Submitted Place Names Starting with M
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
MACEDONIA (Country) EnglishDerived from Greek
Μακεδονία (Makedonía), which is the name of a kingdom (and region) named after the Ancient Macedonian people. In turn, their name is derived from ancient Greek
μακεδνός (makednós) meaning "tall, taper"...
[more] MADRID (Settlement) Spanish, Croatian, English, Catalan, Czech, Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Tatar, TurkishNewer form of
Magerit. The etymology is uncertain, but it could be derived from Arabic المجريط (
al-Magrīt) "source of water". This is the name of the capital of Spain.
MAINE (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, possibly from French
Maine, a region in France (named for the river that runs through it, which has a name of Gaulish origin).
MAKHACHKALA (Settlement) Russian, EnglishCombination of
Makhach, the nickname of Dagestani revolter Magomed-Ali Dakhadaev and Kumyk
къала (qala) meaning "fortress". In the Kumyk language, it is referred to as
Анжикъала (Anzhiqala) meaning "pearl fortress" (
анжи (anzhi) "pearl",
къала (qala) "fortress")...
[more] MÄLAREN (Body of Water) SwedishDerived from Old Norse
mælir meaning "gravel".
MALAWI (Country) EnglishThe name of the Country in East Africa. Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, is defined by its topography of highlands split by the Great Rift Valley and enormous Lake Malawi. The lake’s southern end falls within Lake Malawi National Park – sheltering diverse wildlife from colorful fish to baboons – and its clear waters are popular for diving and boating...
[more] MALAYSIA (Country) Malay, Malaysian, EnglishCombination of Malay
Malay or
Malaya and the Ancient Greek suffix
-ία (-ía). The word
Malay is derived from
melayu or
malaya, which in turn is possibly derived from Tamil
மலை (malai) (from Sanskrit
मलै (malai)) meaning "mountain, hill" and Sanskrit
उर् (ur) "town, city, land"...
[more] MALMÖ (Settlement) SwedishNewer form of
Malmhaug meaning "gravel pile" or "ore hill". Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden.
MALTA (Country) English, Basque, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Galician, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Turkmen, West FrisianMalta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea....
[more] MANCHESTER (Settlement) EnglishA large city in North-West England. Manchester is an Anglicization of the town's Latin name
Mancunium. This was likely derived from an earlier name in a language similar to Welsh. It may have derived from words equivalent to Welsh
mamau, meaning 'mother', in reference to a local river goddess...
[more] MANITOBA (Political Subdivision) EnglishName of a province in
Canada, from Cree
manitou-wapow or Ojibwa
manidoobaa, both meaning "straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit",
MARIEFRED (Settlement) SwedishSwedish town named after a charterhouse called
Pax Mariae "Maria's peace". A combination of the name
Maria and Swedish
fred "peace" (
pax means "peace, harmony" in Latin).
MARIESTAD (Settlement) SwedishMeans "
Maria's town". It was founded in 1583 by Charles IX of Sweden and was named after his wife Maria of the Palatinate....
[more] MARLBOROUGH (Other) EnglishOriginating from the name of a market town in Wiltshire. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin and that the name of the town, Marlborough comes from Merlin's Barrow....
[more] MARMARA (Body of Water) English (Modern, Rare)Place name; the Sea of Marmara is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea in Turkey.
MARSELLA (Settlement) CatalanMarsella is the catalan version of the city of Marseilles. It is a place name.
MARYLAND (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.
MASSACHUSETTS (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, named for the Algonquian native people who lived around the bay, from Algonquian
massachusett "at the large hill," in reference to Great Blue Hill, southwest of Boston.
MAURITANIA (Country) EnglishDerived from Latin
Maurītānia, itself from
Maurus meaning "Moor" (referring to the Moors, a group of Muslims who historically inhabited the
Maghreb in Northern Africa), ultimately from Greek μαυρός
(maurós) meaning "dark"...
[more] MAYKOP (Settlement) Russian, EnglishMeans "the valley of apple trees" in Adyghe. Maykop is the capital city of the Russian Republic of Adygea located in the Caucasus.
MAYNILÀ (Settlement) FilipinoDerived from the Tagalog phrase
sa may Nilà meaning "the place where there are nilàs". Nilà is referring to the flowering mangrove tree that grew on the shores of Manila Bay. The word nilà itself is probably from Sanskrit
nila (नील) "indigo tree".
MECCA (Settlement) EnglishPossibly from Phoenician
maqaq meaning "ruined" or Arabic
mahrab meaning "sanctuary". The official name of the city is
مكة المكرمة (Makkah al-Mukarramah / Makkatu l-Mukarramah) meaning "Mecca the Honored" or "The Holy City of Mecca"...
[more] MEDAN (Settlement) Indonesian, EnglishMeaning uncertain. According to the diary of a Portuguese merchant, the name is derived from Tamil
மைதானம் (Maidhāṉam) meaning "ground" (or Hindi
मैदान (Maidan)), adopted from Malay...
[more] MELLIEĦA (Settlement) MalteseThis is the name of a large village/small town in Malta. It may probably be derived from the Semitic root
m-l-h which means "salt" in Arabic, thus it may come from Maltese
melħ.
MELROSE (Settlement) ScottishHabitational namefor a place near Galashiels in the Scottish borders, so named from British words that were ansetors of Welsh moel 'bare', 'barren' rhos 'heath'....
[more] MIAMI (Settlement) EnglishName of a city in
Florida. The name was first mentioned by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a captive of Indians in southern Florida for 17 years, when he referred to what is now Lake Okeechobee as the "Lake of Mayaimi, which is called Mayaimi because it is very large"...
[more] MICHIGAN (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally applied to lake Michigan, perhaps from Old Ojibwa (Algonquian)
meshi-gami "big lake".
MINNESOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Dakota (Siouan)
mnisota, literally "cloudy water", "milky water", from
mni "river, stream" +
sota "slightly clouded".
MINNETONKA (Settlement) EnglishName of a suburban city in Hennepin County,
Minnesota, means "great water" from Dakota
mni "river, stream" and
tanka "freat".
MISSISSIPPI (Political Subdivision) English (American)Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Ojibwe misi-ziibi "Great river".
MITSUE (Settlement) JapaneseThis is the name of a village located in the eastern-most part of Nara prefecture in western Japan....
[more] MONACO (Country) English, FrenchThis is the name of a sovereign city-state and microstate bordering France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on one side....
[more] MONGOLIA (Country) EnglishThe name of the country, located in east-central Asia, is derived from 'Mongol' (as in the Mongol Empire) which is said to originate from Mongolian
mong/монг meaning "brave."
MONOIKOS (Settlement) GreekThis is the name of a 6th century BC Phocaean Greek colony, near what is now Monaco....
[more] MONTREAL (Settlement) EnglishName of a city in
Canada, from French
le mont Royal "mont royal". Jacques Cartier named it after the nearby mountain, but it is uncertain how
royal became
real. A common explanation is that real is the Middle French form of Royal, but Cartier himself recorded
le mont Royal when he named it.
MORDOVIA (Political Subdivision) EnglishRefers to the
Mordvins, the native ethnic group inhabiting the area. The name
Mordvin itself is a self designation adopted by the people, believed to be derived frm Scythian
mard meaning "man"...
[more] MORVAH (Settlement) CornishFrom Cornish
Morvedh, derived from
mor "sea" and
bedh "grave". This is the name of a small Cornish village.
MOSCOW (Settlement) EnglishTransliteration of Russian
Москва (Moskva) meaning "the city by the Moskva River".
MOSKVA (Settlement) RussianOriginal Russian form of
Moscow, which refers to the city as well as the Moskva River.
MOURNE (Mountain) IrishBoth the name of a mountain range and a river in Northern Ireland, meaning "misty fists" from Irish
múig "smoke, gloom" and
dorn "fist".
MOZAMBIQUE (Country) EnglishThe name of the Country in East Africa. Mozambique is a southern African nation whose long Indian Ocean coastline is dotted with popular beaches like Tofo, as well as offshore marine parks. In the Quirimbas Archipelago, a 250km stretch of coral islands, mangrove-covered Ibo Island has colonial-era ruins surviving from a period of Portuguese rule...
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