Pantai Gading(Country)Indonesian From Indonesian pantai meaning "beach, coast" and gading meaning "ivory". This is the Indonesian name for Ivory Coast.
Parahyangan(Region)Indonesian, Sundanese Means "abode of hyangs", from hyang referring to a type of supernatural spirit or deity in Indonesian mythology. This is the name of a mountainous region in the western part of Java.
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.
Paraná(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese From Geral paraná, meaning "river". Some sources claim that the name comes from Guaraní para ("sea") and anã "resembling", owing to the width of the river Paraná. This is the name of a state in Brazil.
Parañaque(Settlement & River)Filipino The City of Parañaque was founded on November 30th, 1572. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 47.69 km2 and has 665,822 people living in it as of the 2015 census... [more]
Parepare(Settlement)Buginese, Indonesian The name of a city in Indonesia, derived from the Buginese phrase bajiki ni pare meaning "ports in this region are good".
Pariaman(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau From Arabic بر أمان (barr 'aman) meaning "safe land, secure land". This is the name of a town in West Sumatra province, Indonesia.
Parskastan(Country)Armenian From Armenian պարսիկ (parsik) meaning "Persian" combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Armenian name of Persia, colloquially used to refer to modern-day Iran as well.
Pasadena(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Ojibwe pa-sa-de-na, meaning "valley of the valley" "crown of the valley" "key of the valley" or "hill of the valley"... [more]
Pasay(Settlement)Filipino Pasay, officially the City of Pasay, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.... [more]
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]
Pasir Gudang(Settlement)Malay, English From Malay pasir meaning "sand" and gudang meaning "warehouse, barn, deposit". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Pasuruan(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Indonesian, Javanese, Madurese Derived from Javanese pasuruhan meaning "place where betel grows", from the word suruh referring to the betel plant (genus Piper). This is the name of a city in Indonesia as well as a regency in the Indonesian province of East Java.
Pateros(Settlement)Filipino Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros, is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people.
Pathein(Settlement)Burmese Most likely derived from Mon ဖာသီ (pha sem) meaning "big sea" or "great sea". This is the name of a city in Myanmar, formerly known as Bassein in English.
Pathum Thani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of lotuses" from Thai ปทุม (pathum) meaning "lotus" and ธานี (thani) meaning "city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Pattani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Most likely from Pattani Malay pata ni meaning "this beach" (compare standard Malay pantai ini). Alternately, it may have come from Sanskrit पत्नी (patni) meaning "mistress, lady, wife" or from Malay petani meaning "farmer"... [more]
Pattaya(Settlement)English From Thai พัทยา (Phattaya) itself from a shortened form of ทัพพระยา (thap Phraya) meaning "army of the Phraya", referring to King Taksin... [more]
Pavlodar(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian From the given name Pavel combined with Russian дар (dar) meaning "gift". This is the name of a city in northern Kazakhstan, named for Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich of Russia (1860-1919).
Paxson(Settlement)English This is the name of 3 places, two being in America and one being in Canada.... [more]
Payakumbuh(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau From the Minangkabau name Payokumbuah derived from payo meaning "swamp" and kumbuah referring to a type of grass. This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pearland(Settlement)English Combination of pear and land. This is the name of a city in Texas, USA.
Pe-cing-grong-khyer(Settlement)Tibetan From Tibetan པེ་ཅིང (pe-cing) referring to Beijing combined with གྲོང་ཁྱེར (grong-khyer) meaning "city, town", used as the Tibetan name for Beijing.
Pécs(Settlement)Hungarian Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country.
Pekanbaru(Settlement)Indonesian, Malay Means "new market" from Indonesian pekan meaning "market" and baru meaning "new". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pekang(Settlement)Khmer Khmer form of Beijing via the French form Pékin.
Pembroke(Settlement)English From the Cantref of Penfro, which was one of the seven cantrefi of the former Kingdom of Dyfed in what is now Wales; which is in turn derived from pen, meaning "head" or "end", and bro, meaning "region", "country", or "land"; therefore, Penfro could be interpreted to mean either "land's end" or "headland".
Peñarroya(Settlement, Mountain & Other)Spanish Means "red rock," from peña meaning "rock, stone, cliff" combined with roya meaning "red" (usual word is rojo/roja).... [more]
Penge(Settlement)English A suburb of London, England. Originally named Penceat, it appears to derive from Brythonic *penno, 'head, edge' and *ceid, 'forest, wood', so likely meant 'settlement on the forest's edge'.
Penistone(Settlement)English (British) Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. ... [more]
Pennant(River)Welsh Means "the Head of the Ravine or Brook" (Welsh pen "head" + nant "glen, stream") from Middle English, Old French penant (Latin pœnitentia "penitence").
Pennsylvania(Political Subdivision)English Name of a state in the United States, literally "Penn's woods". Penn comes from Pennaeth, the welsh word for "head" "top" and Latin silvania (from Latin silvia) "wood, forrest"... [more]
Pennsylvanië(Political Subdivision)Dutch (Archaic) Archaic Dutch form of Pennsylvania. The modern Dutch form is written exactly the same as the English form.
Penrith(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its name derives from the Cumbric pen, 'hill, top, summit' (Welsh pen) and rith, 'ford, crossing', (Welsh ryd).
Pensacola(Settlement)Indigenous American Pensacola is the Westmost city in Florida USA.Found in Escambia County Florida.... [more]
Penshaw(Settlement)English A village in Northern England. The first element seems to be Cumbric pen, which means 'summit, head'. The most obvious explanation for the second is Old English sceaga, meaning 'woods'... [more]
Pen-y-ghent(Mountain)English, Old Celtic A mountain in Yorkshire, Northern England. In the Cumbric Language, the element pen, exactly as in Welsh, meant 'head, top, summit', and y, also as in Welsh, meant the definite article 'the'... [more]
Perak(Political Subdivision)Malay, Tamil, English Means "silver" in Malay, given in reference to the region's abundance of tin. This is the name of a state of Malaysia.
Perlis(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Of unclear origin, possibly from the Thai phrase พร้าวลอย (phrao loi) meaning "floating coconut" or "coconut washed ashore", a reference to the many coconuts once found along the shores of the region... [more]
Pernambuco(Political Subdivision)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese Four theories exist over the origin of the name. The first theory is that it may come from Tupi para'nã ("great river" or "sea") and buka, meaning "hole", thus meaning "hole in the sea", perhaps indicating the Canal de Santa Cruz, which separates the island of Itamaracá from mainland Brazil.... [more]
Persley(Settlement)Scottish A small hamlet in North-East Scotland, now encompassed by the city of Aberdeen. There are several explanations as to the origin of the name of this small settlement:... [more]
Perth(Settlement)Scottish A city in central Scotland. The name is of Pictish origin and derived from *perth, meaning 'bush, copse' (Welsh perth, 'bush, hedge').
Petaluma(Political Subdivision)Miwok Petaluma is a transliteration of the Coast Miwok phrase /péta lúuma/ which means hill backside.
Peterborough(Settlement)English This is the name of 2 cities, one in Cambridgeshire (UK) and Ontario (Canada), and 3 towns, one in New Hampshire (US), Victoria & South Australia (Australia).... [more]
Petrograd(Political Subdivision & Region)Russian The name of Saint Petersburg during 1914 to 1924. Saint Petersburg's name was changed to this to avoid German connotations, as burg is a common German suffix meaning "fortress, fortification, castle" and sankt meaning saint... [more]
Phần Lan(Country)Vietnamese From a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 芬蘭 (Fēnlán), perhaps altered based on Vietnamese phân meaning "feces" or phần meaning "part, portion". This is the Vietnamese name for Finland.
Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Eastern Cham Pandarang, itself from Sanskrit पाण्डुरङ्ग (panduranga) meaning "white god" (an epithet of the Hindu god Vithoba), combined with Vietnamese tháp Chàm meaning "Cham tower" or "Cham temple"... [more]
Phan Thiết(Settlement)Vietnamese The meaning of the name is not certain, but it is widely believed to be of Cham origin. The first element, Phan, may come from Eastern Cham Pandarang, itself derived from Sanskrit पाण्डुरङ्ग (panduranga) meaning "white god", an epithet of the Hindu god Vithoba... [more]
Pháp(Country)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 法 (Pháp), from a contraction of Chinese 法國 (Fǎguó). This is the Vietnamese name for France.
Phasis(Settlement & River)Ancient Greek The ancient Greek name for the Rioni River as well as a historical town along that river, meaning unclear. It may be of Georgian-Zan (Mingrelian and Laz), Svan or Semitic origin.
Phatthalung(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Thai form of the Malay name Mardelong of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Phayao(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Possibly from a corruption of Thai ภูกามยาว (Phu Kamyao), the name of a local sacred mountain. This is the name of a province of Thailand, as well as a district and city within that province.
Phetchabun(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "full of diamonds" from Thai เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บูรณ์ (bun) meaning "full, perfect, complete". It is believed to be a corruption of the original name เพชรบุระ (Phetchabura) meaning "city of diamonds", from เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บุระ (bura) meaning "city"... [more]
Phetchaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of diamonds" from Thai เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Phichit(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "beautiful" in Thai, ultimately from Sanskrit विचित्र (vichitra). This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Philistia(Region)English, Biblical From Hebrew Pleshet. This was the name of a confederation of cities in Southwest Levant inhabited by the Philistines. See also Palestine.
Phitsanulok(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Thai พิษณุ (Phitsanu) referring to the Hindu god Vishnu and โลก (lok) meaning "land, world". This is the name of a province of and city in Thailand.
Phnom Penh(Settlement)English, French From Khmer ភ្នំពេញ (Phnum Pin) meaning "Penh's hill", from ភ្នំ (phnum) meaning "hill, mountain" and ពេញ (pin), the name of a legendary woman who supposedly founded the city in 1372... [more]
Phoenice(Settlement)Ancient Greek Phoenice or Phoenike was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians. It was also the location of the Treaty of Phoenice which ended the First Macedonian War, as well as one of the wealthiest cities in Epirus until the Roman conquest.... [more]
Phoenicia(Region)History from the Ancient Greek: Φοινίκη, Phoiníkē meaning "purple country", Phoenicia was a thalassocratic ancient Semitic civilization that originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the west of the Fertile Crescent.
Phoenix(Settlement)English (American) Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona state in the United States of America.
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai พระ (phra), an honorific term for gods and royal individuals, นคร (nakhon) meaning "city", ศรี (si), an honorific meaning "glory, honour, splendour", and อยุธยา (ayutthaya) referring to the kingdom of Ayutthaya... [more]
Phuket(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Thai Derived from Malay bukit meaning "hill". This is the name of an island province and city in southern Thailand.
Phuthan(Country)Lao, Thai Lao form of Bhutan as well as an alternate transcription of Thai ภูฏาน (see Phutan).
Phú Thọ(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "rich" and 壽 (thọ) meaning "life".
Phú Thọ(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "abundant, wealthy" and 壽 (thọ) meaning "long-lived, long life". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Vietnam.
Phú Yên(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "rich" and 安 (yên) meaning "safe".
Phú Yên(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "abundant, wealthy" and 安 (yên) meaning "calm, peaceful". This is the name of a province of Vietnam.
Piauí(Political Subdivision)Portuguese (Brazilian) From Piagoí, through the earlier name Piagüí, which is an early rendition of Tupi piauí, which means "river of the piabas" (piaba being a term used to indicate several types of fish)... [more]
Picardie(Political Subdivision & Region)French French form of Picardy. From Old French pic, meaning "pike", which was the characteristic weapon used by ancient Picards.... [more]
Piedmont(Political Subdivision & Region)English From Italian piemonte, itself derived from Medieval Latin Pedemontium, ultimately from Latin ad pedem montium, literally "at the foot of the mountains".... [more]
Pindoráma(Country)Guarani From Tupi-Guarani pindó-rama meaning "land of palm trees", from pindo meaning "palm tree" and ráma meaning "land, section". This is the Guarani name of Brazil.
Pindorama(Country)Portuguese Portuguese form of Pindoráma, used to refer to historical Brazil or as a poetic term for the country.
Pleiku(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Jarai Plơi Kơdưr meaning "northern village" or "high village", from plơi meaning "village" and kơdưr meaning "north, upper". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.