Riga(Settlement)English, Russian From Latvian Rīga, origin disputed. It may be derived from Livonian ringa meaning "loop", referring to an ancient harbor formed by the tributary loop of the Daugava river, from Riege, the German name of the Rīdzene (a tributary of the Daugava), or from Latvian rija meaning "threshing barn"... [more]
Riksgränsen(Settlement)Swedish Means "the national border" in Swedish. Riksgränsen is a small village and popular ski-resort in Northern Sweden, close to the Norwegian border.
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".
Rio de Janeiro(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Portuguese, English The name of a state and city in Brazil, meaning "river of January" in Portuguese. The city was named after the nearby Guanabara Bay, which was first discovered by Europeans on January 1, 1502.
Rio Grande do Norte(Political Subdivision)Portuguese, English Literally "Great River of the North" in Portuguese, referring to the mouth of the Potenji River. This is the name of a state of Brazil.
Rio Grande Do Sul(Political Subdivision)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, English Literally "Great River of the South" in Portuguese. This name comes from the Lagoa dos Patos, which was thought to be the mouth of the Rio Grande by Dutch explorers. This is the name of a state in Brazil.
Rioni(River)Georgian Meaning unknown, possibly of Svan, Iranian, Greek or Indo-European origin. This is the name of a river in Georgia.
Riyadh(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Arabic, English Means "meadows, gardens", from the plural of Arabic روضة (rawdah). This is the name of the capital city of Saudi Arabia and a province of the same name. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article: الرياض (ar-Riyadh).
Rizal(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English The name of a province of the Philippines, named for Filipino nationalist and writer JoséRizal (1861-1896).
R'lyeh(Settlement)Literature A fictional lost city in the South Pacific, invented for HP Lovecraft's short story 'The Call of Cthulhu'. From a fictional language incomprehensible to and unable to be pronounced by humans.
Road Town(Political Subdivision)Caribbean From the nautical term “the roads”, a place less sheltered than a harbor but which ships can easily get to.
Rochester(Settlement)English Name of three places in Northumberland with names whose early spellings are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other. Rudchester in Ovingham is probably the likeliest source of the surname which is concentrated in the southern half of Northumberland but Rochester parish and a lost Ruchester in Chollerton are both possible candidates... [more]
Rockford(Settlement)English From the English words "rock" and "ford". The city in Illinois was named for a ford in the nearby Rock River
Rodriguez(Settlement)Filipino Rodriguez, officially the Municipality of Rodriguez and commonly known by its former name Montalban, is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines... [more]
Roi Et(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "one hundred and one" from Thai ร้อย (roi) meaning "hundred" and เอ็ด (et) meaning "one". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Thailand.
Romsa(Political Subdivision)Northern Sami A county in Norway. It is generally believed that the name comes from the Norwegian name for the county, which is Troms.
Roncesvalles(Settlement)Spanish Derived from Latin roscida vallis meaning "dewy valley". Alternatively, it may be derived from Basque *Erozabal meaning "the plain of the Erro valley", which may have later mutated into Rozavalles, a form first recorded in 1050... [more]
Roncisvalle(Settlement)Italian The Italian form of Roncesvalles (Navarra, Spain) where in 778 Charlemagne lost a famous battle against Arabs.
Roraima(Political Subdivision, Region & Mountain)Portuguese, Spanish, English Of Peron origin, meaning either "parrot mountain" or "green peak," referring to Mount Roraima, located on the border between Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela. Since 1962, the name has also been used on a federal territory in north-western Brazil, which became a state in 1988.
Roreto(Settlement)Italian Roreto is an Italian boys place name which originates from Northern Italy region near Turin.... [more]
Roscommon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish County and town in Ireland. From the Irish 'Ros Comáin', meaning "Saint Coman's wood", after Saint Coman mac Faelchon who built a monastery there in the 5th century.
Roseau(Settlement)French (Caribbean) Roseau, the capital of Dominica, got its name from the French word for "reed." It is believed that the French explorers who first settled the area named it Roseau due to the abundance of reeds along the banks of the Roseau River, which flows through the city.
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".
Rrusastan(Country)Armenian From Armenian Կիևյան Ռուսիա (Kiyevyan Rrusia), meaning "Kyivan Rus'", and the Persian suffix ستان (stan), meaning "land of".
Rumoi(River & Settlement)Japanese Possibly derived from Ainu ルㇽモオッペ (rur-mo-ot-pe) meaning "river with quiet tides" or "river where the tide is deep". This is the name of a river and city in Japan.
Ruseti(Country)Georgian From რუსი (rusi) referring to the Russian people and the suffix -ეთი (-eti) used to indicate location. This is the Georgian name for Russia.
Rusivilat(Country)Dhivehi From Dhivehi ރޫސީ (rusi) referring to Russia and ވިލާތް (vilat) meaning "region, country". This is the Dhivehi name for Russia.
Rwenzori(Region, Settlement & Mountain)Eastern African, Konjo Rwenzori is the name of a popular National Park in Southwest Uganda. Its name comes from a Konjo word which means “Rainmaking Mountains”.
Rwenzururu(Region & Settlement)Konjo, Eastern African Rwenzururu means ‘The Mountains of Rain’ in the Konjo Language of West Uganda. Rwenzori is a diminutive of it.
Saariselkä(Settlement)Finnish From Northern Sami suoločielgi meaning literally "islandback". Saariselkä is a village in Northern Finland.
Saba(Island)Dutch (Antillean) Overseas territory of the Netherlands. The capital of Saba is The Bottom. There are four settlements on Saba: The Bottom, Windwardside, Zion's Hill, And St... [more]
Sabah(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Of uncertain meaning, possibly from the name of the saba banana (a cultivar originally from the Philippines), which comes from a Visayan word meaning "loud, noisy". Other theories suggest that it is derived from a Brunei Malay word meaning "upstream, northerly", from Malay sabak referring to a place where palm sugar is extracted, or from Arabic صباح (sabah) meaning "morning"... [more]
Sacramento(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Spanish sacramento, in honor of the Holy Sacrament.
Sa Đéc(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Khmer ផ្សារ (phsa) meaning "market" and ដែក (daek) meaning "iron". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Sadhuim(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Mon Sadhuim is the vernacular Mon name of Sudharmapura, currently known by its Burmese name of Thaton, which is a town in Myanmar.
Saekbi(Country)Lao Lao form of Serbia via the French form Serbie.
Saeki(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a former town in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan and a ward of Hiroshima City, also in western Japan.... [more]
Saga(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "celebrating sa rank, celebrating help" in Japanese.
Sagaing(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese စစ်ကိုင်း (zagaing) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of an administrative division of, as well as a city in, Myanmar.
Sagami(River)Japanese The Sagami River Valley is located in Atsugi, a city in east-central Honshu.
Sagamihara(Settlement)Japanese Means "Sagami meadow" in Japanese; "Sagami", perhaps referring to Sagami Bay, is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Sagarmatha(Mountain)Nepali From Nepali सागर (sagar) meaning "ocean" and माथा (matha) meaning "head, top". This is the Nepali name for Mount Everest, coined by the Nepali government in the 1960s.
Saginaw(Settlement)English (American) A city in Michigan. Most likely meaning "place of the outlet", from Ojibwe sag meaning "opening" and ong meaning "place of", though popular legend claims it derives from Ojibwe sace-nong or sak-e-nong meaning "where the Sauk were".
Sahel(Region)English A savanna region south of the Sahara Desert. From Arabic ساحل sāḥil meaning "coast, shore".
Sahra(Region)Arabic, Turkish Arabic and Turkish form of Sahara. In Arabic it is properly known as الصحراء الكبرى (as-Sahra' al-Kubra) meaning "the greatest desert".
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic(Political Subdivision & Region)English Following the Spanish evacuation, consequence of the Moroccan Green March, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on November 14, 1975, six days before Franco died, leading to both Morocco and Mauritania moving in to annex the territory of Western Sahara... [more]
Saigon(Settlement & River)English From Vietnamese Sài Gòn of unclear origin. It may have come from Khmer ព្រៃនគរ (Prey Nokor), the Khmer Empire-era name that was used to refer to the region before it was annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century (the name itself comes from Khmer ព្រៃ (prey) meaning "jungle, forest, woods" and នគរ (nokor) meaning "kingdom, city")... [more]
Saint John(Settlement)English Variant of St John. This is the name of several settlements, mostly in North America.
Saint Kitts and Nevis(Country)English Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country in the West Indies. Located in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population... [more]
Saint-Malo(Settlement)French An historic French port located in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany on the English Channel coast, named after Saint Malo.
Saint Paul(Settlement)English After St. Paul's Chapel, built for French Catholic missionary Lucien Galtier around 1841. This is the name of the capital city of the US state of Minnesota.
Saint Petersburg(Settlement)English English translation of Russian Санкт-Петербург (Sankt-Peterburg), which is derived from the German name Sankt Petersburg meaning "Saint Peter's City", named in honour of Saint Peter the Apostle as well as Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725)... [more]
Saint-tropez(Settlement)French, Occitan Coastal town in France, Named after the Catholic saint Torpes of Pisa (Saint-Tropez).
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(Country)English Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, also often known simply as Saint Vincent, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lies in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean... [more]
Sainyabuli(Political Subdivision)Lao From Sanskrit सेन (sena) meaning "army" and पुरि (puri) meaning "city".
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "spheric peninsula" in Japanese.
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 埼 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula" and 玉 (tama) meaning "jewel, ball, sphere". This is the name of a prefecture of, as well as a city in, Japan.
Sa Kaeo(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "crystal pond" from Thai สระ (sa) meaning "pond, pool" and แก้ว (kaeo) meaning "crystal, glass". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Thailand.
Sakai(Settlement)Japanese Of uncertain meaning. First appeared in 1045 or earlier in Fujiwara Sadoyori's poetry. This is the name of a city in Ōsaka Prefecture, Japan.
Sakha(Political Subdivision)Yakut, Russian From the name of the Sakha (Yakut) people, which is derived from Turkic jaka meaning "collar, edge". This is the name of a Russian federal republic also known as Yakutia.
Sakhalin(Political Subdivision & Island)Russian, English Derived from Manchu ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ (sahaliyan) meaning "black", itself most likely from the expression ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ ᠠᡢᡤᠠ ᡥᠠᡩ᠋ᠠ (sahaliyan ula angga hada) meaning "island (peak) at the mouth of the Amur River"... [more]
Salford(Settlement)English From Old English sealh "willow, sallow" combined with ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of several settlements in England, including a city near Manchester.
Salina(Settlement)English (American) From the English word "saline". The city in Kansas was named for the nearby Saline River.