Rio de Janeiro(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Portuguese, English The name of a state and city in Brazil, meaning "river of January" in Portuguese. The city was named after the nearby Guanabara Bay, which was first discovered by Europeans on January 1, 1502.
Riyadh(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Arabic, English Means "meadows, gardens", from the plural of Arabic روضة (rawdah). This is the name of the capital city of Saudi Arabia and a province of the same name. In Arabic it is properly written with the definite article: الرياض (ar-Riyadh).
Roi Et(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "one hundred and one" from Thai ร้อย (roi) meaning "hundred" and เอ็ด (et) meaning "one". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Thailand.
Roreto(Settlement)Italian Roreto is an Italian boys place name which originates from Northern Italy region near Turin.... [more]
Roscommon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish County and town in Ireland. From the Irish 'Ros Comáin', meaning "Saint Coman's wood", after Saint Coman mac Faelchon who built a monastery there in the 5th century.
Roseau(Settlement)French (Caribbean) Roseau, the capital of Dominica, got its name from the French word for "reed." It is believed that the French explorers who first settled the area named it Roseau due to the abundance of reeds along the banks of the Roseau River, which flows through the city.
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.
Rwenzori(Region, Settlement & Mountain)Eastern African, Konjo Rwenzori is the name of a popular National Park in Southwest Uganda. Its name comes from a Konjo word which means “Rainmaking Mountains”.
Rwenzururu(Region & Settlement)Konjo, Eastern African Rwenzururu means ‘The Mountains of Rain’ in the Konjo Language of West Uganda. Rwenzori is a diminutive of it.
Sacramento(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, from Spanish sacramento, in honor of the Holy Sacrament.
Sa Đéc(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Khmer ផ្សារ (phsa) meaning "market" and ដែក (daek) meaning "iron". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Sadhuim(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Mon Sadhuim is the vernacular Mon name of Sudharmapura, currently known by its Burmese name of Thaton, which is a town in Myanmar.
Saeki(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a former town in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan and a ward of Hiroshima City, also in western Japan.... [more]
Saga(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "celebrating sa rank, celebrating help" in Japanese.
Sagaing(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Burmese စစ်ကိုင်း (zagaing) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of an administrative division of, as well as a city in, Myanmar.
Sagamihara(Settlement)Japanese Means "Sagami meadow" in Japanese; "Sagami", perhaps referring to Sagami Bay, is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, 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]
Saint John(Settlement)English Variant of St John. This is the name of several settlements, mostly in North America.
Saint-Malo(Settlement)French An historic French port located in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany on the English Channel coast, named after Saint Malo.
Saint Paul(Settlement)English After St. Paul's Chapel, built for French Catholic missionary Lucien Galtier around 1841. This is the name of the capital city of the US state of Minnesota.
Saint Petersburg(Settlement)English English translation of Russian Санкт-Петербург (Sankt-Peterburg), which is derived from the German name Sankt Petersburg meaning "Saint Peter's City", named in honour of Saint Peter the Apostle as well as Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725)... [more]
Saishū(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Japanese Japanese form of Jeju.
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "spheric peninsula" in Japanese.
Saitama(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 埼 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula" and 玉 (tama) meaning "jewel, ball, sphere". This is the name of a prefecture of, as well as a city in, Japan.
Sa Kaeo(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "crystal pond" from Thai สระ (sa) meaning "pond, pool" and แก้ว (kaeo) meaning "crystal, glass". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Thailand.
Sakai(Settlement)Japanese Of uncertain meaning. First appeared in 1045 or earlier in Fujiwara Sadoyori's poetry. This is the name of a city in Ōsaka Prefecture, Japan.
Samarkand(Settlement)English, Russian, Ukrainian, Tatar From Uzbek Samarqand, derived (via Persian) from Sogdian smʾr/smā́r meaning "stone, rock" and knδh/kąθ meaning "fort, town, city". This is the name of a city in Uzbekistan.
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]
Sandhurst(Settlement)English Old English, meaning "sandy thicket of trees." A place name. In England, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (named after the village it is located) is the prestigious British Army officer training centre.
San Diego(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, meaning "Saint Diego" from Spanish san "Saint" + the given name Diego.
Sandringham(Settlement)English Derived from the Old English: "sand" hring "ring"/"circular" ham "homestead". "Sandy circular homestead". The name of a village in Norfolk, where Sandringham House, one of the Queen's country retreats is located.
San Francisco(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Francis. One noteworthy place is the city of San Francisco in the US state of California.
San Gabriel(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Gabriel, including one city in the US state of California.
Sanguinem(Settlement)Popular Culture Means "blood" in Latin. This was used in the Japanese manga and anime series Seraph of the End for the vampire capital city of Sanguinem.
San Jose(Settlement)English Name of a city in California, meaning "Saint Joseph" from Spanish san "Saint" + Jose, a Spanish form of Joseph.
San José(Settlement)Spanish The name of numerous places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Joseph.
San Juan(Settlement)Filipino San Juan, officially the City of San Juan, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 126,347 people.
San Lorenzo(Settlement)Spanish This was one of the principal sites of the Olmec peoples when they were making a life for themselves near the Gulf of Mexico.
Santa Fe(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Spanish The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, derived from Spanish Santa Fe meaning "Holy Faith".
Sanya(Settlement)Chinese Meaning unclear, perhaps derived from a Hlai name meaning "field with crows", from dax meaning "field, farmland" and eek meaning "crow". This is the name of a Chinese city on the island of Hainan.
Sapporo(Settlement)Japanese From Ainu サッ・ポロ・ペッ (sat poro pet) meaning "dry, great river", referring to the Toyohira River. This is the name of the capital city of Hokkaido prefecture, Japan.
Saragossa(Settlement)English From Çaragoça, the medieval form of the Arabic name سرقسطة (Saraqusṭa), from the Roman name Caesaraugusta, which is the combination of two Roman names Caesar and Augusta.
Sarajevo(Settlement)Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, English From Turkish saray meaning "palace, mansion, house" and ova meaning "plain, lowland" or the Slavic suffix -evo used to indicate place names. This is the name of the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sassuolo(Settlement)Italian Of uncertain origin: possibly from the presence of petroleum in the area, at the time called olio di sasso ("rock oil"), or from Latin saxum solum ("rocky ground").... [more]
Satporopet(Political Subdivision, Region, Settlement & River)Ainu The source of Sapporo, meaning “Dry, Great River” in reference to the Toyohira river.
Satun(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Malay sentul meaning "santol" (a type of tropical fruit). This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Sausalito(Settlement)English The name of a city in California, derived from Spanish sauzalito meaning "small willow grove".
Savannah(Settlement)English Likely from the Savannah River, which probably derives from a variant name for the Shawnee people (natively called Ša·wano·ki, meaning "Southerners") that began to settle near the river in the 1860s... [more]
Scarborough(Settlement)English The name of a city in England. It is mentioned in the folk song "Scarborough Fair" about a fair held in the Middle Ages. A notable version of this song is the one by Simon and Garfunkel.
Scunthorpe(Settlement)English Scunthorpe is a large industrial town in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative center.... [more]
Seattle(Settlement)English From the given name Seattle, named in honour of Suquamish and Duwamish chief Seattle (1786-1866). This is the name of a city in the United States.
Secacah(Settlement)Biblical A Hebrew girl's name, originating in Israel, meaning "covering, defense"
Sedbergh(Settlement)English A small town in rural Northern England. Its name derives from Old Norse sed, meaning 'sand' and berg, meaning 'mountain', referring to the mountainous location of Sedbergh and possibly the sandstone hills.
Sejong(Settlement)Korean In honor of King Sejong the Great (1397–1450), creator of the Hangul alphabet. Combination of 世 (세, se, "life, age, generation") and 宗 (종, jong, "school, sect, purpose"), thus "kind river"... [more]
Semarang(Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese From Indonesian asam meaning "tamarind" and jarang meaning "rare, seldom", a reference to the tamarind trees in the area that rarely grew close together. This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of Central Java.
Semporna(Settlement)Malay Derived from Malay sempurna meaning "perfect", from the older name Labuan Semporna meaning "perfect port" or "perfect anchorage". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Sendai(Settlement)Japanese Evolved from earlier 仙臺; originally 千代 ("a thousand generations"), due to the presence of a temple with a thousand Buddha statues in Aoyama.... [more]
Seongnam(Settlement)Korean Combination of 城 (성, seong, "castle") and 南 (남, nam, "south"), thus "southern castle". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Seoul(Settlement)Korean, English Means "capital" in Korean, probably derived from Sillan 서라벌 (Seorabeol), the name of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (which is now the present-day city of Gyeongju). This is the name of the capital city of South Korea.
Serang(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian Means "rice field" in Sundanese. This is the name of a city in Indonesia as well as a regency of the Indonesian province of Banten.
Serdica(Settlement)Ancient Greek Latin and Ancient Greek name for the Bulgarian city now known as Sofia. Named after the Celtic tribe Serdi.
Seremban(Settlement)Malay, English Possibly from Malay seremban, the name of a children's stone-tossing game. This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Seria(Settlement)Malay The name of a town in Brunei, derived from an acronym of South East Reserved Industrial Area.
Setagaya(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 世 (se) meaning "world, generation, era", 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley"... [more]
Seton(Settlement)English A Scottish place, Seaton near Longniddry, "is so named because it was held from the 12th century by a Norman family de Sey, from Say in Indre. Other places of this name, for example those in Cumbria, Devon, County Durham, Northumbria, and Yorkshire, are mostly named with Old English sæ "sea, lake" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
Seville(Settlement)English From Spanish Sevilla, ultimately derived (via Arabic and Latin) from Phoenician 𐤔𐤐𐤋𐤄 (shplh) meaning "plain, valley, lowland". This is the name of a city in Spain.
Shah Alam(Settlement)Malay, English From the name of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah (1898-1960), the second monarch of Malaysia and the sixth sultan of Selangor. This is the name of the capital city of the Malaysian state of Selangor.
Shandora(Settlement & Other)Popular Culture Shandora is an ancient city on the Spring island of Jaya in the One Piece franchise. In the language of the Shandorians, it means “The Skull’s Right Eye”.
Shenyang(Settlement)Chinese Means "sunny side of the Shen River", from Chinese 沈 (shěn) referring to the Hun River (previously known as the Shen) and 阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun"... [more]
Shenzhen(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 深 (shēn) meaning "deep" and 圳 (zhèn) meaning "furrow, drainage, ditch". This is the name of a city in China.
Shibuya(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 渋 (shibu) meaning "astringent, tough" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.
Shime(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a town in Japan's Fukuoka prefecture.... [more]
Shimonoseki(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 下 (shimo) meaning "under, below" and 関 (seki) meaning "frontier, pass". This is the name of a city in Japan.
Shinagawa(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 品 (shina) meaning "goods, articles, stock" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.
Shinjuku(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 新 (shin) meaning "new" and 宿 (juku) meaning "inn, lodge, home". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.