Wagoh-ox-oan(Other)Mormon The tenth great star according to Mormon cosmology. The meanings of the first three parts of the name are uncertain, while the fourth part is, according to Joseph Smith, the name for a symbol representing a compound of Zub-zool-oan, whose meaning is given as "the beginning" or "first".
Walkden(Settlement)English (British) The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English 'denu', a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca.
Walton(Settlement)English The name of several villages in England, particularly Lancashire. Named from Old English wale, meaning 'Celt, foreigner' (Compare Wales) and tun, meaning 'town, village'.
Waterford(Settlement)Irish A city in Southern Ireland. Its name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vädur, 'ram', See Wetherby) and fjord, 'fjord'.
Waterloo(Settlement)Flemish, English The name of multiple town and cities throughout the world, most notably the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, where Napoleon was defeated. From the Flemish and Middle Dutch words 'water' and 'loo' (meaning forest, marsh).
Wausau(Region & Settlement)Indigenous American (Latinized, Rare) Term used in many Native American languages with varying similar meanings such as "to see from a distance" or "to hear from a distance." It was the Native American name for a valley in central Wisconsin that is still refered to as such by locals... [more]
Wauwautosa(Settlement)Algonquian Wauwautosa (an edge city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is named after the Potawatomi Chief Wauwataesie and the Potawatomi word for "firefly".
Waveney(River)English The name of a river that forms much of the boundary between the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in eastern England. It is derived from Old English wagen meaning "quagmire" and ēa "meaning "river; running water, stream."
Waverton(Settlement)English Possibly means "Weaver Town" from Old English waver meaning weaver, and ton meaning town.
Wawa(Settlement & Body of Water)Ojibwe Name of a town and lake in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe wording wewe, meaning "wild goose"
Wear(River)English A river in North-East England. It is taken to be of Old Celtic origin and meant 'blood-colored water', referring to the reddish-brown color of the river. In modern Welsh, the name would be waed dwr, 'blood water'... [more]
Wellington(Settlement)English From Old English Weolingtun meaning "wealthy estate". Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It is also the name of several settlements throughout the English-speaking world.
Wenlai(Country)Chinese Chinese form of Brunei. 文萊 or 文莱 (Wénlái) is the spelling more commonly used in mainland China while 汶萊 or 汶莱 (Wènlái) or (Wénlái) is the prominent spelling in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.
Wenningsted(Settlement)North Frisian Derived from North Frisian winning "gained land" and Low German stede "settlement".
West Virginia(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War.
Wetherby(Settlement)English A town in West Yorkshire. It's name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vadur, Norwegian vær) and byr, 'farm'. See Waterford.
Why(Settlement)English (American) Small community in Arizona State, US. Arizona law stated that a settlement's name must have at least 3 letters, so the towns founders named the town, which was situated on a Y-section, "Why" instead of "Y"... [more]
Wichita(Settlement)English Name of a city in Kansas, named after the Native American tribe Wichita. Possibly from Wichita We-chate hatchee, "Red Water River".
Wicklow(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish, Old Norse Town and county in Ireland. From Old Norse 'víkingalág' or 'vikinga-ló', meaning "meadow of the Vikings".
Wigan(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its etymology is uncertain but may represent Brittonic *wig, "a dwelling" (c.f. Welsh gwig), with the nominal suffix -an. Another possibility is that Wigan preserves a personal name corresponding to Gaulish Vicanus, Old Breton Uuicon or Welsh Uuicant.
Windhoek(Settlement)Afrikaans, Dutch, English This is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It’s unknown how this place got it’s name, most think it’s from the Afrikaans word wind-hoek, which means ''wind corner''... [more]
Windsor(Settlement)English City in Ontario, Canada, from an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.
Wisconsin(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from French Ouisconsin, likely from the Miami word Meskonsing "it lies red".
Wisley(Settlement)English It is a small village in Surrey, England.
Wrocław(Settlement)Polish From the Old Polish names Wrocisław, Wrócisław or Warcisław, meaning a return to glory. Cognate with Czech Vratislav. It is associated with Vratislaus I of Bohemia, the legendary founder, but the first records of the city appear decades after his death... [more]
Wryeton(Settlement)English Middle English Wry(e) may mean "bent", "twisted" combined with the "ton" ending.
Wuhan(Settlement)Chinese From a portmanteau of 武昌 (Wǔchāng) and 汉口 (Hànkǒu), the names of two of the three towns combined to form modern Wuhan. This is the name of the capital city of the Chinese province of Hubei.
Württemberg(Political Subdivision & Region)German, English Etymology uncertain. Originally referred to a castle near Stuttgart, and increased its scope as the owners increased their possessions. Scholars have rejected the derivation Wirth am Berg, meaning "innkeeper/host on the hill/mountain"... [more]
Wusuli(Region, Body of Water & River)Chinese Sinicisation of Usuri. The wording used in Mainland PRC is 乌苏里, while the wording used in Taiwan is 烏蘇里.
Wyoming(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from Algonquian chwewamink "at the big river flat," from xw "big" + e:wam "river flat" + enk "place".