Submitted Place Names Starting with S
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
SAEKI(Settlement)JapaneseThis is the name of a former town in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan and a ward of Hiroshima City, also in western Japan....
[more] SAHARA(Region & Political Subdivision)Arabic, EnglishDerived directly from Arabic
صحارى (ṣaḥārā), the plural form of
صحراء (ṣaḥrāʾ) meaning "desert". The Sahara Desert in Northern
Africa is the largest hot desert and third largest desert in the world...
[more] SAINT PETERSBURG(Settlement)EnglishDerived from German
Sankt Petersburg meaning "Saint Peter's city", a reference to Saint Peter, a Disciple of Jesus Christ or Peter the Great, a Russian tsar. Saint Petersburg is a city in Russia and the former capital of the country...
[more] SAKHA(Political Subdivision)EnglishDerived from Turkic
saqa, saha meaning "cue" or "bat". The Sakha Republic (or Yakutia) is a federal subject in the Russian Far East.
SAKHALIN(Island)Russian, EnglishDerived from Manchu
sahaliyan meaning "black". A misconception of the original Manchu word led to the present name. "Sahaliyan Ula" is also the Manchu name for the Amur River. Sakhalin Island is an island in the Far East of Russia, right above Japan.
SAN ANTONIO(Settlement & River)EnglishMeans "Saint Anthony" from Spanish
san "Saint" +
Antonio, a Spanish form of the given name
ANTHONY. The river was named after San Antonio de Padua by the first governor of Spanish Texas, Domingo Terán de los Ríos in 1691...
[more] SANDHURST(Settlement)EnglishOld English, meaning "sandy thicket of trees." A place name. In England, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (named after the village it is located) is the prestigious British Army officer training centre.
SAN JUAN(Other)SpanishThe name of the Capital of Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and largest city, sits on the island's Atlantic coast. Its widest beach fronts the Isla Verde resort strip, known for its bars, nightclubs and casinos...
[more] SARAJEVO(Settlement)Bosnian, Serbo-CroatianCapital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name is believed to be derived from the term
saray ovası meaning "the plains around the palace". The first element is derived from the Turkish word
saray meaning "palace"...
[more] SAUDI ARABIA(Country)EnglishThe name of the Country in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a desert country encompassing most of the Arabian Peninsula, with Red Sea and Persian (Arabian) Gulf coastlines. Known as the birthplace of Islam, it’s home to the religion’s 2 most sacred mosques: Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, and Medina’s Masjid an-Nabawi, burial site of the prophet Muhammad...
[more] SCANDINAVIA(Region)EnglishLikely derived from the Germanic root
*Skaðin-awjō meaning "danger, damage". Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe and usually refers to
Sweden,
Denmark, and
Norway.
SCARBOROUGH(Settlement)EnglishThe name of a city in England. It is mentioned in the folk song "Scarborough Fair" about a fair held in the Middle Ages. A notable version of this song is the one by Simon and Garfunkel.
SEDBERGH(Settlement)EnglishA small town in rural Northern England. Its name derives from Old Norse
sed, meaning 'sand' and
berg, meaning 'mountain', referring to the mountainous location of Sedbergh and possibly the sandstone hills.
SEOUL(Settlement)Korean, EnglishDerived from the Korean word
seo'ul meaning "capital city", which is thought to be from the word
서라벌 (Seorabeol) which is referring to the old capital of Silla, Gyeongju. The city was formerly called:
Wirye-seong,
Hanju,
Namgyeong,
Hanseong,
Hanyang, and
Gyeongsyeong...
[more] SERBIA(Country)EnglishDerived from Serbo-Croatian
srbi and ultimately derived from Proto-Slavic
sьrbъ meaning "ally", "Serb", or "Sorb". Serbia is a South Slavic nation in southeastern Europe.
SERDICA(Settlement)Ancient GreekLatin and Ancient Greek name for the Bulgarian city now known as
SOFIA. Named after the Celtic tribe
Serdi.
SERKLAND(Region)Ancient ScandinavianOld Norse name for a region around the
Caspian sea in the Middle East. The name is composed of Old Norse
serkr "gown" and
land "country". Serkland does not correspond with any modern country or region.
SETON(Settlement)EnglishA Scottish place,
Seaton near Longniddry, "is so named because it was held from the 12th century by a Norman family
de Sey, from
Say in Indre. Other places of this name, for example those in Cumbria, Devon, County Durham, Northumbria, and Yorkshire, are mostly named with Old English
sæ "sea, lake" and
tun "enclosure, settlement"...
[more] SHANGRILA(Body of Water)Pakistani, TibetanShangrila is a name of Tibetan origin. The name means "heaven on earth". The name is mainly known in northern Pakistan. The "Shangrila Lake" in northern Pakistan is very famous among the country.
SHIRETOKO(Other)JapaneseThis is the name of a peninsula (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005) in north-eastern Hokkaidō in northern Japan. The kanji that make up Shiretoko are 知 (chi, shi.raseru, shi.ru, shire) meaning "know, wisdom" and 床 (shou, toko, yuka) meaning "bed, floor, padding, tatami."...
[more] SHYMKENT(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, EnglishDerived frim Turkic
chim, shym meaning "turf, meadow" and
kent meaning "city". The name means "green city". Shymkent is a city in Kazakhstan and was formerly named
Chimkent.
SIAM(Country)EnglishChanged its name to Thailand in 1939.
SIBERIA(Region)EnglishMeaning uncertain. One theory suggests its derivation from Siberian Tatar
Sib Ir meaning "sleeping land", while another suggests an origin from the ethonym
Sirtya, Syopyr, an ethnic group which spoke a language that evolved into the Ugric languages...
[more] SIERRA LEONE(Country)EnglishThe name of the Country in West Africa. Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for the white-sand beaches lining the Freetown Peninsula. The capital city, Freetown, commemorates the nation’s slave-trade history with the Cotton Tree landmark and King’s Yard Gate...
[more] SIKKIM(Country)EnglishNow part of far northern India, Sikkim was an independent monarchy from the 17th century until 1975.
SINDH(Political Subdivision & Region)Urdu, Sindhi, EnglishFrom
Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the
Indus River; ultimately from the Sanskrit सिन्धु
(síndhu) meaning "river, stream". This is the name of a province in southeastern
Pakistan, the ancestral home of the Sindhi people.
SINGAPORE(Country)EnglishDerived from Malay
singapura which ultimately comes from Sanskrit
सिंहपुर (Siṃhapura) meaning "lion city", a combination of
सिंह (siṃhá) meaning "lion" and
पुर (pura) meaning "city, town"...
[more] SKÅNE(Political Subdivision)SwedishProvince and county in southern Sweden that was a part of Denmark until 1658. The name is likely derived from Old Norse
Skáney (ultimately derived from the Germanic root
*Skaðin-awjō) meaning "danger" or "damage"...
[more] SKELLEFTEÅ(Settlement)SwedishSwedish city located in
Västerbotten. The first element of the name is of unknown meaning, but is believed to be of Sami origin. The second element is
-eå "river".
SKIPTON(Settlement)EnglishA town in North Yorkshire, England meaning "sheep town".
SMARA(Settlement)EnglishMeaning unknown. Smara is a Moroccan-controlled city in the disputed Western
Sahara.
ŚNIEŻKA(Mountain)PolishName of a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the most prominent point of the Silesian Ridge in the Krkonoše mountains.
SNIR(River)Biblical HebrewIt's a river in the Bible, near the Hermon Mount. Sometimes the Hermon itself is called "Snir".
SNOWDON(Mountain)EnglishSnowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa, pronounced ər ˈwɪðva) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands.e
SÖDERMANLAND(Political Subdivision)SwedishSödermanland is a Swedish county and province meaning "land of the southern people". The southern people referred to people living south of
Mälaren. The county is slightly smaller than the province due to that the eastern part of the province belongs to
Stockholm county.
SODOR(Other)Popular CultureThis is the name of a fictional island where all the engines live in the TV-series 'Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'.
SOFIA(Settlement)Bulgarian, EnglishCapital of Bulgaria named after the Saint Sofia Church located in the city. The name was first used by Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman in the 14th century.
SOMALIA(Country)EnglishThe name of the Country in East Africa. Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa.
SORTOBE(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, EnglishMeaning unknown. Sortobe is a small settlement located near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The population consists mostly of Dungans, an ethnic group from China.
SOUTH DAKOTA(Political Subdivision)English (American)Name of a state in the United States, also the name of indigenous people of the Great Plains, from the Dakota word
dakhóta "friend".
SPALDING(Settlement)EnglishThis is the name of several places in England, USA, Canada and Australia, including one located in the eastern English county of Lincolnshire....
[more] SREDETS(Settlement)BulgarianOriginal Bulgarian name of
SOFIA in use until the 18th century. It is also the name of a city in southeastern Bulgaria.
SRI LANKA(Country)EnglishFrom Sinhalese
ශ්රී ලංකාව (śrī laṁkāva) which is ultimately from Sanskrit
श्री (śrī) "holy, splendid, radiant, beautifying, adorning" and
लङ्का (laṅkā) "island"...
[more] STATHAM(Settlement)EnglishThis is the name of a hamlet in the civil parish of Lymm, part of the borough of Warrington in Cheshire (Lancashire before 1974) in northern England. See
Statham on the surname site for more information.
STRANRAER(Settlement)ScottishA port town in South-West Scotland. Its name derives from Gaelic
An t-Sròn Reamhar, literally meaning 'the fat nose', but which more prosaically might be rendered as 'the broad headland', referring to the local geography.
SUMATRA(Island)EnglishThe name of the Island in Indonesia. Sumatra, a large Indonesian island west of Java and south of the Malay Peninsula, is known for its rugged tropical terrain, wildlife and smoldering volcanoes. To the north, the city of Banda Aceh, which was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, has a museum commemorating the disaster...
[more] SUNDERLAND(Settlement)EnglishA port city in North-East England. Derives from Old English
sundor, 'separate' (c.f German
sondern, 'but, instead') and
land, 'land'.
SURINAME(Country)EnglishThe name of the Country in South America. Suriname is a small country on the northeastern coast of South America. It's defined by vast swaths of tropical rainforest, Dutch colonial architecture and a melting-pot culture...
[more] SVEALAND(Region)SwedishMeans "land of the Swedes" (see
SVEA). The Swedes were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting present-day Sweden. ...
[more] SWAZILAND(Country)EnglishThe name of the Country in Southern Africa. Swaziland, a small, landlocked monarchy in southern Africa, is known for its wilderness reserves and festivals showcasing traditional Swazi culture. Marking its northeastern border with Mozambique and stretching down to South Africa, the Lebombo Mountains are a backdrop for Mlawula Nature Reserve’s many hiking trails...
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