Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Otsego(Settlement)English (American) From Mohawk or Oneida otsego, meaning "place of the rock". The city in Minnesota is named for the county in New York.
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"
Owatonna(Settlement)English (American) From the Dakota name for the nearby Straight River, Wakpá Owóthaŋna.
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.
Padang(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau Means "field, plain" in Indonesian. This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra.
Pafuri(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Tsonga The name "Pafuri" originates from the Tsonga language and refers to a region in the northernmost part of South Africa near the Limpopo River.
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.
Palabuhanratu(Settlement)Indonesian, Sundanese Means "queen's harbour" from Sundanese palabuhan meaning "harbour" and ratu meaning "queen". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Palana(Settlement & Body of Water)Russian "having a Waterfall"
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.
Panay(Settlement & Island)Filipino Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of 12,011 km2 and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census... [more]
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. Due to its location just south of Manila, Pasay quickly became an urban town during the American colonial period... [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. This municipality is famous for its duck-raising industry and especially for producing balut, a Filipino delicacy, which is a boiled, fertilized duck egg... [more]
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'.
Penistone(Settlement)English (British) Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. ... [more]
Penrith(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its name derives from the Cumbric pen, 'hill, top, summit' (Welsh pen) and rith, 'ford, crossing', (Welsh ryd).
Pensacola(Settlement)Indigenous American Pensacola is the Westmost city in Florida USA.Found in Escambia County Florida.... [more]
Penshaw(Settlement)English A village in Northern England. The first element seems to be Cumbric pen, which means 'summit, head'. The most obvious explanation for the second is Old English sceaga, meaning 'woods'... [more]
Pepperell(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Pepperell. The town in Massachusetts was named for Sir William Pepperell, a colonial soldier who led the Siege of Louisbourg during the French and Indian War.
Persley(Settlement)Scottish A small hamlet in North-East Scotland, now encompassed by the city of Aberdeen. There are several explanations as to the origin of the name of this small settlement:... [more]
Perth(Settlement)Scottish A city in central Scotland. The name is of Pictish origin and derived from *perth, meaning 'bush, copse' (Welsh perth, 'bush, hedge').
Peshawar(Settlement)English From Pashto پېښور (Pekhawar) ultimately derived from Sanskrit पुरुषपुर (purushapura) meaning "city of men", from पुरुष (purusha) meaning "man, person" combined with पुर (pura) meaning "city"... [more]
Peterborough(Settlement)English This is the name of 2 cities, one in Cambridgeshire (UK) and Ontario (Canada), and 3 towns, one in New Hampshire (US), Victoria & South Australia (Australia).... [more]
Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Eastern Cham Pandarang, itself from Sanskrit पाण्डुरङ्ग (panduranga) meaning "white god" (an epithet of the Hindu god Vithoba), combined with Vietnamese tháp Chàm meaning "Cham tower" or "Cham temple"... [more]
Phan Thiết(Settlement)Vietnamese The meaning of the name is not certain, but it is widely believed to be of Cham origin. The first element, Phan, may come from Eastern Cham Pandarang, itself derived from Sanskrit पाण्डुरङ्ग (panduranga) meaning "white god", an epithet of the Hindu god Vithoba... [more]
Phasis(Settlement & River)Ancient Greek The ancient Greek name for the Rioni River as well as a historical town along that river, meaning unclear. It may be of Georgian-Zan (Mingrelian and Laz), Svan or Semitic origin.
Phatthalung(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Thai form of the Malay name Mardelong of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Phayao(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Possibly from a corruption of Thai ภูกามยาว (Phu Kamyao), the name of a local sacred mountain. This is the name of a province of Thailand, as well as a district and city within that province.
Phetchabun(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "full of diamonds" from Thai เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บูรณ์ (bun) meaning "full, perfect, complete". It is believed to be a corruption of the original name เพชรบุระ (Phetchabura) meaning "city of diamonds", from เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บุระ (bura) meaning "city"... [more]
Phetchaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of diamonds" from Thai เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Phichit(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "beautiful" in Thai, ultimately from Sanskrit विचित्र (vichitra). This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Philippi(Settlement)Biblical Greek Renamed after Philip II of Macedon, was originally named Crenides (Greek: Κρηνῖδες, Krenides "Fountains")
Phitsanulok(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Thai พิษณุ (Phitsanu) referring to the Hindu god Vishnu and โลก (lok) meaning "land, world". This is the name of a province of and city in Thailand.
Phnom Penh(Settlement)English, French From Khmer ភ្នំពេញ (Phnum Pin) meaning "Penh's hill", from ភ្នំ (phnum) meaning "hill, mountain" and ពេញ (pin), the name of a legendary woman who supposedly founded the city in 1372... [more]
Phoenice(Settlement)Ancient Greek Phoenice or Phoenike was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians. It was also the location of the Treaty of Phoenice which ended the First Macedonian War, as well as one of the wealthiest cities in Epirus until the Roman conquest.... [more]
Phoenix(Settlement)English (American) Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona state in the United States of America.
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai พระ (phra), an honorific term for gods and royal individuals, นคร (nakhon) meaning "city", ศรี (si), an honorific meaning "glory, honour, splendour", and อยุธยา (ayutthaya) referring to the kingdom of Ayutthaya... [more]
Phuket(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Thai Derived from Malay bukit meaning "hill". This is the name of an island province and city in southern Thailand.
Phú Thọ(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "abundant, wealthy" and 壽 (thọ) meaning "long-lived, long life". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Vietnam.
Pittsburgh(Settlement)English From the English surname Pitt and burg meaning "fortress, citadel". The city in Pennsylvania was named for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, a Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Pleiku(Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Jarai Plơi Kơdưr meaning "northern village" or "high village", from plơi meaning "village" and kơdưr meaning "north, upper". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Plovdiv(Settlement)Bulgarian From a Thracian translation of the Latin name Pulpudeva, which was possibly derived from the given name Phillip combined with Dacian dava meaning "city, town, fortress"... [more]
Plymouth(Settlement)English The name of a port city in the south-western English county of Devon as well as dozens of locations in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, notably the one in Massachusetts.... [more]
Pocatello(Settlement)English (American) A city in Idaho named for the Shoshone leader Tondzaosha, who was called Pocatello in American military accounts. The name Pocatello is of unclear etymology and does not appear to be derived from the Shoshoni language.
Podgorica(Settlement)Montenegrin Podgorica literally means "area below Gorica", Gorica meaning "little hill", refering to the cypress-covered hillocks that overlook the city center. This is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.
Pokhara(Settlement)Nepali Means "pool, pond" in Nepali, ultimately from Sanskrit पौष्कर (paushkara) or पुष्कर (pushkara) meaning "lotus". This is the name of a city in Nepal.
Pompeii(Settlement)Ancient Roman Possibly derived from the Oscan pompe "five", becoming the Latin second declension plural, pompeii. This may be because the community formerly consisted of five hamlets, or was perhaps settled by a family group (gens Pompeia).... [more]
Pondicherry(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English Derived from Tamil புதுச்சேரி (putuccēri) meaning "new town". Pondicherry (Puducherry) is the capital city of an Indian state of the same name.
Pontefract(Settlement)English From Latin ponte fracto, meaning 'broken bridge'.
Pontiac(Settlement)English Various cities in Canada and the United States. After the Odawa chief Pontiac, also known as Obwaandi'eyaag.
Pontianak(Settlement)Indonesian From the name of a female ghost in Indonesian folklore that is said to be the spirit of a woman who died pregnant. This is the name of a city in Indonesia, so named because the region was once believed to be inhabited by pontianaks.
Poquoson(Settlement)English (American) A city in Virginia. From the English word "pocosin", which refers to a type of wetland and is derived from an unknown Algonquian word, possibly Abenaki pôgwaso meaning “very shallow”.
Portage La Prairie(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French The name "Portage la Prairie" comes from French, meaning "portage of the prairie" (portage = "carrying of boats between waterways," prairie = "grassland"). It was named by French fur traders who had to carry their canoes overland between the Assiniboine River and nearby waterways... [more]
Posyolok Central'noj Usad'by` Sovxoza Imeni Sorok-letiya Velikogo Oktyabrya(Settlement)Russian Posyolok Central'noj usad'by` sovxoza imeni 40-letiya Velikogo Oktyabrya is a settlement in Russia. It translates to "A settlement of The Central Farmstead of the Sovkhoz named after the 40-years Anniversary of the Great October" from Russian.
Potenza(Settlement)Italian, English, French From Latin Potentia, itself from the Latin adjective potens, meaning "powerful", "mighty". This is the name of the capital city of the southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Poti(Settlement)Georgian The name of a city in Georgia, meaning uncertain. It is most likely related to Phasis (Φᾶσις), the ancient Greek name for the Rioni River (which flows through Georgia) as well as an ancient city along that river... [more]
Potomac(Settlement)English A river and various cities in the United States. From the name of the Patawomeck people, who are indigenous to the river area.
Prato(Settlement)Italian, English, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish, Dutch Italian for "meadow". This is the name of a city in northern Italy, which was probably chosen because the city was founded on a meadow.
Preah Sihanouk(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Named in honour of Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk (1922-2012), who reigned from 1941-1955 and again from 1993-2004. This is the Khmer name of the province and city of Sihanoukville.
Preah Vihear(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer From the name of an ancient temple itself meaning "temple, sanctuary", derived from Khmer ព្រះ (preah) meaning "god, lord" and វិហារ (vihear) meaning "temple, monastery"... [more]
Précy(Settlement)French Précy is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Prestwick(Settlement)English a place in Lancashire (now Greater Manchester) derived from Old English preost "priest" and wic "outlying settlement" or from other places with the same derivation.
Prey Veng(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Means "long forest" from Khmer ព្រៃ (prey) meaning "jungle, forest, woods" and វែង (veng) meaning "long". This is the name of a province of, as well as a town in, Cambodia.
Prince Albert(Settlement)English Prince Albert is named after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The name was given in 1866 by Rev. James Nisbet, a Scottish Presbyterian missionary who established a settlement in the area... [more]
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.
Pristina(Settlement)Kosovar City in Kosovo. Possibly from the Proto-Slavic '*pryščina', meaning "spring of water".
Providence(Settlement)English Name chosen by Puritan minister Roger Williams, in honor of "God's merciful Providence". This is the name of several settlements in the United States, including the capital city of the state of Rhode Island.