Daedeok(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Korean From Sino-Korean 大德, meaning "great virtue." It is the name of numerous districts and settlements in South Korea.
Daegu(Settlement)Korean Combination of 大 (대, dae, "big, large") and 邱 (구, gu, "hill"), thus "large hill". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Daejeon(Settlement)Korean Combination of 大 (대, dae, "big, large") and 田 (전, jeon, "cultivated piece of land"). This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Dagestan(Political Subdivision)Russian Derived from Turkish dağ meaning "mountain" and the Persian suffix ستان (stan 2) meaning "land of". This is the name of a federal subject of Russia.
Dahlak(Other)Arabic The Dahlak Archipelago is located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. The pearl fisheries of the archipelago have been famous since Roman times and still produce a substantial number of pearls.
Dahomey(Other)English The name of the Kingdom. Dahomey Kingdom was an African kingdom that existed from about 1600 until 1894, when the last king, Behanzin, was defeated by the French, and the country was annexed into the French colonial empire.
Đăk Nông(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese Combination of Đắk Lắk and M'Nông, the name of an ethnic group in Vietnam. This is the name of a province of Vietnam.
Đà Lạt(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Koho daa meaning "water" and Lạt, a name for the indigenous Koho people of Vietnam. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Dalian(Settlement)Chinese Ultimately from the name of the Russian settlement Дальний (Dalniyy) literally meaning "far, distant", a reference to the town's location. This is the name of a city in China.
Dalkeith(Settlement)Scottish A small town in Midlothian, Scotland, south of Edinburgh. It is of Cumbric language origin. The first element is dal, meaning 'meadow, plateau' (Welsh ddôl) and chyd, meaning 'trees, wood' (Welsh coed).
Damah(Settlement)Khmer Khmer form of Damascus via the French form Damas.
Damanhur(Settlement)Arabic From Coptic ⲡϯⲙⲓⲛ̀ϩⲱⲣ (Ptiminhōr), itself derived from Egyptian 𓂧𓏇𓇋𓇋𓊖𓏌𓅃 (pꜣ-dmỉ-n-Ḥr.w) meaning "the settlement of Horus"... [more]
Đà Nẵng(Settlement)Vietnamese Uncertain, possibly from Eastern Cham đanak meaning "mouth of a river" or đarak meaning "large river" or from Western Cham đaknan meaning "wide water, large water" (all referring to the Han River)... [more]
Dar Es Salaam(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Swahili, English Derived from Arabic دار السلام (dar as-salam) meaning "house of peace" or "abode of peace". This is the name of an administrative region and city in Tanzania.
Darjeeling(Other)Indian Darjeeling India is a part of India and is well known because Mother Teresa (1910-1997) went there in 1929 for missionary reasons.
Darton(Settlement)English Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England.
Dasmariñas(Settlement)Filipino Dasmariñas, officially the City of Dasmariñas, is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines... [more]
Dauphin(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French, English The name Dauphin comes from the French word for "dolphin", which was historically used as the emblem of the heir to the French throne (the "Dauphin"). The name likely refers to the Dauphin River, which in turn was named after the French title... [more]
Davao(Region, Settlement & River)Filipino Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of 2,443.61 km2, making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area... [more]
Davenport(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Davenport. The city in Iowa was named for George Davenport, a prominent settler in Iowa Territory.
Dawei(Settlement)English From Burmese ထားဝယ် (dawe) derived from Mon ထဝဲါ (thawai) meaning "to sit cross-legged", referring to the Buddha's posture on the palin (a type of throne). This is the name of a city in Myanmar, formerly known as Tavoy in English.
Dayangzhou(Region)Chinese From Chinese 大洋 (dàyáng) meaning "ocean, sea" and 洲 (zhōu) meaning "continent, island". This is the Chinese name for Oceania.
Deadwood(Settlement)English From the English word "deadwood". The city in South Dakota was named for the dead trees found by Euro-American settlers in the area.
Decatur(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Decatur. The city in Alabama was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., a United States Navy officer.
Deguo(Country)Chinese From Chinese 德 (Dé), a short form of 德意志 (Déyìzhì), a name for Germany, and 国 (guó) meaning "country". This is the modern Chinese name for Germany.
Dekalb(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname De Kalb. The city in Illinois was named for Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb, a French-Franconian major-general who fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Delaware(Political Subdivision)English Name of a state in the United States, named after the Delaware river, which was named after Lord De La Warr, from French de la guerre or de la werre literally "of the war".
Delta(Political Subdivision)English This is a state in Nigeria, a western African country. This is where the Isoko peoples live.
Demak(Country, Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Meaning uncertain, possibly either of Javanese or Arabic origin. This is the name of a sultanate that existed between the 15th and 16th centuries in northern Java. It is also the name of a regency of, as well as a city in, the modern-day Indonesian province of Central Java.
Demelza(Settlement)Cornish Name of a hamlet in Cornwall, sometimes explained as a contraction of Cornish Dinas Maeldaf "fort of Maeldaf", but more likely derived from Cornish ty "house" and malsai "eel".
Democratic Republic of the Congo(Country)English The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. It was formerly called Zaire (1971–1997). It is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest in all of Africa (after Algeria), and the 11th-largest in the world... [more]
Dengjialou(Political Subdivision)Chinese Chinese form of Terengganu, chosen specifically for the characters 登 (dēng) meaning "rise, ascend", 嘉 (jiā) meaning "excellent", and 樓 (lóu) meaning "floor, level"... [more]
Denpasar(Settlement)Indonesian From Balinese ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ (dénpasar) possibly meaning "north market". This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of Bali.
Denver(Settlement)English Named after James W. Denver; the surname itself comes from Old English Denefær ("crossing of the Danes") or den-ōfer ("valley-bank")... [more]
Depew(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Depew. The village in New York was named for Chauncey M. Depew, president of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company.
Depok(Settlement)Indonesian From an acronym of Dutch De Eerste Protestantse Organisatie van Christenen (DEPOC) meaning "First Protestant Christian Organisation", referring to a 17th-century congregation established by Dutch merchant Cornelis Chastelein (1657-1714) to convert indigenous Indonesians to Christianity... [more]
Derry(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish City and country in Northern Ireland. May mean "oak wood", from 'Daire Coluimb Chille', meaning "The Oak-wood of Saint Columba". Or the name may have been from Proto-Celtic 'calg-ac-os', meaning "possessing a blade" or "possessing a penis".
Dersingham(Settlement)English Derived from the Old English "homestead belonging to Deorsige".
De Smet(Other)English De Smet was founded by a French missionary priest travelling through the Midwest of America. It is best known for being one of the many homes of the Ingalls Wilder family, and the place where most of the Ingalls family is buried.
Des Moines(Settlement)English Name of the capital and the most populous city in Iowa, which derived from Fort Des Moines, which was named for the Des Moines River. The French des Moines translates to either "from the monks" or "of the monks".
De Soto(Settlement)English (American) From the Spanish surname De Soto. Various cities in the United States are named for Hernando De Soto, a Spanish conquistador. However, the city in Texas was named for Thomas Hernando DeSoto Stewart, a doctor dedicated to the community.
Destin(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the surname Destin. The city in Flordia was named for Leonard Destin, a Connecticut fishing captain.
Detroit(Political Subdivision)English (American) From the French word, meaning “strait.” The full name of the city’s phrase is “le détroit du Lac Érie,” meaning “the strait of Lake Erie.”
Dhaka(Settlement)Bengali, English Uncertain, possibly from the name of the dhak tree (scientific name Butea monosperma), which used to grow in the area, from Bengali ঢাক (dhak) referring to a traditional membranophone instrument, or from the name of the Hindu goddess Dhakeshwari... [more]
Dharamshala(Settlement)English From Hindi धर्मशाला (dharmshala) referring to a type of sanctuary for religious pilgrims, itself derived from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "law, duty, virtue" (with the additional meaning of "religion, faith" in Hindi) and शाला (shala) meaning "house"... [more]
Dharan(Settlement)Nepali Means "saw pit, place to saw timber" in Nepali. This is the name of a city in Nepal.
D'héricy(Settlement)French Probably from Hericy, the name of the noble family whose origin was there. A name with Germanic roots that mean "Army, Ruler, Stronghold."
Dhivehirajje(Country)Dhivehi From Dhivehi ދިވެހި (dhivehi), the name of the Dhivehi people, and ރާއްޖެ (rājje) meaning "country, kingdom, realm, domain". The ethnic name itself means "islanders" from Sanskrit द्वीप (dvīpá) meaning "island"... [more]
Didi(Other)African/Hebrew Didi is a name with multiple cultural origins. It is used in several languages, primarily in African and Hebrew-speaking regions, each with its own variation of meaning.... [more]
Điện Biên(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 奠 (điện) meaning "libation" and 邊 (biên) meaning "side".
Điện Biên(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese Means "established frontier" from Sino-Vietnamese 奠 (điện) meaning "establish, set, lay" and 邊 (biên) meaning "frontier", so named for the region's location on the border between Vietnam and the historical Lan Xang kingdom... [more]
Điện Biên Phủ(Settlement)Vietnamese From the name Điện Biên and Sino-Vietnamese 府 (phủ) meaning "administrative division, prefecture". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Dieppe(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French Dieppe, New Brunswick, was named after Dieppe, France, a coastal city in Normandy. The French name Dieppe likely comes from the Old Norse word djúp (djúp = "deep"), referring to the deep waters of the port... [more]
Digne(Political Subdivision)French (Archaic) Digne-les-Bains, or simply and historically Digne, is a commune of France, capital of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, and situated in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Dinagat(Political Subdivision & Island)Filipino, Cebuano, Surigaonon, Waray, Tagalog, English From Cebuano dinagat meaning "of the sea", ultimately from dagat meaning "sea". This is the name of an island in the Philippines, as well as a province (called Dinagat Islands).
Diomede Islands(Island)English (American) The Diomede islands are two islands both in the USA and Russia. They consist of big Diomede and little Diomede.... [more]
Dirouilles(Island)Norman, French Islet chain in the Channel Islands. Each rock has many names. May mean "rags", as a direct transliteration of the French word dirouilles.
Dixie(Region & Settlement)English, French The name Dixie is historically used to refer to the southeastern United States, particularly the states that were part of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.... [more]
Dixon(Settlement)English Various cities in the United States. Transferred use of the English surname Dixon.