Bandung(Settlement)Indonesian, Sundanese From Indonesian bendung or bendungan meaning "dam, dike", given in reference to the area in relation to the nearby Citarum River. Local sources also relate the name to the phrase Nga-Bandung-an Banda Indung, which is considered sacred in Sundanese culture... [more]
Bangkok(Settlement)Thai, English Believed to be from Thai บาง (bang) meaning "village, settlement" and กอก (kok) meaning "olive" (so named because of the olive trees that used to grow in the area) or perhaps เกาะ (ko) meaning "island"... [more]
Baoding(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 保 (bǎo) meaning "protection" and 定 (dìng) meaning "stable". This is the name of a city just south of Beijing in Hebei province.
Bashlam(Mountain)Chechen Means "molten mountain" or "melting mountain" from Chechen беше (beshe) meaning "to melt" and лам (lam) meaning "mountain". This is the Chechen name for Mount Kazbek.
Basilan(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tausug, Cebuano, Tagalog, English Probably from Tausug basi'-lan meaning "iron way, iron road" or basi'-balan meaning "magnetic iron". This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Batanes(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ivatan, Ilocano, Tagalog Most likely from a Hispanicized plural form of the Ivatan endonym Ibatan or Batan, which is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Batavia(Region & Settlement)English, Dutch, Indonesian From Latin Batavia, itself from Proto-Germanic Batawjō meaning "good island", derived from bataz meaning "good" and awjō meaning "island". This is the name of a historical and geographical region located in what is now the Netherlands... [more]
Batoche(Settlement & Other)French A historic village and National Historic Site in modern day Saskatchewan, Canada. Batoche is where Métis leader Louis Riel and his forces were defeated by the Canadian Army... [more]
Bắc Giang(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 北 (bắc) meaning "north, northern" and 江 (giang) meaning "river". This is the name of a province and city in Vietnam.
Benguet(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ilocano, Pampangan, Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Tagalog, English Hispanicized form of Kankanaey benget meaning "edge", originally used as the name for a village at the edge of a swamp. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Bermuda(Political Subdivision)English Derived from the surname of Juan de Bermúdez, a 16th-century Spanish navigator alleged to have discovered the archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. Bermúdez is a surname meaning "son of Bermudo".
Bifrǫst(Other)Norse Mythology Means "swaying road to heaven", derived from Old Norse bifa ("shake, sway"). In Norse mythology this is the name of the bridge connecting Asgard and Midgard.
Biliran(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Waray, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From Waray biliran meaning "edge" or "something that forms corners or tips", likely referencing a local topographic feature. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Bilrǫst(Other)Norse Mythology Means "fleetingly glimpsed rainbow", derived from Old Norse bil ("moment"). This is the original name for the Bifrǫst.
Bingdao(Country & Island)Chinese Means "ice island" from Chinese 冰 (bīng) meaning "ice" and 島 (dǎo) meaning "island". This is the Chinese name for Iceland.
Binondo(Political Subdivision)Filipino Binondo is a district in Manila that is referred to as the city’s Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicholas and Tondo.
Bishkek(Settlement)Kyrgyz, English, Russian Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests that it comes from a word meaning "whorl, whisk" in Kyrgyz, referring to a tool used to prepare kumis, a traditional dairy product. It could also mean "five heights" from Kyrgyz беш (besh) meaning "five" and бийик (biyik) meaning "tall, high", or it could mean "five chiefs" from беш (besh) meaning "five" and the Turkish title beg meaning "chieftain, master"... [more]
Bossier(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French A city and parish in Louisiana, a place with Creole roots. This is also a French surname.
Boulder(Settlement)English Name of a city in Colorado, from Middle English bulderston, from a Scandinavian source akin to Swedish dialectal bullersten "noisy stone", (Swedish buller "rumbling noise" + sten "stone".
Bozeman(Settlement)English (American) A settlement in Montana.Originally was travelled through by indigenous people like Shoshone and Blackfeet.... [more]
Bucheon(Settlement)Korean Combination of 富 (부, bu, "wealth") and 川 (천, cheon, "river, stream"), thus "wealthy river". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Bukhara(Settlement)English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian From Uzbek Buxoro, itself derived from Persian بخارا (bokhara) of uncertain meaning, possibly from Sogdian βuxārak meaning "place of good fortune". Alternately it may have come from Sanskrit विहार (vihara) referring to a Buddhist monastery... [more]
Bulacan(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English From the name of a town called Bulakan, derived from Tagalog bulak meaning "cotton" and the place marker suffix -an. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Buriram(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of happiness" from Thai บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town" and รัมย์ (ram) meaning "joyful, pleasurable". This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Cagayan(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ilocano, Ibanag, Itawit, English From Spanish Cagayán, itself derived from the word kagayan meaning "place near or on a river" in various indigenous languages. This is the name of a province and administrative region of the Philippines (called Cagayan Valley).
Caiseal(Settlement)Irish The original Gaelic name of a town in County Tipperary, Ireland, known in the English-speaking world as Cashel. It means "stone ringfort", ultimately from Latin castellum.
Calvary(Region)Biblical A location outside of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified according to the Gospels. It means "place of the skull" (derived from "calvariae locus") and is also known as Golgotha.
Cambria(Country)Medieval Latin Latin name used for Wales, a Latinised form of Cymru. The term is first attested in Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century as an alternative to both of these since Britannia was now ambiguous but remained rare until late in the Middle Ages.
Cao Bằng(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 高 (cao) meaning "tall, high" and 平 (bằng) meaning "level, even, peaceful". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which the city is located.
Cardiff(Settlement)Welsh The capital city of Wales. Cardiff derives from the city's Welsh name Caerdydd, which in turn was derived from the city's Old Welsh name Caerdyf (In Welsh f (v) is often mutated to dd (th)).... [more]
Carveth(Settlement)English From Cornish Karvergh ("fort of horses"), from kar ("fort") and mergh ("horse"). This is the name of a village in Cornwall.
Casquet(Island)French An island chain in the Channel Islands. Could from derived from French 'cascade', referring the nearby strong tides, or from 'casque', referring to the helmet-like shape of the rocks, or from 'cas', meaning "broken" and 'quet', "rock".
Catania(Settlement)Italian, English, German, Sicilian, Spanish From Ancient Greek Kατάvη (Katánē), itself either from Sicel katane ("grater"), due to its proximity to Mount Etna and the resulting rough earth, or from Proto-Italic katina ("basin"), owing to the wide valley around the town... [more]
Chainat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai ชัย (chai) meaning "victory" and นาท (nat) meaning "resounding, roaring". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Changan(Settlement)Chinese Changan was the capital of the Tang dynasty from A.D 618 to A.D 907. It was even the largest city in the world. But it was lost due to rebellion and invasion.
Châu Phi(Region)Vietnamese From Vietnamese châu meaning "continent" and Phi referring to Africa (from a calque of Chinese Feizhou). This is the Vietnamese name for Africa.
Chausey(Island)Norman A large group of islands in the Channel Islands, France. The -ey is the Norman word for "island".
Chengdu(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 成 (chéng) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded" and 都 (dū) meaning "capital city, large city", supposedly named during the city's founding by the ninth king of the Kaiming dyntasty of the ancient state of Shu... [more]
Chennai(Settlement)Indian, Tamil, English Most likely from the name of 17th-century Telugu monarch Damarla Chennapa Nayaka (or Chennappa Naicker). This is the name of the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which was officially called Madras until 1996.
Cheonan(Settlement)Korean Combination of 天 (천, cheon, "sky, heaven") and 安 (안, ān, "peace"), thus "heavenly peace". This is the name of a city in South Korea.