Loyola (Settlement) SpanishFrom Basque
Loiola, from
loi meaning
"mud". This is the name of a place near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of
Spain.
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] 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.
Madrid (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Mongolian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogFrom Old Spanish
Magerit, itself from Arabic
مجريط (Majrīṭ), of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from Arabic
مجرى (majrā) meaning
"watercourse, channel" or from Latin
matrix meaning
"source, origin (of a river)". This is the name of the capital city of
Spain as well as an autonomous community surrounding it.
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.
Malavi (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Persian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Urdu, HindiForm of
Malawi in several languages.
Malawi (Country) Chewa, English, Swahili, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkmen, ArabicPossibly from Chewa
malawi meaning
"flame, fire". This is the name of a landlocked country in the south of
Africa. It was renamed from Nyasaland when the country gained independence from
Britain in 1964. Hastings Banda, the country's first president and the man who chose the name, claimed to have seen it on an old map in the form
Maravi, referring to a lake.
Malaysia (Country) Malay, English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Romanian, Indonesian, TagalogFrom 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.
Mali (Country) Manding, Fula, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Sinhalese, Hindi, Chinese, Mongolian, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogA landlocked country in West
Africa, named after an empire that lasted until the 17th century. The empire's name is possibly from a dialectal variant of the name of the Mande peoples. Alternatively, it could be from the name of the empire's capital (which has not been located) or from a Mande word meaning "hippopotamus".
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.
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.
Marokko (Country) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, MongolianForm of
Morocco in several languages.
Maroko (Country) Polish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Georgian, IndonesianForm of
Morocco in several languages.
Marrakech (Settlement) French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, CroatianFrench, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Croatian form of Arabic
مرّاكش (see
Marrakesh).
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
Moldavia (Country, River & Region) Italian, Spanish, EnglishItalian and Spanish form of
Moldova. In English this refers to the former principality and the region in northeastern Romania.
Moldavien (Country & Region) Swedish, DanishSwedish form of
Moldova (the country). In Danish this refers only to the former principality and the region in northeastern Romania.
Moldova (Country, River & Region) Romanian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, English, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Maltese, Indonesian, MalayFrom the name of the Moldova River in eastern
Romania, which is of uncertain origin. It could be from Romanian
molid meaning "spruce", Old Slavic *
moldŭ meaning "young", or Gothic
mulda meaning "dust, dirt". This is the Romanian name (
Moldavia in English) for a former principality that was located in Eastern Europe. The eastern part of this principality came under the control of the Russian Empire in 1812, eventually becoming the modern country of Moldova. The western part united with
Wallachia in 1859 to become the Kingdom of Romania. Northeastern Romania is called
Moldova Occidentală in Romanian.
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.
Mongolia (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) English, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Indonesian, MalayFrom Mongolian
монгол (mongol), the name for the Mongolian people, possibly from
монг (mong) meaning "brave". This the name of a region in eastern
Asia, now divided between the country of Mongolia (historically called Outer Mongolia) and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
Mongolija (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) Latvian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, SloveneLatvian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian and Slovene form of
Mongolia.
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.
Moscou (Settlement & River) French, Portuguese (Brazilian), CatalanFrench, Brazilian Portuguese and Catalan form of
Moscow. In Portuguese it refers to both the city and the river, while in French and Catalan it only refers to the city.
Moscow (Settlement) EnglishFrom the name of the Moskva River, in Russian
Москва (Moskva), from Old East Slavic
Москꙑ (Mosky). It is of uncertain origin, but it may be from a Slavic root meaning
"damp, wet". This is the name of the capital city of
Russia.
Moskva (Settlement & River) Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Azerbaijani, EnglishRussian form of
Moscow. In most languages this name refers to both the city and the river, while in English it only refers to the river.
Moskwa (Settlement & River) Polish, GermanPolish and German form of
Moskva. In Polish it refers to both the city and the river, while in German it only refers to the river.
Mozambique (Island & Country) English, French, Spanish, Dutch, DanishFrom the name of an island off the southeastern coast of
Africa, named
Moçambique by the Portuguese after the 15th-century local sultan
موسى بن بيك (Mūsā bin Bīk). This island became the region's Portuguese colonial capital in the 16th century, and the name was eventually applied to a large area of mainland
Africa. Mozambique gained independence from
Portugal in 1974.
Mumbai (Settlement) Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Urdu, English, German, RussianFrom Marathi
मुंबा (Mumbā), the name of an incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess
Devi, combined with
आई (āī) meaning "mother". This is the name of a city in Maharashtra,
India, formerly called
Bombay.
Myanmar (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, HindiFrom Burmese
မြန်မာ (Myanma), the name of the main Burmese ethnic group (also called the Bamar), which is of unknown origin. This is the name of a country in southeastern
Asia. It was formerly called
Burma, derived from a variant of this term.
Nairobi (Settlement) English, Swahili, Kikuyu, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Japanese, KoreanFrom Maasai
enkare nyrobi meaning
"cold water", referencing a nearby river. This is the name of the capital city of
Kenya. It was founded in 1899 by the British colonial authorities.
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.
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).
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] 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.
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.
Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) ItalianItalian form of
Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.
Oman (Country) English, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Mongolian, Hindi, Bengali, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Korean, TagalogFrom Arabic
عمان (ʿUmān), probably from the name of an ancient town called
Omana by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the 1st century. It can probably be identified with the modern city of Suhar, and is from an Arabic root meaning
"to settle, to remain, to dwell". This is the name of a country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
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.
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.
Panama (Country & Settlement) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Japanese, KoreanFrom Spanish
Panamá, of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from the name of a tree commonly found in the area (species Sterculia apetala). Alternatively it could be related to Guaraní
panambi meaning
"butterfly" or Kuna
bannaba meaning
"distant, far away". This is the name of a country in Central
America. It is also the name of its capital, usually called
Panama City in English.
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".
Paraguay (Country, River & Settlement) Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, GuaraniThe name of a landlocked country in South
America. It is derived from a river of the same name, of uncertain meaning. It possibly means
"water from the sea" in Guaraní, from
para "sea",
gua "from" and
y "water". In Guaraní
Paraguái is the name of the country and the river, with
Paraguay the name of the capital city Asunción.
Paris (Settlement) French, English, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Turkish, Persian, HausaFrom the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii. This is the capital city of
France.
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.
Peking (Settlement) German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, English (Archaic)Form of
Beijing in various languages, as well as an older English form.
Persia (Country) Ancient Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianLatin form of Greek
Περσίς (Persis), from Old Persian
Parsa. This is the name used in the West for a region in western
Asia, as well as several empires that were based there, including the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. This was the Western name for the country of Iran until 1935, when the king requested that the native name
Iran be used instead.
Peru (Country) English, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, HindiFrom Spanish
Perú, older
Birú, which was possibly derived from the name of a chieftain (who nevertheless resided in modern-day Panama).
Petra (Settlement) Ancient Greek, EnglishFrom Greek
πέτρα (petra) meaning
"rock". This was the Greek name of the capital city of the Nabataeans, which may have been known as
Raqmu to its Semitic inhabitants. Its ruins lie in
Jordan.
Philippines (Country) English, FrenchFrom Spanish
Filipinas, which was derived from the given name
Felipe, bestowed in 1543 in honour of the crown prince Philip (later king Philip II) of Spain by the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who originally used it only to refer to the islands of Leyte and Samar. It now refers to the entire archipelago and nation of the Philippines in southeastern
Asia. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article,
the.
Philistia (Region) English, BiblicalEnglish form of Hebrew
פְּלֶשֶׁת (Pelesheṯ) meaning
"land of the Philistines". This was the name of a confederation of cities in
Canaan inhabited by the Philistines. It was conquered by the Babylonians in the 7th century BC.