Acushnet(Settlement & River)English (American) Name of a river, city, and several other places in Massachusetts. From Wampanoag or Algonquin cushnea meaning "as far as the waters".
Ada(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English feminine given name Ada. The city in Oklahoma was named for the daughter of Jeff Reed, the owner of a local store.
Adelanto(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Spanish adelanto meaning "progress, advance".
Adjuntas(Settlement)Spanish (Latin American) A city in Puerto Rico. From Spanish adjuntas meaning "attached", likely a clipping of tierras adjuntas a Coamo meaning "lands attached to Coamo" (Coamo is a nearby city).
Adriatic(Body of Water)English An arm of the Mediterranean Sea. From Adria, a settlement in Illyria.
Aguada(Settlement)Spanish Various settlements in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and South America. From Spanish aguada meaning "watery".
Aguadilla(Settlement)Spanish (Latin American) A city in Puerto Rico. Meaning "little watery one", from a diminutive of Spanish aguada meaning "watery".
Aibonito(Settlement & River)Spanish (Latin American) A river and city in Puerto Rico. Possibly from Taíno Hatibon or Jatibon combined with a Spanish diminutive, or from Spanish bonito meaning "pretty".
Aiea(Settlement)English (American), Hawaiian A city in Hawaiʻi. From Hawaiian ʻaiea meaning "Hawai'i holly", a type of tree native to the area.
Aiken(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Aiken. The city in South Carolina was named for William Aiken, the president of the South Carolina Railroad.
Alamogordo(Settlement)English (American) A city in New Mexico. From Spanish alamo gordo meaning "large cottonwood, fat cottonwood".
Alamosa(Settlement)English (American) A city in Colorado. From the Spanish alamosa meaning “of cottonwood”.
Albemarle(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Albemarle. The city in North Carolina was named for General George Monck, the first Duke of Albemarle.
Alexandroupolis(Settlement)Greek From the given name Aléxandros and Greek πολις meaning "city". The city in Greece was named for King Alexander I of Greece.
Algonquin(Settlement)English (American) A city in Illinois. From the name of the Algonquin Native American people.
Alimagnet(Body of Water)English A lake in Minnesota. Supposedly a portmanteau of the given names Alice, Maggie, and Nettie, the names of girls who were playing near the lake when American surveyors were deciding on its name.
Allentown(Settlement)English From the English surname Allen and the word "town". The city in Pennsylvania was named for William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant and former mayor of Philadelphia.
Alpharetta(Settlement)English (American) A city in Georgia. Possibly from the fictional name Alfarata, a character in the 19th-century song The Blue Juniata.
Amiens(Settlement)French, English A city and commune in France. Derived from the name of the Ambiani people, a Belgic tribe who lived in the region.
Anaconda(Settlement)English From the English word "anaconda". A city in Montana, which was named for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company smelter located nearby.
Añasco(Settlement)Spanish Transferred use of the Spanish surname Añasco. The city in Puerto Rico was named for Don Luis de Añasco, a local landowner.
Andes(Region)English A mountain chain in South America. Likely from Quecha anti meaning "east".
Andover(Settlement)English Various cities around the world are named for the city in England. From Old English Andferas, a place name likely of Celtic origin.
Anduin(River)Literature A river in JRR Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' series. From the fictional Sindarin language and meaning “long” and duin meaning "river”.
Ankh-Morpork(Settlement)Literature A city in Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series. From the English words "ankh" and "morepork".
Annapurna(Mountain)Nepali, English A mountain in Nepal, the 10th highest in the world. From the name of the Hindu goddess Annapurna.
Anoka(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota. Possibly from Dakota anoka meaning "on both sides, from both sides" or Ojibwe anoki meaning "I work".
Antietam(River)English (American) Multiple sites in the United States, including a creek in Maryland that was the site of a famous battle during the American Civil War. From an Algonquian word possibly meaning "swift water".
Apple Valley(Settlement)English Various cities around the United States. From the English words "apple" and "valley".
Apurímac(River)Spanish (Latin American) A river in the Amazon Basin. From Quecha apu meaning "divinity" and rimaq meaning "oracle, talker".
Aquinnah(Settlement)English (American) A town in Massachusetts. From Wampanoag Âhqunah, a Wampanoag tribe also known as the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head.
Aragó(Country, Political Subdivision & River)Catalan Catalan form of Aragón.
Aragón(Country, Political Subdivision & River)Spanish, Aragonese, Asturian, Galician A river in Spain, as well as the kingdom and later autonomous community named for it. Unclear etymology, possibly from Baque haran meaning "valley".
Arecibo(Settlement)Spanish, English A city in Puerto Rico. From the name of the Taíno cacique Arasibo. The name Arasibo itself likely comes from Taíno ara, possibly meaning "people" and siba, possibly meaning "rock, stone".
Arnor(Country)Literature A former kingdom in JRR Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' series. From the fictional Sindarin language ar meaning "high, noble, royal" and dor meaning "land, dwelling".
Ashwaubenon(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wisconsin. From Ojibwe ashiwabiwining meaning "place where they watch, keep a lookout" or Menominee es-wāpanoh, "thither see the dawning".
Askibwaanikaa-ziibi(River)Ojibwe Two rivers in Minnesota. From Ojibwe askibwaanikaa-ziibi meaning "river full of Jerusalem artichokes".
Atoka(Settlement)English (American) A city in Oklahoma, named after Choctaw leader Captain Atoka. The name Atoka is derived from Choctaw hitoka or hetoka meaning "ball ground".
Azle(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Azle. The city in Texas was named for James Azle Steward, a local doctor and landowner.
Barad-dûr(Settlement)Literature A tower in JRR Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' series. From the fictional Sindarin language barad meaning “tower” and dûr meaning “dark, somber”.
Baudette(Settlement & River)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Baudette. The town and river in Minnesota were named for Joseph Baudette, a French-Canadian trapper.
Bdoté(Island & Body of Water)Sioux From Dakota bdoté meaning "place where two or more bodies of water converge".
Beatrice(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English given name Beatrice. The city in Nebraska was named for Julia Beatrice Kinney, the daughter of Judge John F. Kinney.
Belegaer(Body of Water)Literature An ocean in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. From the fictional Sindarin language beleg, "great", and gaer, "sea".
Beleriand(Region)Literature A region in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. From the fictional Sindarin language, Balar (an island and bay in the region) and iand meaning "land".
Beltrami(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the Italian surname Beltrami. The city and lake in Minnesota were named for Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, a Italian explorer.
Bemidji(Settlement)English From Ojibwe bemijigamaag meaning "a lake with crossing waters". The name of a city in Minnesota.
Bena(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota. From Ojibwe bine or bina' meaning "partridge".
Benezie(Body of Water)English (American) A lake in Minnesota. Possibly from Ojibwe binesi, meaning "raptor", perhaps referring to eagles, hawks, or the Thunder Bird spiritual being.
Beulah(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the given name Beulah. The city in North Dakota was named for Beulah Stinchcombe, the niece of a local land developer.
Billings(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Billings. The city in Montana was named for Frederick H. Billings, a former president of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Biwabik(Settlement)English (American) A city and township in Minnesota. From Ojibwe biiwaabik meaning "iron".
Black(Body of Water)English The Black Sea is a sea lying between Europe and Asia. Its name comes from the English word "black", likely due to the dark color of its waters.
Blaine(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From the English surname Blaine.
Bloomington(Settlement)English From Old English blōma “flower" and tūn “settlement”.
Bois De Sioux(River)English (American) A river in Minnesota. From French bois de Sioux meaning "woods of the Sioux" (Sioux being the French name for the Oceti Sakowin peoples, a short form of French Nadouessioux, which itself was derived from Ojibwe Nadowessi meaning "little snakes, enemy").
Brainerd(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Brainerd. The city in Minnesota was named for Anne Eliza Brainerd Smith and Lawrence Brainerd, the wife and father-in-law of Northern Pacific railroad president John Gregory Smith.
Buffalo(Settlement & River)English Various cities in the United States. From the English word "buffalo". The city in New York was named for the Buffalo River.
Burnsville(Settlement)English From the English surname Burns and ville, "town". The city in Minnesota is named for the settler William Byrne, whose surname was recorded incorrectly.
Cahokia(Settlement)English (American) A city in Illinois and the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city whose original name is unknown. The name is derived from Cahokia people, who lived in the area before their relocation.
Caletum(Settlement)Ancient Roman From the name of the Caletes people; the name itself may derive from proto-Celtic kaletos meaning "hard, cruel, strong".
Calimesa(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From a portmanteau of California and the English word "mesa" or the Spanish word mesa meaning "table, mesa".
Carbondale(Settlement)English Various settlements in Canada and the United States. From the English word "carbon" and ville meaning "city".
Carteret(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Carteret. The city in North Carolina was named for either Sir George Cartaret or John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville.
Caspian(Body of Water)English The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water. Its name comes from the Caspi people, who lived to the sea's southwest.
Catwaba(Settlement & River)English (American) A river as well as several settlements in the United States. From the name of the Catawba Native American people.
Ceres(Settlement)English Various cities around the world. The city in California is named for Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.
Cerritos(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Spanish cerritos meaning "small hills".
Champlin(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Champlin. The city in Minnesota is named for U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Champlin.
Chanhassen(Settlement)English (American) From the Dakota word chanhasen meaning "sugar-maple tree", which itself comes from chan, "tree" and haza, "tree with sap".
Chengwatana(Settlement)English (American) An abandoned village in Minnesota. From Ojibwe zhingwaadena, a contraction of zhingwaak-oodena meaning "white pine town".
Chickasha(Settlement)English (American) A city in Oklahoma. From Choctaw chikashsha meaning "Chickasaw", a Native American people.
Chicopee(Settlement & River)English (American) A city and river in Massachusetts. From Nipmuc chekee meaning "violently" and pe, a suffix used in the names of bodies of water, or chikkupee meaning "of red cedar".
Chisago(Body of Water)English (American) A lake in Minnesota. The name is derived from the Ojibwe kichi, "large", and saga, "beautiful#.
Choctaw(Settlement)English (American) A city in Oklahoma. From the name of the Choctaw people, although the city has no cultural relation to the Choctaw nation.
Cidra(Settlement)Spanish A city in Puerto Rico. Most likely from Spanish cidra meaning "citron".
Cill Airne(Settlement)Irish A town in County Kerry, Ireland. Meaning "church of the sloes" from Irish cill meaning "church". and airne meaning "sloe".
Cinnaminson(Settlement)English (American) A township in New Jersey. Possibly from Lenape senamensing, meaning "sweet water".
Cloquet(Settlement & River)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Cloquet. The river in Minnesota may have been named for French doctors Hippolyte and Jules Cloquet, and the city was named for the river.
Coachella(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. Possibly from Spanish conchilla, referring to a type of seashell commonly found in the area.
Cohasset(Settlement)English (American) A town in Massachusetts. From Massachusett conahasset possibly meaning "long rocky place" or "fishing promontory".
Conroe(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Conroe. The city in Texas was named for Isaac Conroe, a cavalry officer for the Union during the American Civil War.
Copperopolis(Settlement)English From the English word "copper" and the Greek polis meaning "city". Copperopolis was a mining community in Montana.
Coralville(Settlement)English From the English word "coral" and ville meaning "city". The name of the city in Iowa was derived from coral fossils found along the nearby Iowa River.
Cordele(Settlement)English From the English given name Cordelia. The city in Georgia was named for Cordelia Hawkins, the daughter of Colonel Samuel Hawkins, the president of the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway.
Corozal(Settlement)Spanish From the Spanish corozo meaning "coyal palm".
Covina(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From a portmanteau of the English words "cove" and "vine".
Crystal(Settlement)English Various cities in the United States. From the English word "crystal".
Cudahy(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the Irish surname Cudahy. The city in California was named for Michael Cudahy, a meat-packing baron and local landowner.
Cypress(Settlement)English A city in California. From the English word "cypress", after the trees planted around the local elementary school.
Davenport(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Davenport. The city in Iowa was named for George Davenport, a prominent settler in Iowa Territory.
Deadwood(Settlement)English From the English word "deadwood". The city in South Dakota was named for the dead trees found by Euro-American settlers in the area.
Decatur(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Decatur. The city in Alabama was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., a United States Navy officer.
Dekalb(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname De Kalb. The city in Illinois was named for Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb, a French-Franconian major-general who fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Depew(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Depew. The village in New York was named for Chauncey M. Depew, president of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company.
De Soto(Settlement)English (American) From the Spanish surname De Soto. Various cities in the United States are named for Hernando De Soto, a Spanish conquistador. However, the city in Texas was named for Thomas Hernando DeSoto Stewart, a doctor dedicated to the community.
Destin(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Destin. The city in Flordia was named for Leonard Destin, a Connecticut fishing captain.
Doriath(Country & Other)Literature A kingdom in JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion. From the fictional Sindarin language dôr meaning "land" and iath meaning "fence".
Duarte(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the Spanish surname Duarte. The city in California was named for the ranchero Andrés Avelino Duarte.
Dubuque(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Dubuque. The city in Iowa was named for Julien Dubuque, the first white man to settle in Iowa
Duluth(Settlement)English After Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Name of a city in Minnesota.
Edina(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota, named for the local Edina Mill. The mill, in turn, took its name from a poetic term for Edinburgh.
Eriador(Region)Literature A region in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. Meaning "lonely land, wilderness" in the fictional Sindarin language, likely derived from Primitive Elvish eryā meaning "isolated, lonely" and ndore meaning "land".
Fangorn(Region)Literature A forest in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. From the given name Fangorn, itself meaning "treebeard" in the fictional Sindarin language, from fang meaning "beard" and #orn" meaning "tree".
Fargo(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Fargo. The city in North Dakota was named after William Fargo, then director of the Northern Pacific Railway and founder of the Wells Fargo Express Company.
Faribault(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Faribault. The city in Minnesota was named after Alexander Faribault, its founder and first postmaster.
Farragut(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Farragut. The city in Iowa was named for Admiral David Farragut, a flag officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
Fernandina(Island)Spanish The westernmost and largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago. Named for King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Fishers(Settlement)English From the English surname Fisher. The city in Indiana was named for Fisher's Station, a nearby railroad station platted by Salathial Fisher.
Flin Flon(Settlement)English A city in Manitoba. From the name of the fictional character Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, from J.E. Preston Muddock's novel The Sunless City.
Fond Du Lac(Settlement)English (American) From French fond du lac, meaning "bottom of the lake" or "south end of the lake". The city in Wisconsin is at the southern end of Lake Winnebago.
Fostoria(Settlement)English (American) Derived from the English surname Foster. The city in Michigan was named for Thomas Foster, the foreman of the Pere Marquette Railway.
Fridley(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Fridley. The city in Minnesota is named for Abram M. Fridley, the area's first territorial representative.
Fruita(Settlement)English A city in Colorado. From the English word "fruit" or the Spanish word fruta meaning "fruit".
Gettysburg(Settlement)English From the Irish surname Gettys and burg meaning "fortress, fortification, citadel". The city in Pennsylvania was named for colonist and influential landowner James Gettys... [more]
Gialíta(Settlement)Late Greek A city in Crimea. From γιαλός (gialós) meaning “beach, seashore”.
Gichi-biitoobiig(Region)Ojibwe A region in Minnesota. From Ojibwe gichi-biitoobiig meaning "great duplicate water, parallel body of water, double body of water".
Gichigami-ziibi(River)Ojibwe A river in Minnesota. From Ojibwe gichigami-ziibi meaning "great lake river".
Gillette(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Gillette. The city in Wyoming is named for Edward Gillette, a surveyor for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
Gonzales(Settlement)English (American) From the Spanish surname Gonzáles. A city in Texas, one of the first Anglo-American settlements in the state, was named for Rafael Gonzáles, the governor of Coahuila y Tejas.
Gorgoroth(Region)Literature A region in JRR Tolkien's works. From the fictional Sindarin words gor meaning "fear" and goroth meaning "horror".
Guayama(Settlement)Spanish (Latin American) A city and municipality in Puerto Rico. Most likely from the name of a Taíno cacique, Guayama, from Taíno wayama meaning "great place, big open space"; however, a local story suggests that the name comes from the surname of a local landowner, Juanan Guayama.
Guymon(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Guymon. The city in Oklahoma was named for Edward T. "E.T." Guymon, president of the Inter-State Land and Town Company.
Hammond(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Hammond. The city in Indiana was named for George H. Hammond, the owner of a nearby meat-packing plant.