Ancient Near Eastern Place Names

These names were used in the ancient Near East. That is, by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Phoenicians and others. Listed separately are Ancient Egyptian names and Ancient Persian names.

More Filters

type

usage

Select filters then press SEARCH below

+Type

clear

-Usage or language

Usage	clear
Language	clear

+Letters

Initial	clear
Start	clear
End	clear
Substring	clear
Pattern	clear help?
the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

+Meaning and keywords

Meaning	clear help?
	expand search to include grammatical forms
	expand search to include close synonyms
	expand search to include subclasses
	expand search to related names
separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
Description	clear help?
	ignore name meanings
the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

+Origin

clear

+Length

clear

+Sound and syllables

Pronunciation	clear help?
	case sensitive
see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
Syllables	clear help?
syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results

+Relations

Related name	clear
Relationship	clear help?
	expand search to ancestral names
the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

+Famous namesake

Category

clear

+Options

Sort	clear
Display	clear

Ashur 𒀸𒋩 (Settlement & Region) English, Arabic, Persian, Akkadian
From Akkadian 𒀸𒋩 (Assur), meaning unknown. This was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, supposedly named for the god Ashur, though the god was in fact probably named for the city. The empire, Assyria, was also named for it. The city was destroyed in the 14th century by the forces of Tamerlane.... [more]

Ashurayu (Region) Akkadian
Akkadian form of Assyria.

Babili 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Settlement) Akkadian
Akkadian form of Babylon.

Dammeseq דַּמֶּשֶׂק (Settlement) Ancient Aramaic, Biblical Hebrew
Aramaic and Hebrew form of Damascus.

Esharra 𒂍𒊹𒊏 (Other) Ancient Assyrian
From Sumerian 𒂍 (e) meaning "temple, house" and 𒊹 (shar) meaning "totality, world". This was the name of the main temple dedicated to the god Ashur in the city of Ashur.

Galil גָּלִיל (Region) Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Galilee.

Isin 𒉌𒋛𒅔𒆠 (Settlement) Sumerian
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a city-state in Mesopotamia, originally Sumerian.

Misri 𒈪𒄑𒊑𒄿 (Country) Akkadian
Akkadian cognate of Misr, referring to ancient Egypt.

Natzrat נָץְרַת (Settlement) Ancient Hebrew, Hebrew
Hebrew form of Nazareth.

Ninua 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 (Settlement) Akkadian
Akkadian form of Nineveh.

Purattu 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (River) Akkadian
Akkadian form of Euphrates.

Urartu 𒆳𒌨𒌒𒂅 (Region) Akkadian, Armenian, English
From Akkadian 𒆳𒌨𒌒𒂅 (Urartu), meaning unknown, possibly of Old Armenian origin. This was the name of an ancient kingdom that existed between the 9th and 6th centuries BC in eastern Anatolia (modern Armenia and Turkey).

Uruk 𒌷𒀕 (Settlement) Akkadian, English
From Sumerian 𒌷 (uru) meaning "city". This was the name of a city-state of ancient Sumer (later Akkad and Babylonia). It was inhabited until the time of the Islamic conquest of the area.

Yerushalayim יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Settlement) Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew form of Jerusalem.

Apply this search to the user-submitted names