Italian Place Names

Afghanistan (Country) Pashto, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Malay
From Pashto افغانستان (Afghānistān), from the Persian ethnic name افغان (Afghān) meaning "Afghan, Pashtun" combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stān) 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.

Algeri (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Algiers.

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

Amazonas (River & Political Subdivision) Portuguese, Spanish, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak
Portuguese, Spanish and German form of Amazon (the river). This is also the name of states and departments within Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. Other languages such as English and French have different names for the river but use Amazonas to refer to the regions.

Amazzoni (River) Italian
Italian form of Amazon, referring to the river.

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.

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.

Antartide (Region) Italian
Italian form of Antarctica.

Aquino (Settlement) Italian
Derived from Latin aqua meaning "water". This is the name of a town in Italy.

Arabia (Region) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish
From Greek Ἀραβία (Arabia), derived from Arabic عرب (ʿArab) 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.

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.

Assiria (Region) Italian
Italian form of Assyria.

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.

Atene (Settlement) Italian, Slovene, Japanese
Italian, Slovene and Japanese 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.

Baggio (Settlement) Italian
From Latin Badalocum meaning "watch place". This is the name of an Italian town, now a district of Milan.

Bahrein (Country & Island) Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Estonian
Form of Bahrain in several languages.

Bangladesh (Country) Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Mongolian, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, Indonesian, Malay
From Bengali বাংলাদেশ (Bānglādesh) meaning "country of the Bengali people", from the name of the Bengali people বাংলা (Bānglā) combined with দেশ (desh) "country, state". The ethnic name is derived from that of the ancient kingdom of Vanga. This is the name of a country in south Asia.

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

Belgio (Country) Italian
Italian form of Belgium.

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).

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

Berlino (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Berlin.

Betlemme (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Bethlehem.

Bielorussia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Belarus.

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

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.

Botswana (Country) 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 the south of 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.

Brasile (Country) Italian
Italian form of Brazil.

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

Brunei (Country) Malay, Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, 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]

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.

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

Caiazzo (Settlement) Italian
From Latin Caiatia, a derivative of the given name Caius. This is the name of a city near Naples.

Caivano (Settlement) Italian
From Latin Calvianum, a derivative of the cognomen Calvus. This is the name of a city near Naples.

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 (khalīfa), 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).

Camerun (Country) Italian, Romanian, Catalan
Italian, Romanian and Catalan form of Cameroon.

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.

Cananea (Region) Italian
Italian form of Canaan.

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.

Catalogna (Region & Political Subdivision) Italian
Italian form of Catalonia.

Cechia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Čechy, used as a name for the Czech Republic.

Ciad (Body of Water & Country) Italian, Romanian
Italian and Romanian form of Chad.

Cile (Country) Italian
Italian form of Chile.

Cina (Country) Italian
Italian form of China.

Cipro (Island & Country) Italian
Italian 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.

Comore (Country) Italian
Italian 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.

Crema (Settlement) Italian
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Lombardic word meaning "hill". This is the name of a city in Cremona (to which the name is unrelated) in northern Italy.

Cremona (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Italian
Probably from the name of the Celtic tribe the Cenomani, or possibly from a pre-Latin word meaning "stone". This is the name of a city and province in northern Italy.

Croazia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Croatia.

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

Danimarca (Country) Italian
Italian form of Denmark.

Dubai (Settlement & Political Subdivision) English, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Romanian, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Turkish, Hindi, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Chinese
From Arabic دبيّ (Dubayy), of uncertain meaning, possibly related to Arabic دبّ (dabba) meaning "to creep, to crawl", referring to the slow flow of a creek in the area. This is the name of an emirate and city in the United Arab Emirates.

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

Egitto (Country) Italian
Italian form of Aegyptus (see Egypt).

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.

Etiopia (Country) Italian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Georgian, Korean, Indonesian
Italian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Georgian, Korean and Indonesian 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.

Figi (Country) Italian
Italian form of Fiji.

Filippine (Country) Italian
Italian form of Philippines.

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

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.

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.

Galazia (Region) Italian
Italian form of Galatia, referring to the region in Anatolia.

Galles (Country) French, Italian
French and Italian form of Wales.

Gallia (Region, Political Subdivision & Country) Ancient Roman, Italian, Greek
Latin name for the historical region of Gaul. It is derived from the Latin ethnic word Gallus, referring to the Gauls (Celts of continental Europe), probably ultimately derived from the Celtic root *galn- "be able".... [more]

Gange (River) French, Italian, Romanian
French, Italian and Romanian form of Ganges.

Genova (Settlement) Italian
Italian 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.

Germania (Region & Country) Ancient Roman, Italian, Greek, Romanian, Georgian
Latin, Italian, Greek, Romanian and Georgian form of Germany.

Gerusalemme (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Jerusalem.

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.

Giacarta (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Jakarta.

Giappone (Country) Italian
Italian form of Japan.

Giordania (Country) Italian
Italian form of Jordan (the country).

Giordano (River) Italian
Italian form of Jordan (the river).

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 West 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.

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.

Inghilterra (Country) Italian
Italian form of Anglae Terra, used as the Italian name of England.

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, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, 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-ʿIrāq), probably derived from the name of the ancient Sumerian/Akkadian city of Uruk. This is the name of a country in the Middle East.

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

Israele (Country) Italian
Italian form of Israel.

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.

Kazakistan (Country) Italian, Turkish
Italian and Turkish 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.

Kenya (Country & Mountain) English, 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".

Kirghizistan (Country) French, Italian
French and Italian form of Kyrgyzstan.

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.

Lecce (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Italian
From Latin Licea or Litium, earlier Lupiae. This is the name of a city in southern Italy, as well as a province named for it.

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 West 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.

Lione (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Lyon.

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

Lombardia (Political Subdivision) Italian
Italian form of Lombardy.

Londra (Settlement) Italian, Turkish
Italian and Turkish 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.

Lussemburgo (Country, Settlement & Political Subdivision) Italian
Italian form of Luxembourg.

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 (Majrīṭ), of uncertain meaning. It may be derived from Arabic مجرى (majrā) 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.

Malawi (Country) Chewa, English, Swahili, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkmen, Arabic
Possibly from Chewa malawi meaning "flame, fire". This is the name of a landlocked country in the south of Africa. It was renamed from Nyasaland when the country gained independence from Britain in 1964. Hastings Banda, the country's first president and the man who chose the name, claimed to have seen it on an old map in the form Maravi, referring to a lake.

Malaysia (Country) Malay, English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Romanian, Indonesian, Tagalog
From the name of the Malay people, of uncertain origin. It is possibly from the name of a river, itself derived from Malay melaju or Javanese mlayu meaning "to run, to go fast". This is the name of a country in Asia.

Malesia (Country) Finnish, Greek, Thai, Italian
Finnish, Greek and Thai form of Malaysia, as well as an older Italian variant.

Mali (Country) Manding, Fula, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Persian, Urdu, Sinhalese, Hindi, Chinese, Mongolian, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
A landlocked country in West Africa, named after an empire that lasted until the 17th century. The empire's name is possibly from a dialectal variant of the name of the Mande peoples. Alternatively, it could be from the name of the empire's capital (which has not been located) or from a Mande word meaning "hippopotamus".

Manfredonia (Settlement) Italian
From the given name Manfredi, referring to a 13th-century king of Sicily. This is the name of a town in Apulia, Italy, founded by King Manfred on the site of the Roman city of Sipontum.

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.

Marocco (Country) Italian
Italian form of Morocco.

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).

Medina (Settlement) English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Croatian, Serbian
Form of Arabic المدينة (al-Madīna) 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.

Messico (Country & Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Mexico.

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 Ζάγκλη (Zankle), it was renamed in honour of the Greek city of Messene in the 5th century BC.

Milano (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Milan.

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.

Mosca (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Moscow.

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

Mozambico (Island & Country) Italian
Italian form of Mozambique.

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.

Naggio (Settlement) Italian
Meaning uncertain, the name of a small town in Lombardy.

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.

Napoli (Settlement) Italian, Greek
Italian form of Naples, as well as the modern Greek form.

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 (Nepāl), of unknown meaning. This is the name of a landlocked country in south Asia.

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 West 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 West 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).

Ninive (Settlement) French, Italian, German
French, Italian and German form of Nineveh.

Norvegia (Country) Italian, Georgian
Italian and Georgian form of Norway.

Olanda (Political Subdivision & Country) Italian
Italian form of Holland 1, referring to the provinces and sometimes the entire country.

Oman (Country) English, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Mongolian, Hindi, Bengali, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Korean, Tagalog
From Arabic عمان (ʿUmān), probably from the name of an ancient town called Omana by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the 1st century. It can probably be identified with the modern city of Suhar, and is from an Arabic root meaning "to settle, to remain, to dwell". This is the name of a country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.

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.

Padova (Settlement) Italian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian
Italian, Romanian, Croatian and Serbian form of Padua.

Paesi Bassi (Country) Italian
Italian cognate of Pays-Bas, used as the Italian name for the Netherlands.

Pakistan (Country) Urdu, Punjabi, English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian
From Persian پاک (pāk) meaning "pure" and the suffix ستان (stān) 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, Hindi, Bengali, Burmese, Thai, Lao, Khmer, Indonesian, 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.

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.

Parigi (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Paris.

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.

Pechino (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Beijing.

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 the Western name for the country of Iran until 1935, when the king requested that the native name Iran be used instead.

Perù (Country) Italian
Italian form of Peru.

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

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

Pontecorvo (Settlement) Italian
From Italian ponte "bridge" and curvo "curved". This is the name of a town in central Italy.

Portogallo (Country) Italian
Italian form of Portugal.

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.

Ravenna (Settlement) Italian
Meaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. This is the name of a city in Italy.

Regno Unito (Country) Italian
Italian calque of United Kingdom, written with the definite article il.

Reno (River) Italian, Portuguese
Italian and Portuguese form of Rhine.

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

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]

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 Rwanda in several languages, as well as a variant spelling in other languages.

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.

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.

Sciacca (Settlement) Italian
Meaning uncertain, perhaps of Arabic origin. This is the name of a town on Sicily.

Scozia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Scotland.

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 West 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.

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

Singapore (Country, Settlement & Island) English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Romanian
From Malay Singapura meaning "lion city", derived from Sanskrit siṃha "lion" and pura "city". This is the name of a city-state situated on an island (of the same name) at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula.

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

Slovacchia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Slovakia.

Slovenia (Country) English, Italian, Romanian, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Georgian
From Slovene, the language of the Slovenes, derived from the Old Slavic tribal name slověne meaning "Slavs". This is the name of a country in central Europe. Note that the name of this country is closely related to that of Slovakia.

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.

Spagna (Country) Italian
Italian form of Hispania (see Spain).

Sri Lanka (Country & Island) English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian
From Sinhalese ශ්‍රී ලංකා (Shrī Lankā), derived from the Sanskrit honorific श्री (śrī) meaning "holy, sacred" combined with the name of the legendary island of Lanka. This is an island nation in southern Asia. Formerly known as Ceylon when it was a colony of the Portuguese, Dutch and English, the country adopted the name Sri Lanka when it became a republic in 1972.

Stati Uniti (Country) Italian
Italian calque of United States, written with the definite article gli.

Stoccolma (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Stockholm.

Sudan (Country) English, Arabic, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Thai
From Arabic سود (sūd) meaning "black", referring to the darker skin of the inhabitants. This is the name of a country in Africa. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article: السودان (al-Sūdān).

Svezia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Sweden.

Svitto (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Italian
Italian form of Schwyz.

Svizzera (Country) Italian
Italian cognate of Schweiz, used as the Italian name for Switzerland.

Tagikistan (Country) Italian
Italian form of Tajikistan.

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.

Teheran (Settlement) German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian
Form of Tehran in several languages.

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".

Thailandia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Thailand (probably via English).

Tokyo (Settlement) Japanese, English, French, Italian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Estonian, Turkish, Hindi, Indonesian
From Japanese 東 (tō) meaning "east" and 京 (kyō) meaning "capital city". This is the name of the capital of Japan.

Trento (Settlement) Italian
Derived from Latin Tridentum meaning "three teeth", a reference to three surrounding hills. This is the name of a city in Trentino, Italy.

Turchia (Country) Italian
Italian form of Turcia (see Turkey).

Ucraina (Country) Italian, Romanian
Italian and Romanian 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.

Ungheria (Country) Italian
Italian form of Hungary.

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".

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.

Varsavia (Settlement) Italian
Italian form of Warszawa (see Warsaw).

Veneto (Political Subdivision) Italian, English
The name of a region in northeastern Italy, called Venetia in Latin, named after the Veneti people who lived there in ancient times.

Venezia (Settlement) Italian, Norwegian
Italian form of Venetia, referring to the city 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.

Vienna (Settlement) English, Italian
Meaning uncertain. It could be from Celtic vedunia meaning "forest stream", or possibly from the name of an earlier Roman settlement Vindobona. This is the name of the capital of Austria.

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.

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 (yamīn) 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.

Zimbabwe (Country & Settlement) Shona, Ndebele, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian
From the Shona language, possibly from dzimba "houses" and ibwe "stone". Great Zimbabwe was an ancient city, falling into ruin in the 15th century. It was located in the country of Zimbabwe, which was named after the ancient city in 1980 when it gained independence from the United Kingdom. It was formerly called Southern Rhodesia by the British.