Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Naypyidaw(Settlement)English From Burmese နေပြည်တော် (Nepyidaw) meaning "abode of the king" or "royal abode", from နေပြည် (ne pyi) meaning "abode" and တော် (taw) meaning "royal, sacred"... [more]
Nazran(Settlement)Russian From Ingush Наьсаре (Nasare) possibly from Нясара (Nyasara), supposedly the name of the first person to settle in the region. This is the name of a town in Ingushetia that served as the republic's capital until 2000.
Neftekamsk(Settlement)Russian From Russian нефть (neft) meaning "oil, petroleum" combined with the name of the Kama River. This is the name of a city in Bashkortostan, Russia.
Newark(Settlement)English (British) Newark-on-trent/Newark is a market town in the UK , Founded 1054 or 1123. Old names are Newarcha , Niweweorche and Newerche (in the book Domesday).... [more]
New Bern(Settlement)English New Bern was settled in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine immigrants led by Christoph von Graffenried. They named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
Newcastle(Settlement)English A city in North-East England. It simply denoted the site of a New Castle, as this is where a castle was erected by William the Conquer in 1080.... [more]
Nha Trang(Settlement)Vietnamese Possibly from Eastern Cham YjaTran, Ea Trang or Ea Dran (literally meaning "reed river"), all names for the Cái River. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Niadi(River, Other, Political Subdivision & Settlement)Kongo, Central African The name of both a river and a valley in Southwest Republic of the Congo.
Niagara(Body of Water, Settlement & Region)Iroquois Name of a popular waterfall, a town, and region, in Canada. Derived from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra, meaning either "the strait", or "bisected bottom lands"
Niamey(Settlement)English, Armenian, Danish, Finnish, French, Italian, Slovak, Spanish Of uncertain origin; there are several theories on the origin of the name. It may be derived from a combination of Zarma words nia ("tree") and me ("shore where water is drawn"), or from the phrase "Wa niammané" ("take this city"), reportedly said by a Kalle clan chief... [more]
Nice(Settlement)French, English Founded by Greek colonists and given the name Νίκαια (Nikaia), ultimately derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". Nice is a city on the south east coast of France.
Nicosia(Settlement)English From a French corruption of Greek Λευκωσία (Lefkosia), which is of uncertain meaning. The most probable theory states that it is derived from the Greek phrase λευκό περιουσία (lefko periousia) meaning "white estate"... [more]
Nida(Settlement)Lithuanian The name of a Lithuanian resort town located at the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic states, close to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. It is said to be derived from Old Prussian nida meaning "fluent."
Nidaros(Settlement)Medieval Scandinavian From the the name of the River Nid (see Nidelva) combined with Old Norse óss denoting the city's location near the river. This was the former name of Trondheim.
Niigata(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 新 (nii) meaning "new" and 潟 (kata) meaning "lagoon". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Ninh Bình(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful, tranquil, serene" and 平 (bình) meaning "level, even". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Nipigon(River & Settlement)Ojibwe Town and river in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe word Alimipigon, possibly meaning "where the water begins".
Nipissing(Body of Water & Settlement)Algonquin Lake and town in Ontario, Canada. From the Algonquin word meaning "big water"
Nishinomiya(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west", the unwritten possessive marker の (no), and 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace"... [more]
Nixa(Settlement)English Named after one of the towns first civic leaders, Nicholas A. Inman. Originally supposed to be called 'Nix' before the inclusion of Inman's middle initial.
Niza(Settlement)Spanish Spanish for the city of Nice, France.
Nonthaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นนท์ (non) meaning "pleasure, delight, enjoyment" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and city in, Thailand.
Norwich(Settlement)English From Old English "north" and wic "trading center"/"harbor". Name of a city in the county of Norfolk.
Notion(Settlement)Ancient Greek From Greek Νότιον (Notion), meaning "southern". This was the name of a city-state on the west coast of Anatolia, near present-day Izmir, Turkey.
Nottingham(Settlement)English Dervied from its Old English name "homestead of Snot's people"; the initial S was lost in the 12th century, due to the influence of Anglo-Norman French (the combination of sn- is alien to French). Name of a city in Nottinghamshire, from which the county gets its name.
Nouakchott(Settlement)French, English From Arabic نواكشوط (Nuwakshut), itself from Tamazight Nawākšūṭ meaning "place of the winds" or inua u-kshut meaning "made of wood, made of sticks". This is the name of the capital of Mauritania.
Nur-Sultan(Settlement)Kazakh, English, Russian From the given name Nursultan. This is the name of the capital city of Kazakhstan, which was renamed in honour of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940-)... [more]
Nusantara(Region & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Derived from Old Javanese nūsāntara meaning "outer islands" or "other islands", from nūsa meaning "island" and antara meaning "interval, interspace, between, other" (both of Sanskrit origin)... [more]
Nusantara(Region & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Derived from Old Javanese nūsāntara meaning "outer islands" or "other islands", from nūsa meaning "island" and antara meaning "interval, interspace, between, other". In Indonesia this term is used to refer to the Indonesian Archipelago, while outside of Indonesia it has been used to represent the broader Malay Archipelago... [more]
Ōda(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy". This is the name of a city in Japan.
Odense(Settlement)Danish From Old Norse Óðinn's vé meaning "Odin's sanctuary". This is the 3rd largest city in Denmark and the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the author of fairy tales such as 'The Little Mermaid' (1837), and 'The Snow Queen' (1844).
Ōita(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "large division" in Japanese.
Ojai(Settlement)English Derived from a hispanicized form of the Ventureño Chumash word ʼawhaʼy which meant "moon". This is the name of a city and valley in Southern California.
Oka(Settlement)Mohawk Unknown meaning. Name of town in Quebec
Okayama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "hills and mountains" in Japanese.
Okinawa(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Japanese From Japanese 沖 (oki) meaning "open sea" and 縄 (nawa) meaning "rope, cord", possibly from an archaic word for a type of rope used to catch fish. This is the name of a prefecture and city in Japan, as well as the name of a group of islands (along with the main island within that group).
Øksfjord(Settlement)Norwegian Øksfjord is a small settlement in Norway. Founded in 1941... [more]
Olathe(Settlement)English This is the name of Kansas's fourth largest city, said to be derived from a Shawnee word meaning "beautiful".
Omaha(Settlement)Sioux Siouan people of northeastern Nebraska, 1804, Maha, perhaps from Omaha umaha, perhaps literally "upstream (people), against the flow." The Nebraska city was founded in 1854.
Omeyocan(Settlement)Aztec, Aztec and Toltec Mythology It means "the place of duality." The word is composed of ōme ('two') and -yō (suffix for abstractions), which gives ōmeyōtl or duality; and -cān (place).
Onslow(Settlement)English Meaning, "a place within the liberty of Shrewsbury, in Salop', the original and still confusingly used, name for the county of Shropshire.
Opelika(Settlement)English Derived from Muscogee (Creek) opilwa lako meaning "large swamp". This is the name of a small city in the American state of Alabama.
Oran(Settlement)English, French From the Arabic name وهران (Wahran), which is ultimately derived from the Berber root hr meaning "lion". This is the name of a city in Algeria.
Orival(Settlement)French Derived from Latin aurea vallis meaning "golden vale/valley," the name belonging to three communes (one since defunct), located in the Seine-Maritime & Somme départements of northern France and Charente département of western France.
Ōsaka(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Alternate transcription of Osaka.
Osaka(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 阪 (saka) meaning "slope". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Oslo(Settlement)Norwegian Meaning uncertain. Possibly a combination of Old Norse áss meaning either "ridge" or "Æsir god", and ló "meadow, clearing". Oslo is the capital city of Norway... [more]
Ostia(Settlement)Ancient Roman, Italian From Latin ōs, meaning "mouth", transferred to mean "opening, entrance". This was a major port city in Ancient Rome, which is still the name of a coastal area of the modern city of Rome.
Ōtsu(Settlement)Japanese Means "large port" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 大 (ō), meaning "big, large", and 津 (tsu, Japanese kun reading of jīn), meaning "port"... [more]
Oulu(Settlement)Finnish From the name of the Oulu River (Finnish: Oulujoki). Oulu is probably taken directly from the Finnish dialectal word oulu meaning "flood water". Oulu is the capital city of Northern Ostrobothnia.
Overbrook(Settlement)English This place name meaning "over the brook" is the name of a city in Kansas.
Oviedo(Settlement)Spanish, Asturian One of the best-known theories suggests that the term Oviedo comes from the union of urbs and vetus, which in Latin means "old city." Other theories relate it to "ovem" (sheep), and possibly meaning "place full of sheep"
Oxford(Settlement)English This is the name of a city in England meaning 'ford of the oxen'. It is well known for being the location Oxford University.
Paamiut(Settlement)Greenlandic Means "the people who live at the mouth". Paamiut is town in Greenland, located at the mouth of the Kuannersooq Fjord.
Padang(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau Means "field, plain" in Indonesian. This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra.
Pakokku(Settlement)English From Burmese ပခုက္ကူ (pahkukku), meaning uncertain. This is the name of a city in Myanmar.
Pakse(Settlement)Lao, Thai Means "mouth of the river" from Lao ປາກ (pak) meaning "mouth" and ເຊ (se) meaning "river". This is the name of a city in Laos.
Palembang(Settlement)Indonesian Meaning unclear, possibly from the prefix pa- denoting location combined with Malay limbang meaning "to pan gold, to wash rice" or lembang meaning "to cause (water) to flow" or "lowland basin, valley" (a reference to the area's geography as a wetland)... [more]
Palo Alto(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Spanish palo "(tree) stick" + alto "tall".
Palu(Settlement)Indonesian Uncertain, possibly from Mandarese topalu'e meaning "raised land" or Kaili bolovatu or volovatu referring to a type of local bamboo. This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pandosia(Settlement)Ancient Greek Pandosia (Ancient Greek: Πανδοσία) was an ancient city of Bruttium, in what is now Calabria, southern Italy. According to Livy it was situated near the border between Bruttium and Lucania (now Basilicata).
Panevėžys(Settlement)Lithuanian Means "along the Nevėžis" referring to the Nevėžis River in Lithuania. This is the name of a city and county in northeast Lithuania.
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]
Parepare(Settlement)Buginese, Indonesian The name of a city in Indonesia, derived from the Buginese phrase bajiki ni pare meaning "ports in this region are good".
Pariaman(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau From Arabic بر أمان (barr 'aman) meaning "safe land, secure land". This is the name of a town in West Sumatra province, Indonesia.
Pasadena(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Ojibwe pa-sa-de-na, meaning "valley of the valley" "crown of the valley" "key of the valley" or "hill of the valley"... [more]
Pasay(Settlement)Filipino Pasay, officially the City of Pasay, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.... [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]
Pasir Gudang(Settlement)Malay, English From Malay pasir meaning "sand" and gudang meaning "warehouse, barn, deposit". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Pasuruan(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Indonesian, Javanese, Madurese Derived from Javanese pasuruhan meaning "place where betel grows", from the word suruh referring to the betel plant (genus Piper). This is the name of a city in Indonesia as well as a regency in the Indonesian province of East Java.
Pateros(Settlement)Filipino Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros, is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people.
Pathein(Settlement)Burmese Most likely derived from Mon ဖာသီ (pha sem) meaning "big sea" or "great sea". This is the name of a city in Myanmar, formerly known as Bassein in English.
Pathum Thani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of lotuses" from Thai ปทุม (pathum) meaning "lotus" and ธานี (thani) meaning "city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Pattani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Most likely from Pattani Malay pata ni meaning "this beach" (compare standard Malay pantai ini). Alternately, it may have come from Sanskrit पत्नी (patni) meaning "mistress, lady, wife" or from Malay petani meaning "farmer"... [more]
Pattaya(Settlement)English From Thai พัทยา (Phattaya) itself from a shortened form of ทัพพระยา (thap Phraya) meaning "army of the Phraya", referring to King Taksin... [more]
Pavlodar(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian From the given name Pavel combined with Russian дар (dar) meaning "gift". This is the name of a city in northern Kazakhstan, named for Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich of Russia (1860-1919).
Paxson(Settlement)English This is the name of 3 places, two being in America and one being in Canada.... [more]
Payakumbuh(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau From the Minangkabau name Payokumbuah derived from payo meaning "swamp" and kumbuah referring to a type of grass. This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pearland(Settlement)English Combination of pear and land. This is the name of a city in Texas, USA.
Pe-cing-grong-khyer(Settlement)Tibetan From Tibetan པེ་ཅིང (pe-cing) referring to Beijing combined with གྲོང་ཁྱེར (grong-khyer) meaning "city, town", used as the Tibetan name for Beijing.
Pécs(Settlement)Hungarian Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country.
Pekanbaru(Settlement)Indonesian, Malay Means "new market" from Indonesian pekan meaning "market" and baru meaning "new". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Pekang(Settlement)Khmer Khmer form of Beijing via the French form Pékin.
Pembroke(Settlement)English From the Cantref of Penfro, which was one of the seven cantrefi of the former Kingdom of Dyfed in what is now Wales; which is in turn derived from pen, meaning "head" or "end", and bro, meaning "region", "country", or "land"; therefore, Penfro could be interpreted to mean either "land's end" or "headland".
Peñarroya(Settlement, Mountain & Other)Spanish Means "red rock," from peña meaning "rock, stone, cliff" combined with roya meaning "red" (usual word is rojo/roja).... [more]
Penge(Settlement)English A suburb of London, England. Originally named Penceat, it appears to derive from Brythonic *penno, 'head, edge' and *ceid, 'forest, wood', so likely meant 'settlement on the forest's edge'.