Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Acre(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese Most likely from Aquiri, a transliteration by European explorers of the Ipurinã term Umákürü or Uakiry. Other theories include the name originating from Tupi a'kir ü ("green river") or a'kir ("to sleep"), or from Yasi'ri, or Ysi'ri, meaning "flowing or swift water"... [more]
Aikawa(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of several towns in Japan. The first one (愛川) is located in Kanagawa Prefecture in eastern Japan, the second one (合川), located in Akita Prefecture in northern Japan, was merged with other towns to form the city of Kitaakita... [more]
Alaska(Political Subdivision)English Derived from Russian Аляска (Alyaska), which in turn is derived from Aleut alaxsxaq meaning "object to which the action of the sea is directed". Alaska is the largest of the 50 American states, located northwest of the United States mainland and bordering Canada.
Annecy(Other)French Town in southeastern France, the capital of the Haute-Savoie department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.... [more]
Anyang(Settlement)Korean From the Anyang temple, established by Emperor Wang Geon. Combination of 安 (안, ān, "peace") and 養 (양, yang, "to raise"). This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Asunción(Settlement)Spanish Means "assumption" in Spanish, as in “assumption of Mary to heaven". This is the capital of Paraguay. Originally called Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción (meaning "Our Lady Saint Mary of the Assumption") by its founder, it was later shortened to Asunción.
Baku(Settlement)English, Russian, Persian From Azerbaijani Bakı from Persian باکو (baku), which is of uncertain meaning. One popular etymology suggests that it means "wind-pounded city" from Persian باد (bad) meaning "wind" and کوبیدن (kubidan) meaning "to pound, to beat", given in reference to the area's frequent storms and high winds... [more]
Bashlam(Mountain)Chechen Means "molten mountain" or "melting mountain" from Chechen беше (beshe) meaning "to melt" and лам (lam) meaning "mountain". This is the Chechen name for Mount Kazbek.
Bến Tre(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese biển meaning "sea" and tre meaning "to know".
Bifrǫst(Other)Norse Mythology Means "swaying road to heaven", derived from Old Norse bifa ("shake, sway"). In Norse mythology this is the name of the bridge connecting Asgard and Midgard.
Bình Định(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 平定 (hán tự) meaning "to subjugate".
Brno(Settlement)Czech Meaning uncertain. Possible explanations are that it's derived from Old Czech brnie "muddy, swampy", from the Slavic verb brniti "to fortify", or that it's related to Welsh bryn "hill, mound" (Celtic languages were spoken in the area in ancient times)... [more]
Bucharest(Settlement)English Meaning uncertain. Traditional etymologies state that the city's name is derived from Bucur, the name of a prince, outlaw, fisherman, shepherd, or hunter (depending on the specific legend), whose name is derived from Romanian bucurie meaning "joy, happiness", probably of Dacian origin... [more]
Cà Mau(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 哥 (cà) meaning "to sing" and 毛 (mau) meaning "fur".
Ceará(Political Subdivision)Portuguese (Brazilian) Most likely from Tupi ceará, probably a combination of the words cemo ("to sing loudly", "to scream") and ara ("small macaw, parakeet, jandaia"), thus "the jandaia sings". Another interpretation is that the name means "river originating from the mountains"... [more]
Chippenham(Settlement)English One possibility for its naming may have been from Cyppa's Hamme which comes from the words ce-ap meaning market, and Hamme meaning enclosed by the river or an enclosed water meadow both of which Chippenham was.... [more]
Chittagong(Settlement)Bengali, English The etymology of Chittagong is uncertain. One explanation credits the first Arab traders for shatt ghangh, where shatt means "delta" and ghangh stood for the Ganges. The Arakanese chronicle states that a king named Tsu-la-taing Tsandaya, after conquering Bengal, set up a stone pillar as a trophy or memorial at the place since called Tst-ta-gaung as the limit of conquest... [more]
Colossae(Settlement)Greek either "Establishing a Temple or Shrine" or "to Punish" or "Dyed Wool," but no direct connection to "the Colossus of Rhodes"
Dawei(Settlement)English From Burmese ထားဝယ် (dawe) derived from Mon ထဝဲါ (thawai) meaning "to sit cross-legged", referring to the Buddha's posture on the palin (a type of throne). This is the name of a city in Myanmar, formerly known as Tavoy in English.
Dersingham(Settlement)English Derived from the Old English "homestead belonging to Deorsige".
Dharan(Settlement)Nepali Means "saw pit, place to saw timber" in Nepali. This is the name of a city in Nepal.
Evrytania(Political Subdivision)Greek Derived from Εὐρυτᾶνες (Eurytanes) "Eurytanians", the name of an ancient Aetolian tribe who inhabited Eurytania, an ancient region. It is possibly derived from Greek εὐρύτης (eurytes) meaning "width, breadth", itself a derivative of εὐρύς (eurys) "wide, broad", or Greek εὔρυτος (eurytos) meaning "full-flowing", from εὖ (eu) "well" and ῥέω (rheo) "to flow, run, stream, gush".... [more]
Ganges(River)English, Ancient Greek From Ancient Greek Γάγγης (Ganges) derived from Sanskrit गङ्गा (ganga) meaning "swift-goer", itself from गच्छति (gacchati) meaning "to go". This is the name of a river in South Asia that flows through India and Bangladesh.
Himuka(Political Subdivision)Japanese (Archaic) Earlier form of Hyūga, made up of 日 (hi) meaning "sun" and 向か (muka), the irrealis form of verb 向く (muku) meaning "to turn toward; to face (a direction); to point to."
Imari(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city, known for Imari porcelain (even though it's actually made in nearby Arita) and for Imari pears, which is located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū in south-western Japan.... [more]
Istanbul(Settlement)English, Arabic From Turkish İstanbul, which comes from a misinterpretation of the Medieval Greek phrase εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (eis ten polin) meaning "to the City", a colloquial name for the city of Constantinople (reflecting its status as the only major city in the vicinity)... [more]
Jeju(Settlement, Island & Political Subdivision)Jeju, Korean From Sino-Korean 濟 (je) meaning "to cross (a river)" and 州 (ju) meaning "state, province". This is the name of an island province and city in South Korea.
Kahoolawe(Island)Hawaiian "The" + "to Subtract, Erode" ... the only uninhabited island in Hawaii
Kalmykia(Political Subdivision)English From Russian Калмыкия (Kalmykiya) ultimately from хальмг (xal'mg), the native name of the Kalmyk people. The ethnic name is of probably Mongolian origin meaning "the people moving away", from Mongolian халих (khalikh) meaning "overflow, flood", referring to how the Kalmyk people were originally Mongolians who "leaked away" from their ancestral homeland... [more]
Kankakee(Settlement)Indigenous American Kankakee is probably derived from the Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning: "open country/ exposed land/ land in open/ land exposed to view".
Kejimkujik(Other & Body of Water)Mi'kmaq Lake and national park in Canada. From Mi'kmaq, meaning "attempting to escape", or "swollen waters", or "tired muscles".
Kīlauea(Mountain)Hawaiian Combination of Hawaiian kī, an intensifying prefix, lau "many, much", and ea "to rise, expand". This is an active volcano in the US state Hawaii, located on the island Hawaiʻi.
Kootenay(Other)Salishan (Anglicized) National park in British Columbia, Canada. The name is derived from the Kutenai people of the area. Their name either means "to eat lean meat', or "to go out into the open".
Loire(River)French From Latin Liger, a transcription of the native Gaulish name of the river, derived from the Gaulish word liga, meaning "silt, sediment", itself deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-, meaning "to lie".... [more]
Maninjau(Body of Water)Minangkabau, Indonesian Means "observation, overlook" in Minangkabau, from the word tinjau meaning "to observe, to watch". This is the name of a lake in Indonesia.
Mecca(Settlement)English, Italian, Romanian From Arabic مكة (Makka) which is from بكة (bakka), an ancient name for the region. The name is of uncertain origin and meaning; it may be from Arabic بكى (baka) meaning "to cry, to mourn" or Ge'ez ምኵራብ (məkʷrab) meaning "temple, sanctuary"... [more]
Mirabeau(Political Subdivision)French From Provençal mirar ("to see") and bel ("beautiful"). This is the name of a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which is in southeastern France.
Mirna(River, Settlement & Political Subdivision)Slovene Dissimilation from Slavic nyrati meaning "to rise from the earth." It is the name of a river, village, and municipality in Slovenia.
Mobile(Settlement)Indigenous American Mobile is a settlement in Alabama USA. Found in Mobile County Alabama.... [more]
Nam Định(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "to set".
Nghệ An(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 乂 (nghệ) meaning "to govern" and 安 (an) meaning "peace".
Orcadia(Island)Medieval, Old Celtic (Latinized) A medieval name for the Orkney Islands, the famous archipelago of the northwest coast of Scotland. It comes from the Roman name Orcades which was probably derived from Celtic *forko- "young pig"... [more]
Palembang(Settlement)Indonesian Meaning unclear, possibly from the prefix pa- denoting location combined with Malay limbang meaning "to pan gold, to wash rice" or lembang meaning "to cause (water) to flow" or "lowland basin, valley" (a reference to the area's geography as a wetland)... [more]
Paraíba(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian) From Tupi pa'ra ("river") and a'íba ("difficult to invade/navigate"), referring to the narrow mouth of the Paraíba River. This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Pasig(Settlement & River)Filipino The City of Pasig was founded in 1573. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has an area of 31.00 km2 and has 755,300 people living in it as of the 2015 census. The city shares its name with the Pasig River... [more]
Paxson(Settlement)English This is the name of 3 places, two being in America and one being in Canada.... [more]
Peshawar(Settlement)English From Pashto پېښور (Pekhawar) ultimately derived from Sanskrit पुरुषपुर (purushapura) meaning "city of men", from पुरुष (purusha) meaning "man, person" combined with पुर (pura) meaning "city"... [more]
Pukaskwa(Other & River)Ojibwe National park and river in Ontario, Canada. May be from the Ojibwe word 'pukasu', meaning "to cook the marrow in the bones of animals", or "eaters of fish"... [more]
Pursat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Means "floating banyan" from Khmer ពោធិ៍ (po) meaning "banyan tree" and សាត់ (sat) meaning "to float". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Cambodia.
Quy Nhơn(Settlement)Vietnamese Most likely derived from Sino-Vietnamese 歸 (quy) meaning "return, come back to" and 仁 (nhơn) meaning "benevolence, compassion". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Raba(River & Settlement)Polish Uncertain. The name is theorized to come from either Proto-Slavic *or-ba from *orati meaning "to plough", or ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Ar(ə)-b(h)ā from *ar(ə) meaning "fast-moving"... [more]
Rakoti(Settlement)Coptic (Bohairic) Derived from Egyptian rꜥ-qdyt possibly from rꜥ meaning "sun, day" (also the name of the Egyptian sun god Ra) and qdy meaning "to go around, to return, to surround"... [more]
Revere(Settlement)English (American) A city in Massachusetts named after American Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere. Revere is an English word meaning "to admire".
Rhône(River)French From Gaulish *Rodonos or *Rotonos, from a Proto-Indo-European root *ret-, meaning "to run, to roll", frequently found in names for rivers.... [more]
Rimac(River)Spanish (Latin American) Rimac River, Rimac derives from quechua "Rimay" which means "to speak", Rimac River is called "the speaking river", "the river that babbles/chatters/speaks a lot", in some sense "the roaring river" or "the noisy river".
Roslagen(Region)Swedish Derived from roslag, an old dialectal word meaning "rowing crew", ultimately derived from Old Swedish *roþs- "rowing". Compare Rus, and modern Swedish ro "to row".
Sawel(Mountain)English, Irish (Anglicized) Sawel Mountain (historically known as Slieve Sawel) is the highest peak in the Sperrins, a mountain range in Northern Ireland. This is an Anglicized form of Irish samhail meaning "likeness", taken from its Irish name Samhail Phite Méabha "likeness to Méabh's vulva", referring to a glen or hollow on the side of the mountain.
Seine(River)French From Gaulish Sēquana, the Gallo-Roman goddess of the river. Sometimes associated with Latin; the Latin word seems to derive from the same root as Latin sequor "to follow", from Proto-Indo-European *seikw-, meaning 'to flow'.... [more]
Selangor(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Malay langau meaning "horsefly", from the name Salang Ur meaning "Salang village" (itself from the name of the Salang people and Tamil ஊர் (ur) meaning "village, town") or from Malay salang possibly meaning "stabbing" combined with jemur meaning "to burn, to dry (in the sun)"... [more]
Seton(Settlement)English A Scottish place, Seaton near Longniddry, "is so named because it was held from the 12th century by a Norman family de Sey, from Say in Indre. Other places of this name, for example those in Cumbria, Devon, County Durham, Northumbria, and Yorkshire, are mostly named with Old English sæ "sea, lake" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
Shqipëria(Country)Albanian From shqip, the ethnic name of the Albanian people, which is of uncertain origin. It may be a calque of Proto-Slavic slověne meaning "Slavs" (through Albanian shqipoj meaning "to speak clearly") or from Albanian shkabë meaning "eagle"... [more]
Siloam(Body of Water)Biblical Hellenized form of Hebrew שִׁלֻּחָה (Shiloach), derived from שילח (shileach) "to send out" and interpreted as meaning "a sending out, gushing forth (of water)". According to the Gospel of John in the New Testament, the Pool of Siloam was a spring in the southeast corner of Jerusalem where Jesus sent the "man born blind" to wash and receive sight... [more]
Sơn La(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 山 (sơn) meaning "mountain" and 羅 (la) meaning "to be".
Spalding(Settlement)English This is the name of several places in England, USA, Canada and Australia, including one located in the eastern English county of Lincolnshire.... [more]
Tabriz(Settlement)Persian The name of a city in Iran, meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Proto-Iranian tr̥Hwáns meaning "overcoming, victorious", tap-rīz meaning "causing heat to flow" (so named for the thermal springs in the area) or Classical Armenian ta-vrezh meaning "this revenge".
Tampa(Settlement)English After the city of Tampa in the state of Florida. Tampa is from a Calusa word, the Calusa being the Native American tribe that once lived in the area. The exact word in unknown; it may have meant "sticks of fire", possibly referring to lightning, or "the place to gather sticks"... [more]
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai(Mountain & Other)Maori Means "the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one" in Māori. This is the longest place name in the world, and it is the name of a hill in New Zealand.
Thanh Hóa(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 清 (thanh) meaning "clear" and 化 (hóa) meaning "to transform".
Thừa Thiên-Huế(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 承 (thừa) meaning "support" and 天 (thiên) meaning "day" and 化 (huế) meaning "to transform".
Thimphu(Settlement)Bhutanese, Tibetan, English From Bhutanese ཐིམ་ (thim) meaning "to sink" and ཕུ་ (phu) meaning "high ground, foothill, upland" or "to fly". This is the name of the capital city of Bhutan.
Topeka(Political Subdivision)English Name of the capital city in Kansas, meaning "a good place to dig potatoes". From Kansa to "wild potato" + pi "good" + ke "to dig".
Vadstena(Settlement)Swedish Probably a combination of Old Swedish *vazt "place to fish" and sten "stone". Vadstena is a city in Sweden that had an important role in Sweden's early Christian history. Saint Bridget (Heliga Birgitta) founded the Bridgettine Order here at the Vadstena Abbey in the 14th centry.
Värmland(Political Subdivision)Swedish Swedish county and province. The name could be derived from Swedish värma meaning "warmth, to heat up".
Vistula(River)English, Amharic, Indonesian, Romanian, Swahili Borrowed from Latin, likely originating from the Indo-European root *weys- meaning "to flow". It is the longest river in Poland and has significant connections to Polish history and culture.
Vladikavkaz(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the Caucasus" from Russian владеть (vladet) meaning "to own, to possess, to control" combined with Кавказ (Kavkaz) meaning "Caucasus"... [more]
Vladivostok(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the East" from Russian владеть (vladet') meaning "to possess, to control, to rule" and восток (vostok) meaning "the East". This is the name of a city in Russia.
Wausau(Region & Settlement)Indigenous American (Latinized, Rare) Term used in many Native American languages with varying similar meanings such as "to see from a distance" or "to hear from a distance." It was the Native American name for a valley in central Wisconsin that is still refered to as such by locals... [more]
Yangon(Settlement)Burmese, English Means "end of strife" in Burmese, from ရန် (yan) meaning "enemy, danger" or "quarrel" combined with ကုန် (gon) meaning "to run out, end". This is the name of the largest city in Myanmar, which served as the country's capital until 2006... [more]
Yathrib(Settlement)Arabic Meaning uncertain, probably of Ancient North Arabian origin. This was the name of the city of Medina before the advent of Islam. Traditionally it is said that the city's name was changed due to its negative connotation with the Arabic root ث ر ب (th-r-b) meaning "to complain, to accuse, to blame".
Yosemite(Other)English (American), Indigenous American (Anglicized, Rare) A national park and a valley located in Mariposa County, California, the name is derived from the Southern Sierra Miwok joh-heˀ-HmetiH-, meaning "warriors, killers, those not afraid to die"... [more]
Za-ki-oan-hi-ash(Country)Mormon A symbolic name used by Joseph Smith for Chaldea. According to his book, "Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language", za is a compound name for a symbol called beth, which is given the meaning of "a fruitful garden"... [more]