Browse Place Names

Abney (Settlement) English
From the Old English given name Abba combined with eg "island". This is the name of a town in Derbyshire.

Afghanistan (Country) Pashto, Arabic, Urdu, Indian, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Malay
From Pashto افغانستان (Afghanistan), from the Persian ethnic name افغان (Afkhan) meaning "Afghan, Pashtun" combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a country in central Asia.

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

Alexandria (Settlement) English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek given name Ἀλέξανδρος (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.

Algeria (Country) English, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish
The name of a country in North Africa, named after its capital city Algiers.

Algiers (Settlement) English, Dutch
From Arabic الجزائر (al-Jaza'ir) meaning "the islands". This is the name of the capital city of Algeria, so named because of the islands in its bay.

Alma (River) Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian, Russian, English
From Crimean Tatar alma meaning "apple". This is the name of a river in Crimea, notable as the site of a 1854 battle in the Crimean War.

America (Region & Country) English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
From the name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512). This is the name of two continents (North and South America). As well, it is commonly used to refer to the United States of America.

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.

Anatolia (Region) Late Roman, English
Latin form of Greek ἀνατολή (anatole) meaning "sunrise", a term used by the Greeks to refer to the peninsula to the east (modern Turkey).

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.

Annesley (Settlement) English
From Old English anne "alone, solitary" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire.

Ansley (Settlement) English
From Old English ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Warwickshire.

Antwerp (Settlement) English
From Dutch Antwerpen, meaning uncertain, perhaps from Dutch werf meaning "wharf". This is the name of a city in Belgium.

Appleby (Settlement) English
Derived from Old English æppel "apple" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement". This is the name of towns in England.

Appleton (Settlement) English
Derived from Old English æppeltun "orchard". This is the name of towns in England.

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.

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.

Ashley (Settlement) English
From Old English æsc "ash tree" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.

Ashton (Settlement) English
From Old English æsc "ash tree" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several English towns.

Ashur (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]

Ashworth (Settlement) English
From Old English æsc "ash tree" and worþ "enclosure". This was the name of a town in Lancashire.

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.

Assisi (Settlement) Italian, English, German
From Latin Asisium, which is of unknown, possibly pre-Latin, origin. This is the name of a city in central Italy.

Assyria (Region) English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Ἀσσυρία (Assyria), derived from Akkadian Ashurayu, itself from the name of the empire's capital city Ashur. This was the name of an ancient Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.

Aston (Settlement) English
From Old English east "east" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of many towns in England.

Astoria (Settlement) English
From the surname Astor, in honour of the businessman John Jacob Astor. This is the name of several American towns, such as Astoria, Oregon.

Athens (Settlement) English
From Ancient Greek Ἀθήναι (Athenai), meaning unknown, probably from a pre-Greek language. The Greek goddess Athena was probably named for the city, not vice versa. Athens is a city in eastern Greece, emerging as a powerful city-state in the classical period. It has been the capital of the modern country of Greece since 1834.

Atlantic (Body of Water) English
From Greek Ἀτλαντικός (Atlantikos), derived from the name of the mythical island of Atlantis. Greek writers used this name to refer to the waters beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar).

Attica (Region) English, Ancient Roman
From Greek Ἀττική (Attike), derived from the name of the city of Ἀθήναι (see Athens). This is the name of the peninsula where Athens is located.

Audley (Settlement) English
Means "Ealdgyð's clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a village in Staffordshire, England.

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.

Avon (River) English
Means "river" in Brythonic (modern Welsh afon). This is the name of several rivers in Britain.

Ayton (Settlement) English
Derived from Old English ea "river" or ieg "island" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire.

Babylon (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Greek
Greek form of Akkadian 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 (Babili), which appears to mean "gateway of God", from Akkadian 𒆍 (babu) meaning "gate" and 𒀭 (ilu) meaning "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.

Bagley (Settlement) English
From the Old English given name Bacga (of uncertain meaning) combined with leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.

Bahrain (Country & Island) Arabic, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Romanian, Catalan, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Tagalog
Means "two seas" in Arabic, derived from بحر (bahr) meaning "sea" combined with the dual suffix ين (ayn). This is the name of a small island country in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article: البحرين (al-Bahrayn).

Banff (Settlement) Scottish, English
Possibly from Gaelic banbh meaning "young pig". This is the name of a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is also the name of a town and national park in Alberta, Canada.

Bardsley (Settlement) English
From the Old English name Beornræd and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a village near Manchester.

Bavaria (Political Subdivision) English, Late Roman
From Late Latin Baiovarii, the name of a Germanic tribe, named after an earlier Gaulish tribe the Boii. This is the name of a state in Germany (called Bayern in German).

Bechuana (Country) English (Archaic)
Older English form of Botswana.

Beesley (Settlement) English
From Old English beos "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a hamlet or farm in Lancashire, England.

Beijing (Settlement) Chinese, English, Korean
From Chinese 北 (běi) meaning "north" and 京 (jīng) meaning "capital city". This is the name of the capital of China.

Belarus (Country) Belarusian, Russian, English, Portuguese, Indonesian, Malay
Means "white Russia", from the Slavic root белъ (belu) meaning "white" and Rus. This is the name of a country in eastern Europe. Many languages use a translation of "white Russia" to refer to the country, for example German Weißrussland and Swedish Vitryssland.

Belgium (Country) English, Hungarian, Malay
From Latin Belgica, a province in the Roman Empire. Since 1830 this is the name of a country in western Europe. Dutch and French are the main spoken languages.

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, Malay
From 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.

Benin (Settlement, Body of Water & Country) English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Indonesian, Malay
From Portuguese Benim, derived from Itsekiri Ubinu, the name of the capital city of the historical Benin Kingdom (present-day Benin City in Nigeria). Allegedly it was initially named Ile-Ibinu meaning "land of anger" because of disputes between different factions. The Bight of Benin (a large bay) was named after the Benin Kingdom, and the modern country of Benin, west of Nigeria, was named after the bay in 1975 (formerly named Dahomey).

Benington (Settlement) English
Means either "settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or "settlement by the River Beane" in Old English. This is the name of towns in England.

Bentley (Settlement) English
From Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several English towns.

Benton (Settlement) English
From Old English beonet "bent grass" and tun "enclosure". This is the name of towns in England.

Bergamo (Settlement) Italian, English
From Latin Bergomum, possibly from a Celtic word meaning "mountain". This is the name of a city in northern Italy.

Berkeley (Settlement) English
From Old English beorc "birch" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Gloucestershire, England.

Berlin (Settlement) German, English, French, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian
City in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem berl- meaning "swamp".

Bethlehem (Settlement) English, German, Dutch, Biblical
Means "house of bread" in Hebrew, from the roots בַּיִת (bayit) meaning "house" and לֶחֶם (lechem) meaning "bread". This is the name of a city in Palestine. It appears in the both the Old Testament and the New Testament, notably as the town where Jesus is born.

Beverley (Settlement) English
From Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream". This is the name of a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Blackburn (Settlement) English
From Old English blæc "black" and burna "stream". This is the name of a city in Lancashire, England.

Blakesley (Settlement) English
From the Old English byname Blæcwulf "black wolf" combined with leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a city in Northamptonshire.

Blidworth (Settlement) English
From the Old English byname Blīþa "happy, blithe" and worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire, England.

Bloxham (Settlement) English
From the Old English byname Blocca and ham meaning "home, homestead". This is the name of a town in Oxfordshire.

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.

Bologna (Settlement) Italian, English, German
From Latin Bononia, possibly derived from a Celtic word meaning "settlement". This is the name of a city in northern Italy.

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.

Boston (Settlement) English
Means "Botwulf's stone", from the Old English name Botwulf combined with stan "stone". This is a town in Lincolnshire, England, and a city in the United States that is named after it.

Botswana (Country) Southern African, Tswana, English, Shona, German, French, Italian, Catalan, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian
Means "place of the Tswana people" in the Tswana language, from the locative prefix bo- combined with the name of Tswana people, itself of uncertain origin, possibly from tswa "to go out" or tshwana "to resemble". This is the name of a country in southern Africa. During the British colonial period the region was called Bechuanaland, which was more accurately rendered as Botswana when the country achieved independence in 1966.

Bradford (Settlement) English
From Old English brad "broad" and ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of a city in West Yorkshire, as well as several other towns.

Bradley (Settlement) English
From Old English brad "broad" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several towns in England.

Brazil (Country) English, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Malay
From the name of a type of tree, called pau-brasil in Portuguese (brazilwood in English). It may ultimately derive from Portuguese brasa meaning "ember". This is the name of a country in South America.

Brierley (Settlement) English
From Old English brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of various towns in England.

Bristol (Settlement) English
Name of a city in southwest England, derived from Old English Brycgstow meaning "the site of the bridge".

Britain (Island) English
From Britannia, the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, the land of the Britons. It derives from the name of the Britons, recorded in Greek in the 4th century BC as Πρεττανική (Prettanike), and reconstructed as Proto-Brythonic *Pritanī, possibly meaning "tattooed people".

Brittany (Region) English
From Britannia (see Britain). This is the name of a region in northwestern France, so called because many Britons settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It had earlier been called Armorica. In the Middle Ages it was sometimes called Britannia Minor to distinguish it from the island of Great Britain. In French, both the island and the region are called Bretagne.

Brodie (Settlement) English
Probably from Gaelic broth meaning "ditch, mire". This is the name of an estate and castle in Moray, Scotland.

Brooklyn (Settlement) English
Name of a borough of New York City, originally derived from the Dutch town of Breukelen meaning either "broken land" (from Dutch breuk) or "marsh land" (from Dutch broek).

Brunei (Country) Malay, Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, Indian, Filipino, Hindi, Tagalog
Possibly from Sanskrit वरुण, the Hindu god Varuna or figuratively meaning "water, ocean". However, according to tradition, Brunei was from the Malay phrase baru nah meaning "there!" or "that's it!", which was supposedly declared by Brunei's first sultan Muhammad Shah when he discovered it in the 14th century.... [more]

Buckley (Settlement) English
From Old English bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few minor towns in England.

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.

Burma (Country) English
From Burmese ဗမာ (Bama), a variant of မြန်မာ (see Myanmar). This is an older name for Myanmar.

Burnham (Settlement) English
From Old English burna "stream, spring" and ham "home". This is the name of several towns in England.

Burton (Settlement) English
From Old English burg "fortress, castle" and tun "enclosure". This is the name of several English towns.

Cairo (Settlement) English
From Arabic القاهرة (al-Qahirah) meaning "the victorious", in honour of the conquering Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah (932-975). This is the name of the capital city of Egypt.

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).

Canaan (Region) English, French, Biblical
From Hebrew כְּנַעַן (Kena'an), possibly from a root meaning "low, humble". This was the name of an ancient region, the home of the biblical Canaanites, in what is now Palestine and Israel.

Canada (Country) English, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Derived from the Iroquoian word kanata meaning "village". This word was used by Native Americans to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to Stadacona. Cartier used the word to refer to the region.

Capri (Island & Settlement) Italian, English
Likely from Greek κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar", though it could also be of Etruscan origin or from Latin capri meaning "goats". This is the name of an Italian island.

Carlisle (Settlement) English
Originally called by the Romans Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city. This is the name of a city in Cumbria in northern England.

Carmarthen (Settlement) English
English form of Caerfyrddin.

Carpathians (Region) English
From Latin Carpates, possibly related to the Dacian tribe of the Capri, maybe derived from an Indo-European root meaning "rock, cliff". This is the name of a mountain range in eastern Europe stretching from Slovakia to Romania.

Castile (Region) English
From Spanish Castilla, ultimately from Late Latin castellum meaning "castle". This was the name of a medieval kingdom in Spain.

Catalonia (Region & Political Subdivision) English
From Catalan Catalunya, of uncertain meaning, possibly from Latin castellum "castle" or Gauthia Launia "land of the Goths". This is the name of a region in eastern Spain.

Cathay (Country) English
From Old Turkic Khitai, the name of a people who ruled northern China as the Liao dynasty from the 10th to 12th century, also called the Khitan people. This is an archaic English synonym for China.

Cawston (Settlement) English
From the Old Norse given name Kálfr combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in Norfolk and Warwickshire.

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.

Chadwick (Settlement) English
Means "village belonging to Chad" in Old English. This is the name of towns in Lancashire and Warwickshire.

Chelsea (Settlement) English
Originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". This is a district in London.

Cheshire (Region & Political Subdivision) English
Shortened form of Chestershire, a combination of Chester and shire.

Chester (Settlement) English
From Latin castrum meaning "camp, fortress". This is the name of a city in Cheshire, England.

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.

Cockburn (Settlement) English
From Old English cocc "rooster" and burna "stream". This was the name of a town in Berwickshire, Scotland.

Cologne (Settlement) French, English
French form of Latin Colonia, shortened from Colonia Agrippina meaning "colony of Agrippina", named after the wife of Emperor Claudius. This is the name of a city in western Germany.

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

Colton (Settlement) English
Means "Cola's town" in Old English. This is the name of several English towns.

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.

Comoros (Country) English
From French Comores, derived from Arabic qamar meaning "moon". This is the name of an island country off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean.

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.

Corinth (Settlement) English
From Greek Κόρινθος (Korinthos), from Doric Greek Ϙόρινθος (Qorinthos), of Pre-Greek origin. This was the name of an ancient Greek city-state on the Peloponnese, as well as a nearby modern city.

Cracow (Settlement) English
English form of Kraków.

Crawford (Settlement) English
From Old English crawe "crow" and ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name various small towns in England.

Croatia (Country) English, Late Roman
From Croatian Hrvatska, from medieval Slavic Khorvatu, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a country in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.

Cyprus (Island & Country) English, Dutch
From Greek Κύπρος (Kypros), which may get its name from the cypress tree (Greek κυπάρισσος). This is the name of an island country in the eastern Mediterranean. Although considered one nation by most other countries, the northern part of the island is occupied by Turkish forces and claims independence.

Czechia (Country) English
English form of Čechy (via Polish Czechy), used as an alternative name for the Czech Republic (and not as a name for Bohemia).

Czechoslovakia (Country) English
Combination of Czechia and Slovakia. This was the name of a country that existed between 1918 and 1993, at which time it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Dallas (Settlement) English
Several of the places bearing this name, including probably the city in Texas, were named for the American vice president George M. Dallas (1792-1864). His surname is of Old English origin meaning "valley house".

Damascus (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, English
Meaning unknown, probably of Semitic origin. It is first mentioned in Egyptian records from the 15th century BC under the name Tmsq. It is now the capital city of Syria.

Danube (River) English
From 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) English
Means "deep" in Old English. This is the name of a river in Suffolk.

Debenham (Settlement) English
From the Old English river name Deben combined with ham meaning "home, homestead". This is the name of a town in Suffolk, on the River Deben.

Dee (River) English
Possibly from a Celtic root meaning "divine". This is the name of rivers in Scotland (Gaelic Dhè) and Wales (Welsh Dyfrdwy).

Deighton (Settlement) English
From Old English dic "ditch" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of various towns in England.

Delhi (Settlement) English
From Sanskrit दिल्ली (Dilli), possibly from देहली (dehali) meaning "threshold", or possibly from the name of a 1st-century BC king. This is the name of a large city in northern India, which includes the district of New Delhi, the Indian capital.

Delphi (Settlement) Ancient Roman, English
Latinized form of Greek Δελφοί (Delphoi), from δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". This was the name of an ancient Greek city, the site of an oracle of Apollo.

Denmark (Country) English
From Danish Danmark, derived from the ethnic name Dane, which is possibly from Germanic den meaning "low ground", combined with mark meaning "borderland". This is the name of a country in northern Europe.

Derby (Settlement) English
Means "deer farm" in Old Norse. This is the name of a city in England.

Desmond (Region) English
English form of Deasmhumhain.

Devon (Political Subdivision) English
From the name of the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe. This is the name of a county in England.

Dudley (Settlement) English
Means "Dudda's clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a city in the West Midlands, England.

Eaton (Settlement) English
Derived from Old English ea "river" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several English towns.

Egypt (Country) English
From Latin Aegyptus, itself from Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aigyptos), which was probably derived from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ, the name of the temple to the god Ptah in Memphis, meaning "the house of the soul of Ptah". Descendants of the Latin name are used in most European languages to refer to the ancient kingdom and modern country of Egypt. However, the name the ancient Egyptians used to refer to the Nile Valley was Kemet, and the Arabic speakers of modern Egypt call it Masr.

England (Country) English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English Englaland meaning "land of the Angles", the Angles being one of the Germanic tribes that settled in the area in the post-Roman period. This is the name of a country (part of the United Kingdom) on the southern portion of the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as England.

Essen (Settlement) German, English
From older Astnide, possibly a derivative of Old High German asc meaning "ash tree". This is the name of a city in Germany, founded in the 9th century.

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.

Ethiopia (Country) English
From Latin Aethiopia, itself from Greek Αἰθιοπία (Aithiopia), said to derive from αἴθω (aitho) meaning "to burn" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face", referring to the skin colour of the inhabitants (probably a folk etymology). This is the name of a country in eastern Africa.

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

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.

Europe (Region) English, French, Ancient Greek
From Greek Εὐρώπη (see Europa). The name of the mythological princess is from that of the continent.

Everest (Mountain) English
From the surname Everest. This is the English name of the world's highest mountain, located in the Himalayas, which was named after the British surveyor George Everest (1790-1866).

Ewart (Settlement) English
From Old English ea "river" and worþ "enclosure". This is the name of a town in Northumberland, England.

Farnham (Settlement) English
From Old English fearn "fern" and ham "home" or ham "water meadow, enclosure". This is the name of several towns in England, notably in Surrey.

Fiji (Country) English, Portuguese, Indian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay
English form of Fijian Viti, of unknown meaning, the name of the largest island (called Viti Levu meaning "great Viti") of the archipelago. The change from Viti to Fiji is reportedly explained by the fact that the British (on an 18th-century expedition of James Cook) first heard it pronounced this way by the neighbouring Tongans.

Finland (Country) English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Malay
From Old Norse Finnr, which referred to the Finn and Sami peoples, combined with land. This is the name of a country in northern Europe, called Suomi in Finnish.

Flanders (Region) English
From Middle Dutch Vlander, from a Germanic root meaning "waterlogged", referring to the marshy landscape of Flanders. This is the name of the northern portion of Belgium.

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).

Foulden (Settlement) English
From Old English fugol meaning "bird" and dun meaning "hill". This is the name of a town in Norfolk.

France (Country) French, English
From Latin Francia meaning "land of the Franks". The Franks were the Germanic tribe who settled in the region in the 3rd century. They derived their tribal name from the name of a type of spear that they used.

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 northeast Italy.

Gabon (Country) English, French, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay
Derived from Portuguese gabão meaning "cloak, overcoat", referring to the shape of the Gabon Estuary. This is the name of a country on the western coast of central Africa.

Galatia (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English
From the Greek word for the Gaulish people Γαλάτης (Galates), probably a cognate of Latin Gallus (see Gallia). This was the Greek name for the region of Gaul. It was also used to refer to a region in Anatolia (modern Turkey) where Gauls settled in the 3rd century BC.... [more]

Galilee (Region) English, Biblical
From Hebrew גָּלִיל (Galil) meaning "district, roll". This is a region in northern Israel, mentioned in the Old and New Testament.

Gary (Settlement) English
City in Indiana that was named after businessman Elbert Henry Gary (1846-1927), the founder of U.S. Steel.

Gaul (Region) English
From French Gaule, the name of a historical region that was situated approximately in the area of modern France. In the Roman era it was called Gallia, which may be the origin of Gaule, though the evolution of the word would be irregular. It is more likely derived from Frankish walh meaning "foreigner, Celt".

Genoa (Settlement) English
From Latin Genua, probably derived from genu meaning "knee". This is the name of a port city in northwestern Italy. It is called Genova in Italian.

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.

Germany (Country) English
From Latin Germania, first attested in the writings of Julius Caesar, used to refer to the areas east of the Rhine and north of the Danube. The origin of the term is uncertain. This is an English exonym corresponding to German Deutschland.

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.

Glyme (River) English
Means "bright stream" in Brythonic. This is the name of a river in Oxfordshire, England.

Glympton (Settlement) English
Derived from the name of the river Glyme and Old English tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of small town in Oxfordshire, England.

Gotham (Settlement) English, Popular Culture
From Old English gat "goat" and ham "home". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire, famous for folk tales about its inhabitants pretending to be imbeciles in order to avoid a visit from the king. Based on this tale, writer Washington Irving applied the name to New York City in his satirical periodical Salmagundi (1807). Subsequently, Gotham or Gotham City was used as the setting of the Batman comics, starting 1940.

Grantham (Settlement) English
From Old English grand meaning "gravel" and ham meaning "home, estate, settlement". This is the name of a town in Lincolnshire.

Greece (Country) English
English form of Latin Graecia, the name used by the Romans for the land of the Greeks, derived from Greek Γραικός (Graikos), which is of uncertain origin. It is possibly derived from the city of Graia in Boeotia.

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.

Hailey (Settlement) English
From Old English heg "hay" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Oxfordshire, England.

Hamilton (Settlement) English
Means "crooked hill" from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists). After the town name became a surname, it was used for several other cities, including ones in Scotland, Canada, Australia and the United States.

Harden (Settlement) English
From Old English hara "hare" and denu "valley". This is the name of a town in West Yorkshire.

Harford (Settlement) English
From Old English heorot "hart, male deer" or here "army" combined with ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of towns in England.

Harley (Settlement) English
From Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of towns in England.

Hindustan (Country) Indian, Hindi, Urdu, English (Archaic)
Alternate name for India, of Persian origin.

Holland 1 (Political Subdivision & Country) Dutch, English, German, Danish, Icelandic
From Old Dutch holt "forest" and lant "land". This is the name of two provinces (North and South Holland) in the Netherlands. It is sometimes informally used to refer to the entire country of the Netherlands.

Holland 2 (Settlement) English
From Old English hoh "point of land, heel" and land "land". This is the name of several towns in England.

Holstein (Political Subdivision & Region) German, English, Dutch
From the name of a Saxon tribe, derived from Old Saxon holt meaning "wood" and the suffix -setio meaning "inhabitant". This is the name of a historical region in Germany, near the Danish border. It forms part of the name of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Houston (Settlement) Scottish, English
Means "Hugh's town", from the given name Hugh and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, town". This is the name of a town in Scotland. The American city of Houston is named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863), whose surname is derived from the Scottish town.

Hungary (Country) English
From Latin Hungaria, derived from Byzantine Greek Οὔγγροι (Oungroi), from Turkic Onogur meaning "ten tribes". This is the name of a country in eastern Europe that was settled by the Hungarians in the 9th century. Because they were identified with the Huns, the H was added to the beginning of their Latin name. The Hungarian name for the country is Magyarország.

Hunnacott (Settlement) English
From Old English hunig "honey" or the given name Huna combined with cot "cottage". This is the name of a small town in Devon, England.

Huxley (Settlement) English
From Old English hux "insult, scorn" (possibly) and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Cheshire, England.

India (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Estonian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Filipino, 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.

Indiana (Political Subdivision) English
Means "land of the Indians". This is the name of an American state.

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.

Indus (River) English, Ancient Roman
From 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.

Iran (Country) Persian, Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Hebrew, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Urdu, Indian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, Filipino, Thai, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian
Derived from Middle Persian Eran, related to Old Iranian Arya meaning "Iranian, Aryan". This is the name of a country in western Asia, formerly called Persia in the West.

Iraq (Country) Arabic, English, Italian, Catalan, Malay
From Arabic العراق (al-'Iraq), probably derived from the name of the ancient Sumerian/Akkadian city of Uruk. This is the name of a country in the Middle East.

Ireland (Country & Island) English
Derived from Irish Gaelic Éire and English land. This is the name of an island to the west of Great Britain. The country of Ireland occupies the majority of the island.

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.

Italy (Country) English
Anglicized form of Italia, originally applied by the Greeks to the south of the Italian Peninsula. It may have been borrowed from Oscan Víteliú possibly meaning "land of bulls". According to Roman mythology, the region was named for Italus, though in fact it was he who was named for the region.

Ithaca (Island) English, Greek Mythology
From Greek Ἰθάκη (Ithake), meaning unknown. This is the name of an island off the west coast of Greece. In Greek mythology Ithaca was the home of the hero Odysseus. Homer's epic the Odyssey describes his long and perilous voyage home after the Trojan War.

Japan (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Indian, Hindi, Burmese
From Portuguese Japão, which was derived from a Malay form of Riben, the Chinese reading of Nippon.

Jericho (Settlement) English, Biblical
Meaning uncertain, possibly related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareach) meaning "moon", or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyach) meaning "fragrant". This is the name of a city in Palestine, mentioned several times in the Old Testament.

Jerusalem (Settlement) English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Luxembourgish, Southern African, Afrikaans, Catalan, Bosnian, Biblical
From Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim), from an earlier Canaanite form like Urushalim, probably meaning "established by (the god) Shalim". This is the name of a city in Israel and Palestine. Originally a Canaanite city, it was conquered by the Israelites under King David at the beginning of the 10th century BC. It is now regarded as a holy city by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Jordan (River & Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, German, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Slovene, Biblical
River 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).

Kazakhstan (Country) English, Russian, Ukrainian, French
From Kazakh Қазақстан (Qazaqstan), from the ethnic name қазақ (qazaq), which is probably of Turkic origin, combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a country in central Asia.

Kendal (Settlement) English
From the name of the river Kent combined with Old English dæl meaning "valley, dale". This is the name of a town in Cumbria.

Kent (Political Subdivision & River) English
Possibly 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.

Kenya (Country & Mountain) English, Eastern African, Kikuyu, Swahili, French, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Greek, Turkish
The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes".

Kimberley 1 (Settlement) English
Means either "Cyneburga's field", "Cynebald's field" or "Cynemær's field". This is the name of towns in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Norfolk.

Kimberley 2 (Settlement) English
City in South Africa that was named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826-1902). His title was taken from the name of the town of Kimberley 1 in Norfolk.

Kingsley (Settlement) English
From Old English cyning "king" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of several towns in England.

Kingston (Settlement) English
From Old English cyning "king" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of many towns in England, as well as other parts of the English-speaking world (including the capital of Jamaica).

Korea (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Greek, Georgian, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Tagalog
From medieval Latin Corea, itself derived from Goryeo, the name of a kingdom that ruled most of the Korean Peninsula from the 10th to 14th centuries. This is the name of two countries, North and South Korea. Hanguk and Joseon are the Korean names for the countries.

Krakow (Settlement) English
English form of Kraków.

Kurdistan (Region) Kurdish, Arabic, English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
From Kurdish کوردستان (Kurdistan), from the Persian ethnic name کرد (Kord) meaning "Kurd" combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of the region in the midst of Iran, Iraq and Turkey that is primarily inhabited by the Kurdish people.

Kynaston (Settlement) English
Means "Cynefrith's town" in Old English. This is the name of hamlets in Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Kyrgyzstan (Country) Kyrgyz, English
From Kyrgyz Кыргызстан (Kyrgyzstan), a combination of the name of the Kyrgyz people and the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The ethnic name may be derived from the Turkic word kyrk meaning "forty". This is the name of a country in central Asia.

Langley (Settlement) English
From Old English lang "long" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of numerous towns in the United Kingdom and North America.

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, Indian, Hindi, Nepali, Malay, Filipino, 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.

Layton (Settlement) English
From Old English leac "leek, herb" and tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of towns in England.

Leighton (Settlement) English
Variant of Layton. This is the name of several English towns.

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).

Lincoln (Settlement) English
Derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This is a city in eastern England, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans.

Lindsey (Region) English
Means "Lincoln island" in Old English. This is the name of a region and historical kingdom in Lincolnshire.

Linton (Settlement) English
From Old English lind "linden tree" or lin "flax" combined with tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of several towns in the United Kingdom.

Linwood (Settlement) English
From Old English lind "linden tree" and wudu meaning "wood, forest". This is the name of a few English towns.

Lithuania (Country) English
From a Latinized form of Lithuanian Lietuva, possibly derived from the name of the small river Letavka. This is the name of a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe.

Lombardy (Political Subdivision) English
From Italian Lombardia, from Late Latin Langobardia, the name of a region in northern Italy, which was named after the Germanic Langobards (or Lombards as they are more often called), a people who invaded and occupied Italy in the 6th century. The Lombards' name is derived from lang "long" and bart "beard". In modern Italy this is now an administrative region, with a capital at Milan.

London (Settlement) English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
From Latin Londinium, of unknown meaning. This is the capital city of the United Kingdom.

Lorne (Region) English
Possibly from the name of the legendary king of Dál Riata, Loarn mac Eirc. This is the name of a region in western Scotland.

Lorraine (Political Subdivision) French, English
Ultimately from Latin Lothari regnum meaning "kingdom of Lothar". Lothar was a Frankish king, the great-grandson of Charlemagne, whose realm was in the part of France now called Lorraine, or in German Lothringen.

Lothian (Political Subdivision) English
From Latin Leudonia, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a region in Scotland, around Edinburgh.

Luxembourg (Country, Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, French, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Croatian, Estonian
From Old High German Lucilinburhuc, derived from luzil "small" and burg "castle". This was the name of a castle built by Count Siegfried in the 10th century. The city of Luxembourg and the surrounding territory became a duchy in the 14th century, and it is now a small landlocked country between Germany, France and Belgium. This is also the name of a province of southern Belgium.... [more]

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

Lyndon (Settlement) English
From Old English lind "linden tree" and dun meaning "hill". This is the name of a few towns in the United Kingdom.

Lyon (Settlement) French, English, German
From Latin Lugdunum, derived from the name of the Celtic god Lugus combined with Gaulish dunon meaning "hill fort, citadel". This is the name of a city in central France.

Lyons (Settlement) English
Variant of Lyon.

Macedon (Region) English
English variant of Macedonia, used to refer to the ancient region.

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]

Maghreb (Region) English
English form of Maghrib (the region).

Man (Island) English
From Old Irish Mana, possibly from the Celtic root *moniyo- meaning "mountain". The Isle of Man is an island between Britain and Ireland. It is a self-governing British dependency.

Marche (Political Subdivision) Italian, English
From the plural of Late Latin marca meaning "borderland, march", of Germanic origin. This is the name of a region in central Italy, named for the March of Ancona, a frontier region in the Carolingian Empire.

Marlow (Settlement) English
Means "remnants of a lake" in Old English, from mere "lake" and lafe "remnants, remains". This is the name of a town in Buckinghamshire, England.

Marrakesh (Settlement) English, Dutch
From Arabic مرّاكش (Marrakush), possibly from Berber Murt n Akush meaning "land of God". This is the name of a city in 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.

Meissen (Settlement) German, English, French
Form of Meißen.

Memphis (Settlement) English, Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)
Greek form of Egyptian mn-nfr meaning "enduring beauty". This was the name of an important city in Lower Egypt, serving as the capital during the Old Kingdom period. It acquired its current name in the New Kingdom period from a nearby pyramid of Pepi I. This is also the name of a city in Tennessee.

Messina (Settlement) Italian, English
Later form of Messana, the Latin form of Messene. This is the name of a city on Sicily. Founded by Greek settlers as Zankle, it was renamed in honour of the Greek city of Messene in the 5th century BC.

Mexico (Country & Settlement) English, French, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
From Spanish México, itself derived from Nahuatl Mehxico. There are many theories regarding the ultimate origin, including Nahuatl metztli meaning "moon" combined with xictli meaning "navel". This is the name of a country in North America, as well as its capital city (the country is named after the city). In French and Swedish Mexico is the name of the capital city, while the country is called Mexique in French and Mexiko in Swedish.

Milan (Settlement) English, French
From Latin Mediolanum, perhaps derived from Celtic elements meaning "middle of the plain". This is the name of a major city in Italy.

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.

Montana (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from Latin montanus "mountainous". This is the name of an American state.

Morocco (Country) English
The name of a country in North Africa, named after the city Marrakesh. In Arabic the country is named al-Maghrib (see Maghrib).

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.

Munster (Region & Political Subdivision) English
English form of Mumhain.

Myanmar (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, Indian, 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.

Naples (Settlement) English
From Latin Neapolis, from Greek Νεάπολις (Neapolis) meaning "new city". This is the name of a city in southern Italy, originally founded as a Greek colony.

Nazareth (Settlement) English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Possibly means "branch" in Hebrew. This is the name of a town in Galilee in Israel. It was the home town of Jesus.

Nepal (Country) Nepali, Indian, 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.

Netherlands (Country) English
From English nether meaning "lower" and land, referring to the low-lying position of the country. This is the name of a country in northwestern Europe. It is sometimes called Holland in English, though this is properly one of its subregions. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article, the.

Niger (River & Country) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, Late Roman
Meaning 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).

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.

Nile (River) English
From Latin Nilus, which was from Greek Νεῖλος (Neilos), possibly of Semitic origin meaning "river". This is the name of a long river in Africa.

Nineveh (Settlement) English, Biblical
From Akkadian 𒉌𒉡𒀀 (Ninua), possibly related to 𒄩 (nūnu) meaning "fish". When written, the name is usually prefixed with 𒌷 indicating a city. This may have referred to an aspect of Ishtar, as from an early time the city was a center of worship of the goddess. The cuneiform symbols used to represent the city's name depict a fish within a house.... [more]

Norway (Country) English
From Old English Norþweg meaning "north way". This is the name of a country in Scandinavia in northern Europe.

Nubia (Region) English, Late Roman
Possibly derives from the Egyptian word nbw meaning "gold". This was the name of an ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt.

Olympus (Mountain) English, Dutch, Greek Mythology
Latinized form of Olympos.

Orleans (Settlement) English
English form of Orléans. This is the name of several towns in the Americas, notably the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.

Oz 2 (Country) English
Informal short form of Australia.

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

Pakistan (Country) Urdu, Punjabi, English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian
From Persian پاک (pak) meaning "pure" and the suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The name was coined in 1933 by the Pakistani nationalist Choudhry Rahmat Ali who justified it as an acronym of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir and Sindh, plus the final three letters of Baluchistan.

Panama (Country & Settlement) English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Indian, Hindi, Bengali, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, Filipino, Malay, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean
From Spanish Panamá, of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from the name of a tree commonly found in the area (species Sterculia apetala). Alternatively it could be related to Guaraní panambi meaning "butterfly" or Kuna bannaba meaning "distant, far away". This is the name of a country in Central America. It is also the name of its capital, usually called Panama City in English.

Paris (Settlement) French, English, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian
From the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii. This is the capital city of France.

Pavia (Settlement) Italian, English
From Late Latin Papia, of unknown meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy. In classical Latin it was called Ticinum.

Peking (Settlement) German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, English (Archaic)
Form of Beijing in various languages, as well as an older English 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.

Peru (Country) English, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Indian, Hindi
From Spanish Perú, older Birú, which was possibly derived from the name of a chieftain (who nevertheless resided in modern-day Panama).

Pesaro (Settlement) Italian, English
From Latin Pisaurum, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in central Italy.

Petra (Settlement) Ancient Greek, English
From Greek πέτρα (petra) meaning "rock". This was the Greek name of the capital city of the Nabataeans, which may have been known as Raqmu to its Semitic inhabitants. Its ruins lie in Jordan.

Peyton (Settlement) English
Means "Pæga's town". This is the name of a town in Sussex.

Philadelphia (Settlement) Biblical, English
Means "brotherly love" from Greek φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love" and ἀδελφός (adelphos) meaning "brother". This was the name of a city in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation in the New Testament. It is now known as Alaşehir (in Turkey). It is also the name of a city in the United States.

Philippines (Country) English, French
From Spanish Filipinas, which was derived from the given name Felipe, bestowed in honour of King Phillip II of Spain by the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who originally used it only to refer to the islands of Leyte and Samar. It now refers to the entire archipelago and nation of the Philippines in southeastern Asia. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article, the.

Poland (Country) English
From the name of the Slavic tribe of the Poles, derived from the medieval Slavic word polje meaning "field", combined with land. This is the name of a country in eastern Europe.

Porto (Settlement) Portuguese, English
Modern form of Portus Cale. This is the name of a city in Portugal.

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.

Prague (Settlement) English, French
From Czech Praha, possibly from the Slavic root práh meaning "ford". This is the name of the capital city of the Czech Republic.

Pretoria (Settlement) Southern African, Afrikaans, Dutch, English
From the surname Pretorius. This is the name of a city in South Africa, named after the 19th-century Boer leader Andries Pretorius.

Priestley (Settlement) English
From Old English preost "priest" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few small towns in England.

Princeton (Settlement) English
The name of a town in New Jersey, originally called Princetown when it was established in the early 18th century. It is said to have been named for William III, the Prince of Orange.

Provence (Region) French, English, German
From Latin provincia meaning "province", a Roman territorial division. This is the name a region in southern France, originally acquiring its name because it was the first Roman province beyond the Alps.

Quebec (Settlement & Political Subdivision) English
English form of French Québec, derived from the Algonquin word kepec meaning "narrows", referring to the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec city. This is the name of a Canadian province and also the capital city of that province.

Ramsey (Settlement) English
Means "garlic island", derived from Old English hramsa "garlic" and eg "island". This is the name of villages in England.

Rayne (Settlement) English
Possibly from an Old English word meaning "shelter". This is the name of a town in Essex.

Rennes (Settlement) French, English
From Latin (Condate) Riedonum, derived from the name of the Gaulish tribe of the Redones. This is the name of a town in Brittany, France.

Rhodesia (Region) English
From the surname Rhodes. This was a British-controlled region of southern Africa, named after the politician and imperialist Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902). It is now the independent countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Romagna (Region & Political Subdivision) Italian, English, German
From Latin Romania, in this case the name of a historic region on the Adriatic coast of Italy (part of the modern administrative region of Emilia-Romagna).

Romania (Country & Region) English, Italian, Ancient Roman
From Latin meaning "land of the Romans" (see Rome). This is the name of a country in eastern Europe, so named in the 16th century because of its historic and linguistic connections to the Roman Empire.... [more]

Rome (Settlement) English, French, Dutch
Meaning uncertain, from Latin Roma. This is the name of the capital city of Italy, formerly the capital of the Roman Kingdom, Republic and Empire. According to legend the city was named for Romulus.

Romiley (Settlement) English
From Old English rum "roomy, spacious" and leah "woodland, clearing". This was the name of a town that is now part of Greater Manchester.

Royston (Settlement) English
Means "Royse's town" in Old English. The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose. This is the name of a town in Hertfordshire.

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.

Rus (Region) Russian, Ukrainian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Probably of Old Norse origin, possibly from róðr meaning "rowing", referring to the Norse Varangians and their main mode of transportation. This was the name of a medieval Slavic state of eastern Europe (around Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia), originally founded by the Varangians in the 9th century.

Russia (Country) English, Italian, Late Roman
Derived from the name of the medieval state of Rus. The modern country of Russia includes the eastern portions of Rus, and has also expanded far to the east across Asia.

Rwanda (Country) Eastern African, Rwandan, English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swahili
Of Kinyarwanda origin, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a small landlocked country in central Africa.

Ryley (Settlement) English
From Old English ryge "rye" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a town in Lancashire, England.

Salem (Settlement) English, Biblical
From Hebrew שָׁלֵם (shalem) meaning "complete, safe, peaceful". This is the name of a town in the Old Testament where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with Jerusalem. Several places are named after the biblical town, mostly in America.

Samara (Settlement & River) Russian, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German
Meaning unknown, possibly of Kyrgyz origin. 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.

Sandford (Settlement) English
From Old English sand "sand" and ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of several towns in England.

Saudi Arabia (Country) English
From the family name Al Su'ud combined with Arabia, referring to the Arabian Peninsula. This is a kingdom in the Middle East on the Arabian Peninsula. It was named by its founder Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud in 1932.