Central American Place Names

Afganistán (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Afghanistan.

África (Region) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Africa.

Albania (Region & Country) Late Roman, English, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Indonesian, Malay
Medieval Latin name for the region that was once occupied by the Illyrian tribe called Albanoi. This is the name of a country in the Balkans.

Alemania (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Alemannia, used as the Spanish name of Germany.

América (Region) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of America, used to refer to the continents.

Amsterdam (Settlement) Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Means "dam on the Amstel" in Dutch. This is the name of the capital city of the Netherlands, first mentioned with this name in the 13th century.

Angola (Country) Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Georgian, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay
Portuguese form of Ngola, the royal title of the kings of Ndongo, an African kingdom that was conquered by the Portuguese in the 17th-century. It was a Portuguese colony until 1975, when it became an independent country.

Antártida (Region) Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese and Spanish form of Antarctica.

Arabia (Region) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish
From Greek Ἀραβία (Arabia), derived from Arabic عرب ('arab) meaning "Arabs, Arabian people". This is the name of a large peninsula in the Middle East, also called the Arabian Peninsula.

Arabia Saudita (Country) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Saudi Arabia.

Argel (Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Algiers.

Argelia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Algeria.

Argentina (Country) Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Lithuanian, Hebrew, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Indonesian, Malay
From Latin argentinus meaning "silvery", a derivative of argentum meaning "silver". This is the name of a country in South America, arising from a Latinized form of Spanish Río de la Plata meaning "river of silver".

Armenia (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Greek, Norwegian, Finnish, Indonesian, Malay, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Ἀρμενία (Armenia), which was from Old Persian Armina, which is itself probably of Armenian origin. This is the name of a country in the Caucasus region, called Hayastan in Armenian.

Asia (Region) English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek, Norwegian, Indonesian, Malay, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
Perhaps derived from Akkadian asu, meaning "east". This is the name of the world's largest continent.

Asís (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Assisi.

Asturias (Political Subdivision) Spanish
Possibly derived from Basque asta "rock" and ur "water". This was the name of an 8th to 10th-century kingdom of northern Iberia. It is now the name of a Spanish province.

Atenas (Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Athens.

Australia (Region & Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Indonesian, Malay
Derived 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.

Austria (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Medieval Latin
Latin form of Old High German Ostarrihhi meaning "eastern kingdom", from ost "east" and rihhi "kingdom, realm".

Babilonia (Settlement) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Babylon.

Bangladés (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Bangladesh.

Baréin (Country & Island) Spanish
Spanish form of Bahrain.

Baviera (Political Subdivision) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of Bavaria.

Begoña (Settlement) Basque, Spanish
Possibly from Basque meaning "lower foot". This is the name of a district (formerly a separate town) of Bilbao, Spain.

Belarús (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Belarus.

Belén (Settlement) Spanish, Biblical Spanish
Spanish form of Bethlehem.

Bélgica (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Belgium.

Belice (Country & River) Spanish
Spanish form of Belize.

Benín (Settlement, Body of Water & Country) Spanish, Catalan, Icelandic
Spanish, Catalan and Icelandic form of Benin.

Birmania (Country) Spanish, Italian
Spanish and Italian form of Burma.

Bohemia (Region) English, Spanish, Late Roman
From Latin Boiohaemum, from the name of the Gaulish tribe the Boii combined with Old German 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.

Bolivia (Country) Spanish, English, Italian, Dutch, Georgian, Indonesian, Malay
From the surname Bolívar, in honour of the revolutionary Simón Bolívar. This is the name of a country in South America.

Bolonia (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Bologna.

Bombay (Settlement) French, Spanish, English (Rare)
From Portuguese Bombaim, probably derived from Marathi Mumbai, possibly with influence from Portuguese bom bain meaning "good little bay". This is an older English name for Mumbai, officially used until 1995. It is also the form still commonly used in French and Spanish.

Borja (Settlement) Spanish
From Arabic بُرْج (burj) meaning "tower". This is the name of a town in Aragon, Spain.

Borneo (Island) Malay, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Archaic)
From a European (probably Portuguese) rendering of the name of the Sultanate of Brunei. This is an island in southeastern Asia divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. It is called Kalimantan in Indonesian.

Botsuana (Country) Spanish, Portuguese, German
Spanish and Portuguese form of Botswana, as well as a German variant.

Brasil (Country) Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Norwegian, Indonesian
Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Norwegian and Indonesian form of Brazil.

Bretaña (Region & Island) Spanish
Spanish form of Britain and Brittany. Great Britain is called Gran Bretaña in Spanish.

Brunéi (Country) Spanish, Javanese, Sundanese, French
Spanish, Javanese and Sundanese form of Brunei, as well as a French variant.

Budapest (Settlement) Hungarian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Combination of Buda and Pest, two cities that merged in 1873. This is the name of the capital city of Hungary.

Bulgaria (Country) Late Roman, English, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Malay
From the name of the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed". This is the name of a country in southeastern Europe.

Bustillo (Settlement) Spanish
From a diminutive of Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture". This is the name of towns in Spain.

Busto (Settlement) Spanish, Italian
From Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture". This is the name of several towns in Spain and Italy.

California (Political Subdivision & Island) English, Spanish, Italian, Literature
From the name of a fictional utopian island populated only by women in the 16th-century novel The Adventures of Esplandián by the Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The name comes from the island's queen, Calafia, itself probably derived from Arabic خليفة (khalifah), an Islamic title meaning "successor". This is the name of an American state as well as two states of Mexico (Baja California and Baja California Sur).

Canaán (Region) Spanish
Spanish form of Canaan.

Canadá (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Canada.

Castilla (Region) Spanish
Spanish form of Castile.

Cataluña (Region) Spanish
Spanish form of Catalonia.

Chad (Body of Water & Country) English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Malay
From Arabic تشاد (Tshad), derived from a Kanuri word meaning "lake, large expanse of water". This is the name of a lake in central Africa, as well as the country that is named after it. The lake also borders Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.

Chaves (Settlement) Portuguese, Spanish
From the Roman name Flavius. This is the name of a Portuguese city, which was originally named for the Roman emperor Vespasian, whose family name was Flavius.

Chile (Country) Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Portuguese, Romanian, Georgian
The name of a country in South America, possibly from Quechua chiri meaning "cold" or Mapuche chülle meaning "seagull". This name was applied to the region by the conquistador Diego de Almagro.

China (Country) English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Malay, 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.

Chipre (Island & Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Cyprus.

Colombia (Country) Spanish, English, Italian, Malay
Variant of Columbia, used as the name of a country in South America.

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

Columbia (Region, Settlement, Political Subdivision & River) English, Italian, Spanish, Late Roman
Named 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.

Comoras (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Comoros.

Comores (Country) French, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan
French, Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan form of Comoros.

Congo (River & Country) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Danish
From 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.

Corea (Country) Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Late Roman
Italian, Spanish and Catalan form of Korea, as well as the Latin form.

Croacia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Croatia.

Damasco (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Damascus.

Dinamarca (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Denmark.

Egeo (Body of Water) Greek, Italian, Spanish
Modern Greek, Italian and Spanish form of Aegean.

Egipto (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Aegyptus (see Egypt).

Escocia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Scotland.

Eslovaquia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Slovakia.

Eslovenia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Slovenia.

España (Country) Spanish, Galician
Spanish and Galician form of Hispania (see Spain).

Estados Unidos (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese calque of United States, written with the definite article (los and os respectively).

Estocolmo (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Stockholm.

Estonia (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Malay, Late Roman
From Estonian eesti meaning "Estonian", a word borrowed from Low German in the 17th century. It is of uncertain origin. It could be from a Germanic rendering of the Baltic tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus.

Etiopía (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Aethiopia (see Ethiopia).

Eurasia (Region) English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Norwegian
Combination of Europe and Asia. This is the name of the landmass comprising all of Europe and Asia.

Europa (Region) Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Croatian, Kazakh, Ancient Roman
Form of Europe in several languages.

Filadelfia (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Philadelphia.

Filipinas (Country) Spanish, Portuguese, Ilocano
Spanish, Portuguese and Ilocano form of Philippines.

Finlandia (Country) Spanish, Italian, Polish, Greek, Indonesian
Spanish, Italian, Polish, Greek and Indonesian form of Finnland (see Finland).

Fiyi (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Fiji.

Florida (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, German, Italian
A state of the United States, meaning "flowery, ornate" in Spanish, so called because in 1513 the explorer Juan Ponce de León landed there during the Pascua Florida (meaning "flowery Easter", a Spanish name for Palm Sunday).

Francia (Country) Late Roman, Italian, Spanish
Latin form of France.

Franconia (Region) Late Roman, English, Italian, Spanish
Latin name derived from Frank, the name of a Germanic tribe. This is the name of a region in southern Germany.

Friuli (Region) Italian, English, Spanish
From 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 northeastern Italy.

Gabón (Country) Spanish, Galician
Spanish and Galician form of Gabon.

Galacia (Region) Spanish
Spanish form of Galatia, referring to the region in Anatolia.

Gales (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Wales.

Galia (Region) Spanish
Spanish form of Gallia, referring to the historical region of Gaul.

Génova (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Genoa.

Georgia 1 (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Late Roman
Possibly of Persian origin, maybe from Middle Persian gurg meaning "wolf". In Europe the name was long explained as derived from the given name George. This is the name of a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. It is called Sakartvelo in Georgian.

Georgia 2 (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch
From the given name George, named in honour of the British king George II. This was the name of an American colony, later a state.

Ghana (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
From the name of the Ghana Empire, which was located in the southwestern Sahara and existed up to the 13th century. Ghana, meaning "warrior" in Mande, was actually the title of the rulers, while the empire itself was more properly known as Awkar. In 1957 this was adopted as the name of the newly independent country of Ghana, formerly the British colony Gold Coast, despite the fact that the country lies outside the empire's territory.

Grecia (Country) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Graecia (see Greece).

Guatemala (Country) Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkish
From Nahuatl Cuauhtemallan meaning "place of the woodpile". This is the name of a country in Central America.

Guinea (Region, Country & Island) English, Italian, Spanish, German
From 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 full name of the countries of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Papua New Guinea.

Hong Kong (Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island) English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Turkish, Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
From Cantonese 香港 (Hoenggong), a compound of 香 (hoeng) meaning "fragrant" and 香 (gong) meaning "port, harbour". This is the name of a city, island and special administrative region of southeastern China.

Hungría (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Hungary.

Ibarra (Settlement) Basque, Spanish
Derived from Basque ibar meaning "meadow". This is the name of a few Basque towns.

India (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Estonian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Tagalog, 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. However, some southern Indian languages use spellings based on English India.

Indonesia (Country) Indonesian, Malay, Buginese, Minangkabau, English, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, Korean
From Greek Ἰνδός (Indos), referring to the Indus, combined with νῆσος (nesos) meaning "island". This name has been used since the 18th century by colonial powers to refer to the Indonesian archipelago and since 1945 to refer to the independent nation.

Inglaterra (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Anglae Terra, used for England.

Irak (Country) German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Thai, Lao, Mongolian, Indonesian
Form of Iraq in several languages.

Irán (Country) Spanish, Slovak, Hungarian
Spanish, Slovak and Hungarian form of Iran.

Irlanda (Country & Island) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian form of Ireland.

Israel (Country) English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Indonesian, Malay, Biblical, Biblical Greek
From the name of the Old Testament hero Jacob, who was also called Israel. This was the name of an ancient kingdom that existed until the 8th century BC. The modern country of Israel is named for it.

Italia (Country) Italian, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Norwegian, Finnish, Georgian, Indonesian, Ancient Roman
Italian and Latin form of Italy, as well as the form in several other languages.

Japón (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Japão (see Japan).

Javier (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Etxeberria.

Jerusalén (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Jerusalem.

Jordán (River) Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian
Spanish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian form of Jordan (the river).

Jordania (Country) Spanish, Finnish, Polish
Spanish, Finnish and Polish form of Jordan (the country).

Kazajistán (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Kazakh Қазақстан (see Kazakhstan).

Kenia (Country & Mountain) German, Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, Polish, Italian
Form of Kenya in several languages, as well as an Italian variant.

Kirguistán (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Kyrgyzstan.

Kirguizistán (Country) Spanish
Variant form of Kirguistán.

Laos (Country) French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Hebrew, Hindi, Nepali, Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog
The name of a country in southeastern Asia, derived from the Lao people, the majority ethnic group. Their name may be derived from an Austroasiatic root meaning "human". The name Laos was originally applied to the region by France, who established it as a colony in 1893. It achieved independence in 1953.

León (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish
Derived from Latin legio (genitive legionis) meaning "legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there. This is the name of a city and province in northern Spain.

Leyre (Mountain) Spanish
Spanish form of Leire.

Liberia (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Derived from Latin liber meaning "free". This was the name of a colony established in Western Africa by free African Americans in the 1820s. It declared its independence in 1847, and was one of only two independent countries in Africa in the early 20th century (along with Ethiopia).

Libia (Country) Italian, Spanish, Polish, Albanian, Armenian, Georgian, Thai
Form of Libya in several languages.

Lituania (Country) Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Indonesian, Late Roman
Latin form of Lietuva (see Lithuania).

Londres (Settlement) French, Spanish, Portuguese
French, Spanish and Portuguese form of London.

Lorena (Political Subdivision) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian form of Lorraine.

Loreto (Settlement) Italian, Spanish
From Latin Lauretum meaning "laurel grove". This is the name of a town in eastern Italy.

Loyola (Settlement) Spanish
From Basque Loiola, from loi meaning "mud". This is the name of a place near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of Spain.

Luxemburgo (Country, Settlement & Political Subdivision) Portuguese, Spanish, Galician
Portuguese, Spanish and Galician form of Luxembourg.

Macarena (Settlement) Spanish
Barrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple that may have been named for a person Macarius (see Macario).

Macedonia (Region, Country & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek (Latinized), English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish
Derived from Greek Μακεδονία (Makedonia), the name of an ancient kingdom and region that was named after the ancient Macedonian people. Their name was derived from Greek μακεδνός (makednos) meaning "tall, thin", which was descriptive of the people or perhaps of where they lived in the highlands.... [more]

Madrid (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Mongolian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
From Old Spanish Magerit, itself from Arabic مجريط (Majrit), of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from Arabic مجرى (majra) meaning "watercourse, channel" or from Latin matrix meaning "source, origin (of a river)". This is the name of the capital city of Spain as well as an autonomous community surrounding it.

Malasia (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Malaysia.

Malaui (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Malawi.

Malí (Country) Spanish, Icelandic
Spanish and Icelandic form of Mali.

Marrakech (Settlement) French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Croatian
French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Croatian form of Arabic مرّاكش (see Marrakesh).

Marruecos (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Morocco.

Medina (Settlement) English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Croatian, Serbian
Form of Arabic المدينة (al-Madinah) meaning "the city". This is the name of a city in Saudi Arabia, considered a holy site in Islam because the Prophet Muhammad was based there for a period.

Mérida (Settlement) Spanish
From Latin Emerita Augusta meaning "veterans of Augustus". This was a colony founded by the emperor Augustus for his veterans, and it is now a city in Extremadura, Spain. There are other cities named after it in Mexico and Venezuela.

México (Country & Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene
Spanish (and Portuguese) form of Mexico. This native spelling is also used in several other languages to refer to the capital city, while the name of the country has other forms.

Miranda (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, Portuguese
Possibly a derivative of Latin mirandus "admirable, wonderful". This is the name of several towns in Spain, Portugal and the Americas. It is also the name of a Venezuelan state.

Mongolia (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) English, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Indonesian, Malay
From Mongolian монгол (mongol), the name for the Mongolian people, possibly from монг (mong) meaning "brave". This the name of a region in eastern Asia, now divided between the country of Mongolia (historically called Outer Mongolia) and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.

Moscova (River) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Moskva (the river).

Moscú (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Moscow.

Mozambique (Island & Country) English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Danish
From the name of an island off the southeastern coast of Africa, named Moçambique by the Portuguese after the 15th-century local sultan موسى بن بيك (Musa bin Bik). This island became the region's Portuguese colonial capital in the 16th century, and the name was eventually applied to a large area of mainland Africa. Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Myanmar (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, Hindi
From Burmese မြန်မာ (Myanma), the name of the main Burmese ethnic group (also called the Bamar), which is of unknown origin. This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia. It was formerly called Burma, derived from a variant of this term.

Nairobi (Settlement) English, Swahili, Kikuyu, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Turkish, Japanese, Korean
From Maasai enkare nyrobi meaning "cold water", referencing a nearby river. This is the name of the capital city of Kenya. It was founded in 1899 by the British colonial authorities.

Namibia (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Armenian, Swahili, Indonesian, Malay, Japanese, Korean
From the name of the Namib Desert, meaning "desert, vast place" in Khoekhoe. This is a country in southwestern Africa.

Nazaret (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Greek, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Form of Nazareth in various languages.

Nepal (Country) Nepali, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, Sanskrit
From Sanskrit नेपाल (Nepal), of unknown meaning. This is the name of a landlocked country in south Asia.

Níger (River & Country) Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Icelandic
Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and Icelandic form of Niger.

Nigeria (Country) English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian
From the name of the Niger River, applied in the 19th century to the British colonial territory in Western Africa. It continued to be used after the territory became an independent country in 1960.

Nilo (River) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of Nilus (see Nile).

Nínive (Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Nineveh.

Noruega (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Norway.

Omán (Country) Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian
Spanish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian form of Oman.

Orellana (Settlement) Spanish
Probably from Latin Aureliana. This is the name of towns in Badajoz, Spain.

Ottawa (River & Settlement) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch
From the name of the Odawa or Ottawa people, derived from Ojibwe odaawaa meaning "trader". This is the name of a river and the capital city of Canada.

Padua (Settlement) English, German, Spanish, Dutch
From Italian Padova, Latin Patavium, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.

Países Bajos (Country) Spanish
Spanish cognate of Pays-Bas. This is the Spanish name for the Netherlands.

Pakistán (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Pakistan.

Panamá (Country & Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese form of Panama.

Pangea (Region) Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, English
Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Polish form of Pangaea, as well as an English variant.

Paraguay (Country, River & Settlement) Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, Guarani
The 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.

París (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Paris.

Pavía (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Pavia.

Pekín (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Beijing.

Pequín (Settlement) Catalan, Galician, Spanish
Catalan and Galician form of Beijing, as well as a Spanish variant form.

Persia (Country) Ancient Roman, English, Spanish, Italian
Latin form of Greek Περσίς (Persis), from Old Persian Parsa. This is the name used in the West for a region in western Asia, as well as several empires that 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.

Perú (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Peru.

Polonia (Country) Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek, Late Roman
Latin form of Poland, as well as the form used in Italian, Spanish, Romanian and Greek.

Portugal (Country) Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Indonesian, Malay
From Portugale, which was derived from Portus Cale, the old name of the city of Porto. The name of the city was later applied to the entire country.

Praga (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian and Greek form of Praha (see Prague).

Provenza (Region) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Provence.

Reino Unido (Country) Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese calque of United Kingdom, written with the definite article (el and o respectively).

Roma (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Latinate form of Rome.

Romaña (Region & Political Subdivision) Spanish
Spanish form of Romagna.

Ruanda (Country) German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, English, French
Form of Brunei in several languages, as well as a variant spelling in other languages.

Rumania (Country) Spanish, Albanian, Indonesian
Spanish, Albanian and Indonesian form of Romania.

Rusia (Country) Spanish, Romanian, Indonesian, Malay
Spanish, Romanian, Indonesian and Malay form of Russia.

Samara (Settlement & River) Russian, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German
Meaning unknown, possibly from an Iranian root meaning "summer". This is the name of a city in Russia, founded in the 16th century, as well as the river on which it is situated.

Samarra (Settlement) Arabic, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German
This is the name of a city in Iraq, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century. It was possibly built at the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Surmarrati, which is of uncertain meaning.

San Nicolás (Settlement) Spanish
The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Nicholas.

Santa Ana (Settlement) Spanish
The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Anna.

Santiago (Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese
This is the name of several cities in Spain and Portugal, so named for Saint James (see the given name Santiago for more information). It is also used for many other cities in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds, notably the capital city of Chile.

Schwyz (Settlement & Political Subdivision) German, English, Spanish
Meaning uncertain, possibly related to Old High German suedan "to burn" or possibly of Celtic origin. This is the name of a town (and a canton named for it) in central Switzerland.

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, Tagalog
From 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.

Serbia (Country) English, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish
From Serbian Србија (Srbija), of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a Balkan country in southeastern Europe.

Shanghái (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Shanghai.

Sicilia (Island & Political Subdivision) Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman
Latinate form of Sicily.

Silesia (Region) English, Spanish, Ancient Roman
From Mount Ślęża or the River Ślęza. This is the name of a historical region in southern Poland, with portions in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Singapur (Country, Settlement & Island) Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, German, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Turkish, Armenian
Form of Singapore in several languages.

Siria (Country) Italian, Spanish, Albanian, Georgian, Armenian, Thai, Korean
Form of Syria in various languages.

Somalia (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Albanian, Indonesian, Malay
From the ethnic name Somali, of uncertain meaning. The Somali people connect it to their mythical ancestor Samaale. Italian and British colonists applied the ethnic name to the Horn of Africa region in the 19th century. It became an independent country in 1960.

Sudán (Country) Spanish, Slovak
Spanish and Slovak form of Sudan.

Suecia (Country) Spanish, Late Roman
Spanish and Latin form of Sweden.

Suiza (Country) Spanish
Spanish cognate of Schweiz. This is the Spanish name for Switzerland.

Tailandia (Country) Spanish, Italian
Spanish form and Italian variant of Thailand (probably via English).

Tanzania (Country) Swahili, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Indonesian, Malay
From a combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the names of the two countries that were united to create the East African country of Tanzania in 1964.

Tejas (Political Subdivision) Spanish
Spanish variant of Texas.

Texas (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese
A state of the United States, from Spanish Texas or Tejas, originally an ethnic name used by the Spanish for the Caddo. It was derived from the Caddo word taysha meaning "friends, allies".

Tokio (Settlement) Spanish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Albanian, Greek, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Mongolian
Form of Tokyo used in various languages.

Tombuctú (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Timbuktu.

Turquía (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Turcia (see Turkey).

Ucrania (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Ukraine.

Uganda (Country) English, Ganda, Swahili, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay
From Buganda, the name of a kingdom within Uganda, which means "land of the Ganda" in the Luganda language. The Ganda are an ethnic group, their name possibly deriving from a Bantu word meaning "family". Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa.

Uruguay (Country & River) Spanish, English, French, Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, Turkish
The 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".

Uzbekistán (Country) Spanish, Czech
Spanish and Czech form of Uzbekistan.

Valencia (Settlement & Region) Spanish, Italian, English, German
The 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, vigorous". Besides the city in Spain, this is also the name of a city in Venezuala.

Venecia (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Venice.

Venezuela (Country) Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay
Possibly from Italian Veneziola meaning "little Venice". This is the name of a country on the northern coast of South America. The region was supposedly named this in 1499 by a Spanish expedition (which included Amerigo Vespucci) because an indigenous town on Lake Maracaibo was built on stilts over the water, reminiscent of the Italian city. Another theory suggests that the country's name comes from Veneciuela, the name of a local people.

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.

Vietnam (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Indonesian, Malay
From Việt Nam, meaning "southern Yue", derived from Sino-Vietnamese 越 (việt), referring to the Yue people, and 南 (nam) meaning "south". This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia.

Washington (Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Means "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name Wassa and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of a town in northern England. It is also the name of the capital city and a state in the United States, both named after the president George Washington (1732-1799), whose surname was derived from the name of the English town.

Yakarta (Settlement) Spanish
Spanish form of Jakarta.

Yemen (Country) English, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Tagalog
From Arabic يمن (Yaman), probably derived from يمين (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". This is the name of a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.

Zambia (Country) Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian
From the name of the Zambezi River. It was adopted as the name of the African country of Zambia, formerly called Northern Rhodesia, when it became independent of the United Kingdom in 1964.

Zelanda (Political Subdivision & Country) Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish form of Zealand.

Zimbabue (Country) Spanish
Spanish form of Zimbabwe.