ALBANIA (Region & Country)
Late Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianMedieval Latin name for the region which was once occupied by the Illyrian tribe called Albanoi. This is the name of a country in the Balkans.
ALEMANNIA (Region)
Ancient RomanLatin name for the lands where the Alemanni lived. The Alemanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes who lived around the upper Rhine river in the time of the Roman Empire.
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) and is also commonly used to refer to the United States of America.
AMERYKA (Region & Country)
PolishPolish form of
AMERICA, used to refer to the continents and the United States of America.
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.
AUSTRALIA (Region & Country)
English, Italian, SpanishDerived from Latin
australis meaning "southern". It was formally adopted as the name of the continent (and later country) by the British administrators of the region in 1824.
BOHEMIA (Region)
English, Spanish, Late RomanFrom Latin
Boiohaemum, from the name of the Gaulish tribe the
Boii combined with Germanic
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.
BRETAGNE (Region)
French, GermanFrench form of
Britannia (see
BRITAIN). In French this typically refers to the region known as Brittany in France, while Great Britain is called
Grande-Bretagne.
BRITAIN (Region)
EnglishFrom
Britannia, the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, the land of the Britons. It derives from the name of the Britons, recorded in Greek in the 4th century BC as
Πρεττανικη (Prettanike), and reconstructed as Proto-Brythonic *
Priteni, possibly meaning "tattooed people".
BRITTANY (Region)
EnglishFrom
Britannia (see
BRITAIN). This is the name of a region in northwestern France, so called because many Britons settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It had earlier been called
Armorica. In the Middle Ages it was sometimes called
Britannia Minor to distinguish it from the island of Great Britain. In French, both the island and the region are called
Bretagne.
CASTILE (Region)
EnglishFrom Spanish
Castilla, ultimately from Late Latin
castellum meaning "castle". This was the name of a medieval kingdom in Spain.
CATALONIA (Region)
EnglishFrom Catalan
Catalunya, of uncertain meaning, possibly from Latin
castellum "castle" or
Gauthia Launia "land of the Goths". This is the name of a region in eastern Spain.
ČECHY (Region)
Czech, SlovakFrom the name of the Slavic tribe of the Czechs, probably derived from the Slavic root
čelo meaning "family, tribe". This is the Czech name of
Bohemia, while the Czech Republic is called
Česko.
CHESHIRE (Region & Political Subdivision)
EnglishShortened form of
Chestershire, a combination of
CHESTER and
shire.
COLUMBIA (Region, Settlement, Political Subdivision & River)
English, Italian, SpanishNamed after the explorer Christopher Columbus, called
Cristoforo Colombo in Italian (see the surname
COLOMBO). This is the name of several cities in the Americas (including the District of Columbia, also called Washington D.C.), and a river in Canada and the United States. It is also a name used historically to refer to the New World.
CZECHY (Region & Country)
PolishPolish form of
ČECHY, used to refer both to the region of
Bohemia and the larger Czech Republic.
EDEN (Region)
BiblicalMeans "place of pleasure" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
FLANDERS (Region)
EnglishFrom Middle Dutch
Vlander, from a Germanic root meaning "waterlogged", referring to the marshy landscape of Flanders. This is the name of the northern portion of Belgium.
FRIULI (Region)
Italian, English, SpanishFrom the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii (now called
Cividale del Friuli) meaning "forum of Julius". This is the name of a region in northeast Italy.
GORYEO (Region)
KoreanPossibly means "walled city" or "center" in Korean. This was the name of a kingdom which ruled most of the Korean Peninsula. The name
Korea is based on it.
GUINEA (Region, Country & Island)
English, Italian, Spanish, GermanFrom Portuguese
Guiné, which is of unknown meaning, possibly of Berber origin. This name was used by the Portuguese to refer to a portion of western Africa. It was also applied by westerners to the island of New Guinea starting in the 16th century. It is now the name or part of the name of the countries of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea.
HANGUK (Region)
KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
韓 (han) meaning "Korea" and
國 (guk) meaning "country, land". This is the term used in South Korea to refer to South
Korea or the entire Korean Peninsula.
JOSEON (Region & Country)
KoreanThis was the name of two kingdoms in the history of Korea. The first was conquered by the Han Empire in the 2nd century BC. The second ruled Korea from the 14th century until the 19th century. The name of these kingdoms was written using the Sino-Korean characters
朝 (jo) meaning "dynasty" and
鮮 (seon) meaning "new", though the actual origin is assumed to be Korean. This name is now used in North Korea to refer to the country of North
Korea.
KONGO (Region, River & Country)
Central African, Kongo, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Russian, Croatian, SerbianForm of
CONGO.
LENNOX (Region)
ScottishFrom Gaelic
Leamhnachd, possibly meaning "place of elms". This is the name of a district in Scotland.
LINDSEY (Region)
EnglishMeans "
LINCOLN island" in Old English. This is the name of a region and historical kingdom in Lincolnshire.
LORNE (Region)
EnglishPossibly from the name of the legendary king of Dál Riata, Loarn mac Eirc. This is the name of a region in western Scotland.
MAGHRIB (Region & Country)
ArabicFrom Arabic
المغرب (al-Maghrib) meaning "the place of the sunset, the west". This is the Arabic name of
Morocco as well as the entire region of western North Africa (known as
the Maghreb in English). In Arabic the name is usually written with the definite article:
المغرب (al-Maghrib).
MORAY (Region & Political Subdivision)
ScottishFrom Gaelic
Muireb meaning "seaboard settlement". This is the name of a historical region in Scotland, as well as a modern council area.
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.
NYSA (Region)
Greek MythologyPossibly from an archaic Greek word meaning "tree". In Greek mythology Nysa was the mountainous region where young
Dionysos was raised.
ROSS (Region & Settlement)
ScottishFrom Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory". This is the name of a historic region in northern Scotland, as well as towns in Scotland and northern England.
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.
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, vigourous". Besides the city in Spain, this is also the name of a city in Venezuala.