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.
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).
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.
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.
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".
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]
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)French in America 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".
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.”
Detroit(Settlement)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.”... [more]
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]
Dibai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Chinese Chinese form of Dubai.
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.
Dingus(Other)English Dingus is an unincorporated community in Morgan County, Kentucky, named after its first postmaster, Charles Dingus.
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.
Djakarta(Settlement)Dutch (Archaic), Afrikaans, Icelandic Archaic Dutch form of Jakarta as well as the modern Afrikaans and Icelandic form of the name. The modern Dutch form is written exactly the same as the English form.
Djibouti(Country)English The name of the Country in East Africa. Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, is a mostly French- and Arabic-speaking country of dry shrublands, volcanic formations and Gulf of Aden beaches. It's home to one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, the low-lying Lake Assal, in the Danakil Desert... [more]
Dniester(River)English, Indonesian, Malay Derived from Sarmatian dānu nazdya meaning "the close river" (as in, the river close-by). This is the name of a river in Eastern Europe, which flows through Ukraine and Moldova to the Black Sea.
Doncaster(Settlement)English A town in England located on the River Don. The first element is from the Roman fort Danum, likely from an earlier Celtic settlement relating to the River Don. The second element is the Old English ceaster, 'fort' (c.f Modern English castle).
Donegal(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish County and town in Ireland. Meaning "place of foreigners" (i.e. the Vikings). Alternatively, it may mean "land of Conall", a king from the area. Conall means "strong wolf".
Dover(Settlement)English Dover is a small, but important port town in Kent, Southern England. It is derived from the Brythonic Dubrās, meaning 'water' (Modern Welsh ddwfr, 'water, tears').... [more]
Down(Political Subdivision)Irish County in Northern Ireland. From the Irish "Dún ná Lethglas", "dún" means fort.
Dresden(Settlement)German Dresden, capital of the eastern German state of Saxony, is distinguished by the celebrated art museums and classic architecture of its reconstructed old town. The name is of Slavic origin.
Druk Yul(Country)Bhutanese, Tibetan From Tibetan འབྲུག (brug) meaning "thunder dragon" (a mythical creature in Bhutanese and Tibetan mythology) combined with ཡུལ (yul) meaning "country, nation, kingdom". This is the Bhutanese and Tibetan name for Bhutan.
Dublin(Settlement)English, Croatian From Irish dubh "black" "dark" referring to a dark tidal pool where the River Poddle entered the Liffey on the site of the Castle Gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle.
Durban(Settlement)English The name of a city in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa (known in Zulu as eThekwini). From D'Urban, named for Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin D'Urban (1777-1849), who was the governor of the Cape Colony when the city was named in 1835.
Durham(Settlement & Region)English, Anglo-Norman A cathedral city in the North-East of England. The name is derived from the city's Latin name Dunelm, which comprises of the Celtic element dun, 'fortress' (c.f Welsh dinas, 'city') and the Old Norse holme, which meant an island (referring to the peninsular formed by the River Wear).
Dwarf(Other)English Dwarf is an unincorporated community located in Perry County, Kentucky, named for Jeremiah Combs, a short townsman who used hand drills and gunpowder to create a tunnel through solid rock nearby to divert water to his family's mill.
Dzaudzhyqau(Settlement)Ossetian Means "Dzaug's settlement" in Ossetian, from the name of 18th-century figure Dzaug Bugulov combined with Ossetian хъӕу (qau) meaning "village, settlement". This is the Ossetian name for Vladikavkaz.