Spain (Country) EnglishDerived from
Hispania, the Latin name of the Iberian Peninsula, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from Punic
I-Shaphan meaning
"land of the rabbits".
Sudan (Country) English, Arabic, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, ThaiFrom Arabic
سُود (sud) meaning
"black", referring to the darker skin of the inhabitants. This is the name of a country in Africa. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article:
السُودان (al-Sudan).
Sweden (Country) English, Medieval DutchFrom Middle Dutch, ultimately from the Old Norse ethnic name
Svíar "Swede", itself possibly from Proto-Norse
Swihoniz meaning "one's own tribe". This is the name of a country in Northern Europe.
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.
Tanganyika (Region & Country) Swahili, EnglishFrom Swahili
tanga "sail" and
nyika "wilderness". This is the name of a region in East Africa. It was a German then British colony until 1961 when it gained independence. In 1964 it united with the island of
Zanzibar to create the new country of
Tanzania.
Tanzania (Country) Swahili, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Indonesian, MalayFrom a combination of
Tanganyika and
Zanzibar, the names of the two countries that were united to create the East African country of Tanzania in 1964.
Tarah (Settlement) BiblicalA place name (an encampment) used in some versions of the Old Testament. It is identical to the personal name
Terah.
Tataouine (Settlement) French, EnglishFrom Tamazight
Tittawin, possibly from
tit meaning
"eye". This is a city in Tunisia. It is the source of the name of the desert planet
Tatooine from the fictional Star Wars universe.
Teheran (Settlement) German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Croatian, SerbianForm of
Tehran in several languages.
Tehran (Settlement) Persian, EnglishFrom Persian
تهران (Tehran), meaning unknown. This is the name of the capital city of Iran.
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.
Texas (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, PortugueseA state of the United States, from Spanish
Texas or
Tejas, originally an ethnic name used by the Spanish for the Caddo. It was derived from the Caddo word
taysha meaning
"friends, allies".
Thai (Country) Thai, KhmerPossibly from a Thai root meaning
"person". This is the Thai word for
Thailand, usually written in the compounds
เมืองไทย (Meueng Thaiy) meaning "region of Thailand",
ประเทศไทย (Prathet Thaiy) meaning "nation of Thailand" or
ราชอาณาจักรไทย (Rachanachakn Thaiy) meaning "kingdom of Thailand".
Timbuktu (Settlement) English, Arabic, BamilekeMeaning uncertain. It could be derived from Songhai meaning
"hollow, hole", or from Berber meaning
"place of small dunes". This is the name of a city in central Mali. Descriptions of the city's wealth and remoteness first reached Europe from the 16th-century Berber author Leo Africanus. Since then the city has been used in Western Culture as a symbol for a distant, mysterious place.
Tokio (Settlement) Spanish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Albanian, Greek, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, MongolianForm of
Tokyo used in various languages.
Tokyo (Settlement) Japanese, English, French, Italian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Estonian, Turkish, Hindi, IndonesianFrom Japanese
東 (tō) meaning "east" and
京 (kyō) meaning "capital city". This is the name of the capital of Japan.
Troy (Settlement) Greek Mythology, EnglishFrom Greek
Τροία (Troia), said to derive from its mythical founder
Τρώς (Tros), but more likely of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek mythology (most notably in
Homer's
Iliad) this was the name of a city, also called
Ilium, that was besieged by the Greeks after
Helen was abducted by
Paris 1.
Troyes (Settlement) French, English, German, DutchThe name of a city in France, called in Latin
(Augustobona) Tricassium, which was named after the Gallic tribe of the Tricasses.
Turan (Region) Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, ArabicHistorical region in central Asia, originally inhabited by nomadic Iranian peoples and traditionally said to mean
"land of Tur". It is mentioned frequently in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Turkey (Country) EnglishFrom Latin
Turcia, derived from the ethnonym
Turk, which is from Old Turkic possibly meaning "ancestry". This is the name of a country situated on the Anatolian peninsula.
Uganda (Country) English, Ganda, Swahili, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, MalayFrom
Buganda, the name of a kingdom within Uganda, which means
"land of the Ganda" in the Luganda language. The
Ganda are an ethnic group, their name possibly deriving from a Bantu word meaning "family". Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa.
Ukraina (Country) Polish, Russian, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Albanian, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, IndonesianForm of
Ukraine in several languages.
Ukraine (Country) English, French, German, Danish, MalayFrom Ukrainian
Україна (Ukrayina), which is probably from Old East Slavic
ꙋкраина (ukraina) meaning
"boundary, borderland", derived from
ꙋ (u) meaning "at, from" and
краи (krai) meaning "edge, end, rim". This is the name of a country in Eastern Europe.
Ural (Region & River) Russian, English, German, Turkish, BashkirMeaning unknown, possibly from Turkic
aral meaning
"island, boundary". This is the name of a mountain range and a river in western Russia.
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).
Uruguay (Country & River) Spanish, English, French, Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, TurkishThe name of a country in South America, derived from a river of the same name. It is possibly from Guaraní
uruguá, referring to a type of water snail. Alternatively it could come from
uru "quail",
gua "from" and
y "water".
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.
Uzbekistan (Country) English, Russian, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, SwedishFrom Uzbek
O'zbekiston, derived from the ethnic name
O'zbek (which is probably in part from Turkic
beg meaning "chieftain, master") combined with the Persian suffix
ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a country in central Asia.
Valencia (Settlement & Region) Spanish, Italian, English, GermanThe name of a city and surrounding region in eastern Spain, originally named in Latin
Valentia (Edetanorum) meaning
"strength (of the Edetani people)", and derived from Latin
valentius "strength, vigour", from
valens "strong, vigorous". Besides the city in Spain, this is also the name of a city in Venezuala.
Venetia (Region & Settlement) Ancient Roman, Late Roman, GreekFrom the name of the Veneti people who inhabited northeastern Italy in ancient times. Their tribal name possibly meant something like "kinfolk" or "friendly". This was the Latin name for the region now called
Veneto, and later the Latin name for the city of
Venice (which did not exist in the classical period).
Veneto (Political Subdivision) Italian, EnglishThe name of a region in northeastern Italy, called
Venetia in Latin, named after the Veneti people who lived there in ancient times.
Venezuela (Country) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Turkish, Indonesian, MalayPossibly from Italian
Veneziola meaning
"little Venice". This is the name of a country on the northern coast of South America. The region was supposedly named this in 1499 by a Spanish expedition (which included Amerigo Vespucci) because an indigenous town on Lake Maracaibo was built on stilts over the water, reminiscent of the Italian city. Another theory suggests that the country's name comes from
Veneciuela, the name of a local people.
Venice (Settlement) EnglishFrom Italian
Venezia, derived from Latin
Venetia. This is the name of a city of northeastern Italy, the capital of the Veneto region, famous for its canals.
Venkata (Mountain) Hindi, SanskritPossibly means
"self-born" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a sacred hill in southern India.
Vienna (Settlement) English, ItalianMeaning uncertain. It could be from Celtic
vedunia meaning
"forest stream", or possibly from the name of an earlier Roman settlement
Vindobona. This is the name of the capital of Austria.
Vietnam (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Indonesian, MalayFrom
Việt Nam, meaning
"southern Yue", derived from Sino-Vietnamese
越 (việt), referring to the Yue people, and
南 (nam) meaning "south". This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia.
Wales (Country) English, German, DutchFrom Old English
Wealas, derived from
wealh meaning
"foreigner, Celt". This is the name of a country (part of the
United Kingdom) in the west of the island of Great Britain. In Welsh it is called
Cymru.
Warsaw (Settlement) EnglishFrom Polish
Warszawa, derived from the given name
Warsz, a short form of
Warcisław. This is the name of the capital city of Poland.
Washington (Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name
Wassa and Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of a town in northern England. It is also the name of the capital city and a state in the United States, both named after the president George Washington (1732-1799), whose surname was derived from the name of the English town.
Xanadu (Settlement) EnglishAnglicized form of Chinese
上都 (Shangdu), derived from
上 (shàng) meaning "above, upper" and
都 (dū) meaning "city". This was the summer capital of the 13th-century Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, located in Inner Mongolia, China. It became known to English speakers after it appeared in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem
Kubla Khan (1816), and it has been used figuratively to refer to a paradise since then.
Yazhou (Region) ChineseFrom a short form of
Yaxiya combined with
洲 (zhōu) meaning "continent, island". This is the modern Chinese name for
Asia.
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.
York (Settlement & Political Subdivision) EnglishFrom
Jórvík, the Norse form of Old English
Eoforwic, which was from the Brythonic name
Eburacon meaning
"yew". The Old English form
Eoforwic was altered based on
eofor "boar" and
wic "village".
... [more] Zaire (River & Country) Portuguese, EnglishOlder name of the
Congo River, said to be derived via Portuguese from Kikongo
nzadi o nzere meaning
"river swallowing rivers". This was also the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zambezi (River) Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, Shona, EnglishThe name of a river in Southern Africa, of uncertain meaning. It could possibly be from the name of the Bisa people of Zambia. According to the explorer David Livingstone it meant "great river".
Zambia (Country) Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, RomanianFrom the name of the
Zambezi River. It was adopted as the name of the African country of Zambia, formerly called Northern
Rhodesia, when it became independent of the United Kingdom in 1964.
Zealand (Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, SwedishFrom Dutch
Zeeland, from Middle Dutch
Seelant, derived from
see "sea" and
lant "land". This is the name of a province in the western Netherlands (now typically called
Zeeland in many languages). It is also borne by the country of New Zealand in the South Pacific, which was named by the Dutch in the 17th century.
Zimbabve (Country) Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, MongolianForm of
Zimbabwe in several languages.
Zimbabwe (Country & Settlement) Shona, Ndebele, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, RomanianFrom the Shona language, possibly from
dzimba "houses" and
ibwe "stone". Great Zimbabwe was an ancient city, falling into ruin in the 15th century. It was located in the country of Zimbabwe, which was named after the ancient city in 1980 when it gained independence from the United Kingdom. It was formerly called Southern
Rhodesia by the British.