Sulawesi(Political Subdivision & Island)Indonesian Probably means "iron island" in an uncertain South Sulawesi language, from sula (cognate with Indonesian pulau) meaning "island" and mesi (compare Indonesian besi) meaning "iron"... [more]
Sulu(Political Subdivision, Region & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Suluk, the Malay name for the Tausug people, in turn derived from Tausug Tau Sūg meaning "people of the current", from tau meaning "man, person" and sūg meaning "(sea) current, flow of water"... [more]
Sumatra(Political Subdivision & Island)Indonesian, Acehnese, Minangkabau, Malay, English From Sanskrit समुद्र (samudra) meaning "sea, ocean". This is the name of an island in Indonesia as well as three Indonesian provinces.
Sumbawa(Island & Political Subdivision)Indonesian From a Portuguese corruption of the name Sambawa, which is most likely derived from Sanskrit शम्भु (shambhu) meaning "beneficent, benevolent" (also a name for the Hindu god Shiva)... [more]
Sümeg(Settlement)Hungarian Hungarian place name of unknown origin.
Sumer(Region)History From Akkadian Šumeru, a word of unknown meaning. Sumer was an early civilization in southern Mesopotamia inhabited by the Sumerians, emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC.
Sumida(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 墨 (sumi) meaning "ink" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.
Sundance(Settlement)English A city in Wyoming named for the Sun Dance ceremony held by various local Native American nations.
Sunderland(Settlement)English A port city in North-East England. Derives from Old English sundor, 'separate' (c.f German sondern, 'but, instead') and land, 'land'.
Sunnyvale(Settlement)English From the English words sunny and vale meaning "valley". This is the name of a city in California.
Suō(Political Subdivision)Japanese Shifted from earlier Suhau(Sufau) or Suha(Sufa) (first written as 周芳), belonging to an old province which corresponds to the eastern part of modern Yamaguchi Prefecture.... [more]
Superior(Settlement & Body of Water)English Name of the largest of the North American Great Lake Chain as well as a city in Wisconsin bordering it. In the case of the lake, it is an Anglicization of French superieur meaning "upper" (referring to its position north of Lake Huron)... [more]
Surabaya(Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese From Javanese ꦯꦸꦫꦧꦪ (shurabaya), itself derived from ꦯꦸꦫ (shura) meaning "white shark" and ꦧꦪ (baya) meaning "crocodile". The name refers to 12th-century Javanese monarch Jayabaya, who supposedly saw a vision of a fight between a white shark and crocodile (which may have been a prediction of the Mongol invasion of Java in the late 13th century)... [more]
Surakarta(Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese From Sanskrit शूर (shura) meaning "brave, heroic" and कृत (krta) meaning "done, made, accomplished". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Surat(Settlement)Gujarati, English A city in India, derived from Arabic سورة (surah) meaning "surah", the name for the chapters of the Qur'an.... [more]
Surin(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai สุร (sura) meaning "brave, courageous" or "god, deity" and อินทร์ (in) referring to the Hindu god Indra... [more]
Suriname(Country)English The 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]
Surprise(Settlement)English Several places in the United States, including a city in Nebraska and a city in Arizona. From the English word "surprise".
Surrey(Settlement)English The name Surrey originates from the Old English "Sūþrige," meaning "southern district" or "southern region," derived from sūþ ("south") and rige ("region"). Surrey, British Columbia, was named after Surrey, England, by an early settler who thought the view of the Fraser River reminded him of the Thames in England... [more]
Surtsey(Island)Icelandic Means "Surtr's island" in Icelandic. Surtsey is an uninhabited island south of Iceland that formed in a volcanic eruption (which lasted several years) in the mid-1960s.
Suwannee(River)English (American) A river in Georgia and Florida. Possibly from Spanish San Juan, from the name of the Shawnee Native American people, or from Creek sawani eaning "echo".
Suzhou(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 苏 (sū) referring to Mount Gusu and 州 (zhōu) meaning "province, prefecture". This is the name of a city in China.
Svalbard(Political Subdivision)Norwegian, English, Swedish Originally from Old Norse Svalbarð, composed of svalr "cold" and barð "edge, ridge". Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean located right between continental Norway and the North Pole.
Svay Rieng(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Possibly from Khmer ស្វាយ (svay) meaning "mango" and រៀង (rieng) meaning "arrange, line up" or "sequential, consecutive, in order". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Cambodia.
Svazi(Country)Bosnian, Croatian, Slovene Bosnian, Croatian and Slovenian form of Swaziland. The country changed its name to Eswatini in 2018 and so it is now known as Esvatini in the aforementioned three languages.
Svazilandas(Country)Lithuanian Lithuanian form of Swaziland. The country changed its name to Eswatini in 2018 and so it is now known as Esvatinis in Lithuania.
Svazilenda(Country)Latvian Latvian form of Swaziland. The country changed its name to Eswatini in 2018 and so it is now known as Svatini in Latvia.
Svealand(Region)Swedish Means "land of the Swedes" (see Svea). The Swedes were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting present-day Sweden. ... [more]
Swabia(Political Subdivision)German (Anglicized) Administrative region in Germany. Named after the ancient tribe, the 'Suebi', which itself possibly means "one's own people".
Swannanoa(Settlement & River)English (American) A river and a settlement in North Carolina, as well as a village in New Zealand named for the river. From Cherokee Suwa’lĭ-Nûñnâ’hĭ meaning “the trail to Suwa’li". Suwa’li, also called Joara, was a nearby kingdom... [more]
Swaziland(Country)English The 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... [more]
Swindon(Settlement)English Previously it was called Suindune which could have been derived from the Old English words "swine" and "dun" meaning "pig hill" or possibly Sweyn's hill which was probably the owner’s name
Sylhet(Settlement)Bengali A metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. The city is located on the right bank of the Surma River in northeastern Bengal. Sylhet is one of Bangladesh's most important spiritual and cultural centres... [more]
Sylvain(Region)French (Quebec) Sylvain came from a older therapist who does not work with children anymore in the 1700s
Székesfehérvár(Settlement)Hungarian Székesfehérvár German: Stuhlweißenburg; Latin: Alba Regia; Croatian: Stolni Biograd; Serbian: Стони Београд; Slovak: Stoličný Belehrad), known colloquially as Fehérvár (lit. 'white castle'), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city... [more]