Opelika(Settlement)English Derived from Muscogee (Creek) opilwa lako meaning "large swamp". This is the name of a small city in the American state of Alabama.
Oppland(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse upp meaning "up, upper" and lǫnd meaning "lands." The inner regions of Norway were called Upplǫnd in Norse times.... [more]
Orcadia(Island)Medieval, Old Celtic (Latinized) A medieval name for the Orkney Islands, the famous archipelago of the northwest coast of Scotland. It comes from the Roman name Orcades which was probably derived from Celtic *forko- "young pig"... [more]
Osijek(Settlement)Croatian Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia... [more]
Østersjøen(Body of Water)Norwegian Means "the eastern sea" in Norwegian. This is the Norwegian bokmål name for the Baltic Sea.
Østfold(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the old name of the Olsofjord fold and the Norwegian word øst. The name means, "the region east of the fold."... [more]
Oulu(Settlement)Finnish From the name of the Oulu River (Finnish: Oulujoki). Oulu is probably taken directly from the Finnish dialectal word oulu meaning "flood water". Oulu is the capital city of Northern Ostrobothnia.
Oymyakon(Political Subdivision)Russian named after the Oymyakon River, whose name reportedly comes from the Even word kheium, meaning "unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter" ... or the Even word heyum (hэjум) (kheium being a possible misspelling) means "frozen lake"
Palau(Country)English Palau is an archipelago in Oceania. The flag is a yellow circle in the middle of a blue background, and the country is locally known as Belau.
Palestine(Country & Region)English, Biblical, French From Hebrew Pelesheth, which probably means "land of the Philistines". This is the name of a historical/geographic region in Western Asia. It is also the name of a sovereign state in Western Asia (officially the State of Palestine).
Palo Alto(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Spanish palo "(tree) stick" + alto "tall".
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]
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").
Philippi(Settlement)Biblical Greek renamed after Philip II of Macedon, was originally named Crenides (Greek: Κρηνῖδες, Krenides "Fountains")
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.
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]
Portland(Settlement)American In America, it is most likely used as a place name in reference to Portland, Oregon.
Prince Edward Island(Political Subdivision)English (Canadian) Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province. It was named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), Queen Victoria's father.
Raleigh(Settlement)English Name of the capital in North Carolina, named for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of Roanoke, the "lost colony" on Roanoke Island.
Rebun(Island)Japanese This is the name of an island which is off the north-western tip of Hokkaidō in the far north of Japan.... [more]
Reynosa(Settlement)Spanish Reynosa is a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is also the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality.
Rhode Island(Island & Political Subdivision)English Name of a state in the United States, said to have been named by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano when he passed through in 1524, based on an imagined similarity between modern Block Island and the Greek Isle of Rhodes, or possibly from Dutch Roodt Eylandt, literally "red island", a name given by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block.
Rhyl(Settlement)Welsh Seaside resort and community in the Welsh county of Denbighshire. The origin is not fully known. The name seems to be a hybrid of the English word "hill" and the Welsh definite article "y", meaning "the hill"... [more]
Rijeka(Settlement)Croatian Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia... [more]
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(Settlement)Brazilian, English Means "river of January" in Portuguese. Rio de Janeiro is a major city in Brazil. The city was named after the nearby Guanabara Bay which was discovered by Europeans in January 1502.
Rogaland(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse rygir (probably the name of a Germanic tribe) and and lǫnd meaning "lands." ... [more]
Sacramento(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Spanish sacramento, in honor of the Holy Sacrament.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
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]
San Antonio(Settlement & River)English Means "Saint Anthony" from Spanish san "Saint" + Antonio, a Spanish form of the given name Anthony. The river was named after San Antonio de Padua by the first governor of Spanish Texas, Domingo Terán de los Ríos in 1691... [more]
San Diego(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, meaning "Saint Diego" from Spanish san "Saint" + the given name Diego.
Sandringham(Settlement)English Derived from the Old English: "sand" hring "ring"/"circular" ham "homestead". "Sandy circular homestead". The name of a village in Norfolk, where Sandringham House, one of the Queen's country retreats is located.
San Jose(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, meaning "Saint Joseph" from Spanish san "Saint" + Jose, a Spanish form of Joseph.
Saragossa(Settlement)English From Çaragoça, the medieval form of the Arabic name سرقسطة (Saraqusṭa), from the Roman name Caesaraugusta, which is the combination of two Roman names Caesar and Augusta.
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.
Seria(Settlement)Malay The name of a town in Brunei, derived from an acronym of South East Reserved Industrial Area.
Serkland(Region)Old Norse Old Norse name for a region around the Caspian Sea in the Middle East. The name is composed of Old Norse serkr "gown" and land "country". Serkland does not correspond with any modern country or region.
Seton(Settlement)English A Scottish place, Seaton near Longniddry, "is so named because it was held from the 12th century by a Norman family de Sey, from Say in Indre. Other places of this name, for example those in Cumbria, Devon, County Durham, Northumbria, and Yorkshire, are mostly named with Old English sæ "sea, lake" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
Shime(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a town in Japan's Fukuoka prefecture.... [more]
Shiretoko(Other)Japanese This is the name of a peninsula (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005) in north-eastern Hokkaidō in northern Japan. The kanji that make up Shiretoko are 知 (chi, shi.raseru, shi.ru, shire) meaning "know, wisdom" and 床 (shou, toko, yuka) meaning "bed, floor, padding, tatami."... [more]
South Holland(Political Subdivision)English Combination of South and Holland 1, named after it’s geographic location. This is the name of a province of the Netherlands.
South Korea(Country)English South Korea (Korean: 한국/韓國, RR: Hanguk; literally 남한/南韓, RR: Namhan, or 남조선, MR: Namchosŏn in North Korean usage), officially the Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: 대한민국/大韓民國, RR: Daehan Minguk), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea... [more]
Sparta(Settlement)English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Manx, Polish, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman From Doric Greek Σπάρτα (Sparta) and Attic Greek Σπάρτη (Spartē), which is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from σπάρτον (sparton) meaning "rope, cable" - a reference to the cords laid as the city’s foundation boundaries, though this could be just a folk etymology.... [more]
Sumatra(Political Subdivision & Island)Indonesian, Acehnese, Minangkabau, Malay, English From Sanskrit समुद्र (samudra) meaning "sea, ocean". This is the name of an island in Indonesia as well as three Indonesian provinces.
Suō(Political Subdivision)Japanese Shifted from earlier Suhau(Sufau) or Suha(Sufa) (first written as 周芳), belonging to an old province which corresponds to the eastern part of modern Yamaguchi Prefecture.... [more]
Suva(Settlement)Fijian Suva is the capital and largest metropolitan city in Fiji.
Tajikistan(Country)English, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Tagalog From Tajik Тоҷикистон (Tojikiston), which is derived from the name of the Tajik people combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of"... [more]
Tel Aviv(Settlement)Hebrew Comes from two hebrew words: Tel, meaning mound of an old settelment, and Aviv, meaning spring. Comes from the hebrew translation of Benjamin Zeev Herzel's book altnoyland (old new land).
Telemark(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From teler the name of an old Germanic tribe and the Old Norse mǫrk meaning "woodland, borderland, or march/mark."... [more]
Tenri(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city in Nara prefecture which used to be (briefly) the capital of Japan under the reign of Emperor Ninken (probably reigned from 488–498).... [more]
Topanga(Settlement)Indigenous American Topanga is a community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States located in the Santa Monica mountains. The name is given by the Native American indigenous Tongva tribe, and may mean "where the mountain meets the sea" or "a place above".
Tribeca(Settlement)English After the New York neighbourhood, ultimately derived from "TRIangle BElow CAnal street".
Tsavo(Region)African Tsavo is a region of Kenya located at the crossing of the Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River, close to where it meets the Athi-Galana-Sabaki River.
Uleåborg(Settlement)Finland Swedish Combination of Ule, the name of a river whose name derives from the Finnish dialectal word oulu "floodwater", Swedish å "river, stream", and borg "castle, fortification"... [more]
Uppsala(Settlement)Swedish Means "upstream from Sala", from Old Norse upp "up" and salir "halls, rooms". Sala was a village located downstream from Uppsala (it is nowadays a neighbourhood known as Sala backe)... [more]
Utsunomiya(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city which is the capital and most populous city of Tochigi Prefecture, located in central Japan. The kanji used are 宇 (u) meaning "eaves, heaven, house, roof", 都 (tsu, to, miyako) meaning "capital, metropolis" and 宮 (kyuu, ku, kuu, guu, miya) meaning "constellations, palace, princess, Shinto shrine."... [more]
Vallejo(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, which was founded by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1807-1890), a Californio military leader and landowner... [more]
Van(Settlement)English Derived from the surname Vance. Van is a town Texas, USA.
Vänern(Body of Water)Swedish Meaning uncertain. One theory is that the name is derived from Old Swedish vænir and therefore related to Archaic Swedish words vån "hope, prospect" and vän "beautiful, fair"... [more]
Vatican City(Country)English Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkən/), officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), is the Holy See's independent city state, an enclave within Rome, Italy... [more]
Vättern(Body of Water)Swedish Meaning uncertain, but possibly derived from Swedish vatten "water". Vättern is the second largest lake in Sweden and the sixth largest lake in Europe.
Vest-Agder(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Norwegian word vest meaning "west" and the place name agder. It means "the western part of Agder."... [more]
Vestfold(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the old name of the Olsofjord fold and the Norwegian word vest. The name means, "the region west of the fold."... [more]
Veszprém(Settlement)Hungarian Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights.
Vladikavkaz(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the Caucasus" from Russian владеть (vladet) meaning "to own, to possess, to control" combined with Кавказ (Kavkaz) meaning "Caucasus"... [more]
Vladivostok(Political Subdivision)Russian literally 'Ruler of the East', 'Rule the East', 'Lord of the East', or 'Expansion to the East.' The name was first applied to the bay but, following an expedition by Alexey Shefner in 1860, was later applied to the new settlement.
Wausau(Region & Settlement)Indigenous American (Latinized, Rare) Term used in many Native American languages with varying similar meanings such as "to see from a distance" or "to hear from a distance." It was the Native American name for a valley in central Wisconsin that is still refered to as such by locals... [more]
Wichita(Settlement)English Name of a city in Kansas, named after the Native American tribe Wichita. Possibly from Wichita We-chate hatchee, "Red Water River".
Winnipeg(Settlement)English Name of a city in Manitoba, Canada Ojibwe wiinibig "dirty waters", from wini "dirty" + nibi "water".
Württemberg(Political Subdivision & Region)German, English Etymology uncertain. Originally referred to a castle near Stuttgart, and increased its scope as the owners increased their possessions. Scholars have rejected the derivation Wirth am Berg, meaning "innkeeper/host on the hill/mountain"... [more]
Xeresa(Political Subdivision)Spanish Xeresa is a municipality in the comarca of Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Y(Settlement)French Probably from the Y family of Vermandois, who owned the district. This is the name of a commune in the Department of Somme, Hauts-de-France, France.
Yakutsk(Political Subdivision)Russian "Place" of the Yakut (from the Evenk "Yako," a term Russia uses to refer to the "Sakha" people, whose name (of Turkic origin) comes from words that mean "Edge, Collar")
Yellowknife(Settlement)English (Canadian) Yellowknife is the name of the capital and only city of Northwest Territories in Canada.... [more]
Yerevan(Settlement)Armenian, English, Russian Meaning unknown. It may be from Yervand, the name of a 3rd-century BC Armenian king (also known as Orontes IV), or from Էրեբունի (Erebuni), an ancient Urartian fortification and city... [more]
Yoichi(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a district and town in Shiribeshi Subprefecture in south-western Hokkaidō, located in northern Japan.... [more]
Yokosuka(Settlement)Japanese This is from a place in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture in the east of the country. The kanji that make up Yokosuka are 横 (ou, yoko) meaning "horizontal, side, sideways, width, woof", 須 (shu, su, subekara.ku, subeshi, hige, matsu, machi.iru, mato.meru) meaning "by all means, necessarily, ought" and 賀 (ga, ka) meaning "congratulations, joy."... [more]
Yonkers(Settlement)English Name of the 4th most populous city in New York state, a variant of Dutch Jonkers, jonker, "young gentleman", derived from Dutch jong "young".
Yoshkar-Ola(Settlement)Mari, Russian Means "red city" in Mari, from Eastern Mari йошкар (yoshkar) meaning "red" and ола (ola) meaning "city". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Mari El.
Ypres(Settlement)French French form of Ieper, known for the battles that occurred in 1914 and 1915 during the First World War.
Yuzhno-zakhalinsk(Political Subdivision)Russian literally "South Sakhalin City" - a city in Sakhalin island, and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located in the Far East part of Russia, situated north of Japan... [more]
Zadar(Settlement)Croatian, English Zadar is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city.... [more]
Zagreb(Settlement)Croatian Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of Croatia.... [more]