Albuquerque(Settlement)English (American) Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, sits in the high desert. Its modern Downtown core contrasts with Old Town Albuquerque, dating to the city’s 1706 founding as a Spanish colony.
Australasia(Region)English Means "south of Asia" from Latin australis meaning "southern" combined with Asia. This is the name of a region in Oceania consisting of Australia, New Zealand, and other neighbouring islands.
Bakersfield(Settlement)English Named after a person bearing the surname Baker. The city in California was named after former colonel Thomas Baker of the Ohio Militia, who moved to the area in 1863.
Balochistan(Political Subdivision & Region)Balochi, Urdu, Pashto, English From the ethnic name بلۏچ (Baloch) referring to the Baloch people (itself of uncertain meaning) combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of"... [more]
Banjarmasin(Settlement)Indonesian, Banjar Possibly a corruption of Bandar Masih meaning "Port Masih", referring to a local ruler named Patih Masih (likely a nickname). This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Bikini Atoll(Island)English From Marshallese Pikinni "surface of coconut". Bikini is an island located in the Marshall Islands, famous for being a place the United States formerly did nuclear tests.
Boguszewiec(Settlement)Polish From Bogusz (as a given name or surname) with suffix -ewiec. It is village in central Poland.
Boguszowice(Settlement)Polish From Bogusz (as a given name or surname) with the suffix -owice. It is the name of one current village and two former villages in southern Poland.
Bottenviken(Body of Water)Swedish Combination of Old Swedish botn "bay, gulf" and the definite form of Swedish vik "bay", making it a tautological place name meaning "the bay bay". Bottenviken is a part of Bottniska viken and the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea.
Brandenburg(Political Subdivision, Region & Settlement)German Derived from believed to be West Slavic brani boru, meaning "defensive forest" or brand "burned" burg "fortress" meaning "burnt fortress" the name of a German city, state, and street.
Buenos Aires(Settlement)Spanish Ultimately derived from Aragonese buen ayre “good air”. It is the capital city of Argentina. The explorer who founded the city originally called it Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Nuestra Señora la Virgen María de los Buenos Aires meaning "City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Good Airs" which was later shortened to just Buenos Aires.
Bukittinggi(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau Means "tall hill" from Indonesian bukit meaning "hill" and tinggi meaning "high, tall". This is the name of a city in West Sumatra province, Indonesia.
Bunduqiyyah(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Venetia (see Venice) via the German form Venedig. It is usually written with the definite article: البندقية (al-Bunduqiyyah).
Buôn Ma Thuột(Settlement)Vietnamese Means "village of Y Thuôt's father" from Rade ƀuôn meaning "village", ama meaning "father" and the given name Y Thuôt. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Buzzards Bay(Body of Water)English Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
Byrzentwyla(Country)Abkhaz From Abkhaz абырзен (abyrzen) meaning "Greek" (derived from Mingrelian) and атәыла (atwyla) meaning "country". This is the Abkhaz name for Greece.
Cainhannoch(Settlement)Mormon From an alternative name for New York used in the Doctrine and Covenants. A possible origin could be that in the Bible, Cain, the son of Adam, had a son named Enoch. A derivative of that is Henoch, and a further derivative is Hanoch... [more]
Cairneyhill(Settlement)Old Scots Cairneyhill is from old scots meaning “rocky-hill” from the village’s hill that it sits on
Caquorobert(Island)Norman Islet in the Channel Islands. Unknown meaning.
Catanduanes(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Central Bikol, Tagalog, English From a Spanish plural form of Bikol katanduan either meaning "place of tandu", referring to a type of beetle, or "place of tando", referring to a type of tree. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Chanthaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Most likely derived from Thai จันทร์ (chan) meaning "moon" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Chetthamada(Country)Burmese From Burmese ချက် (chet) meaning "Czech" and သမ္မတ (thamada) meaning "president". This is the Burmese name for the Czech Republic.
Chicomoztoc(Settlement & Other)Nahuatl, Aztec From Nahuatl chicome (“seven”), oztotl (“cave”), and -c (“place”).
Christiania(Settlement)Norwegian (Archaic) Named in honor of Christian IV (1577-1648), king of Denmark-Norway. This was the name of the capital of Norway between 1624 and 1925.
Ciscaucasia(Region)English, Italian, Spanish Means "on this side of the Caucasus", derived from Latin cis meaning "on this side of" combined with the latinized Greek noun Caucasia meaning "the Caucasus" (both the mountains and their namesake region)... [more]
Clarecastle(Settlement)Irish A town in Clare, Ireland, named after Clare Castle, which stands on an island in the narrowest part of the River Fergus... [more]
Connecticut(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from the name of the Connecticut river, from Algonquian quinnitukqut "at the long tidal river," from kwen "long" + ehtekw "tidal river" + enk "place".
Cumbernauld(Settlement)Scottish A town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The name in its present form is most likely derived from Gaelic comar nan allt meaning 'meeting of the waters'. However, early forms containing Cumyr- hint at a Cumbric predecessor derived possibly from Common Brittonic *cömber-ïn-alt (Welsh cymer-yn-allt), perhaps meaning 'confluence at the hill'.
Daikonshima(Island)Japanese Daikonshima Island is in Lake Nakaumi. This is within Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
Dar Es Salaam(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Swahili, English Derived from Arabic دار السلام (dar as-salam) meaning "house of peace" or "abode of peace". This is the name of an administrative region and city in Tanzania.
Dharamshala(Settlement)English From Hindi धर्मशाला (dharmshala) referring to a type of sanctuary for religious pilgrims, itself derived from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "law, duty, virtue" (with the additional meaning of "religion, faith" in Hindi) and शाला (shala) meaning "house"... [more]
Điện Biên Phủ(Settlement)Vietnamese From the name Điện Biên and Sino-Vietnamese 府 (phủ) meaning "administrative division, prefecture". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Dzaudzhyqau(Settlement)Ossetian Means "Dzaug's settlement" in Ossetian, from the name of 18th-century figure Dzaug Bugulov combined with Ossetian хъӕу (qau) meaning "village, settlement". This is the Ossetian name for Vladikavkaz.
Ecclefechan(Settlement)Scottish A village in South-West Scotland. It's name derives from the Cumbric eccle-, meaning 'church' (Welsh eglwys) and fechan, which meant 'small, unimportant' (Welsh fychan).
Etelämanner(Region)Finnish From Finnish etelä meaning "south" and manner meaning "continent". This is the Finnish name for Antarctica.
Eturkalamma(Other)Babylonian Means "house, cattle pen of the land", deriving from the Akkadian elements erṣutu ("ground, earth, soil, land"). Name of the temple of Ishtar in Babylon, where she was worshipped as Belet-babili.
Ghalghayche(Political Subdivision)Ingush From гӀалгӀай (ghalghay) the native name of the Ingush people, combined with the suffix -че (-che) meaning "place of". The ethnic name is of uncertain origin, though it is most popularly believed to mean "residents of the towers"... [more]
Gran Canaria(Island)Spanish From Spanish gran "grande, great" and Canaria referring to the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria is the third largest and second most populous island of the Canary Islands.
Gressenhall(Settlement)English Derived from the Old English grēosn "gravel" or gærsen "grass" and the Anglian halh meaning "a nook of land". The name of a village in the county of Norfolk.
Guadalajara(Political Subdivision, Region & Settlement)Spanish name comes from the Arabic (وادي الحجارة) wādī al-ḥajārah which means "Valley of the Stone", or "Fortress Valley". A city in Mexico bears this name from the birthplace of a conquistador of the same name as the city and the province of Spain the same name.
Half Moon Bay(Settlement)English Refers to a crescent-shaped bay that lies north of the city. This is the name of a city in California.
Hälsingland(Region)Swedish Hälsingland is a province in central Sweden meaning "land of the Hälsings". Hälsing is believed to be a combination of Swedish hals "throat, neck" and inge "dweller". The hals-part is probably not referring to the anatomical part, but rather to a narrow strait of water.
Helsingborg(Settlement)Swedish Helsingborg is a city in Scania, Sweden. The name is a combination of hals "neck, narrow strait" and borg "castle, fortification". There has been a permanent settlement around Helsingborg since 1085, making it one of Sweden's oldest cities.
Helsingfors(Settlement)Finland Swedish, Swedish From Swedish helsing, composed of hals "neck, narrow strait" and -inge denoting an inhabitant, combined with fors "rapid, waterfall". Helsing was either taken from the name of the Swedish province Hälsingland (where many early settlers originated from), or directly from the Swedish word (referring to a narrow part of the Vantaa River)... [more]
Herzegovina(Country, Political Subdivision & Region)English From German herzog meaning “duke’s land.” It is a geographical region part of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Horningtoft(Settlement)English From the Old English horn "horn-shaped" -ingas "people of" toft "curtilage". "people of the horn-shaped curtilage". The name of a village in the county of Norfolk.
Hyperoxiane(Region)Ancient Greek Means "beyond the river Oxus", derived from Greek ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning "over, above, beyond" combined with the Greek noun Ὦξος (Oxos) meaning "Oxus"... [more]
Île-de-France(Political Subdivision & Region)French Meaning literally "island of France". Its ultimate etymology is unclear; the "island" may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located... [more]