Laayoune(Settlement)English, Slovene From French Laâyoune derived from Arabic اَلْعَيُون (al-ʿayūn) meaning "the springs". This is the name of the capital city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, though it is administered by Morocco.
Labrador(Political Subdivision)Portuguese, Spanish Province in Canada. Likely from Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador. Lavrador means "farmer" in Portuguese, as does the Spanish word 'labrador'.
Labrador City(Settlement)English The name Labrador City is directly associated with the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador. The term Labrador itself is believed to have originated from the Portuguese word "lavrador," meaning "farmer" or "landholder", likely referring to early exploration in the area by Portuguese navigators... [more]
Labuan(Political Subdivision)Malay Derived from Malay pelabuhan meaning "harbour, port". This is the name of a federal territory of Malaysia.
Laccadive(Political Subdivision, Body of Water & Other)English Probably an Anglicized version of Lakṣadvīpa.
Lackawanna(Settlement, Body of Water & River)English (American) A city in New York, a river in Pennsylvania, and a lake in New Jersey. The name may be derived from a phrase in a Lenape language meaning "stream that forks".
Lac Qui Parle(Body of Water)English (American) A lake, river, and city in Minnesota, from French lac qui parle meaning "lake which speaks".
La Crosse(Settlement)English (American) From French la crosse, meaning "crozier". The city in Wisconsin was named for a game played by the Native Americans living in the area, which used sticks resembling, in the eyes of Euro-American colonists, a bishop's crozier.
Ladakh(Region & Political Subdivision)English, Persian From Persian لداخ (ladakh), itself derived from Tibetan ལ་དྭགས (la dwags) meaning "land of high passes", from the words ལ (la) meaning "hillside, mountain pass" and དྭགས (dwags) meaning "open place"... [more]
Læhtamris(Other)Arthurian Cycle A forest where Perceval defeated King Vergulaht of Ascalun and ordered Vergulaht – as a term of his surrender – to assume a quest for the Grail. Vergulaht later transferred this duty to Gawain.
Lafayette(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the French surname Lafayette. Several places in the United States are named Lafayette after the the French general Marquis de Lafayette, who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Lagos(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Western African, Hausa, Igbo, English From Portuguese lagos meaning "lakes". This is the name of a city in Nigeria as well as a state of the same name.
Laguna(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)English, Filipino Means "lake" or "lagoon" in Spanish. In the Philippines, it refers to a lake (Laguna de Bay) or a province which is adjacent to the lake.
Lahaina(Settlement)English, Hawaiian A city in Hawaiʻi. From the Hawaiian language, but of uncertain etymology.
Lahestan(Country)Persian From Persian له (Lah) referring to the Lechites, a group of West Slavic tribes who are the ancestors of modern-day Poles, combined with the suffix ستان (stan 2) meaning "land of"... [more]
Lajas(Settlement & Other)Spanish (Latin American) A valley in Puerto Rico and various settlements in Latin American and the Caribbean. From Spanish lajas meaning "slabs, stones".
Lakeland(Region, River & Other)English (Rare) The Lake District, a rural area in northwest England.... [more]
Lakeside(Settlement)English Lakeside means "at the side of the lake". Multiple cities have this name in the United States.
Lakeview(Settlement)English The name Lakeview is a straightforward English toponym (place name) derived from the words "lake" and "view," indicating a scenic location overlooking a lake. Many communities with this name were established near lakes or bodies of water, making the name descriptive of the area's geography.... [more]
Lakshadweep(Political Subdivision)English A union territory of India. An Anglicized form of Sanskrit लक्षद्वीप (lakṣadvīpa) meaning "hundred thousand islands", from लक्ष (lakṣa) meaning “hundred thousand” and द्वीप (dvīpa) meaning "island".
Lamar(Settlement)English Transferred use of the surname Lamar. The city in Colorado is named for Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, author of the Mississippi Ordinance of Secession, and soldier for the Confederacy in the American Civil War.
Lampert(Settlement)English A tiny hamlet in Northumberland, near the border with Cumbria. Despite this location's small size, several theories have emerged relating to the etymology of this unique name, which was first recorded in c.1290 as Lythel Lampard.... [more]
Lampung(Political Subdivision)Indonesian From the name of the 7th-century kingdom of Tolang Pohwang, itself derived from Lampungese to meaning "people" and Lang Pohwang, an old name for the region, which is of uncertain origin and meaning... [more]
Lánao(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)Spanish Spanish form of Lanao.
Lanao(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Maranao ranaw meaning "lake, body of water". This is the name of a lake and two provinces in the southern Philippines.
Lanark(Settlement)Scottish A small town in Lanarkshire, Central Scotland. It's name is of Cumbric origin and is thought to be equivalent with Welsh llanerch, 'open space in a forest'.
Langkawi(Island)Malay, English Meaning uncertain, possibly from a colloquial name for the brahminy kite (a type of eagle), derived from Malay helang meaning "eagle" and kawi referring to a reddish-brown chalk. This is the name of an island and archipelago in Malaysia.
Lạng Sơn(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 諒 (lạng) meaning "excuse, forgive" and 山 (sơn) meaning "mountain". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which it is located.
Lanna(Country)Northern Thai, Thai Means "a million paddy fields" from Northern Thai ᩃ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨶ (lan) or Thai ล้าน (lan) meaning "million" and Northern Thai ᨶᩣ (na) or Thai นา (na) meaning "paddy field, rice paddy"... [more]
Lannstevan(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Cornish Lannstevan (Launceston in English) is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the middle stage of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire border between Cornwall and Devon... [more]
Lansing(Settlement)English The English usage is a place name originally derived from the town of Lancing in West Sussex (and which has also given names to other towns such as Lansing, Michigan and Lansing, New York). ''Lancing'' comes from the Old English personal name ''Wlanc'', meaning ''proud, imperious'', with the added suffix ''-ing'', indicating ''family of or follower of''.
Lantana(Settlement)English (American) A town in Florida, named for plants of the genus Lantana which grew in the area.
Lanzarote(Island)Spanish Derived from the first name of the Genoese navigator Lancillotto Malocello (born in 1270). Lanzarote is an island in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of northwestern Africa.
Lào Cai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese Possibly from a Hmong pronunciation of Chinese 老街 (lǎojiē) meaning "old town" (lão nhai in Vietnamese). This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Laramie(Settlement, River & Mountain)English (American) From the French surname Laramie. Several places in the United States were named for Jacques LaRamie, a French or French-Canadian trapper who was one of the first people of European descent to come to the Wyoming area.
Las Piñas(Settlement)Filipino The City of Las Piñas was founded on either 1762 or 1797. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 32.69 km2 and has 588,894 people living in it as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Las Vegas(Settlement)English, Spanish Means "the meadows" in Spanish, from vega meaning "meadow". This is the name of a city in the American state of Nevada.
Las Venturas(Region)Popular Culture The City of Las Venturas, commonly known as Las Venturas or simply Venturas, is the third in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and is second largest city in the State of San Andreas.... [more]
Lathrop(Settlement)English (American) Transferred usage of the English surname Lathrop. The city in California was named for Jane Stanford (née Lathrop), and her brother, Charles Lathrop, who were the wife and employee, respectively, of Amasa Leland Stanford, the founder and president of Central Pacific Railroad.
Latina(Settlement)Italian, English, Finnish, French Derived from the former name Latinia, itself adopted in 1944 to replace the name Littoria, which had been chosen by the Fascist government upon the inauguration of the city in 1932... [more]
Latium(Region)Latin, English Latin form of Lazio. It is the name of a historical region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Latsaga(Settlement)Basque Means "at the creek" from lats meaning "creek" with the locative suffix aga. It is a widespread place name in Basque Country.
Lausanne(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English, English (British), French From Latin Lausanna or Lausonium, ultimately from Proto-Celtic lausa meaning “slab.” This is the name of the fourth most populated city of Switzerland... [more]
Laval(Settlement)French Laval is likely derived from the French surname "Laval", which has several potential origins. One possibility is that it comes from the Old French word "vau", meaning a valley or lowland, combined with the suffix "-al", denoting a place... [more]
Lawndale(Settlement)Popular Culture Lawndale is an in-universe city in the Mid-Atlantic USA where most of the show takes place (aside from a few car trips). It is introduced in the pilot episode Esteemsters. It is explained that the Morgendorffers are moving to Lawndale, from a city called Highland, TX.
Lazio(Political Subdivision)Italian, English (American), English (British) From the Latin name Latium, which has been suggested to derive from the Latin word latus, meaning "wide, broad". This is the name of one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy.
Lea(River)English (British) Lea is a river in the UK. It's found in southeast England and flows from the Chiltern Hills and flows to the river Thames at Bow Creek.... [more]
Lebanon(Country & Mountain)English, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai Derived from the Pro-West Semitic root laban meaning "white". This is the name of a country and mountain range in Western Asia.
Leeds(Settlement)Celtic Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It derives it's name from a Brythonic term Ladenses, meaning 'people of the fast-flowing river' (Welsh llawd). The word likely originally denoted a forest which covered the area of modern day Leeds.... [more]
Leh(Settlement)English, Hindi, Urdu Possibly derived from Tibetan གླེ (gle) meaning "grove, small uncultivated island". This is the name of a city in India.
Leinster(Region)Irish From the Irish Laighin, the name of a major tribe previously living in the area, and either Irish tír or Old Norse staðr, both meaning “land”, “place” or “territory”.... [more]
Leith(Settlement & River)Scottish, Medieval Scottish The name of a river (Water of Leith) and the settlement at it's mouth, near Edinburgh, Scotland. The name is likely of Cumbric origin and is likely cognate with the Welsh word laith, meaning 'damp, moist'.
Leitrim(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish County and town in Ireland. Meaning "gray ridge", from 'liath' ("grey") and 'droim' ("ridge").
Lelystad(Settlement)Dutch Means "Lely-city" in Dutch, named after Cornelis Lely. This is the capital city of the Flevoland province in the Netherlands.
Lena(River)Russian A river in eastern Russia. Possibly from Even-Evenk Elyu-Ene meaning "long river".
Leominster(Other)English (British) The first recorded name was “Llanllienni” a Welsh name meaning Church in a Place of Streams. Renamed by the Saxons, after Leofric Earl of Hereford and husband of Lady Godiva. It appears as “Leofminstrein” in the Domesday Book... [more]
Lesbos(Island)Ancient Greek, English Meaning uncertain, possibly "wooded, forested". This is the name of a Greek island in the northeastern Aegean Sea - the third largest island in Greece. In the 7th century BC, it was home to a circle of young girl lovers including Sappho.
Lesotho(Country)English The name of the Country in Southern Africa. Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges including the 3,482m-high peak of Thabana Ntlenyana... [more]
Lethbridge(Settlement)English (Canadian) The name Lethbridge comes from the surname of the original landowner, William Lethbridge, an Englishman. He was a prominent figure in the development of the area. Lethbridge is located in southern Alberta, Canada.
Leyte(Region, Settlement & Island)Filipino Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census... [more]
Lhasa(Settlement)Tibetan, English Means "place of gods" from Tibetan ལྷ (lha) meaning "god, deity" and ས (sa) meaning "place, location, land". The name may have originally been ར་ས (ra-sa) meaning "place of goats" in Old Tibetan, which evolved into ལྷ་ས (lha-sa) over time... [more]
Lhokseumawe(Settlement)Indonesian From the Acehnese name Lhôk Seumaw'è from lhôk meaning "deep" and Seumaw'è referring to the swirling water in the sea along the coast of eastern Aceh. This is the name of a city in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Lhotse(Mountain)Tibetan Lhotse is the name of a mountain in Tibet. Lhotse means “South Peak” in Tibetan. ... [more]
Liaoning(Political Subdivision)Chinese (Cantonese) From Cantonese 辽 (liao) “the Liao River” and 宁 (ning) “pacification”. Put together, the name means “pacification of the Liao River”.
Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins(Political Subdivision)English, Spanish Means "Liberator General Bernardo O'Higgins" in Spanish, referencing the Chilean independence leader Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (1778-1842). This is the name of a region in Chile, often shortened to O'Higgins.
Lidice(Settlement)Czech Lidice is a village in the Czech Republic, which was completely destroyed by German Nazis in 1942. All people from Lidice, including over 100 children, were murdered. People and places all over the world have been named after the village to commemorate the massacre.
Liffey(River)Irish The River Liffey runs through the city of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. In poetry and mythology, the river is called Abhainn An Life, which is occasionally anglicized as 'Anna Liffey'
Lihou(Island)Norman, Breton Island in the Channel Islands in England. From the Breton words 'lydd' or 'ligg', meaning "in or near water", and the Norman suffix -'hou', meaning "island". The island and reef in Australia named after this island.