Place Names Categorized "national capitals"

This is a list of place names in which the categories include national capitals.
type
usage
Algiers (Settlement) English, Dutch
From Arabic الجزائر (al-Jazāʾir) meaning "the islands". This is the name of the capital city of Algeria, so named because of the islands in its bay.
Amsterdam (Settlement) Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Means "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.
Athens (Settlement) English
From Ancient Greek Ἀθήναι (Athenai), meaning unknown, probably from a pre-Greek language. The Greek goddess Athena was probably named for the city, not vice versa. Athens is a city in eastern Greece, emerging as a powerful city-state in the classical period. It has been the capital of the modern country of Greece since 1834.
Beijing (Settlement) Chinese, English, Korean
From Chinese (běi) meaning "north" and (jīng) meaning "capital city". This is the name of the capital of China.
Berlin (Settlement) German, English, French, Polish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish
City in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem berl- meaning "swamp".
Budapest (Settlement) Hungarian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Combination of Buda and Pest, two cities that merged in 1873. This is the name of the capital city of Hungary.
Cairo (Settlement) English
From Arabic القاهرة (al-Qāhira) meaning "the victorious", in honour of the conquering Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah (932-975). This is the name of the capital city of Egypt.
Damascus (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, English
Meaning unknown, probably of Semitic origin. It is first mentioned in Egyptian records from the 15th century BC under the name Tmsq. It is now the capital city of Syria.
Delhi (Settlement) English
From Sanskrit दिल्ली (Dillī), possibly from देहली (dehalī) meaning "threshold", or possibly from the name of a 1st-century BC king. This is the name of a large city in northern India, which includes the district of New Delhi, the Indian capital.
Jakarta (Settlement) Indonesian, Malay, Javanese, Acehnese, Balinese, Minangkabau, Sundanese, English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Arabic, Hindi
From Sanskrit जयकर्ता (Jayakartā) meaning "victory accomplished", from जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and कृत (kṛta) meaning "done, accomplished". This is the name of the capital city of Indonesia. It was known as Batavia during the colonial (Dutch) era.
Kingston (Settlement) English
From 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).
London (Settlement) English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Indonesian
From Latin Londinium, of unknown meaning. This is the capital city of the United Kingdom.
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, Tagalog
From 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.
Mexico (Country & Settlement) English, French, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
From 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.
Moscow (Settlement) English
From 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.
Nairobi (Settlement) English, Swahili, Kikuyu, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Japanese, Korean
From 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.
Ottawa (River & Settlement) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch
From the name of the Odawa or Ottawa people, derived from Ojibwe odaawaa meaning "trader". This is the name of a river and the capital city of Canada.
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, Korean
From 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.
Paris (Settlement) French, English, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Turkish, Persian, Hausa
From the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii. This is the capital city of France.
Prague (Settlement) English, French
From Czech Praha, possibly from the Slavic root práh meaning "ford". This is the name of the capital city of the Czech Republic.
Pretoria (Settlement) Afrikaans, Dutch, English
From the surname Pretorius. This is the name of a city in South Africa, named after the 19th-century Boer leader Andries Pretorius.
Rome (Settlement) English, French, Dutch
Meaning uncertain, from Latin Roma. It is possibly of Etruscan origin. This is the name of the capital city of Italy, formerly the capital of the Roman Kingdom, Republic and Empire. According to legend the city was named for Romulus.
Santiago (Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
This 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.
Stockholm (Settlement) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, German, Dutch, French
From Swedish stock "log" and holme "islet". The islet probably referred to Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. This is the name of the capital city of Sweden. The first written mention of the name occurs in 1252.
Tehran (Settlement) Persian, English
From Persian تهران (Tehrān), meaning unknown. This is the name of the capital city of Iran.
Tokyo (Settlement) Japanese, English, French, Italian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Estonian, Turkish, Hindi, Indonesian
From Japanese () meaning "east" and (kyō) meaning "capital city". This is the name of the capital of Japan.
Vienna (Settlement) English, Italian
Meaning 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.
Warsaw (Settlement) English
From 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, Portuguese
Means "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.