Submitted Place Names Starting with I
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
IDAHO (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, of uncertain origin, possibly from Shoshone term
ee-da-how, meaning "gem of the mountains" or "the sun comes from the mountains".
IEPER (Settlement) DutchProbably from the name of the river
Ieperlee which, itself, may be derived from the Dutch word for elm,
iep.
ILKLEY (Settlement) EnglishOf uncertain origin. The English-born clergyman Robert Collyer (1823-1912) claimed this is derived from an old British word
llecan meaning "rock". The second syllable may be derived from Old English
leah "(woodland) clearing".
ILLINOIS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, from the modern French spelling of the Algonquian people who called themselves
Inoca or
Ilinouek.
IMARI (Settlement) JapaneseThis is the name of a city, known for Imari porcelain (even though it's actually made in nearby Arita) and for Imari pears, which is located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū in south-western Japan....
[more] INGUSHETIA (Political Subdivision) EnglishDerived from
Angusht, which is the name of an ancient village. The Ingush people call themselves the
Гӏалгӏай (Ghalghai), a combination of the Ingush words
ghala meaning "fortress, town" and
ghai meaning "inhabitants, citizens"...
[more] INVERNESS (Settlement) ScottishA coastal city in northern Scotland. From Scottish Gaelic
Inbhir, meaning 'estuary, confluence'and
nis, the Gaelic name of the River Ness.
IOBEL (Other) ?Sincha Samba Iobel seems to be a place in Guinea-Bissau.
IOWA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, possibly from Dakota
ayuxba "sleepy ones".
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR (Settlement) IcelandicMeans "ice fjord" or "fjord of ice" in Icelandic. Ísafjörður is a town in Iceland.
ISCA (River) Ancient Celtic (Latinized), HistoryRomanized form of a Celtic river name, from Common Celtic *
iska- "water" (cognate with
whiskey). This is the Latin name for both the River Exe and the River Usk, after which the towns of Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta) got their Roman names.
ISÈRE (Other) FrenchThe name of a region as well as a river in France.
ISLAMABAD (Settlement) Urdu, EnglishMeans "city of Islam", a combination of
اسلام (Islām) referring to the monotheistic religion and the Persian
آباد (ābād) "city, building, habitation". This is the name of the capital city of
Pakistan.
ISTANBUL (Settlement) EnglishMisinterpretation of a Greek phrase
"εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" (eis tín pólin) meaning "to the city". It was formerly called
Constantinople and
Byzantium. Istanbul is the capital city of Turkey.
ITÄMERI (Body of Water) FinnishMeans "east sea" in Finnish. This is the Finnish form of the
Baltic sea, even though the sea is located to the west of
Finland. The name is a calque of Swedish
Östersjön which means "the eastern sea".
ITHACA (Settlement) Greek MythologyIn Greek Mythology, Ithaca was the home of the hero Odysseus. The epic poem The Oddysey describes his long and perilous voyage home after the Trojan War. In literature, Ithaca has become synonymous with "home," "homeland," or "place dearest to you."
IZUMO (Other) JapaneseThis is the name of a city in Japan's Shimane Prefecture. Izumo-taisha (出雲大社) (or Izumo Grand Shrine) is located in the city....
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