Abyssinia(Country & Region)English From Latin Abissinus meaning "Abyssinian, Ethiopian", ultimately derived from Arabic الحبشة (al-Habashah) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a region and former empire in the Horn of Africa, consisting of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Acádia(Country, Region & Settlement)Portuguese Portuguese form of both Acadia and Akkad (mostly the ancient city, but sometimes also the Akkadian Empire).
Achaea(Region)Greek Achaea or Achaia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras which is the third largest city in Greece.
Açores(Political Subdivision & Region)Portuguese, Catalan, French Portuguese form of Azores, which has been adopted into Catalan and French.
Adyga Khaku(Country & Region)Circassian From Circassian адыгэ (adyga), the name of the Adyghe people, combined with хэку (khaku) meaning "homeland, land". This is the Circassian name for Circassia.
Aenon(Region)Biblical The region where John the Baptist baptized people after baptizing Jesus in Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan according to the Gospel of John... [more]
Alameda(Region)Spanish The word Alameda is Spanish for "tree lined street or path" or "grove of poplar trees."
Aleeza(Region)Pakistani "It means joy." It is of Hebrew origin and is usually used by Muslim girls.
Algoma(Region)Algonquin Region in Ontario, Canada. Created name by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. The 'al' is from "Algonquin", the the 'goma' is from the word 'gomee', meaning "water".
Alsace(Political Subdivision & Region)French, English From Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain". Alternatively, from Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace.... [more]
Aosetiya(Political Subdivision & Region)Taiwanese Chinese form of Ossetia chiefly used in Taiwan.
Aosta(Region & Settlement)Italian From the Latin name Augusta Praetoria Salassorum, itself named after Emperor Augustus. This is the name of a city and valley in the north-western corner of Italy.
Appalachia(Region)English Appalachia is the name of a cultural region in the Eastern United States. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it is ultimately of Native American origin, as the region was named after a Native American tribe.
Aquitaine(Region)French French form of Aquitania. This is the name of a historical region of France located roughly between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Garonne... [more]
Aquitania(Region)Spanish Aquitania was a region of Gaul inhabited by the Aquitani, a people living in Gallo-Roman times in what is now Aquitaine, France.
Arcadia(Region & Settlement)English, Italian, Spanish From Greek Ἀρκαδία (Arkadia) named for the mythological character Arcas. This is the name of a region in the Peloponnese in southern Greece, as well as the name of numerous cities in various countries.
Arctic(Region & Body of Water)English Means "near the bear," from the Greek word ἀρκτικός (arktikos), derived from arctos, meaning "bear." It refers to the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, which are two of the most well known and consistently named constellations in the northern hemisphere... [more]
Ardenne(Region & Other)French, French (Belgian) From the forest known as Arduenna Silva in the Roman period; Arduenna probably derives from a Gaulish cognate of the Brythonic word ardu, as in Irish ard "high"... [more]
Arendelle(Region & Settlement)Popular Culture Likely based on Arendal, the name of a town and municipality in Southern Norway. Arendalle is a fictional kingdom in Disney's animated movie 'Frozen' (2013).
Âu Châu(Region)Vietnamese Vietnamese form of Ouzhou, from Sino-Vietnamese 歐洲 (Âu Châu). This is the name for Europe more commonly used by overseas Vietnamese.
Australasia(Region)English Means "south of Asia" from Latin australis meaning "southern" combined with Asia. This is the name of a region in Oceania consisting of Australia, New Zealand, and other neighbouring islands.
Auvergne(Political Subdivision & Region)French From the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, the Arverni, a Latinised form of Gaulish *Aruernoi. Its etymology remains unclear; proposed origins include *ar(e)-uer-no-, meaning "those who are above", or *uernā-, meaning "alder".... [more]
Azerbaijan(Country, Political Subdivision & Region)English, Basque, Indonesian, Malay From Persian آذربایجان (azarbayjan), which is from Middle Persian Ādurbādagān referring to Atropates, an ancient Persian governor under the Achaemenid Empire... [more]
Azores(Political Subdivision & Region)English, Greek, Spanish From Portuguese Açores meaning "goshawks", the plural of açor meaning "goshawk". This is the name of an archipelago located in the North Atlantic Ocean and one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal.
Balochistan(Political Subdivision & Region)Balochi, Urdu, Pashto, English From the ethnic name بلۏچ (Baloch) referring to the Baloch people (itself of uncertain meaning) combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan 2) meaning "land of"... [more]
Baltistan(Region)Urdu, English From the ethnic name بلتی (Balti) combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan 2) meaning "land of". This is the name of a region in Pakistan.
Batavia(Region & Settlement)English, Dutch, Indonesian From Latin Batavia, itself from Proto-Germanic Batawjō meaning "good island", derived from bataz meaning "good" and awjō meaning "island". This is the name of a historical and geographical region located in what is now the Netherlands... [more]
Bedfordshire(Political Subdivision & Region)English From Old English Bedanfordscir, meaning the shire or county of Bedford, itself meaning "Beda's river crossing".... [more]
Beleriand(Region)Literature A region in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. From the fictional Sindarin language, Balar (an island and bay in the region) and iand meaning "land".
Bella Coola(Region & Settlement)Salishan (Anglicized) Town and valley in British Columbia, Canada. From the Heiltsuk word bḷ́xʷlá, meaning "someone from Bella Coola", referring to the general ethnic group in the area
Berestia(Region)History, English This is the name of a historical region in Eastern Europe. Its territory was located in what is now Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. The region was named after the Belarusian city of Brest, which was at its centre.
Berkshire(Political Subdivision & Region)English From a wood of box trees in the area called Bearroc, a Celtic word meaning "hilly", with Old English sċīr, from Proto-West Germanic *skīru. meaning "county" or "shire".... [more]
Bod(Region, Political Subdivision & Country)Tibetan, Bhutanese Possibly from a name that originally referred to the inhabitants of modern-day Nyêmo County in China. The name itself may be related to the Tibetan word བོན (bon) meaning "express, give, offer"... [more]
Boeotia(Region)English, Ancient Roman From Greek Βοιωτία (Boiotia), supposedly from the eponymous founder Boeotus, though it’s more likely to derive directly from βοώτης (bootes) meaning "herdsman", itself from βοῦς (bous) meaning "ox, cow"... [more]