Abakan(Settlement & River)Russian Possibly from Khakas аба (aba) meaning "bear" or "father" and хан (khan) meaning "blood". This is the name of a city and river in Russia.
Acre(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese Most likely from Aquiri, a transliteration by European explorers of the Ipurinã term Umákürü or Uakiry. Other theories include the name originating from Tupi a'kir ü ("green river") or a'kir ("to sleep"), or from Yasi'ri, or Ysi'ri, meaning "flowing or swift water"... [more]
Ae(Settlement & River)Scottish, Scots The name of a village and a stream in southwest Scotland. The name seems to be derived from Old Norse á, meaning "river".
Alei(River)German German transcription of the Russian Aley River.
Amazonas(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Latin American), Spanish Reportedly named this way after the warriors, led by women, that attacked Francisco de Orellana's expedition, reminding him of the Amazons of Greek mythology. The word Amazon may come from Iranian *ha-maz-an- ("(one) fighting together") or *ha-mazan- ("warriors").... [more]
Amper(River)German This is the name of a river in Southern Bavaria, located in Southern Germany.... [more]
Ancre(River)French This is the name of a river in Picardy, France.
Andelle(River)French The name of a river in Normandy, France.
Ångermanälven(River)Swedish Combination of Old Norse anger "deep fjord" and the definite form of Swedish älv "river". The river runs through the province Ångermanland from where it got its name.
Attawapiskat(River & Settlement)Cree River and town in Ontario, Canada. From the Attawapiskat people, meaning "people of the parting of the rocks", or Āhtawāpiskatowi ininiwak.
Coquet(River)English A river in Northumberland, England. Its name originates from words of a local Brythonic-Celtic language, equivalent to the Welsh coched, meaning 'red, brown'.
Dniester(River)English Derived from Sarmatian dānu nazdya meaning "the close river" (as in, the river close-by). This is the name of a river in Eastern Europe, which flows through Ukraine and Moldova to the Black Sea.
Fergus(River)Irish Possibly derives from Old Irish for- ("on, upon") and gas, "twig", with the River Fergus in County Clare seen as a small branch off of the River Shannon.
Flint(Settlement & River)English The name of a town in north Wales and numerous communities in the United States, notably the city in Michigan, as well as several rivers in the United States and Jamaica.... [more]
Gambia(Country & River)English The name of the Country in West Africa. The Gambia is a small West African country, bounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It's known for its diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River... [more]
Ganges(River)English, Ancient Greek From Ancient Greek Γάγγης (Ganges) derived from Sanskrit गङ्गा (ganga) meaning "swift-goer", itself from गच्छति (gacchati) meaning "to go". This is the name of a river in South Asia that flows through India and Bangladesh.
Ghanj(River)Arabic Arabic form of Ganges, usually written with the definite article: الغانج (al-Ghanj).
Giau(River)Mormon In an account of a vision published in the Millennial Star, a map of the world is described, with the names of the four major rivers, which appear to be in the Adamic language. One river was labeled Giau, which appears to be the same as Gihon from the Bible and the Book of Moses.
Ilim(River)Russian, Arabic I couldn't find the meaning of the river's name, but Wiktionary (without mentioning the river) says it's a Turkish word with an Arabic root that means "Knowledge, Science"
Isar(River)German (Austrian) A river in Austria. Likely from the Indo-European '*es' or '*is', meaning "flowing water".
Isca(River)Old Celtic (Latinized), History Romanized form of a Celtic river name, from Common Celtic *iska- "water" (cognate with whiskey). This is the Latin name for both the River Exe and the River Usk, after which the towns of Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta) got their Roman names.
Istros(Island & River)Ancient Greek Ancient Greek name for the Greek island of Gyali as well as for the lower section of the Danube river. In the case of the latter, the name is a loanword from either Dacian or Thracian... [more]
Kazabazua(River & Settlement)Algonquin (Gallicized) River and town in Quebec. From 'kachibadjiwan', meaning "hidden current" in Algonquin, as the river is primarily underground.
Khovd(Settlement & River)Mongolian Of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city and a river in Mongolia.
Kielder(River)English A river and reservoir in Northern England. It's name could come from Celtic words cognate with Welsh clou, 'fast' and dwr 'river'.
Kim(Body of Water & River)Khakas The Khakas variant of Ulug Hem, the Tuvan name of Yenisey.
Klang(Settlement & River)Malay, English Meaning uncertain, possibly of Aslian or Old Malay origin. This is the name of a city and river in Malaysia.
Kolyma(Body of Water & River)Russian Originated in the tundra Yukaghir word kulumaa, which means river.
Lea(River)English (British) Lea is a river in the UK. It's found in southeast England and flows from the Chiltern Hills and flows to the river Thames at Bow Creek.... [more]
Leith(Settlement & River)Scottish, Medieval Scottish The name of a river (Water of Leith) and the settlement at it's mouth, near Edinburgh, Scotland. The name is likely of Cumbric origin and is likely cognate with the Welsh word laith, meaning 'damp, moist'.
Liffey(River)Irish The River Liffey runs through the city of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. In poetry and mythology, the river is called Abhainn An Life, which is occasionally anglicized as 'Anna Liffey'
Loire(River)French From Latin Liger, a transcription of the native Gaulish name of the river, derived from the Gaulish word liga, meaning "silt, sediment", itself deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-, meaning "to lie".... [more]
Lule Älv(River)Swedish Combination of Lule Sami lulij "the people living in the east" (referring to forest Sami people), and Swedish älv "river".
Lyd(River)English The name of a river in Devon, England, perhaps derived from a Celtic source such as Lludd, though the usual derivation is Old English hlȳde "noisy stream" - which the Saxons may have assumed was the river's name.
Marne(River)French From Latin Dea Mātrōna, meaning literally “divine mother goddess”, the name of a mother goddess associated with the river who was worshipped by the Gauls.... [more]
Mekong(River)English From Thai แม่โขง (Mae Khong), a contraction of แม่น้ำโขง (Mae Nam Khong) from แม่น้ำ (mae nam) meaning "river" (literally "mother of waters") and โขง (khong) derived from Proto-Austroasiatic ruŋ meaning "river"... [more]
Mirna(River, Settlement & Political Subdivision)Slovene Dissimilation from Slavic nyrati meaning "to rise from the earth." It is the name of a river, village, and municipality in Slovenia.
Moskva(Settlement & River)Russian, English Russian form of Moscow. In Russian this name refers to both the city and the river, while it only refers to the river in English.
Musku(Settlement & River)Khmer Khmer form of Moscow via the French form Moscou.
Mỹ Tho(Settlement & River)Vietnamese Most likely means "land of white girls", derived from Khmer ស្រុក (srok) meaning "land, inhabited area" (this element was dropped at some point), មេ (me) meaning "girl" and ស (sa) meaning "white"... [more]
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".
Niadi(River, Other, Political Subdivision & Settlement)Kongo, Central African The name of both a river and a valley in Southwest Republic of the Congo.
Nidelva(River)Norwegian The name of a river that runs through Trondheim, and the name of a river in southern Norway. The name is a combination of the words elv "river" and nid (of unknown meaning).
Oise(River & Political Subdivision)French Related to the Latin name Isara, borrowed from Celtic, though ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *isərós “vigorous, quick”, from *eis(ə, related to Sanskrit इषिरम् “fast, quick”.... [more]
Pahang(Political Subdivision & River)Malay, English Uncertain meaning, possibly from mahang, the Malay name for a type of tree native to the area (genus Macaranga), or from Khmer ប៉ាហាំង (paahang) meaning "tin". This is the name of a Malaysian state as well as a river that flows through the region.
Pampanga(Political Subdivision & River)Filipino, Pampangan, Tagalog From Kapampangan pampang meaning "riverbank". This is the name of a province of, as well as a river in, the Philippines.
Pará(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese From Tupi pará, meaning "sea" or "large river". This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Paraíba(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian) From Tupi pa'ra ("river") and a'íba ("difficult to invade/navigate"), referring to the narrow mouth of the Paraíba River. This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Paraná(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese From Geral paraná, meaning "river". Some sources claim that the name comes from Guaraní para ("sea") and anã "resembling", owing to the width of the river Paraná. This is the name of a state in Brazil.
Parañaque(Settlement & River)Filipino The City of Parañaque was founded on November 30th, 1572. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 47.69 km2 and has 665,822 people living in it as of the 2015 census... [more]
Pasig(Settlement & River)Filipino The City of Pasig was founded in 1573. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has an area of 31.00 km2 and has 755,300 people living in it as of the 2015 census. The city shares its name with the Pasig River... [more]
Pennant(River)Welsh Means "the Head of the Ravine or Brook" (Welsh pen "head" + nant "glen, stream") from Middle English, Old French penant (Latin pœnitentia "penitence").
Pripyat(River & Settlement)Russian, English Russian form of the Ukrainian name Прип'ять (Prypyat) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Belarus. It is also the name of an abandoned Ukrainian city that was evacuated after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Provo River(River)English (American) River in Utah, named after the French-Canadian trapper Etienne Provost. The river inspired the name of the city to which it belonged, Provo.
Prypiat(River & Settlement)Ukrainian Alternate transcription of Ukrainian Прип'ять (see Prypyat).
Pukaskwa(Other & River)Ojibwe National park and river in Ontario, Canada. May be from the Ojibwe word 'pukasu', meaning "to cook the marrow in the bones of animals", or "eaters of fish"... [more]
Pulinkunnoo(Region, Settlement, Island, Body of Water & River)Malayalam Birthplace of Kunchacko.
Qaridhel(River)Bashkir Means "black Volga" from Bashkir ҡара (qara) meaning "black" combined with Иҙел (Idhel) referring to the Volga River. This is the Bashkir name for the Ufa River.
Rhône(River)French From Gaulish *Rodonos or *Rotonos, from a Proto-Indo-European root *ret-, meaning "to run/roll", frequently found in names for rivers.... [more]
Rimac(River)Spanish (Latin American) Rimac River, Rimac derives from quechua "Rimay" which means "to speak", Rimac River is called "the speaking river", "the river that babbles/chatters/speaks a lot", in some sense "the roaring river" or "the noisy river".
Rumoi(River & Settlement)Japanese Possibly derived from Ainu ルㇽモオッペ (rur-mo-ot-pe) meaning "river with quiet tides" or "river where the tide is deep". This is the name of a river and city in Japan.
Saigon(Settlement & River)English From Vietnamese Sài Gòn of unclear origin. It may have come from Khmer ព្រៃនគរ (Prey Nokor), the Khmer Empire-era name that was used to refer to the region before it was annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century (the name itself comes from Khmer ព្រៃ (prey) meaning "jungle, forest, woods" and នគរ (nokor) meaning "kingdom, city")... [more]
San Antonio(Settlement & River)English Means "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]
Satporopet(Political Subdivision, Region, Settlement & River)Ainu The source of Sapporo, meaning “Dry, Great River” in reference to the Toyohira river.
Saugeen(River & Political Subdivision)Ojibwe (Anglicized) Town and river in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe 'zaagiing', and means "at the river's outlet" or "at the mouth of the river".
Seine(River)French From Gaulish Sēquana, the Gallo-Roman goddess of the river. Sometimes associated with Latin; the Latin word seems to derive from the same root as Latin sequor "to follow", from Proto-Indo-European *seikw-, meaning 'to flow'.... [more]
Snezhnaya(River)Russian The name of a river in Russia. Снежная means "snowy" in Russian, thus the river name literally means "snowy river".
Snir(River)Biblical Hebrew It's a river in the Bible, near the Hermon Mount. Sometimes the Hermon itself is called "Snir".
Taguig(Settlement & River)Filipino The City of Taguig was founded on April 25, 1587. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has an area of 53.67 km2 and has 804,915 people living in Taguig as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Tamesis(River)Brythonic (Latinized) Derived from Proto-Celtic *tamēssa possibly meaning "dark". This was a Latin name for the English River Thames.
Tarlac(Political Subdivision, Settlement & River)Pampangan, Pangasinan, Ilocano, Tagalog, English Derived from Pampangan malatarlak referring to a type of grass. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city and river in, the Philippines.
Tees(River)English A river in Northeast England. The precise origin of name is not known for sure. But, given that it is one of Britain's major rivers, several theories have emerged:... [more]
Thames(River)English The name of the river in southern England on which London is situated. This is a Brythonic river-name, explained as a derivative of Common Brythonic *temēlos, 'darkness' (compare Old Welsh timuil, 'darkness').
Tisza(River)Hungarian Name of one of the main European rivers that starts in Ukraine and passes through Hungary.
Tocantins(Political Subdivision & River)Portuguese (Brazilian) Union of Tupi words tukana ("toucan") e tim ("beak"), thus "toucan's beak". This is the name of a river and a state of Brazil.
Tolovana(River)English (American) The name of a river in Alaska, derived from Koyukon tolbaa no’ meaning "pale-water river".