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.
Potomac(Settlement)English A river and various cities in the United States. From the name of the Patawomeck people, who are indigenous to the river area.
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).
Puchong(Settlement)Malay, English Likely from Malay pucung meaning "heron (bird)", so named for the many herons in the area. This is the name of a town in Malaysia.
Pulaski(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the Polish surname Pulaski. The city in Virginia was named for Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born hero of the American Revolutionary War.
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.
Rantoul(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Rantoul. The city in Illinois was named for Robert Rantoul, Jr., a a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and a director of the Illinois Central Railroad.
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]
Red Deer(Settlement)English (Canadian) The name Red Deer is derived from the color of the local river, which is called the Red Deer River. The river itself was named by early European settlers. The city of Red Deer is located in central Alberta, Canada, and is one of the province's larger urban centers.
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.
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.
St Johns(Settlement)English, French The name St. John's is derived from the Christian feast day of Saint John the Baptist, which is celebrated on June 24th. Early European explorers (likely Portuguese or English) arrived in the area on that day in the 16th century and named the location in honor of the saint.... [more]
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]