Labuan(Political Subdivision)Malay Derived from Malay pelabuhan meaning "harbour, port". This is the name of a federal territory of Malaysia.
Ladakh(Region & Political Subdivision)English, Persian From Persian لداخ (ladakh), itself derived from Tibetan ལ་དྭགས (la dwags) meaning "land of high passes", from the words ལ (la) meaning "hillside, mountain pass" and དྭགས (dwags) meaning "open place"... [more]
Laguna(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)English, Filipino Means "lake" or "lagoon" in Spanish. In the Philippines, it refers to a lake (Laguna de Bay) or a province which is adjacent to the lake.
Lanark(Settlement)Scottish A small town in Lanarkshire, Central Scotland. It's name is of Cumbric origin and is thought to be equivalent with Welsh llanerch, 'open space in a forest'.
Lào Cai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese Possibly from a Hmong pronunciation of Chinese 老街 (lǎojiē) meaning "old town" (lão nhai in Vietnamese). This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Latina(Settlement)Italian, English, Finnish, French Derived from the former name Latinia, itself adopted in 1944 to replace the name Littoria, which had been chosen by the Fascist government upon the inauguration of the city in 1932... [more]
Lesbos(Island)Ancient Greek, English Meaning uncertain, possibly "wooded, forested". This is the name of a Greek island in the northeastern Aegean Sea - the third largest island in Greece. In the 7th century BC, it was home to a circle of young girl lovers including Sappho.
Lidice(Settlement)Czech Lidice is a village in the Czech Republic, which was completely destroyed by German Nazis in 1942. All people from Lidice, including over 100 children, were murdered. People and places all over the world have been named after the village to commemorate the massacre.
Liffey(River)Irish The River Liffey runs through the city of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. In poetry and mythology, the river is called Abhainn An Life, which is occasionally anglicized as 'Anna Liffey'
Lisbon(Settlement)English From Portuguese Lisboa derived from Latin Olisīpō, which is of uncertain meaning. Folk etymologies state that it comes from the name Odysseus or Ulysses, though it may have been derived from Phoenician ʿlyṣ ʿbʾ or ʿaliṣ-ʿuboʾ meaning "safe harbour"... [more]
Lititz(Settlement)Czech A borough in Lancaster County , Pennsylvania founded in 1756 by the members of the Moravian Church and Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf... [more]
Lombok(Island & Body of Water)Indonesian Derived from Sasak lomboq meaning "straight, honest". This is the name of an island in Indonesia as well as a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Lomita(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Spanish lomita meaning "little hill".
Lompoc(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Chumash Purisimeño lumpo'o̥ meaning "in the cheeks".
Long An(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 隆 (long) meaning "grand" and 安 (an) meaning "safe".
Long An(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 隆 (long) meaning "prosperous, abundant, plentiful" and 安 (an) meaning "safe, secure". This is the name of a province of Vietnam.
Loulon(Settlement)Late Greek Medieval name of a Byzantine fortress in Turkey (near the modern village of Hasangazi), known as لولوة (Lu'lu'a) in Arabic. The Scottish scholar W. M. Ramsay and other writers assumed that the name derived from Halala, the earlier name of the nearby town of Faustinopolis, but recent scholarship attributes its origin to Lolas, the Hittite name for the local mountain range.... [more]
Lucena(Settlement)Filipino Lucena, officially the City of Lucena, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines... [more]
Lucera(Settlement)Italian Lucera is an Italian city in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia.... [more]
Machen(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse" and 陈 (chén) meaning "display." It is the name of two settlements in China: one in Shandong, and the other in Anhui.
Madras(Settlement)English, Hindi Meaning uncertain, possibly from the name of a fishing village. This is the former name of the Indian city of Chennai.
Madura(Island)Indonesian, Javanese Either from Indonesian madu meaning "honey" combined with dara meaning "maiden, girl" or from Sanskrit मथुरा (mathura) referring to the Indian city of Mathura (which is believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna)... [more]
Mağrip(Country & Region)Crimean Tatar, Turkish Crimean Tatar and Turkish form of Maghrib. It is used to refer to the country of Morocco in Crimean Tatar while it refers to the region in Turkish.
Magway(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese မကွေး (magwe) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of an administrative division of, as well as a town in, Myanmar.
Magway(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese မကွေး (Magwe) derived from a corruption of မြစ် (myit) meaning "river" and ကွေ့ (gwe) meaning "turn, curve, bend", referring to the city's location along a bend of the Irrawaddy River... [more]
Mākaha(Settlement)Hawaiian A city in Hawaiʻi. From Hawaiian mākaha meaning "fierce".
Makaou(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Greek Greek form of Macau.
Makati(Settlement)Tagalog, English Derived from the phrase makati na, kumakati na meaning "ebbing tide". This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Maksik(Country)Arabic Arabic form of Mexico via the French form Mexique, usually written with the definite article: المكسيك (al-Maksik). This name refers only to the country, not the capital city.
Málaga(Settlement)Spanish The city name of Málaga came from the latin name "Malacca".
Malang(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Meaning uncertain, possibly from Malangkuçeçwara, the name of a legendary temple meaning "God has destroyed vanity". This is the name of a regency of, as well as a separately administered city in, the Indonesian province of East Java.
Maluku(Region & Political Subdivision)Indonesian, English Meaning uncertain. This is the name of an archipelago in eastern Indonesia, the Maluku Islands, as well as the name of two Indonesian provinces, Maluku and North Maluku.
Manado(Settlement)Indonesian From Sangir manaro meaning "on the far coast, in the distance", referring to the farther of two islands that can be seen from the mainland. This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
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.
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]
Manour(Settlement)English (British) The town was granted its name by a group of British explorers who stumbled upon the area during their quest for hidden treasures. As they journeyed through the lush countryside, they came upon a serene valley adorned with majestic manor houses, each more grandiose than the last.
Mantua(Settlement)English, Dutch, German, Ancient Roman, Spanish A city in Italy, the birthplace of the famous Ancient Roman poet Vergil. Etymology uncertain; possibly from the name of the Etruscan god Mantus.
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.
Marawi(Settlement)Filipino, Maranao, Tagalog From the name of the 19th century Fort Maraghui, itself from Maranao rawi' meaning "bend, part, recline", referring to the Agus River. This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Matara(Settlement)Sinhalese Derived from Sanskrit महा (maha) meaning "great" and तर (tara) meaning "ferry, crossing". This is the name of a city in Sri Lanka.
Matsue(Settlement)Japanese The kanji that make up the name are 松 (matsu), meaning "pine tree", and 江 (e), meaning "creek, inlet, bay"... [more]
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.
Meguro(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 目 (me) meaning "eye, look, appearance" and 黒 (kuro) meaning "black", so named for a black-eyed statue that was placed on the outskirts of Edo for protection... [more]
Mê-hi-cô(Country)Vietnamese Vietnamese form of Mexico via the Spanish form México. This spelling is only used for the country.
Meknes(Settlement)English From French Meknès, itself from Arabic مكناس (Maknas) ultimately derived from Miknasa (Imeknasen), the name of a Berber tribe. This is the name of a city in Morocco.
Mekong(River)English From Thai แม่โขง (Mae Khong), a contraction of แม่น้ำโขง (Mae Nam Khong) from แม่น้ำ (mae nam) meaning "river" (literally "mother of waters") and โขง (khong) derived from Proto-Austroasiatic ruŋ meaning "river"... [more]
Mequon(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wisconsin. From Ojibwe emikwaan or miguan meaning "ladle", or possibly Menominee mēkon meaning "feather".
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.
Milton(Settlement)English Name of a town in Ontario, Canada.
Minaka(Island)Japanese Like Minako in Sailor Moon, Minaka is a name from Mina and Aka
Minato(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 港 (minato) meaning "harbour". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo as well as the name of wards in several other Japanese cities.
Mitaka(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 鷹 (taka) meaning "hawk". This is the name of a city in the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
Mitsue(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a village located in the eastern-most part of Nara prefecture in western Japan.... [more]
Miyagi(Political Subdivision)Japanese Means "home castle" in Japanese.
Miyagi(Political Subdivision)Japanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 城 (ki) meaning "castle". This is the name of a prefecture of Japan.