Ivory Coast(Country)English Calque of French Côte d'Ivoire meaning "coast of ivory", a reference to the historical ivory trade prominent in that region. This is the name of a country in western Africa, sometimes also referred to by its French name.
Ivvavik(Other)Inuit National park in Yukon, Canada. Meaning "birthplace" or "nursery" in Inuvialuktun.
Iwate(Political Subdivision)Japanese Means "rock hand" in Japanese.
Iwate(Political Subdivision)Japanese From Japanese 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and 手 (te) meaning "hand". This is the name of a prefecture of Japan.
İzmir(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Turkish From Greek Σμύρνη (Smyrna) ultimately derived from the given name Myrrha. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Turkey.
Izumo(Other)Japanese This is the name of a city in Japan's Shimane Prefecture. Izumo-taisha (出雲大社) (or Izumo Grand Shrine) is located in the city.... [more]
Jabarsá(Settlement)Medieval Arabic The name of a city in "1001 Arabian Nights", which was also called the city of Japheth. The people there were fire-worshippers. The palace of Japheth was there and housed a sword-spear hybrid which was said to have been used by Japheth.
Jacklin(Body of Water)English Jacklin Lake is located in Wisconsin. Some of its native creatures are the northern pout, the pike, and the panfish.
Jackson(Settlement)English After a person bearing the surname Jackson, such as Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), seventh President of the United States. This is the name of several settlements in the United States, such as the capital city of the State of Mississippi.
Jacksonville(Political Subdivision)English Name of a city in Florida, named in honor of Andrew Jackson who was the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States.
Jaipur(Settlement)English, Punjabi, Telugu From Hindi जयपुर (Jaypur) derived from the given name Jay 2 (so named for the city's founder, 18th century ruler Jai Singh II) and Sanskrit पुर (pura) meaning "fortress, city"... [more]
Jalalabad(Settlement)Afghan "Jalalabad" is a city in eastern Afghanistan. The name "Jalalabad" means "City of Glory" in Persian, derived from "jalal" meaning glory or grandeur, and "abad" meaning city or settlement.
Jalisco(Political Subdivision)Spanish From Nahuatl Xālixco meaning "over a sandy surface", derived from xalli meaning "sand", ixtli meaning "surface, plain" and the locative suffix -co. This is the name of a state of Mexico.
Jamestown(Settlement)English Jamestown, named after King James, was a settlement in Virginia, one of the original thirteen colonies.
Janakpur(Settlement)Nepali, Maithili From the name of the mythological character Janaka combined with Sanskrit पुर (pura) meaning "city, fortress"... [more]
Java(Political Subdivision & Island)English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish From Indonesian Jawa, which is of uncertain origin. It is most likely derived from Sanskrit यव-द्वीप (yava-dvipa) meaning "island of barley", though it may have come from Javanese ꦗꦸꦮꦮꦸꦠ꧀ (juwawut) meaning "foxtail millet (a type of plant)" or Malay jauh meaning "far, distant"... [more]
Javeh(Political Subdivision & Island)Persian Persian form of Java.
Jawah(Political Subdivision & Island)Arabic Arabic form of Java.
Jayapura(Settlement)Indonesian Derived from Sanskrit जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and पुर (pura) meaning "city". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Jeddah(Settlement)English, Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Swedish, Tagalog From Arabic جدة (Jiddah) derived from the word جَدَّة (jaddah) meaning "grandmother", perhaps referencing the folk belief that the Tomb of Eve (who is considered the 'grandmother' of humanity) is located there... [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.
Jeonju(Settlement)Korean Combination of 全 (전, jeon, "perfect") and 州 (주, ju, "province"), thus "perfect province". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Jepara(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Derived from Javanese para meaning "share, part, division", so named for the division of fish caught by local fishermen. This is the name of a regency of, as well as a town in, the Indonesian province of Central Java.
Jersey(Political Subdivision & Island)English, Medieval Scandinavian One of the Channel Islands in England. Also a name of a state in the United States. May be derived from the Old Norse jarð meaning "earth" or jarl meaning "earl", or maybe from the given name Geirr... [more]
Jhâbâ(Political Subdivision & Island)Madurese Madurese form of Java.
Jharkhand(Political Subdivision)Indian The name "Jharkhand" is derived from the Sanskrit words "Jhar" meaning "bush" or "dense forest," and "Khand" meaning "land" or "region." Therefore, "Jharkhand" translates to "The Land of Bushes" or "The Region of Dense Forests," reflecting the state's abundant natural vegetation and forest cover.
Jinghong(Settlement)Chinese From Tai Lue ᦵᦋᧂᦣᦳᧂᧈ (tsenghung) derived from ᦵᦋᧂ (tseng) meaning "city" and ᦣᦳᧂᧈ (hung) meaning "dawn, light". This is the name of a city in China.
Jiujinshan(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 旧 (jiù) meaning "old" and 金山 (jīnshān) meaning "gold mine", referring to the 19th century California gold rush. This is the Chinese name for the US city of San Francisco.
Jiza(Settlement)Chinese, Arabic Chinese form of Giza, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic جيزة (see Jizah).
Jizah(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Giza, usually written with the definite article: الجيزة (al-Jizah).
Johannesburg(Settlement)French (African) Origin of Johannesburg's name is explained. In reaction to an inquiry, officials in Pretoria replied that Johannesburg was named after Johann Friedrich Bernhard Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert - the only document dealing directly with the origin of the city's name.
Johnstown(Settlement)English The are 27 settlements in the world named Johnstown. They can be found in the USA and Ireland.... [more]
Johor(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Derived from Arabic جوهر (jawhar) meaning "jewel, precious stone", ultimately of Persian origin. This is the name of a state in southern Malaysia.
Johor Bahru(Settlement)Malay, English From Johor and Malay bahru meaning "new". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Joilet(Settlement)English (American) It was renamed in 1845 for Louis Jolliet, the French Canadian explorer who visited the site in 1673. Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, near Chicago.
Jolo(Settlement & Island)Filipino, Tagalog, English Probably derived from Hokkien 好儂 (hó lâng) meaning "good people", named by Chinese traders to reflect how they perceived the native people of the region. This is the name of an island in the southern Philippines as well as the capital city of the province of Sulu.
Jo-mo-glang-ma(Mountain)Tibetan Possibly means "holy mother", "mother of the universe" or "goddess mother of the world" in Tibetan. This is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest.
Jórvík(Settlement)Old Norse, Icelandic Icelandic and Old Norse form of York. It is believed to be derived from Old English Eoforwic, itself believed to be derived from Latin Eboracum possibly meaning "place of the yew trees".
Joseonminjusminmingonghwaguk(Country)Korean Korean form of North Korea, meaning "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", the official name of North Korea. 북한 (bukhan) is the informal eqivalent, meaning "North Korea" in Korean, from 북쪽 (bukjjok) meaning "north" and 한국 (hanguk) meaning "korea".
Jǫtunheimr(Other)Norse Mythology Combination of Old Norse jǫtunn "jotun, giant" and heimr "home, earth, world". Jǫtunheimr is the home of the jǫtunn, a type of entity in Norse mythology.
Judea(Region)Biblical, English From a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name Judah, ultimately from Hebrew Yehudah. This was/is the name of a mountainous southern part of the region of Palestine.
Jukkasjärvi(Settlement)Swedish, Finnish Originally from Northern Sami Čohkkirasjávri meaning "lake of assembly". It was later changed to the much more Finnish-sounding name Jukkasjärvi. This probably changed the meaning of the name as the first element jukkas is of uncertain origin (but it coincides with the Finnish given name Jukka)... [more]
Jullié(Settlement)French Jullié is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
Juodkalnija(Country)Lithuanian Lithuanian form of Montenegro. It is literally a direct translation of the country's name, since it consists of the Lithuanian adjective juodas meaning "black" combined with the Lithuanian noun kalnas meaning "mountain".
Jurutungo(Settlement & Other)Taíno A town in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Kabardino-Balkaria(Political Subdivision)English From Russian Кабардино-Балкария (Kabardino-Balkariya) comprised of the names of the Kabardian and Balkar people. This is the name of a republic of Russia.