Behind the Name: Ancient Place Names

AFRICA (Region) English, Ancient Roman
Of Latin origin, possibly from the Afri people who lived near Carthage in North Africa.

AITHIOPIA (Country) Ancient Greek
Greek form of ETHIOPIA.

ALEMANNIA (Region) Ancient Roman
Latin 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.

ALEXANDREIA (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Greek form of ALEXANDRIA.

ALEXANDRIA (Settlement) English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek given name Αλεξανδρος (see ALEXANDER), bestowed by Alexander the Great upon the cities he founded or conquered. This is the name of many cities throughout the world, notably in Egypt.

ANATOLIA (Region) Ancient Greek
From Greek ανατολη (anatole) meaning "sunrise", a term used by the Greeks to refer to the peninsula to the east (modern Turkey).

ARARAT (Mountain) Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Near Eastern
From the name of the ancient kingdom of Urartu. This is the name of a mountain in Turkey (formerly part of Armenia).

ASIA (Region) English, Italian, Ancient Greek
Perhaps derived from Akkadian asu, meaning "east".

ASISIUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of ASSISI.

ASTNIDE (Settlement) Old High German (Latinized)
Old German (Latinized) form of ESSEN.

BABILI (Settlement) Akkadian
Akkadian form of BABYLON.

BABYLON (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of Akkadian Babili, which is of uncertain meaning. It is often explained as meaning "gateway of God", from Akkadian babu "gate" and ilu "God", though it may in fact derive from a non-Semitic language. This was the name of a major city in ancient Mesopotamia, the capital of the Babylonian Empire. It was located in present-day Iraq.

BADALOCUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of BAGGIO.

BERGOMUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of BERGAMO.

BHARATA (Country) Sanskrit
Sanskrit form of BHARAT.

BOIOHAEMUM (Region) Ancient Roman
Latin form of BOHEMIA (mentioned in Tacitus' 1st-century book 'Germania').

BONONIA (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of BOLOGNA.

BRITANNIA (Region) Ancient Roman
Latin form of BRITAIN.

CAIATIA (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of CAIAZZO.

CALE (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Possibly from Celtic gall meaning "Gaul, Celt". This was the name of an ancient town in what is now Portugal, near the modern city of Porto.

CALVIANUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of CAIVANO.

CEASTER (Settlement) Anglo-Saxon
Old English form of CHESTER.

CESTRESCIR (Region) Anglo-Saxon
Old English form of CHESHIRE.

CHINA (Country) English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Sanskrit
From Persian چین (Chin), probably derived via Sanskrit चीन (China) from Qin, the name of a dynasty that ruled in China in the 3rd century BC. In China the name Zhongguo is used to refer to the country.

COLONIA (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish
Latin form of COLOGNE, as well as the Italian and Spanish form.

DANUBIUS (River) Ancient Roman
Latin form of DANUBE.

DELPHI (Settlement) Ancient Roman, English
Latinized form of Greek Δελφοι (Delphoi), from δελφυς (delphys) "womb". This was the name of an ancient Greek city, the site of an oracle of Apollo.

DELPHOI (Settlement) Ancient Greek
Greek form of DELPHI.

DILLI (Settlement) Indian, Hindi, Sanskrit
Sanskrit and Hindi form of DELHI.

EBORACUM (Settlement) Ancient Celtic (Latinized)
Latinized form of YORK.

ENGLALAND (Country) Anglo-Saxon
Old English form of ENGLAND.

ERAN (Country) Ancient Persian
Middle Persian form of IRAN.

ÉRIU (Country & Island) Ancient Irish
Old Irish form of ÉIRE.

EUPHRATES (River) English, Greek, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Ευφρατης (Euphrates), the name of a river in Mesopotamia. It is derived from Old Persian Ufratu, itself from Elamite or Sumerian, of unknown meaning.

EURIPOS (Body of Water) Ancient Greek
Possibly from Greek ευ (eu) "good" and ‘ριπη (rhipe) "throw, swing". This was the name of the strait between Euboea and Boeotia.

EURIPUS (Body of Water) Ancient Roman
Latin form of EURIPOS.

FINNLAND (Country) Ancient Scandinavian, German
Old Norse and German form of FINLAND.

FORUM IULII (Settlement & Region) Ancient Roman
Latin form of FRIULI, the name of both the region and the town.

GERMANIA (Country) Ancient Roman, Italian
Latin and Italian form of GERMANY.

GRAECIA (Country) Ancient Roman
Latin form of GREECE.

HELLADA (Country) Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of ELLADA.

HISPANIA (Country) Ancient Roman
Latin form of SPAIN, referring originally to the entire Iberian Peninsula.

INDIA (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
Derived from the name of the INDUS River. In many languages of India, the name Bharat is used to refer to the country.

INDOS (River) Ancient Greek
Greek form of INDUS.

INDUS (River) English, Ancient Roman
From Persian Hindu, which was from Sanskrit सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river". This is the name of a river in Pakistan and India.

ITALIA (Country) Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman
Italian, Spanish and Latin form of ITALY.

KAILASHA (Mountain) Sanskrit
Sanskrit form of KAILASH.

KASHI (Settlement) Indian, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit
From Sanskrit काशि (kashi) meaning "shining". This is the name of a holy city in India, also called Varanasi.

LAURETUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of LORETO.

LONDINIUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of LONDON.

LUGUVALIUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Older Roman name of CARLISLE.

LYDIA (Region) Ancient Greek, English
An ancient region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king LYDOS.

MEDIOLANUM (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of MILAN.

MEHXICO (Country & Settlement) Aztec
Nahuatl form of MEXICO.

NATZRAT (Settlement) Ancient Hebrew, Hebrew
Hebrew form of NAZARETH.

NAZARET (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Armenian, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Spainish, Italian, German, Armenian and Greek form of NAZARETH.

NEAPOLIS (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
Greek and Latin form of NAPLES.

NEILOS (River) Ancient Greek
Greek form of NILE.

NEPAL (Country) Nepali, Indian, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Sanskrit
From Sanskrit नेपाल (Nepal), of unknown meaning. This is the name of a landlocked country in south Asia.

NILUS (River) Ancient Roman
Latin form of NILE.

NORÐVEGR (Country) Ancient Scandinavian
Old Norse cognate of NORWAY.

NORÞWEG (Country) Anglo-Saxon
Old English form of NORWAY.

OLYMPOS (Mountain) Ancient Greek, Greek
Meaning unknown. This is the name of the highest mountain in Greece. According to legend is the home of the Greek gods.

OLYMPUS (Mountain) Ancient Roman, English, Dutch
Latinized form of OLYMPOS.

PARSA (Country) Ancient Persian
Old Persian form of PERSIA.

PERSIA (Country) Ancient Roman, English, Spanish, Italian
Latin form of Greek Περσις (Persis), from Old Persian Parsa. This is the name used in the West for a region in western Asia, as well as several empires which were based there, including the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. This was also the Western name for the country of Iran until 1935, when the king requested that the native name Iran be used instead.

PERSIS (Country) Ancient Greek
Greek form of PERSIA.

PHILADELPHIEA (Settlement) Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of PHILADELPHIA.

PORTUS CALE (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Means "port of CALE" in Latin. This was the name of the city now known as Porto. The name of the city was later applied to the entire region of Portugal.

ROMA (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Ancient Roman
Latinate form of ROME.

SINDHU (River) Sanskrit
Sanskrit form of INDUS.

UFRATU (River) Ancient Persian
Old Persian form of EUPHRATES.

VALENTIA (Settlement & Region) Ancient Roman
Latin form of VALENCIA.

VENKATA (Mountain) Indian, Hindi, Sanskrit
Possibly means "self-born" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a sacred hill in southern India.

VERONA (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, English, Ancient Roman
Meaning unknown, possibly of Latin, Gallic or Etruscan origin. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.

YAMUNA (River) Indian, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit
Name of an Indian river, which is possibly derived from the name of the goddess YAMI.

	Usage
	Initial letter
	Type
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	Related name
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