Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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'.
Ain(River & Political Subdivision)French A river and department in France.
Aire(River)English The name of a river in Yorkshire in England which passes through Leeds. Of uncertain etymology, probably of Celtic origin.
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.
Bad Tölz(Region, Settlement & River)German A name of a city in Bavaria which means : "bath, body of water" and tölz which is the name of the river comes from a Latin quote
Braint(River)Welsh The name of a small river on Anglesey, an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It is probably a Welsh form of Brigantia.
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.
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)Ancient 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'.
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'
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.
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.
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".
Nent(River)English A river in the North Pennines. Its name is derived from Cumbric nent, meaning 'stream'. It is a tributary of the Tyne.
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).
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.
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]
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.
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.
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".
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]
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".
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]
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.
Tyne(River)English A river in North-East England. Its meaning is unknown, but some sources relate it to a word in a local Celtic or pre-Celtic language *tei-*, meaning 'river'. However, the evidence for the existence of such a word is insufficient.... [more]
Tyras(River)Ancient Greek Derived from Scythian tūra meaning "quick, rapid, strong". This is the ancient Greek name for the Dniester river, which is known as Dneisteros in modern Greek.
Ufa(Settlement & River)Russian From Bashkir Өфө (Ofo), which is of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly derived from the Iranian root ap meaning "water". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan as well a river that runs through the Ural Mountains.
Volga(River)English, Russian English and Russian name for the largest river in Europe. The Old Mari name of the river is Volgydo, which means "bright". The name volgydo is cognate to Finno-Ugric valkea meaning "white" or "bright"... [more]
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]
Yenisey(River)Russian, English, Turkish, Azerbaijani The name of a river in northern Mongolian and the Siberian federal district of Russia. It may be derived from either Evenki Ионэсси (Ionəssi) meaning "big water" or Old Kyrgyz Эне-Сай (Ene-Sai) meaning "mother river."
Zhaiyq(River)Kazakh Probably from Jaiyk, the name of the Turkic god of rivers, which is derived from Turkic yād meaning "wide, spread out". This is the Kazakh name for the Ural River.