Amazonas (River & Political Subdivision) Portuguese, Spanish, German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Czech, SlovakPortuguese, 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.
Amsterdam (Settlement) Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, PolishMeans
"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, MalayPortuguese 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.
Arabia (Region) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Norwegian, Finnish, PolishFrom 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, MalayFrom 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 GreekFrom 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 GreekPerhaps derived from Akkadian
asu, meaning
"east". This is the name of the world's largest continent.
Asturias (Political Subdivision) SpanishPossibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water". This was the name of an 8th to 10th-century kingdom of northern Iberia. It is now the name of a Spanish province.
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, MalayFrom 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.
Begoña (Settlement) Basque, SpanishPossibly from Basque meaning
"lower foot". This is the name of a district (formerly a separate town) of Bilbao,
Spain.
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, MalayFrom 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.
Bohemia (Region) English, Spanish, Late RomanFrom 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.
Bombay (Settlement) French, Spanish, English (Rare)From Portuguese
Bombaim, probably derived from Marathi
Mumbai, possibly with influence from Portuguese
bom bain meaning
"good little bay". This is an older English name for
Mumbai, officially used until 1995. It is also the form still commonly used in French and Spanish.
Borja (Settlement) SpanishFrom Arabic
برْج (burj) meaning
"tower". This is the name of a town in Aragon,
Spain.
Brunei (Country) Malay, Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, Hindi, TagalogPossibly 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] Bustillo (Settlement) SpanishFrom a diminutive of Late Latin
bustum meaning
"ox pasture". This is the name of towns in
Spain.
California (Political Subdivision & Island) English, Spanish, Italian, LiteratureFrom 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).
Chad (Body of Water & Country) English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, MalayFrom Arabic
تشاد (Tshād), derived from a Kanuri word meaning
"lake, large expanse of water". This is the name of a lake in central
Africa, as well as the country that is named after it. The lake also borders
Niger,
Nigeria and Cameroon.
Chaves (Settlement) Portuguese, SpanishFrom the Roman name
Flavius. This is the name of a Portuguese city, which was originally named for the Roman emperor Vespasian, whose family name was Flavius.
Chile (Country) Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Portuguese, Romanian, GeorgianThe 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.
Columbia (Region, Settlement, Political Subdivision & River) English, Italian, Spanish, Late RomanNamed 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.
Congo (River & Country) English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, DanishFrom
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.
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, ChineseFrom 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.
Estonia (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Malay, Late RomanFrom 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.
Europa (Region) Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Croatian, Kazakh, Ancient RomanForm of
Europe in several languages.
Fátima (Settlement) PortugueseDerived from the Arabic feminine name
Fatima, apparently after a Moorish princess who converted to Christianity during the Reconquista. This is the name of a town in
Portugal, which became an important Christian pilgrimage center after 1917 when three local children reported witnessing repeated apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Fiji (Country) English, Portuguese, Hindi, Indonesian, MalayEnglish 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.
Florida (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, German, ItalianA 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).
Friuli (Region) Italian, English, SpanishFrom 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.
Galicia 1 (Region) Galician, Spanish, EnglishFrom Latin
Gallaecia, named for the Celtic tribe of the Gallaeci, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a former kingdom in Iberia, now an autonomous region in northwestern
Spain. In Galician it is called both
Galicia and
Galiza.
Gana (Country) Akan, Ewe, Portuguese, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Turkish, Georgian, Armenian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Mongolian, KoreanForm of
Ghana.
Georgia 2 (Political Subdivision) English, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, DutchFrom the given name
George, named in honour of the British king George II. This was the name of an American colony, later a state.
Ghana (Country) English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Arabic, Indonesian, MalayFrom 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.
Guatemala (Country) Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, TurkishFrom Nahuatl
Cuauhtemallan meaning
"place of the woodpile". This is the name of a country in Central
America.
Guinea (Region, Country & Island) English, Italian, Spanish, GermanFrom 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, TagalogFrom 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.
Ibarra (Settlement) Basque, SpanishDerived from Basque
ibar meaning
"meadow". This is the name of a few Basque towns.
India (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Estonian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Tagalog, Ancient Roman, Ancient GreekDerived 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, KoreanFrom 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, IndonesianForm of
Iraq in several languages.
Israel (Country) English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Indonesian, Malay, Biblical, Biblical GreekFrom 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.
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, TagalogThe name of a country in southeastern
Asia, derived from the Lao people, the majority ethnic group. Their name may be derived from an Austroasiatic root meaning "human". The name
Laos was originally applied to the region by
France, who established it as a colony in 1893. It achieved independence in 1953.
León (Settlement & Political Subdivision) SpanishDerived from Latin
legio (genitive
legionis) meaning
"legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there. This is the name of a city and province in northern
Spain.
Loyola (Settlement) SpanishFrom Basque
Loiola, from
loi meaning
"mud". This is the name of a place near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of
Spain.
Macarena (Settlement) SpanishBarrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple that may have been named for a person
Macarius (see
Macario).
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, TagalogFrom 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, ArabicPossibly 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.
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, TagalogA 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".
Marrakech (Settlement) French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, CroatianFrench, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Croatian form of Arabic
مرّاكش (see
Marrakesh).
Mérida (Settlement) SpanishFrom Latin
Emerita Augusta meaning "veterans of
Augustus". This was a colony founded by the emperor Augustus for his veterans, and it is now a city in Extremadura,
Spain. There are other cities named after it in
Mexico and
Venezuela.
México (Country & Settlement) Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Estonian, SloveneSpanish (and Portuguese) form of
Mexico. This native spelling is also used in several other languages to refer to the capital city, while the name of the country has other forms.
Miranda (Settlement & Political Subdivision) Spanish, PortuguesePossibly a derivative of Latin
mirandus "admirable, wonderful". This is the name of several towns in
Spain,
Portugal and the Americas. It is also the name of a Venezuelan state.
Mongolia (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) English, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Indonesian, MalayFrom 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.
Moscou (Settlement & River) French, Portuguese (Brazilian), CatalanFrench, Brazilian Portuguese and Catalan form of
Moscow. In Portuguese it refers to both the city and the river, while in French and Catalan it only refers to the city.
Mozambique (Island & Country) English, French, Spanish, Dutch, DanishFrom 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 (Mūsā bin Bīk). This island became the region's Portuguese colonial capital in the 16th century, and the name was eventually applied to a large area of mainland
Africa. Mozambique gained independence from
Portugal in 1974.
Myanmar (Country) English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, HindiFrom 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, KoreanFrom 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, KoreanFrom the name of the Namib Desert, meaning
"desert, vast place" in Khoekhoe. This is a country in southwestern
Africa.
Nazaret (Settlement) Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Greek, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ancient Greek, Biblical GreekForm 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, SanskritFrom 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, GeorgianFrom 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.
Paraguay (Country, River & Settlement) Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, GuaraniThe 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, HausaFrom the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii. This is the capital city of
France.
Persia (Country) Ancient Roman, English, Spanish, ItalianLatin 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.
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, HindiFrom Spanish
Perú, older
Birú, which was possibly derived from the name of a chieftain (who nevertheless resided in modern-day Panama).
Portugal (Country) Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Indonesian, MalayFrom
Portugale, which was derived from
Portus Cale, the old name of the city of Porto. The name of the city was later applied to the entire country.
Praga (Settlement) Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian, GreekItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovene, Russian, Bulgarian and Greek form of
Praha (see
Prague).
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, FrenchForm of
Rwanda in several languages, as well as a variant spelling in other languages.
Santa Ana (Settlement) SpanishThe name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint
Anna.
Santana (Settlement) PortugueseThe name of several places in the Portuguese-speaking world, in honour of Saint
Anna.
Santiago (Settlement) Spanish, PortugueseThis is the name of several cities in
Spain and
Portugal, so named for Saint
James (see the given name
Santiago for more information). It is also used for many other cities in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds, notably the capital city of Chile.
Schwyz (Settlement & Political Subdivision) German, English, SpanishMeaning uncertain, possibly related to Old High German
suedan "to burn" or possibly of Celtic origin. This is the name of a town (and a canton named for it) in central
Switzerland.
Senegal (River & Country) Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Turkish, Armenian, Persian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Mongolian, Hindi, Bengali, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, TagalogFrom 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.
Singapur (Country, Settlement & Island) Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, German, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Turkish, ArmenianForm of
Singapore in several languages.
Somalia (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Albanian, Indonesian, MalayFrom 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.
Sousa (River) PortuguesePossibly derived from Latin
salsus "salty" or
saxa "rocks", but likely of pre-Latin origin. This is the name of a river in
Portugal.
Sri Lanka (Country & Island) English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian, Greek, Turkish, Malay, IndonesianFrom 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.