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]
Istros(Island & River)Ancient Greek Ancient Greek name for the Greek island of Gyali as well as for the lower section of the Danube river. In the case of the latter, the name is a loanword from either Dacian or Thracian... [more]
Itämeri(Body of Water)Finnish Means "east sea" in Finnish. This is the Finnish form of the Baltic Sea, even though the sea is located to the west of Finland... [more]
Iuverna(Country & Island)Ancient Roman A Roman name for Ireland, from Old Celtic *Iveriu "Ireland" (accusative case *Iverionem, ablative *Iverione) - from which eventually arose Irish Ériu and Éire.
Ivinghoe(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English Means "promontory belonging to Ifa 1", from the Old English given name Ifa, the suffix -ing denoting possession and hoh meaning "promontory"... [more]
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]
Janesville(Settlement)English From the English surname Janes and ville, meaning "city". The city in Wisconsin is named after the settler and city planner Henry F Janes.
Jaunjelgava(Settlement)Latvian The name of a town on the Daugava River in Latvia, which means "new Jelgava" (Jelgava being another Latvian city which is believed to derive its name from Livonian jālgab meaning "town on the river").
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.
Joliet(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Joliet. The city in Illinois was named for Louis Joliet, one of the first Europeans to map the Upper Mississippi area.
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.