Makassar(Settlement)Indonesian, Buginese From the Makassarese phrase akkasaraki nabbiya meaning "appearance of the prophet", taken from a legend in which a 16th-century king was supposedly approached by Muhammad himself... [more]
Makhachkala(Settlement)Russian Means "Makhach's fortress", from the given name Makhach and Kumyk къала (qala) meaning "fortress". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Dagestan, named in honour of Magomed-Ali "Makhach" Dadaev (1882-1918), a Dagestani revolutionary.
Makkah(Settlement)Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu Alternate transcription of Arabic مكة or Urdu مکہ (see Makka), as well as the usual Indonesian and Malay form.
Malacca(Country, Political Subdivision, Settlement & Body of Water)English From Malay Melaka, probably derived from the Malay name for the Indian gooseberry (genus Phyllanthus), a type of tree. This is the name of a state in southern Malaysia as well as a city (Malacca City) and a narrow body of water between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra (the Strait of Malacca)... [more]
Maldives(Country)Catalan, English, French, Greek, Malay Uncertain, possibly means "Malé islands" from Dhivehi މާލެ (māle) referring to Malé, the capital city of the Maldives, combined with Sanskrit द्वीप (dvīpá) meaning "island"... [more]
Manama(Settlement)Arabic, English Means "place of sleep, place of rest" in Arabic. This is the name of the capital city of Bahrain, usually written with the definite article: المنامة (al-Manama) in Arabic.
Manamah(Settlement)Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu Arabic and Urdu alternate transcription of Manama as well as the Indonesian form. In Arabic it is usually written with the definite article: منامة (al-Manamah), which is also used in Indonesian.
Mandalay(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese မန္တလေး (mandale) of unclear origin, possibly from Sanskrit मण्डल (mandala) meaning "circle, disk". This is the name of an administrative division of Myanmar as well as its regional capital.
Manila(Settlement)Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Maranao, English, Spanish From Tagalog Maynila, which is derived from the term may-nila meaning "where indigo is found", ultimately from Sanskrit नील (nila) referring to the indigo plant as well as indigo dye... [more]
Marawi(Settlement)Filipino, Maranao, Tagalog From Maraghui or Marahui, the name of a Maranao fort that was seiged in 1895. This is the name of the capital city of the Philippine province of Lanao del Sur.
Maykop(Settlement)Russian From Adyghe Мыекъуапэ (Myeqwapa) meaning "cape of apples", from мые (mye) meaning "apple" and къуапэ (qwapa) meaning "cape, gorge, height". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Adygea.
Mazharcho(Country)Chechen From Chechen мажарий (mazhariy) meaning "Hungarian" and the suffix -чоь (-cho) meaning "land of". This is the Chechen name for Hungary.
Mecca(Settlement)English, Italian, Romanian From Arabic مكة (Makka) which is from بكة (bakka), an ancient name for the region. The name is of uncertain origin and meaning; it may be from Arabic بكى (baka) meaning "to cry, to mourn" or Ge'ez ምኵራብ (məkʷrab) meaning "temple, sanctuary"... [more]
Medan(Settlement)Indonesian, Malay, Batak Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Batak Karo madan meaning "healed, blessed, recovered" or Malay medan meaning "field" (ultimately of Iranian origin). This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Merapi(Mountain)Indonesian, Javanese From Sanskrit मेरु (Meru), the name of a legendary mountain in Buddhist and Hindu mythology, combined with Indonesian api meaning "fire". This is the name of a volcano on the island of Java in Indonesia.
Micronesia(Country & Region)Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog From Greek μικρός (mikrós) meaning "small, little" and νῆσος (nesos) meaning "island". This is the name of a subregion of Oceania as well as an island country... [more]
Mindanao(Island)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From a Spanish corruption of Magindanaw, the endonym of the Maguindanao people. The ethnic name means "people of the flood plains" or "people of the lake" from Maguindanao danao meaning "lake"... [more]
Minsk(Settlement)Belarusian, English, Russian From Old East Slavic Мѣньскъ (Menisku), which was derived from a river named Men. This is the name of the capital city of Belarus.
Miyazaki(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Mogholestan(Country, Political Subdivision & Region)Persian From Persian مغول (moğul) meaning "Mongol, Mongolian" combined with the suffix ستان (stân) meaning "land of". This is the Persian name for Mongolia.
Mongol Uls(Country)Mongolian From Mongolian монгол (mongol), the name of the Mongolian people, and улс (uls) meaning "country, nation". This is the Mongolian name for Mongolia.
Mordovia(Political Subdivision)English From Russian Мордовия (Mordoviya) derived from the name of the Mordvin (or Mordva) people. The name is thought to be derived from the Iranian root mard meaning "man". This is the name of a republic of Russia.
Mqinvartsveri(Mountain)Georgian Means "glacier peak" or "freezing cold peak" from Georgian მყინვარი (mq̇invari) meaning "glacier" and წვერი (c̣veri) meaning "tip, point, vertex, top". This is the Georgian name for Mount Kazbek.
Nagano(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 長 (naga) meaning "long" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Nagasaki(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 長 (naga) meaning "long" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Nagorno-Karabakh(Country & Region)English Means "mountainous Karabakh" from Russian нагорный (nagorny) meaning "mountainous, highland" combined with the name of the region of Karabakh... [more]
Nagoya(Settlement)Japanese Of uncertain meaning, possibly from Japanese 和やか (nagoyaka) meaning "peaceful". This is the name of a city in Japan.
Nakhon Si Thammarat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นคร (nakhon) meaning "city" combined with ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, splendour" and ธรรมราช (thammarat) meaning "righteous ruler". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Nara(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city which is the capital of Nara Prefecture in western Japan. The kanji used are 奈 (dai, na, nai, ikan, karanashi) meaning "Nara, what?" and 良 (ryou, i.i, yo.i, ra) meaning "good, pleasing, skilled."... [more]
Narathiwat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นร (nara) meaning "man" and อธิวาส (athiwat) meaning "residence, house". This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Na Uy(Country)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 挪威 (Na Uy), probably from Chinese 挪威 (Nuówēi) or Min Nan 挪威 (Nô͘-ui). This is the Vietnamese name for Norway.
Naypyidaw(Settlement)English From Burmese နေပြည်တော် (Nepyidaw) meaning "abode of the king" or "royal abode", from နေပြည် (ne pyi) meaning "abode" and တော် (taw) meaning "royal, sacred"... [more]
Nazran(Settlement)Russian From Ingush Наьсаре (Nasare) possibly from Нясара (Nyasara), supposedly the name of the first person to settle in the region. This is the name of a town in Ingushetia that served as the republic's capital until 2000.