Norwegian Place Names

Afrika (Region) German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek
Form of Africa in several languages.

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.

Amerika (Region & Country) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Luxembourgish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, Bashkir, Chechen, Indonesian, Malay, Japanese
Form of America, used to refer to the continents and sometimes 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.

Antarktika (Region) German, Norwegian, Afrikaans, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Arabic, Turkish, Indonesian
Form of Antarctica in various languages.

Antwerpen (Settlement) Dutch, German, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Bosnian
Dutch form of Antwerp, as well as the form in several other languages.

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.

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.

Athen (Settlement) German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian 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.

Bahrain (Country & Island) Arabic, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Romanian, Catalan, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
Means "two seas" in Arabic, derived from بحر (baḥr) 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-Baḥrayn).

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.

Belgia (Country) Finnish, Romanian, Norwegian, Polish, Georgian, Indonesian
Finnish, Romanian, Norwegian, Polish, Georgian and Indonesian 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).

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

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.

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

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]

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.

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.

Danmark (Country) Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Danish, Swedish and Norwegian form of Denmark.

Donau (River) German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
German form of Danube, also used in several other languages.

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.

El Salvador (Country) Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Estonian, Finnish, Bosnian, Macedonian, Greek, Hebrew, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
Form of Salvador with the Spanish definite article, which was officially added to the name in 1915. Some languages include the untranslated article, some do not, and some use both forms.

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.

Eritrea (Country) Italian, English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech
From the Italian name for one of their colonies in Africa, derived from the Latin name for the Red Sea Erythraeum Mare, itself of Greek origin (see Erythra). This is the name of country in East Africa. It became independent from Ethiopia in 1993.

Estland (Country) German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish form of Estonia.

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.

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.

Franken (Region) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
German form of Franconia.

Frankrike (Country) Swedish, Norwegian
Swedish and Norwegian cognate of Frankreich. This is the Swedish name for France.

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.

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.

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.

Hongkong (Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island) German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Macedonian, Korean, Khmer
Form of Hong Kong used in various languages.

Hviterussland (Country) Norwegian
Means "white Russia", a Norwegian calque of Belarus.

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.

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

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.

Irland (Country & Island) German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
German, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish form of Ireland.

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

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

Jakarta (Settlement) Indonesian, Malay, Javanese, Acehnese, Balinese, Minangkabau, Sundanese, English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Arabic, Hindi
From Sanskrit जयकर्ता (Jayakartā) meaning "victory accomplished", from जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and कृत (kṛta) meaning "done, accomplished". This is the name of the capital city of Indonesia. It was known as Batavia during the colonial (Dutch) era.

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

Jemen (Country) German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Dutch, Afrikaans, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian
Form of Yemen in several languages.

Jerusalem (Settlement) English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Luxembourgish, 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 (Yarḏen), and it is derived from יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend, 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).

Kamerun (Country) German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Indonesian, Korean
Form of Cameroon in several languages.

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".

Kina (Country) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Albanian, Greek
Form of China.

Kirgisistan (Country) German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian form of Kyrgyzstan.

Komorene (Country) Norwegian
Norwegian form of Comoros.

Kongo (Region, River & Country) Kongo, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Turkish, Georgian
Form of Congo in many languages.

Korea (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Greek, Georgian, Armenian, Indonesian, Malay, 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.

Kroatia (Country) Norwegian, Finnish, Greek
Norwegian, Finnish and Greek form of Croatia.

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 (stān) 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.

Kypros (Island & Country) Greek, Norwegian, Ancient Greek
Greek and Norwegian form of Cyprus.

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.

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).

Libya (Country & Region) Berber, English, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Hausa, Swahili, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Ancient Roman
From Λιβύη (Libye), the Ancient Greek name for North Africa. It was derived from the Berber tribe of the Libu, attested as rbw in Ancient Egyptian. This name was revived in 1934 when the Italian colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were merged, carrying forward when the country gained independence in 1951. It is called ليبيا (Lībiyā) in Arabic.

Litauen (Country) German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
German, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish form of Lithuania.

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

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]

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.

Makedonia (Region, Country & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek, Greek, Norwegian, Finnish
Greek, Norwegian and Finnish form of Macedonia.

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.

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".

Marokko (Country) German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Mongolian
Form of Morocco in several languages.

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).

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.

Moldova (Country, River & Region) Romanian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, English, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Maltese, Indonesian, Malay
From the name of the Moldova River in eastern Romania, which is of uncertain origin. It could be from Romanian molid meaning "spruce", Old Slavic *moldŭ meaning "young", or Gothic mulda meaning "dust, dirt". This is the Romanian name (Moldavia in English) for a former principality that was located in Eastern Europe. The eastern part of this principality came under the control of the Russian Empire in 1812, eventually becoming the modern country of Moldova. The western part united with Wallachia in 1859 to become the Kingdom of Romania. Northeastern Romania is called Moldova Occidentală in Romanian.

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.

Mosambik (Island & Country) German, Norwegian
German and Norwegian 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.

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.

Nederland (Country) Dutch, Norwegian
Dutch and Norwegian cognate of Netherlands.

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.

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.

Norge (Country) Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Norwegian, Swedish and Danish form of Norðvegr, the Old Norse form of Norway.

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.

Østerrike (Country) Norwegian
Norwegian form of Austria.

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.

Palestina (Country & Region) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Russian, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Indonesian, Tagalog, Hebrew
Form of Palestine in several languages. In modern Hebrew this refers to the region, with פָלַסְטִין (Falastin) used for the country.

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.

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.

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

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, Hindi
From Spanish Perú, older Birú, which was possibly derived from the name of a chieftain (who nevertheless resided in modern-day Panama).

Polen (Country) German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian form of Poland.

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.

Praha (Settlement) Czech, Slovak, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Czech form of Prague.

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.

Russland (Country) German, Norwegian
Derived from the medieval state of Rus and land meaning "country, state". This is the German and Norwegian name for Russia.

Rwanda (Country) 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.

Saudi-Arabia (Country) Finnish, Norwegian
Finnish and Norwegian form of Saudi Arabia.

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.

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.

Skottland (Country) Swedish, Norwegian
Swedish and Norwegian form of Scotland.

Slovakia (Country) English, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek
From Slovák, the Slovak form of Old Slavic slověne, referring to the tribe of the Slavs. This is the name of a country in central Europe. Note that the name of this country is closely related to that of Slovenia.

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.

Spania (Country) Romanian, Norwegian
Romanian and Norwegian 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.

Stockholm (Settlement) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, German, Dutch, French
From Swedish stock "log" and holme "islet". The islet probably referred to Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. This is the name of the capital city of Sweden. The first written mention of the name occurs in 1252.

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).

Sverige (Country) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Swedish svear "Swede" and rike "realm, kingdom". This is the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish name for Sweden.

Syria (Country & Region) English, Polish, Norwegian, Greek, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek
From Greek Συρία (Syria), which was probably a variant of Assyria, used in an expanded sense to refer to the northern Levant. This was the name of a province of the Roman Empire. It is now the name of a country in western Asia, having gained independence from the Ottoman Empire early in the 20th century.

Tadsjikistan (Country) Danish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian form of Tajikistan.

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.

Thailand (Country) English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Combination of Thai and land. This is the name of a country in southeastern Asia, formerly called Siam.

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.

Troja (Settlement) German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Croatian, Serbian
Form of Troy in several languages.

Tsjad (Body of Water & Country) Norwegian
Norwegian form of Arabic تشاد (see Chad).

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

Tyskland (Country) Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Swedish, Norwegian and Danish form of Deutschland.

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.

Ukraina (Country) Polish, Russian, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Albanian, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Indonesian
Form of Ukraine in several languages.

Ungarn (Country) German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian 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".

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.

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.

Warszawa (Settlement) Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Polish form of Warsaw.

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.

Zealand (Country) English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
From Dutch Zeeland, from Middle Dutch Seelant, derived from see "sea" and lant "land". This is the name of a province in the western Netherlands (now typically called Zeeland in many languages). It is also borne by the country of New Zealand in the South Pacific, which was named by the Dutch in the 17th century.

Zeeland (Political Subdivision & Country) Dutch, English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Dutch form of Zealand. Several other languages, including English, use this spelling to refer to the Dutch province (but not the country of New 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.