Plovdiv(Settlement)Bulgarian From a Thracian translation of the Latin name Pulpudeva, which was possibly derived from the given name Phillip combined with Dacian dava meaning "city, town, fortress"... [more]
Polynesia(Region)English From Ancient Greek πολύς (polys) meaning "much, many" and νῆσος (nesos) meaning "island". This is the name of a subregion in Oceania.
Pontianak(Settlement)Indonesian From the name of a female ghost in Indonesian folklore that is said to be the spirit of a woman who died pregnant. This is the name of a city in Indonesia, so named because the region was once believed to be inhabited by pontianaks.
Puncak Jaya(Mountain)Indonesian Means "summit of victory" from Indonesian puncak meaning "top, summit, peak" and jaya meaning "victory". This is the name of a mountain located on the island of New Guinea, sometimes referred to as the Carstensz Pyramid.
Punjab(Political Subdivision & Region)English From Punjabi پنجاب or ਪੰਜਾਬ (Panjab) from Persian پنجاب (panjab) meaning "five rivers" or "five waters", derived from پنج (panj) meaning "five" and آب (ab) meaning "water, river"... [more]
Putrajaya(Settlement)Malay, English Derived from Malay putra or putera meaning "prince", ultimately from Sanskrit पुत्र (putra), combined with jaya meaning "victory", ultimately from Sanskrit जय (jaya)... [more]
Pyongyang(Settlement)Korean, English From Sino-Korean 平 (pyeong) meaning "flat, level, plane" and 壤 (yang) meaning "soil, land". This is the name of the capital city of North Korea.
Qalmaqstan(Political Subdivision)Kazakh From қалмақ (qalmaq), the Kazakh name for the Kalmyk people, combined with the Persian suffix -ستان (-stan) meaning "land of". This is the Kazakh name for Kalmykia.
Qaridhel(River)Bashkir Means "black Volga" from Bashkir ҡара (qara) meaning "black" combined with Иҙел (Idhel) referring to the Volga River. This is the Bashkir name for the Ufa River.
Qazakheti(Country)Georgian From Georgian ყაზახი (qazakhi) referring to the Kazakh people and the suffix -ეთი (-eti) used to indicate location. This is the Georgian name for Kazakhstan.
Qirgizeti(Country)Georgian From Georgian ყირგიზული (qirgizuli) referring to the Kyrgyz people and the suffix -ეთი (-eti) used to indicate location. This is the Georgian name for Kyrgyzstan.
Quezon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Tagalog, English From the surname Quezon. This is the name of both a province and city in the Philippines, which were named in honour of Manuel Quezon (1878-1844), the second president of the Philippines.
Qytai(Country)Kazakh, Bashkir Kazakh form of Cathay, used as the Kazakh name for China. It is also an alternate transcription of Bashkir Qytay.
Qytay(Country)Bashkir, Kazakh Bashkir form of Cathay, used as the Bashkir name for China. It is also an alternate transcription of Kazakh Qytai.
Rabat(Settlement)English, French, Spanish From Arabic الرباط (ar-Ribat) meaning "the ribat", referring to a type of fortification used during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. It is also used as a shortened form of the city's Arabic nickname, رباط الفتح (ribatu l-fath), which means "fortification of conquest, fortification of victory"... [more]
Rakhine(Political Subdivision)English From Arakanese ရခိုင် (rahkaing), the name of the Rakhine (or Arakanese) people, which is believed to be derived from Pali Rakkhapura or Rakkhita meaning "land of the Rakshasas" (the name of a legendary creature in Hindu mythology)... [more]
Rancho Cucamonga(Settlement)English From the name of a 19th-century land grant (rancho) given to Mexican merchant Tiburcio Tapía (1789-1845), who turned it into a winery. The name was derived from Tongva kukamonga meaning "sandy place"... [more]
Rangoon(Settlement)Danish, Dutch, Swedish, English (Archaic) Historical English form of Yangon based on the Arakanese pronunciation of the city's name. It is also the standard Danish, Dutch and Swedish form.
Rgya Gar(Country)Bhutanese, Tibetan From Bhutanese and Tibetan རྒྱ (rgya) meaning "extent, size, vastness" or "empire" and དཀར (dkar) meaning "white". This is the Bhutanese and Tibetan name for India.
Riau(Political Subdivision)Indonesian Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Portuguese rio meaning "river" or Malay riuh meaning "thunderous, frenzied, blaring". This is the name of two provinces in Indonesia (Riau and Riau Islands) as well as an archipelago in the same region.
Ribat(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Rabat, usually written with the definite article: الرباط (ar-Ribat).
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.
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]
Sahara(Region)English, French, Italian, Spanish Derived from Arabic صحارى (sahara) meaning "deserts", the plural of صحراء (sahra') meaning "desert". This is the name of a desert in Northern Africa.
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".
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]
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]
Sarawak(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Probably from Sarawak Malay serawak or serewa meaning "antimony". This is the name of a state in eastern Malaysia.
Saraybosna(Settlement)Turkish From Turkish saray meaning "place, mansion, house" and Bosna meaning "Bosnia". This is the Turkish name for Sarajevo.
Satun(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Malay sentul meaning "santol" (a type of tropical fruit). This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
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]
Semarang(Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese From Indonesian asam meaning "tamarind" and jarang meaning "rare, seldom", a reference to the tamarind trees in the area that rarely grew close together. This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of Central Java.
Seoul(Settlement)Korean, English Means "capital" in Korean, probably derived from Sillan 서라벌 (Seorabeol), the name of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (which is now the present-day city of Gyeongju). This is the name of the capital city of South Korea.
Serbestan(Country)Persian From Persian صرب (serb) meaning "Serb, Serbian" combined with the suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for Serbia.