Turin(Settlement)English, French, German, Piedmontese, Russian From Latin Augusta Taurinorum, itself from Taurini, the name of a tribe. This is the name of the capital city of Piedmont, in northern Italy.
Türkmenabat(Settlement)Turkmen From the ethnic name Türkmen combined with Persian آباد (abad) meaning "city, town, inhabited area". This is the name of a city in Turkmenistan.
Turku(Settlement)Finnish From Old East Slavic търгъ (tǔrgǔ) meaning "market place". Turku is the 3rd largest urban area in Finland.
Tutong(Political Subdivision, Settlement & River)Malay Possibly from the name of the Tutong people (itself derived from the name of a folk hero) or from a Dusun word meaning "turtle". This is the name of a district of, as well as a town and river in, Brunei.
Tuyên Quang(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 宣 (tuyên) meaning "declare, announce, proclain" and 光 (quang) meaning "bright, clear". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Tuy Hòa(Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 綏 (tuy) meaning "pacify, placate" and 和 (hoà) meaning "peace, harmony, draw, tie". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Ubon Ratchathani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai อุบล (ubon) meaning "lotus" and ราชธานี (ratchathani) meaning "royal city, capital city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and city in, Thailand.
Ubud(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Balinese From Balinese ubad meaning "medicine", so named because the area was a rich source of medicinal herbs and plants. This is the name of a district and town in Bali, Indonesia.
Uchinā(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Okinawan Okinawan form of Okinawa.
Uchinaa(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Okinawan Alternate transcription of Kanji 沖縄 or Hiragana うちなー (see Uchinā).
Udin(Political Subdivision, Region & Settlement)Friulian
Udon Thani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "northern city" from Thai อุดร (udon) meaning "north" and ธานี (thani) meaning "city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and city in, Thailand.
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.
Ufi(Settlement)Kazakh Kazakh form of Ufi, referring only to the city.
Ulan-Ude(Settlement)Russian From Buryat Улаан-Үдэ (Ulaan-Ude) meaning "red Uda", derived from Buryat улаан (ulaan) meaning "red" and Үдэ (Ude) referring to the Uda River. The name was originally given to reflect the Soviet Union's communist ideology... [more]
Uleåborg(Settlement)Finland Swedish Combination of Ule, the name of a river whose name derives from the Finnish dialectal word oulu "floodwater", Swedish å "river, stream", and borg "castle, fortification"... [more]
Ulkebøl(Settlement)Danish Village on the Danish island of Als. The name is derived from the Frisian given name Ulke (in modern Danish: Ole) and the old Danish word bøl (meaning an outlying farm) and as such means "Ole's outlying farm".... [more]
Ulsan(Settlement)Korean Combination of 蔚 (울, ul, of uncertain meaning) and 山 (산, san, "mountain"), thus "kind river". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Umeå(Settlement)Swedish From the name of the Ume River. Possibly derived from Old Norse úma "roaring" and the place name element -eå denoting the city's location near the river. Another theory is that the name is derived from Finnish uoma "riverbed".
Uppsala(Settlement)Swedish Means "upstream from Sala", from Old Norse upp "up" and salir "halls, rooms". Sala was a village located downstream from Uppsala (it is nowadays a neighbourhood known as Sala backe)... [more]
Ürümqi(Settlement)English From Uyghur ئۈرۈمچى (ürümchi), which may have been derived from Mongolian ᠦᠯᠡᠮᠵᠢ (ülemji) meaning "great", a short form of the phrase ᠦᠯᠡᠮᠵᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠰᠠᠶ᠋ᠢᠬᠠᠨ ᠪᠡᠯᠴᠢᠭᠡᠷ (ülemji-yin say᠋iqan belchiger) meaning "great pasture" or "beautiful pasture"... [more]
Uthai Thani(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai อุทัย (uthai) meaning "sunrise, dawn, emergence, rise" and ธานี (thani) meaning "city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and city in, Thailand.
Utsunomiya(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city which is the capital and most populous city of Tochigi Prefecture, located in central Japan. The kanji used are 宇 (u) meaning "eaves, heaven, house, roof", 都 (tsu, to, miyako) meaning "capital, metropolis" and 宮 (kyuu, ku, kuu, guu, miya) meaning "constellations, palace, princess, Shinto shrine."... [more]
Vadstena(Settlement)Swedish Probably a combination of Old Swedish *vazt "place to fish" and sten "stone". Vadstena is a city in Sweden that had an important role in Sweden's early Christian history. Saint Bridget (Heliga Birgitta) founded the Bridgettine Order here at the Vadstena Abbey in the 14th centry.
Valenzuela(Settlement)Filipino Valenzuela, officially the City of Valenzuela, 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 714,918 people... [more]
Vallejo(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, which was founded by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1807-1890), a Californio military leader and landowner... [more]
Valletta(Settlement)Maltese, English From the name of 16th century French nobleman Jean de Valette. This is the name of the capital city of Malta.
Valyria(Settlement)Literature The name of a city in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
Van(Settlement)English Derived from the surname Vance. Van is a town Texas, USA.
Vancouver(Settlement & Island)English (Canadian) City and Island in Canadian province British Columbia, named after the explorer George Vancouver.
Vavylon(Settlement)Ukrainian, Greek Ukrainian form of Babylon as well as the modern Greek transcription of the name. However, in modern Greece, Vavylona is typically the form used to refer to the capital city of ancient Babylonia.
Vientiane(Settlement)English, French French form of Lao ວຽງຈັນ (Wiangchan) meaning "city of sandalwood" or "city of the moon" from Lao ວຽງ (wiang) meaning "city, town" and ຈັນ (chan) meaning "sandalwood" or "moon"... [more]
Villarreal(Settlement)Spanish Villarreal is a city in the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Villaviciosa(Settlement)Spanish, Filipino Combination of villa meaning "small town" and viciosa meaning "vigorous; abundant" (usually "vicious, profligate").... [more]
Vilnius(Settlement)Lithuanian, English From the name of the Vilnia River, which is derived from Lithuanian vilnis meaning "wave, ripple". This is the name of the capital city of Lithuania.
Vinh(Settlement)Vietnamese Shortened form of any of the place's previous names, such as Kẻ Vinh, Vinh Giang, Vinh Doanh or Vinh Thi, most likely from European influence. The use of the Sino-Vietnamese character 永 (vĩnh) comes from the old practice of phonetic matching, with the character itself holding no significant meaning... [more]
Vĩnh Yên(Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "forever, perpetual, eternal" and 安 (yên) meaning "calm, peaceful". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Viroqua(Settlement)English From the Spanish Veragua. A town in Wisconsin.
Visby(Settlement)Swedish Visby is a city on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The area's been settled for a long time and was pre-13th century called just Vi "holy place, place of sacrifice, sanctuary"... [more]
Vladikavkaz(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the Caucasus" from Russian владеть (vladet) meaning "to own, to possess, to control" combined with Кавказ (Kavkaz) meaning "Caucasus"... [more]
Vladivostok(Settlement)Russian Means "ruler of the East" from Russian владеть (vladet') meaning "to possess, to control, to rule" and восток (vostok) meaning "the East". This is the name of a city in Russia.
Vũng Tàu(Settlement)Vietnamese Means "anchorage" in Vietnamese, so named for the European trading ships that used to visit the area during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Walkden(Settlement)English (British) The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English 'denu', a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca.
Walpole(Settlement)English The name of two places in Norfolk and Suffolk. The place names probably derive from Old English walh "foreigner, Briton, serf" (genitive plural wala) and pol "pool", though the Norfolk place name may have Old English wall "wall" as the first element.
Walton(Settlement)English The name of several villages in England, particularly Lancashire. Named from Old English wale, meaning 'Celt, foreigner' (Compare Wales) and tun, meaning 'town, village'.
Waterford(Settlement)Irish A city in Southern Ireland. Its name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vädur, 'ram', See Wetherby) and fjord, 'fjord'.
Waterloo(Settlement)Flemish, English The name of multiple town and cities throughout the world, most notably the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, where Napoleon was defeated. From the Flemish and Middle Dutch words 'water' and 'loo' (meaning forest, marsh).
Watonga(Settlement)English Watonga is a city in Blaine County, Oklahoma that is named after Arapaho Chief Watonga whose name means "Black Coyote".
Wausau(Region & Settlement)Indigenous American (Latinized, Rare) Term used in many Native American languages with varying similar meanings such as "to see from a distance" or "to hear from a distance." It was the Native American name for a valley in central Wisconsin that is still refered to as such by locals... [more]
Wauwautosa(Settlement)Algonquian Wauwautosa (an edge city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is named after the Potawatomi Chief Wauwataesie and the Potawatomi word for "firefly".
Waverton(Settlement)English Possibly means "Weaver Town" from Old English waver meaning weaver, and ton meaning town.
Wawa(Settlement & Body of Water)Ojibwe Name of a town and lake in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe wording wewe, meaning "wild goose"
Wellington(Settlement)English From Old English Weolingtun meaning "wealthy estate". Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It is also the name of several settlements throughout the English-speaking world.
Wetherby(Settlement)English A town in West Yorkshire. It's name derives from Old Norse veðra, 'ram' (Swedish vadur, Norwegian vær) and byr, 'farm'. See Waterford.
Wharekauri(Settlement)Maori This is misnomer of the Chatham Islands and Chatham Island. A Maori man made this mistake before 1835. This came from a settlement on Chatham Island named Wharekauri. The Maori have called Chatham Island that to this day.
Why(Settlement)English (American) Small community in Arizona State, US. Arizona law stated that a settlement's name must have at least 3 letters, so the towns founders named the town, which was situated on a Y-section, "Why" instead of "Y"... [more]