Lofoten(Other)Norwegian Modern definite form of Lófót which is a combination of Old Swedish ló "lynx" and Old Norse fótr "foot". Lofoten is a archipelago in Norway known for it's dramatic scenery.
Lucania(Region & Political Subdivision)Ancient Roman, Italian, History From the Osco-Sabellic luc, meaning "light", associated with the morning star Lucifer in the east, as Lucania was east of the river Sele (then known as Silarus). This was the homeland of the Oscan Lucani people, now known as Basilicata.
Lucknow(Settlement)English Anglicised form of Hindi लखनऊ (Lakhnau) of uncertain meaning, perhaps from Sanskrit लक्ष्मणपुरी (lakshmanapuri) meaning "city of Lakshmana" or लक्ष्मणवती (lakshmanavati) meaning "fortunate"... [more]
Lule Älv(River)Swedish Combination of Lule Sami lulij "the people living in the east" (referring to forest Sami people), and Swedish älv "river".
Lumbini(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Nepali, Sanskrit Means "the lovely" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), located in what is now Nepal (within a province of the same name). It is now regarded as a pilgrimage site by Buddhists.
Madison(Settlement)English Named after James Madison (1751–1836), Founding Father and fourth President of the United States. This is the name of several settlements, including the capital city of the State of Wisconsin.
Magadan(Settlement)Biblical Hebrew Derived from Hebrew מגדל (Migdal) meaning "tower"; ultimately from Aramaic מגדלא (Magdala) "elegant, great" or "tower". The King James' Version of the Bible provide the name Magdala, while some Greek manuscripts and the Revised Version provide the name "Magadan"... [more]
Magadan(Political Subdivision)Biblical "Harp" or "to Cut, Invade, Expose"... [more]
Magalia(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Latin magalia meaning "little dwellings, huts, tents".
Majorca(Island)English Majorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The local language, as on the rest of the Balearic Islands, is Catalan, which is co-official with Spanish.
Makkavu(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Tamil Tamil form of Macau.
Makuria(Country & Region)History, English Derived from Μακουρια (Makouria), which is the hellenized form of the autochthonous name of a Nubian kingdom that existed from the 5th century AD to the late 15th century AD. The original Nubian name is unknown, as is its meaning... [more]
Malabon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino The City of Malabon was founded on May 21, 1599. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 15.71 km2 and has 365,525 people living in it as of the 2015 census.... [more]
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]
Malolos(Settlement)Filipino Malolos, officially the City of Malolos, is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines... [more]
Malvern(Other)Brythonic Derived from moel-bryn, meaning "bare or bald hill." A town in Worchestershire, England bears this name.
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.
Manipur(Political Subdivision)Indian “Manipur” combines Sanskrit words “Mani” meaning “jewel” and “pure” meaning “land, place, abode”.
Mankato(Settlement)English (American) From a typographic error of Mahkato, from the Dakota name for the Blue Earth River, Makato Osa Watapa, meaning "the river where blue earth is gathered".
Mərakeş(Country & Settlement)Azerbaijani Azerbaijani form of Arabic مراكش (see Marrakesh), used to refer to both the city and the entire country of Morocco.
Marakka(Country, Political Subdivision, Settlement & Body of Water)Japanese Japanese form of Malacca.
Marilao(Settlement)Filipino Marilao, officially the Municipality of Marilao, is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines... [more]
Markham(Settlement)English Named after William Markham, the Archbishop of York (1719–1807), by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.... [more]
Marmara(Body of Water)English (Modern, Rare) Place name; the Sea of Marmara is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea in Turkey.
Mascara(Settlement)Arabic The word mascara is the francisation of the Arabic word معسكر (mouaskar), meaning “camp”. Due to French colonization at that time, the city's name has adopted the French version as an official name.... [more]
Mashhad(Settlement)Persian, Tajik, Arabic Derived from Arabic مشهد (mashhad) meaning "place of martyrdom", named for the shrine of imam Ali al-Rida in Twelver Shia tradition. This is the name of a city in Iran.
Mashhad(Settlement)Persian Derived from Arabic مشهد (mashhad) meaning "place of martyrdom", so named for the shrine of imam Ali al-Rida in Twelver Shia tradition. This is the name of a city in Iran.
Mashpee(Settlement)English (American) A city in Massachusetts. From Wampanoag mass-nippe meaning "greater cove, great pond, land near great cove", itself from mass meaning "great, greater" and nippe meaning "water".
Mashriq(Region)Arabic, English From Arabic المشرق (al-Mashriq) meaning "the place of the sunrise, the east". This is the name used for the eastern part of the Arab world west of Egypt and Sudan. In Arabic the name is usually written with the definite article: المشرق (al-Mashriq).
Mataram(Settlement & Country)Indonesian, Javanese Meaning uncertain, perhaps derived from Sanskrit मातरम् (mataram) meaning "mother" or "motherland". Other theories include माता (mata) meaning "mother" or मत्त (mata) meaning "joy, excitement, passion" combined with आराम (arama) meaning "pleasure, delight".... [more]
Matsuda(Mountain)Japanese This the name of a mountain in the Ishikari Mountain range in Hokkaido, Japan. Matsuda is also a surname meaning "mountain rice paddy."
Mayfair(Other)English Mayfair was named after the May Fair, an annual event. It took place in the area, on the site that now plays host to today's popular Shepherd Market. It comes from Old English mæg, of Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘have power’; related to Dutch mogen and German mögen and Old English fæger ‘pleasing, attractive’, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German fagar.
Melilla(Settlement)Spanish, English The etymology of Melilla is uncertain. Since Melilla was an active beekeeping location in the past, the name has been related to honey; this is tentatively backed up by two ancient coins featuring a bee as well as the inscriptions RSADR and RSA... [more]
Melrose(Settlement)Scottish Habitational namefor a place near Galashiels in the Scottish borders, so named from British words that were ansetors of Welsh moel 'bare', 'barren' rhos 'heath'.... [more]
Menahga(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota. From Ojibwe miinikaa meaning "there are blueberries".
Mendota(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota. Its name is derived from the Dakota word bdóte, which refers to the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.
Menifee(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the given name Menifee. The city in California was named for Luther Menifee Wilson, a local miner.
Methuen(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Methuen. The city in Massachusetts was named for Sir Paul Methuen, an English diplomat and politician.
Mizoram(Region)Mizo The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "land." Thus "Mizo-ram" means "land of the Mizos".
Morioka(Settlement)Japanese Means "prosperous hill" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 盛 (mori), meaning "prosper", and 岡 (oka), meaning "hill". This is the name of the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Muttama(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Other)Mon, Burmese Mottama is a town in south central Myanmar, whose name derives from the Mon language term Mumaw (Mon: မုဟ်တၟံ), which means "rocky spur."
Nahanni(River & Other)Chipewyan River and national park in Northwest Territories, Canada. From the Dene name for the area, 'Nahʔa Dehé', which means "river of the land of the Nahʔa people".
Nakaumi(Body of Water)Japanese Lake Nakaumi is located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
Nam Định(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "to set".
Nam Định(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "fix, appoint, set". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Nanjing(Settlement)Chinese Means "southern capital" from Chinese 南 (nán) meaning "south" and 京 (jīng) meaning "capital city". This is the name of a city in China.
Navarre(Country)French From the name of the historic Royaume de Navarre, a kingdom in the West Pyrenees mountains which is divided today between Spain and France. It is either derived from the Basque nabar, meaning "brownish" or "multicolor" (which would be a contrast with the green mountain lands north of the original County of Navarre); or from the Basque naba, "valley" or "plain", and herri, "land" or "people".
Navotas(Settlement)Filipino The City of Navotas was founded on December 20, 1827. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 10.77 km2 and has a population of 249,463 as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Nayarit(Political Subdivision)Spanish From the ethnic name of the Cora people, Náayerite, itself derived from the name of chief Cora Naye. This is the name of a state of Mexico.