PortugueseThis is the name of several cities in Spain and Portugal, so named for Saint
James (see the given name
Santiago for more information). It is also used for many other cities in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds, notably the capital city of Chile.
Sela (Settlement) BiblicalMeans
"rock" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a city, the capital of Edom. In the Greek and Latin Old Testament the name is translated as
Petra, though it may be distinct from the Nabataean city.
St John (Settlement) EnglishName commemorating Saint
John. This is the name of several towns in England.
Suriye (Political Subdivision & Country) TurkishTurkish form of
Syria. This was the name of a province of the Ottoman Empire.
Syria (Country & Region) English, Polish, Norwegian, Greek, Ancient Roman, Ancient GreekFrom Greek
Συρία (Syria), which was probably a variant of
Assyria, used in an expanded sense to refer to the northern Levant. This was the name of a province of the Roman Empire. It is now the name of a country in western Asia, having gained independence from the Ottoman Empire early in the 20th century.
Tarah (Settlement) BiblicalA place name (an encampment) used in some versions of the Old Testament. It is identical to the personal name
Terah.
Teman (Settlement & Country) Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, HebrewMeans
"right hand" or
"south" in Hebrew. This is an Edomite town in the Old Testament, supposedly named for a grandson of Esau. In modern Hebrew this name refers to the country of
Yemen.
Urartu (Region) Akkadian, Armenian, EnglishFrom Akkadian
𒆳𒌨𒌒𒂅 (Urartu), meaning unknown, possibly of Old Armenian origin. This was the name of an ancient kingdom that existed between the 9th and 6th centuries BC in eastern Anatolia (modern Armenia and Turkey).
Uruk (Settlement) Akkadian, EnglishFrom Sumerian
𒌷 (uru) meaning
"city". This was the name of a city-state of ancient Sumer (later Akkad and Babylonia). It was inhabited until the time of the Islamic conquest of the area.
Yemen (Country) English, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chinese, Korean, Thai, TagalogFrom Arabic
يمن (Yaman), probably derived from
يمين (yamin) meaning
"right hand, south". This is the name of a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.