Alabama (Political Subdivision & River) EnglishThe name of an American river and state, appearing in European sources from the 16th-century in spellings such as
Alibamu. It is derived from the name of the Alabama people, a Native American tribe, called
Albaamaha in the Alabama language. The tribal name might be from the related Choctaw language meaning
"plant gatherers", from
ạlba "plants, herbs" and
ạmo "to reap, to gather, to cut".
Amazon (River & Region) EnglishThe name of a river and rainforest situated in
Brazil and some neighbouring countries. The river was named
Río Amazonas, reportedly after the Amazons of Greek mythology, by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana when his expedition was attacked there in 1542 by indigenous warrior women. The Greek name may be of Iranian origin meaning
"warriors".
Amazonas (River & Political Subdivision) Portuguese, Spanish, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Czech, SlovakPortuguese, Spanish and German form of
Amazon (the river). This is also the name of states and departments within
Brazil,
Venezuela,
Colombia and
Peru. Other languages such as English and French have different names for the river but use
Amazonas to refer to the regions.
Avon (River) EnglishMeans
"river" in Brythonic (modern Welsh
afon). This is the name of several rivers in
Britain.
Belize (Country & River) English, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Turkish, Indonesian, MalayFrom Spanish
Belice, earlier
Balis, from the name of the Belize River, which may itself be from Mayan
beliz meaning
"muddy water". This is the name of a country on the Atlantic coast of Central
America.
Columbia (Region, Settlement, Political Subdivision & River) English, Italian, Spanish, Late RomanNamed 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.
Congo (River & Country) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, DanishFrom
Kongo, of uncertain origin, the name of a kingdom in central
Africa that existed from the 14th to 19th century. The Congo River (also called the
Zaire River) was named after the kingdom. Belgian and French colonies were established in the 19th century, named after the river, which eventually led to two African countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo.
Danube (River) English, FrenchFrom Latin
Danubius, from Old Celtic *
Danowyos, from an Indo-European root meaning
"river". This is the name of a river that flows east through
Europe to the Black Sea.
Deben (River) EnglishMeans
"deep" in Old English. This is the name of a river in Suffolk.
Douglas (River & Settlement) ScottishFrom Gaelic
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). This is the name of a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, as well as a town that sits upon it in Lanarkshire.
Ganga (River) Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Nepali, Urdu, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Sinhalese, Mongolian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, LithuanianForm of
Ganges in several languages.
Gihon (River) BiblicalFrom Hebrew
גִּיחוֹן (Giḥon), derived from
גִּיחַ (giyaḥ) meaning
"to burst forth". According to the Old Testament, this was the name of a river that originated in the Garden of Eden.
Glyme (River) EnglishMeans
"bright stream" in Brythonic. This is the name of a river in Oxfordshire,
England.
Irvine (River & Settlement) ScottishDerived from Brythonic elements meaning
"green water". This is a river and city in North Ayrshire,
Scotland.
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 (Yarḏen), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning
"descend, 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).
Kent (Political Subdivision & River) EnglishPossibly from a Brythonic element meaning
"border, edge, coast". This is the name of a historic kingdom and modern county in southeastern
England, called
Cent in Old English,
Cantium in Latin. It is also the name of a river in Cumbria, northwestern England.
Kongo (Region, River & Country) Kongo, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Turkish, GeorgianForm of
Congo in many languages.
Mississippi (River & Political Subdivision) EnglishDerived from Ojibwe
misi-ziibi meaning
"great river". This is the name of a large river in the
United States, as well as an American state named after it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rhine (River) EnglishUltimately from Gaulish
Renos, derived from a Celtic root meaning
"expanse of water, waterway". This is the name of a European river that runs from
Switzerland to the
Netherlands, emptying into the North Sea.
Roe (River) IrishPossibly from Irish
rua meaning
"red". This is the name of a river in
Ireland.
Senegal (River & Country) Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Turkish, Armenian, Persian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Mongolian, Hindi, Bengali, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogFrom Portuguese, possibly from the name of the Berber Zenaga people of northern Senegal. This is the name of a river in West
Africa, and a country named after it. It gained independence from
France in 1960.
Shannon (River) IrishFrom Irish
Sionainn, probably from Old Irish
sen meaning
"old, ancient". This is the name of a river in
Ireland. It is personified by the mythological figure
Sionann.
Sousa (River) PortuguesePossibly derived from Latin
salsus "salty" or
saxa "rocks", but likely of pre-Latin origin. This is the name of a river in
Portugal.
Tennessee (Political Subdivision & River) EnglishFrom Cherokee
ᏔᎾᏏ (Tanasi), the name of a now-abandoned village, of unknown meaning. It has given its name to an American state and a river.
Trent 1 (River) EnglishRiver in
England, possibly from the Celtic elements
tri "across" and
sant "travel", a reference to its frequent floods.
Urdun (River & Country) ArabicArabic form of
Jordan, usually written with the definite article:
الأردن (al-ʾUrdun).
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".
Vltava (River) CzechProbably from Old High German
wildi "wild" and
aha "river". This is the name of a river in the Czech Republic.
Wylye (River) EnglishPossibly from a Celtic word meaning
"tricky". This is the name of a river in southern
England.
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 the south of
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".