Aeron (River) WelshRiver in Wales, possibly derived from the hypothetical Celtic goddess
Agrona.
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".
Amstel (River) DutchMeans
"water place" in Dutch. This is the name of a river in the Netherlands, which lent its name to
Amsterdam.
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) EnglishFrom Latin
Danubius, from Indo-European
Danu, probably meaning
"river, water". 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.
Dee (River) EnglishPossibly from a Celtic root meaning
"divine". This is the name of rivers in Scotland (Gaelic
Dhè) and Wales (Welsh
Dyfrdwy).
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.
Gihon (River) BiblicalFrom Hebrew
גיחון (Gichon), derived from
גּיחַ (giyach) 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.
Indus (River) English, Ancient RomanFrom Old Persian
Hindus, which was from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning
"body of trembling water, river". This is the name of a river in Pakistan and India.
Irvine (River & Settlement) ScottishDerived from Brythonic elements meaning
"green water". This is a river and city in North Ayrshire, Scotland.
Jayhun (River) ArabicArabic form of
Gihon, used also as the name of the Amu Darya river in central Asia.
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 (Yarden), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yarad) meaning
"descend" or
"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) Central African, 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.
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 western 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-Nil).
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, Indigenous American, 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.
Roe (River) IrishPossibly from Irish
rua meaning
"red". This is the name of a river in Ireland.
Rudawa (River) PolishMeaning unknown. This is the name of a river in Poland, near Krakow.
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, Indian, Hindi, Bengali, Korean, Indonesian, Filipino, Malay, TagalogFrom Portuguese, possibly from the name of the Berber Zenaga people of northern Senegal. This is the name of a river in western 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 floodings.
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.
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) Southern African, 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".