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.
Saginaw(Settlement)English (American) A city in Michigan. Most likely meaning "place of the outlet", from Ojibwe sag meaning "opening" and ong meaning "place of", though popular legend claims it derives from Ojibwe sace-nong or sak-e-nong meaning "where the Sauk were".
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.
Salford(Settlement)English From Old English sealh "willow, sallow" combined with ford "ford, river crossing". This is the name of several settlements in England, including a city near Manchester.
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 highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. It is geographically located at Metro Manila’s approximate center and is also the country’s smallest city in terms of land area... [more]
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.
Sartell(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Sartell. The city in Minnesota was named for Joseph B. Sartell, who owned a local flour mill and the Sartell Brothers Lumber Company.
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"
Selkirk(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Scottish, English The city of Selkirk was named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, a Scottish nobleman who established the Red River Colony in the early 19th century. The name Selkirk comes from Old English and Old Norse, meaning "hall (or manor) by the church" (sel = "hall, manor," kirk = "church")... [more]
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".
Sinaloa(Political Subdivision)Spanish Derived from Mayo sinalobola meaning either "round pitaya" or "cut corn". This is the name of a state of Mexico.
Śnieżka(Mountain)Polish Name of a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the most prominent point of the Silesian Ridge in the Krkonoše mountains.
Snowdon(Mountain)English Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa, pronounced ər ˈwɪðva) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands.e
Sortobe(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, English, Ukrainian Meaning uncertain, possibly of Dungan origin. This is the name of a town in southern Kazakhstan.
Statham(Settlement)English This is the name of a hamlet in the civil parish of Lymm, part of the borough of Warrington in Cheshire (Lancashire before 1974) in northern England. See Statham on the surname site for more information.
Sturgis(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Sturgis. The city in South Dakota was named for General Samuel D. Sturgis, who fought for the Union during the American Civil War.
Sukhumi(Settlement)English From Georgian სოხუმი (sokhumi) of uncertain origin. It may be from Georgian ციხე (tsikhe) meaning "fortress" combined with the suffix ომი (omi) denoting a geographical location or from Svan ცხუმ (tskhum) meaning "hornbeam"... [more]
Sumatra(Political Subdivision & Island)Indonesian, Acehnese, Minangkabau, Malay, English From Sanskrit समुद्र (samudra) meaning "sea, ocean". This is the name of an island in Indonesia as well as three Indonesian provinces.
Sumbawa(Island & Political Subdivision)Indonesian From a Portuguese corruption of the name Sambawa, which is most likely derived from Sanskrit शम्भु (shambhu) meaning "beneficent, benevolent" (also a name for the Hindu god Shiva)... [more]
Surtsey(Island)Icelandic Means "Surtr's island" in Icelandic. Surtsey is an uninhabited island south of Iceland that formed in a volcanic eruption (which lasted several years) in the mid-1960s.
Swindon(Settlement)English Previously it was called Suindune which could have been derived from the Old English words "swine" and "dun" meaning "pig hill" or possibly Sweyn's hill which was probably the owner’s name
Tamesis(River)Brythonic (Latinized) Derived from Proto-Celtic *tamēssa possibly meaning "dark". This was a Latin name for the English River Thames.
Tampere(Settlement)Finnish From Tammerkoski, the name of the rapids that flow through the city. The first element tammer is of uncertain etymology. The second element is koski "rapids"... [more]
Tanao Si(Political Subdivision & Other)Thai, Mon Thai and Mon form of Tanintharyi, which is both a province and a town in southern Myanmar, from the Malay name Tanah Sari, which is itself derived from tanah meaning “land” and sari meaning “essence”.
Tangier(Settlement)English From Latin Tingis, itself from the Punic root tng of uncertain origin. It may have been derived from Berber tingis meaning "marsh", based on the old Berber name ⵜⵉⵏⴳⵉ (Tingi)... [more]