Ossetia(Country, Political Subdivision & Region)English From Russian Осетия (Osetiya), from Georgian ოსეთი (oseti) derived from ოსი (osi) meaning "Ossetian". The name comes from As, the self-designation of the historic Alan people... [more]
Østfold(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the old name of the Olsofjord fold and the Norwegian word øst. The name means, "the region east of the fold."... [more]
Paniora(Country)Tahitian Borrowed from Spanish español meaning "Spanish" or from the name España, used as the Tahitian name for Spain.
Paraíba(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian) From Tupi pa'ra ("river") and a'íba ("difficult to invade/navigate"), referring to the narrow mouth of the Paraíba River. This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Pateros(Settlement)Filipino Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros, is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people.
Pathein(Settlement)Burmese Most likely derived from Mon ဖာသီ (pha sem) meaning "big sea" or "great sea". This is the name of a city in Myanmar, formerly known as Bassein in English.
Pattani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Most likely from Pattani Malay pata ni meaning "this beach" (compare standard Malay pantai ini). Alternately, it may have come from Sanskrit पत्नी (patni) meaning "mistress, lady, wife" or from Malay petani meaning "farmer"... [more]
Pattaya(Settlement)English From Thai พัทยา (Phattaya) itself from a shortened form of ทัพพระยา (thap Phraya) meaning "army of the Phraya", referring to King Taksin... [more]
Pennant(River)Welsh Means "the Head of the Ravine or Brook" (Welsh pen "head" + nant "glen, stream") from Middle English, Old French penant (Latin pœnitentia "penitence").
Penrith(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its name derives from the Cumbric pen, 'hill, top, summit' (Welsh pen) and rith, 'ford, crossing', (Welsh ryd).
Penshaw(Settlement)English A village in Northern England. The first element seems to be Cumbric pen, which means 'summit, head'. The most obvious explanation for the second is Old English sceaga, meaning 'woods'... [more]
Persley(Settlement)Scottish A small hamlet in North-East Scotland, now encompassed by the city of Aberdeen. There are several explanations as to the origin of the name of this small settlement:... [more]
Phần Lan(Country)Vietnamese From a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 芬蘭 (Fēnlán), perhaps altered based on Vietnamese phân meaning "feces" or phần meaning "part, portion". This is the Vietnamese name for Finland.
Phichit(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "beautiful" in Thai, ultimately from Sanskrit विचित्र (vichitra). This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Phoenix(Settlement)English (American) Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona state in the United States of America.
Phuthan(Country)Lao, Thai Lao form of Bhutan as well as an alternate transcription of Thai ภูฏาน (see Phutan).
Plovdiv(Settlement)Bulgarian From a Thracian translation of the Latin name Pulpudeva, which was possibly derived from the given name Phillip combined with Dacian dava meaning "city, town, fortress"... [more]
Pokhara(Settlement)Nepali Means "pool, pond" in Nepali, ultimately from Sanskrit पौष्कर (paushkara) or पुष्कर (pushkara) meaning "lotus". This is the name of a city in Nepal.
Pompeii(Settlement)Ancient Roman Possibly derived from the Oscan pompe "five", becoming the Latin second declension plural, pompeii. This may be because the community formerly consisted of five hamlets, or was perhaps settled by a family group (gens Pompeia).... [more]
Potenza(Settlement)Italian, English, French From Latin Potentia, itself from the Latin adjective potens, meaning "powerful", "mighty". This is the name of the capital city of the southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Pripyat(River & Settlement)Russian, English Russian form of the Ukrainian name Прип'ять (Prypyat) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Belarus. It is also the name of an abandoned Ukrainian city that was evacuated after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Prussia(Country)History Became a Duchy in 1660 and a kingdom in the following century. At its greatest extent it included the northern two-thirds of Germany and western Poland. Prussia, by World War II a federal unit of Germany, was fully disbanded at the end of World War II.
Prypiat(River & Settlement)Ukrainian Alternate transcription of Ukrainian Прип'ять (see Prypyat).
Qingdao(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 青 (qīng) meaning "blue, green, young" and 岛 (dǎo) meaning "island". This is the name of a city in China.
Qinghai(Body of Water & Political Subdivision)Chinese, English From Chinese 青 (qīng) meaning "blue, green" and 海 (hǎi) meaning "sea, ocean". This is the name of a lake in as well as a province of China (the province is directly named after the lake).
Quy Nhơn(Settlement)Vietnamese Most likely derived from Sino-Vietnamese 歸 (quy) meaning "return, come back to" and 仁 (nhơn) meaning "benevolence, compassion". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Rạch Giá(Settlement)Vietnamese Most likely derived from Vietnamese rạch meaning "small irrigation canal, ditch" and giá meaning "bean sprouts". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Rakhine(Political Subdivision)English From Arakanese ရခိုင် (rahkaing), the name of the Rakhine (or Arakanese) people, which is believed to be derived from Pali Rakkhapura or Rakkhita meaning "land of the Rakshasas" (the name of a legendary creature in Hindu mythology)... [more]
Raleigh(Settlement)English Name of the capital in North Carolina, named for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of Roanoke, the "lost colony" on Roanoke Island.
Rangoon(Settlement)Danish, Dutch, Swedish, English (Archaic) Historical English form of Yangon based on the Arakanese pronunciation of the city's name. It is also the standard Danish, Dutch and Swedish form.
Rapa Nui(Island)Rapa Nui This is one of the Rapanui names for Easter Island. The word "Nui" in this case with "Rapa" means "Great Rapa." It was named this to distinguish it from another island in French Polynesia Rapa Iti. This name comes from a Tahitian who thought the shape of the island looked like his home island Rapa (now called Rapa Iti) in what is now French Polynesia... [more]
Reedley(Settlement)English (American) A city in Fresno County, California. Named for Thomas Law Reed, a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War who donated most of his land to the city.
Retford(Settlement)English Retford, also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105
Reynosa(Settlement)Spanish Reynosa is a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is also the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality.
Rgya Gar(Country)Bhutanese, Tibetan From Bhutanese and Tibetan རྒྱ (rgya) meaning "extent, size, vastness" or "empire" and དཀར (dkar) meaning "white". This is the Bhutanese and Tibetan name for India.
Rgya Nag(Country)Tibetan, Bhutanese Means "the black expanse" from Tibetan རྒྱ (rgya) meaning "extent, size, area, country" and ནག (nag) meaning "black". This is the Tibetan and Dzongkha name for China.
Roraima(Political Subdivision, Region & Mountain)Portuguese, Spanish, English Of Peron origin, meaning either "parrot mountain" or "green peak," referring to Mount Roraima, located on the border between Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela. Since 1962, the name has also been used on a federal territory in north-western Brazil, which became a state in 1988.
Rotorua(Settlement)English (New Zealand) A city in the North Island of New Zealand. The city and suburbs are built on the shores of Lake Rotorua.
Roxbury(Settlement)English A name of several towns in the United States and Canada, including a neighborhood within the city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Sadhuim(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Mon Sadhuim is the vernacular Mon name of Sudharmapura, currently known by its Burmese name of Thaton, which is a town in Myanmar.
Sagaing(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese စစ်ကိုင်း (zagaing) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of an administrative division of, as well as a city in, Myanmar.
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "spheric peninsula" in Japanese.
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 埼 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula" and 玉 (tama) meaning "jewel, ball, sphere". This is the name of a prefecture of, as well as a city in, Japan.
San Jose(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, meaning "Saint Joseph" from Spanish san "Saint" + Jose, a Spanish form of Joseph.
San José(Settlement)Spanish The name of numerous places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Joseph.
San Juan(Other)Spanish The name of the Capital of Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and largest city, sits on the island's Atlantic coast. Its widest beach fronts the Isla Verde resort strip, known for its bars, nightclubs and casinos... [more]
San Juan(Settlement)Filipino San Juan, officially the City of San Juan, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 126,347 people.
Santa Fe(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Spanish The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, derived from Spanish Santa Fe meaning "Holy Faith".
Sapporo(Settlement)Japanese From Ainu サッ・ポロ・ペッ (sat poro pet) meaning "dry, great river", referring to the Toyohira River. This is the name of the capital city of Hokkaido prefecture, Japan.
Sarawak(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Probably from Sarawak Malay serawak or serewa meaning "antimony". This is the name of a state in eastern Malaysia.
Satawal(Other)Satawalese This is the name of a atoll in what is now Federated States of Micronesia. It was devastated by 1815 typhoon which led to Satawalese moving to what is now Téél Falúw Kka Efáng Iiól Marianas... [more]
Saugeen(River & Political Subdivision)Ojibwe (Anglicized) Town and river in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe 'zaagiing', and means "at the river's outlet" or "at the mouth of the river".
Seattle(Settlement)English From the given name Seattle, named in honour of Suquamish and Duwamish chief Seattle (1786-1866). This is the name of a city in the United States.
Secacah(Settlement)Biblical A Hebrew girl's name, originating in Israel, meaning "covering, defense"
Serdica(Settlement)Ancient Greek Latin and Ancient Greek name for the Bulgarian city now known as Sofia. Named after the Celtic tribe Serdi.
Sergipe(Political Subdivision)Portuguese (Brazilian) Union of the Tupi words siri (the local name for the Callinectes genus of crabs) 'y ("river") and pe ("in"), thus "in the river of the siri". This is the name of a state of Brazil.
Seville(Settlement)English From Spanish Sevilla, ultimately derived (via Arabic and Latin) from Phoenician 𐤔𐤐𐤋𐤄 (shplh) meaning "plain, valley, lowland". This is the name of a city in Spain.
Shibuya(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 渋 (shibu) meaning "astringent, tough" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.
Siargao(Island)Filipino, Cebuano, English Derived from Cebuano saliargaw referring to a type of flowering plant (genus Premna). This is the name of an island in the Philippines.
Simunul(Settlement)Filipino, Sama-Bajau, Tagalog The name of a city in the Philippines, derived from the Arabic phrase اسمي نور (ismi nur) meaning "my name is light".