Kyiv(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Ukrainian, English, Danish, Indonesian, Malagasy, Malay, Norwegian, Tagalog From Old East Slavic Киевъ (Kievu) of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally attributed to the given name Кий (Kyi) referring to one of the three legendary founders of the city, although another theory suggests that it is derived from Ukrainian кий (kyi) meaning "stick, pole" (so named because the city was palisaded by poles)... [more]
L'viv(Other & Region)Ukrainian It is the name of a city and a region in Ukraine. The region is called 'Львівськa' in Ukrainian, but is called by the same name in English.
Mesa(Settlement)English, Spanish From Spanish mesa, literally "table", referring to a flat-topped elevation. This is the name of a city in the US state of Arizona.
Mito(Settlement)Japanese The kanji that make up the name are 水 (mizu), meaning "water", and 戸 (to), meaning "door". This is the name of the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Naas(Settlement)Irish (Anglicized) From Irish An Nás, meaning "the place of assembly". This is a contraction of several names for Naas, each beginning with Nás.... [more]
Naha(Settlement)Japanese Possibly a corruption of naba, a Western Japanese and Ryukyuan word for "mushroom". This is the name of the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
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]
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.
Nent(River)English A river in the North Pennines. Its name is derived from Cumbric nent, meaning 'stream'. It is a tributary of the Tyne.
Nice(Settlement)French, English Founded by Greek colonists and given the name Νίκαια (Nikaia), ultimately derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". Nice is a city on the south east coast of France.
Nida(Settlement)Lithuanian The name of a Lithuanian resort town located at the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic states, close to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. It is said to be derived from Old Prussian nida meaning "fluent."
Nixa(Settlement)English Named after one of the towns first civic leaders, Nicholas A. Inman. Originally supposed to be called 'Nix' before the inclusion of Inman's middle initial.
Niza(Settlement)Spanish Spanish for the city of Nice, France.
Nuuk(Settlement)Greenlandic Means "cape" in Greenlandic. Nuuk is the capital and largest city of Greenland.
Oʻahu(Island)Hawaiian Meaning unknown. Legend says that a Polynesian navigator who discovered the Hawaiian islands named it after his daughter. This is the third largest and most populated island in Hawaii... [more]
Oban(Settlement)Scottish An t-Òban in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay''.
Ohio(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, originally used of the river, from Seneca ohi:yo "good river".
Oise(River & Political Subdivision)French Related to the Latin name Isara, borrowed from Celtic, though ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *isərós “vigorous, quick”, from *eis(ə, related to Sanskrit इषिरम् “fast, quick”.... [more]
Ōita(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "large division" in Japanese.
Ojai(Settlement)English Derived from a hispanicized form of the Ventureño Chumash word ʼawhaʼy which meant "moon". This is the name of a city and valley in Southern California.
Oran(Settlement)English, French From the Arabic name وهران (Wahran), which is ultimately derived from the Berber root hr meaning "lion". This is the name of a city in Algeria.
Oslo(Settlement)Norwegian Meaning uncertain. Possibly a combination of Old Norse áss meaning either "ridge" or "Æsir god", and ló "meadow, clearing". Oslo is the capital city of Norway... [more]
Ōtsu(Settlement)Japanese Means "large port" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 大 (ō), meaning "big, large", and 津 (tsu, Japanese kun reading of jīn), meaning "port"... [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.
Palu(Settlement)Indonesian Uncertain, possibly from Mandarese topalu'e meaning "raised land" or Kaili bolovatu or volovatu referring to a type of local bamboo. This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pará(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese From Tupi pará, meaning "sea" or "large river". This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Pécs(Settlement)Hungarian Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country.
Pori(Settlement)Finnish Derived from Swedish borg "castle, fortress".
Poti(Settlement)Georgian The name of a city in Georgia, meaning uncertain. It is most likely related to Phasis (Φᾶσις), the ancient Greek name for the Rioni River (which flows through Georgia) as well as an ancient city along that river... [more]
Pyay(Settlement)English From Burmese ပြည် (pyi) meaning "country", referring to the main city of the Pyu city-states that existed from the 2nd to 11th centuries. This is the name of a town in Myanmar.
Raba(River & Settlement)Polish Uncertain. The name is theorized to come from either Proto-Slavic *or-ba from *orati meaning "to plough", or ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Ar(ə)-b(h)ā from *ar(ə) meaning "fast-moving"... [more]
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]
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.
Riga(Settlement)English, Russian From Latvian Rīga, origin disputed. It may be derived from Livonian ringa meaning "loop", referring to an ancient harbor formed by the tributary loop of the Daugava river, from Riege, the German name of the Rīdzene (a tributary of the Daugava), or from Latvian rija meaning "threshing barn"... [more]
Saba(Island)Dutch (Antillean) Overseas territory of the Netherlands. The capital of Saba is The Bottom. There are four settlements on Saba: The Bottom, Windwardside, Zion's Hill, And St... [more]
Saga(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "celebrating sa rank, celebrating help" in Japanese.
Sark(Island)English, Ancient Semitic, Medieval Scandinavian One of the Channel Islands in England. Could be derived from the Proto-Semetic 'śrq', meaning "redden", "rise", or "east", as Sark is the easternmost island. Alternatively, it come from Old Norse 'serkr', meaning "shirt".
Shan(Political Subdivision)Burmese, English From the Burmese name for the Shan (Tai) people, which was derived from Thai สยาม (sayam) referring to Siam, the former name of Thailand... [more]
Siam(Country)English, Khmer From Portuguese Sciam, which was derived from Thai สยาม (sayam) of contested origin. It may have come from Pali suvaṇṇabhūmi meaning "land of gold", from Sanskrit श्याम (shyama) meaning "dark, black, blue" or from Mon ရာမည (ramanya) meaning "stranger"... [more]
Sulu(Political Subdivision, Region & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Suluk, the Malay name for the Tausug people, in turn derived from Tausug Tau Sūg meaning "people of the current", from tau meaning "man, person" and sūg meaning "(sea) current, flow of water"... [more]
Taal(Body of Water, Mountain & Settlement)Filipino, Tagalog The name of a lake, volcano and municipality in the Philippines, meaning "true, genuine, native" in Tagalog.
Tees(River)English A river in Northeast England. The precise origin of name is not known for sure. But, given that it is one of Britain's major rivers, several theories have emerged:... [more]
Trat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Believed to be a corruption of Khmer ត្រាច (trach) referring to a type of tree (genus Dipterocarpus). This is the name of a province of and town in Thailand.
Tuas(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Means "lever, haul" in Malay, referring to an old fishing technique used by coastal Malays. This is the name of a planning area of Singapore.
Tuna(Other)Swedish Derived from Old Norse tún meaning "enclosure, fence, homestead, courtyard, plot". This is the name of many localities and parishes in Sweden. It is also a common place-name element (see Eskilstuna).
Turk(Country)Mongolian, Ossetian Derived from the ethnonym Turk, which is of Old Turkic origin possibly meaning "ancestry". This is the Mongolian and Ossetian name for Turkey.
Tuva(Political Subdivision)Russian From Tuvan Тыва (Tyva), itself from the name of the Tuvan people, which is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a federal subject of Russia.
Tyne(River)English A river in North-East England. Its meaning is unknown, but some sources relate it to a word in a local Celtic or pre-Celtic language *tei-*, meaning 'river'. However, the evidence for the existence of such a word is insufficient.... [more]
Ubud(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Balinese From Balinese ubad meaning "medicine", so named because the area was a rich source of medicinal herbs and plants. This is the name of a district and town in Bali, Indonesia.
Udin(Political Subdivision, Region & Settlement)Friulian
Umeå(Settlement)Swedish From the name of the Ume River. Possibly derived from Old Norse úma "roaring" and the place name element -eå denoting the city's location near the river. Another theory is that the name is derived from Finnish uoma "riverbed".
Utah(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).
Vinh(Settlement)Vietnamese Shortened form of any of the place's previous names, such as Kẻ Vinh, Vinh Giang, Vinh Doanh or Vinh Thi, most likely from European influence. The use of the Sino-Vietnamese character 永 (vĩnh) comes from the old practice of phonetic matching, with the character itself holding no significant meaning... [more]
Wank(Mountain)Upper German The Wank is a mountain in southern Germany, situated in the Loisach valley close to the Austrian border in the southwestern Ester Mountains range near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Wawa(Settlement & Body of Water)Ojibwe Name of a town and lake in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe wording wewe, meaning "wild goose"
Wear(River)English A river in North-East England. It is taken to be of Old Celtic origin and meant 'blood-colored water', referring to the reddish-brown color of the river. In modern Welsh, the name would be waed dwr, 'blood water'... [more]
Yabi(Settlement)Chinese From Malay Api-Api, one of the former names of the city. This is the Chinese name of the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu.
Yala(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Malay jala meaning "net", ultimately from Sanskrit जाल (jala). This is the name of a province in southern Thailand as well as the region's capital city.
Yazd(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Persian Derived from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭲𐭩 (yzdty) meaning "god, divinity", ultimately from Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 (yazata). This is the name of a province and city in Iran.
Yomi(Other)Japanese Mythology From Japanese 黄泉 (yomi) meaning "underground spring" or "Hades, hell, underworld". This is the name of the underworld or the land of the dead in Japanese mythology.