Naas(Settlement)Irish (Anglicized) From Irish An Nás, meaning "the place of assembly". This is a contraction of several names for Naas, each beginning with Nás.... [more]
Nablus(Settlement)Arabic (Mashriqi) Derives from Nābulus, which comes from the Roman city of Flavia Neapolis which means "new city" in Greek. This is the name small settlement in Palestine.
Nagano(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 長 (naga) meaning "long" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Nagasaki(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 長 (naga) meaning "long" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Nagorno-Karabakh(Country & Region)English Means "mountainous Karabakh" from Russian нагорный (nagorny) meaning "mountainous, highland" combined with the name of the region of Karabakh... [more]
Nagoya(Settlement)Japanese Of uncertain meaning, possibly from Japanese 和やか (nagoyaka) meaning "peaceful". This is the name of a city in Japan.
Naha(Settlement)Japanese Possibly a corruption of naba, a Western Japanese and Ryukyuan word for "mushroom". This is the name of the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
Nahanni(River & Other)Chipewyan River and national park in Northwest Territories, Canada. From the Dene name for the area, 'Nahʔa Dehé', which means "river of the land of the Nahʔa people".
Nairn(Settlement)Scottish A town in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The town is so called due to its location on the river Nairn, the name of which is probably of pre-Celtic origin.
Najaf(Settlement)Arabic, English Means "elevated place not reached by water, hill, dike" in Arabic. This is the name of a city in Iraq, considered one of the holiest cities of Shia Islam. It is reportedly the burial place of Ali ibn Abi Talib... [more]
Nakano(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 中 (naka) meaning "middle" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo as well as a city in Nagano Prefecture.
Nakaumi(Body of Water)Japanese Lake Nakaumi is located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
Nakhon Nayok(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of exempted rice fields" from Thai นคร (nakhon) meaning "city", นา (na) meaning "rice field, paddy field" and ยก (yok) meaning "dismiss, exempt", so named because the rice fields in this region were exempted from taxes during the Ayutthaya period... [more]
Nakhon Ratchasima(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "royal border city" from Thai นคร (nakhon) meaning "city" combined with ราช (ratcha) meaning "royal" and สีมา (sima) meaning "border, boundary", referring to the city's location within the Ayutthaya Kingdom... [more]
Nakhon Sawan(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of heaven" from Thai นคร (nakhon) meaning "city" and สวรรค์ (sawan) meaning "heaven". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and city in, Thailand.
Nakhon Si Thammarat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นคร (nakhon) meaning "city" combined with ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, splendour" and ธรรมราช (thammarat) meaning "righteous ruler". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Nam Định(Political Subdivision)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "to set".
Nam Định(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "fix, appoint, set". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Namekagon(River)English (American) A tributary of the St Croix River. From Ojibwe namekaagong-ziibi meaning "river abundant with sturgeons".
Namsa(Country)Arabic Derived from Ottoman Turkish نمچه (nemçe) meaning "Austrian, German", ultimately from a Slavic word meaning "German". This is the Arabic name for Austria, usually written with the definite article: النمسا (al-Namsa).
Namyangju(Settlement)Korean Combination of 南 (남, nam, "south"), 楊 (양, yang, "willow") and 州 (주, ju, "province"), thus "southern willow province". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Nan(Political Subdivision & River)Thai Nan (น่าน) is a province and river in northern Thailand, with it’s capital Nan Town. Exact etymology is unclear.
Nanaimo(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Coast Salish, English The name "Nanaimo" comes from the Hul’q’umi’num’ word Snuneymuxw, referring to the Snuneymuxw First Nation, whose traditional territory includes the area. The meaning is sometimes interpreted as "a great people" or "gathering place."
Nangijala(Other)Literature Meaning unknown. Invented by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren for her novel "The Brothers Lionheart" (1973) where it is the main setting. In the book, Nangijala is the name of afterlife where our souls go after we die.
Nanjing(Settlement)Chinese Means "southern capital" from Chinese 南 (nán) meaning "south" and 京 (jīng) meaning "capital city". This is the name of a city in China.
Nanjizhou(Region)Chinese From Chinese 南极 (Nánjí) referring to the South Pole and 洲 (zhōu) meaning "continent, island". This is the Chinese name for Antarctica.
Nanortalik(Settlement)Greenlandic Means "the place with polar bears" in Greenlandic, ultimately derived from nanoq "polar bear". Nanortalik is the southernmost town in Greenland.
Nan'yō(Region)Japanese This is the shorter version of the name Nan'yō Guntō. It's an abbreviation. It in English means the "South Seas" and "Micronesia." It was used lots of times by Okinawans during the Japanese administration era... [more]
Nan'yō Guntō(Region)Japanese This is the Japanese name for "Micronesia" which Imperial Japan occupied. This region included Marshall Islands which was taken over in 1914, Téél Falúw Kka Efáng Iiól Marianas (Commonwealth of The Northern Mariana Islands) where the Japanese treated Carolinians worse than the Chamorros, Guam where Japanese-CHamoru families existed, and other areas in the region.
Nanyoku-tairiku(Region)Japanese From Japanese 南極 (nanyoku) referring to the South Pole and 大陸 (tairiku) meaning "continent". This is the Japanese name for Antarctica.
Naqada(Country & Settlement)Ancient Egyptian An ancient city and Prehistoric Egyptian archaeological culture from 3000 years ago.
Nara(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city which is the capital of Nara Prefecture in western Japan. The kanji used are 奈 (dai, na, nai, ikan, karanashi) meaning "Nara, what?" and 良 (ryou, i.i, yo.i, ra) meaning "good, pleasing, skilled."... [more]
Narathiwat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นร (nara) meaning "man" and อธิวาส (athiwat) meaning "residence, house". This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Närke(Region)Swedish Närke is Swedish historical province. The name is believed to be derived from the word när meaning "ridge, hill" (not to be confused with the word nära "close, near").
Narni(Settlement)Italian Derived from the name of the Nera River which was called Nar in Latin. Author C.S. Lewis used the town's Latin name Narnia for a fictional country in his Chronicles of Narnia series of fantasy novels first released 1950.
Narsaq(Settlement)Greenlandic Means "field, plain" in Greenlandic. Narsaq is town in southern Greenland.
Naryan Mar(Settlement)Russian Means "red town" in Nenets. Naryan-Mar is a large industrial and river port city in Nenetsiya, Russia and it is home to about half of it's region's population.
Nástrǫnd(Other)Norse Mythology Means "shore of death" or "corpse shore". In Norse mythology this is the name of the afterlife for people guilty of murder, adultery and oath-breaking. It is a hall far from the sun with its gate facing north, poison dripping from its roof, and snakes curled in it... [more]
Naticocha(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly from Quechua ñat'i or nati meaning "sickness, bowels, the most hidden" and qucha meaning "lake".
Natron(Body of Water)English (?) Name of a salt or alkaline lake in Africa. Natron is hydrated sodium carbonate, and Lake Natron has a high level of sodium carbonate, hence its name. The world Natron itself derives from the French cognate derived from the Spanish natrón through Latin natrium and the Greek nitron, ultimately deriving from the Ancient Egyptian word nṯrj.
Ñausacocha(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly meaning "blind lake", from Quecha ñawsa meaning "blind" and qucha meaning "lake".
Na Uy(Country)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 挪威 (Na Uy), probably from Chinese 挪威 (Nuówēi) or Min Nan 挪威 (Nô͘-ui). This is the Vietnamese name for Norway.
Navan(Other)Irish Irish place name meaning "the cave" (?)
Navarre(Country)French From the name of the historic Royaume de Navarre, a kingdom in the West Pyrenees mountains which is divided today between Spain and France. It is either derived from the Basque nabar, meaning "brownish" or "multicolor" (which would be a contrast with the green mountain lands north of the original County of Navarre); or from the Basque naba, "valley" or "plain", and herri, "land" or "people".
Navotas(Settlement)Filipino The City of Navotas was founded on December 20, 1827. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 10.77 km2 and has a population of 249,463 as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Nayarit(Political Subdivision)Spanish From the ethnic name of the Cora people, Náayerite, itself derived from the name of chief Cora Naye. This is the name of a state of Mexico.
Naypyidaw(Settlement)English From Burmese နေပြည်တော် (Nepyidaw) meaning "abode of the king" or "royal abode", from နေပြည် (ne pyi) meaning "abode" and တော် (taw) meaning "royal, sacred"... [more]
Nazran(Settlement)Russian From Ingush Наьсаре (Nasare) possibly from Нясара (Nyasara), supposedly the name of the first person to settle in the region. This is the name of a town in Ingushetia that served as the republic's capital until 2000.
Neandertal(Other)German, English From the surname Neander and German Tal meaning "valley". The valley in Germany was named for Joachim Neander, a pastor and hymn writer.
Neftekamsk(Settlement)Russian From Russian нефть (neft) meaning "oil, petroleum" combined with the name of the Kama River. This is the name of a city in Bashkortostan, Russia.
Negeri Sembilan(Political Subdivision)Malay, English Means "nine states" from Malay negeri meaning "state, country" and sembilan meaning "nine". The name refers to the nine original villages founded by Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra. This is the name of a state in Malaysia.
Negros(Island)Filipino, Hiligaynon, Cebuano Upon arriving on the island in April 1565, the Spanish colonizers called the land Negros, after the dark-skinned natives they observed.... [more]
Neriungri(Political Subdivision)Russian comes from the Evenk word for "grayling" (species of freshwater-fish in the family of salmon) ... the second largest town in the Sakha Republic, Russia and the administrative center of Neryungrinsky District
Newark(Settlement)English (British) Newark-on-trent/Newark is a market town in the UK , Founded 1054 or 1123. Old names are Newarcha , Niweweorche and Newerche (in the book Domesday).... [more]
New Bern(Settlement)English New Bern was settled in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine immigrants led by Christoph von Graffenried. They named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
New Caledonia(Island)English According to James Cook (1728-1779), it is named after the Latin form of Scotland, Caledonia, with the added article new, as the northeast of the island reminded him of Scotland... [more]
Newcastle(Settlement)English A city in North-East England. It simply denoted the site of a New Castle, as this is where a castle was erected by William the Conquer in 1080.... [more]
Newfoundland(Country)English From 1907 to 1949, Newfoundland existed as the self-governing Dominion of Newfoundland. In 1949, Newfoundland joined Canada as a province.
New Glasgow(Settlement)English The name New Glasgow was given to several settlements by Scottish settlers in the 18th century in honor of Glasgow, Scotland, one of the major cities in the country... [more]
New Granada(Country)History This South American country was part of Gran Colombia from 1819-1830 and was independent from 1830-1858. In 1858, the country became known as the Grenadine Confederation, then the United States of New Granada in 1861, the United States of Colombia in 1863, and finally, the Republic of Colombia in 1886.
New Guinea(Island)English New Guinea is a large island in the South West Pacific region. It is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km², and the largest wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere.