Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Waukesha(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wisconsin. Likely an Anglicization of Ojibwe waagoshag meaning "foxes" or derived from the Potawatomi name Wau-tsha.
Waupun(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wisconsin. From Ojibwe waubun meaning "east, morning, dawn".
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"
Wawina(Settlement)English (American) A township in Minnesota. From Ojibwe waawiinaa meaning "I mention him often".
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.
Wenatchee(Settlement)English (American) A city in Washington. From the name of the Wenatchi people, who are indigenous to the area.
Westminster(Settlement)English From Middle English Westmestre, equivalent to west + minster.
Westwego(Settlement)English (American) Possibly from the English phrase "west we go", as the city in Louisiana was a major crossing point on the Mississippi River during the westward migration of Euro-American colonizers.
Wetaskiwin(Settlement)English (Canadian), Cree A city in Alberta. From the Cree word wiitaskiiwin ispatinaw, meaning "the hills where peace was made".
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.
Weybourne(Settlement)English The name Weybourne is derived from the Old English elements "wæge" (meaning "ford" or "shallow crossing") and "burna" (meaning "stream" or "brook"). The name likely refers to a stream or crossing in the area... [more]
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]
Wichita(Settlement)English Name of a city in Kansas, named after the Native American tribe Wichita. Possibly from Wichita We-chate hatchee, "Red Water River".
Wicklow(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish, Old Norse Town and county in Ireland. From Old Norse 'víkingalág' or 'vikinga-ló', meaning "meadow of the Vikings".
Wigan(Settlement)English A town in Northern England. Its etymology is uncertain but may represent Brittonic *wig, "a dwelling" (c.f. Welsh gwig), with the nominal suffix -an. Another possibility is that Wigan preserves a personal name corresponding to Gaulish Vicanus, Old Breton Uuicon or Welsh Uuicant.
Willimantic(Settlement)English (American) Various cities in the United States. Of either Mohegan-Pequot or Narragansett origin, probably meaning "place near the evergreen swamp".
Willmar(Settlement)English Transferred use of the Belgian surname Willmar. The city in Minnesota is named for Leon (Chadwick) Willmar, an agent for the European bondholder of the St... [more]
Windhoek(Settlement)Afrikaans, Dutch, English This is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It’s unknown how this place got it’s name, most think it’s from the Afrikaans word wind-hoek, which means ''wind corner''... [more]
Windsor(Settlement)English City in Ontario, Canada, from an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.
Winkler(Political Subdivision & Settlement)German, English The city of Winkler was named after Valentin Winkler, a German land agent who helped settle the area. The surname Winkler is of German origin, derived from "Winkel", meaning "corner" or "angle", which could refer to a geographical feature or a person living in such a place... [more]
Winnipeg(Settlement)English Name of a city in Manitoba, Canada Ojibwe wiinibig "dirty waters", from wini "dirty" + nibi "water".
Winterberg(Region, Settlement & Mountain)German The name of towns in German and Switzerland, as well as a mountain chain in South Africa and several mountains in Germany. From German Winter meaning "winter" and Berg meaning "mountain, hill".
Wisley(Settlement)English It is a small village in Surrey, England.
Wixom(Settlement)English Transferred use of the English surname Wixom. The city in Michigan is named for Willard Clark Wixom, a local landowner.
Woehan(Settlement)Dutch Rarely used Dutch form of Wuhan.
Wolfville(Settlement)English (Canadian) A Nova Scotia town in the Annapolis Valley. Home of Acadia University. Formerly named Mud Creek, it was renamed Wolfville in 1830 after the town's postmaster, Elisha DeWolf.
Woodstock(Settlement)English Name of many towns and cities throughout the world. Means "wood place".
Woolhope(Settlement)English (British) Means "Wulfgifu's valley", derived from the Old English feminine given name Wulfgifu and Middle English hop meaning "small valley"... [more]
Wrexham(Settlement)English Wrexham is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England... [more]
Wrocław(Settlement)Polish From the Old Polish names Wrocisław, Wrócisław or Warcisław, meaning a return to glory. Cognate with Czech Vratislav. It is associated with Vratislaus I of Bohemia, the legendary founder, but the first records of the city appear decades after his death... [more]
Wryeton(Settlement)English Middle English Wry(e) may mean "bent", "twisted" combined with the "ton" ending.
Wuhan(Settlement)Chinese From a portmanteau of 武昌 (Wǔchāng) and 汉口 (Hànkǒu), the names of two of the three towns combined to form modern Wuhan. This is the name of the capital city of the Chinese province of Hubei.
Xiamen(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 厦 (xià) meaning "mansion, large building" and 门 (mén) meaning "gate, door", itself an alteration of the older name 下门 (Xiàmén) from 下 (xià) meaning "under, below, down" and 门 (mén) meaning "gate, door"... [more]
Xi'an(Settlement)Chinese, English Means "western peace" from Chinese 西 (xī) meaning "west" and 安 (ān) meaning "peace, quiet"... [more]
Xinshan(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 新 (xīn) meaning "new" and 山 (shān) meaning "mountain". This is the Chinese name for the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru.
Y(Settlement)French Probably from the Y family of Vermandois, who owned the district. This is the name of a commune in the Department of Somme, Hauts-de-France, France.
Yabi(Settlement)Chinese From Malay Api-Api, one of the former names of the city. This is the Chinese name of the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu.
Yabucoa(Settlement)Spanish (Latin American) A city in Puerto Rico. Likely from Taíno yaucoa meaning "cassava plantation". Another possibility is Taíno guaroca meaning "where water is found".
Yala(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Derived from Malay jala meaning "net", ultimately from Sanskrit जाल (jala). This is the name of a province in southern Thailand as well as the region's capital city.
Yamoussoukro(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English, French, Danish, Portuguese In honor of Yamousso, a Baoulé queen and great-aunt of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1905–1993), with the addition of the suffix kro ("village"). This is the name of the de iure capital city of Côte D'ivoire, as well as the name of the district around it.
Yangon(Settlement)Burmese, English Means "end of strife" in Burmese, from ရန် (yan) meaning "enemy, danger" or "quarrel" combined with ကုန် (gon) meaning "to run out, end". This is the name of the largest city in Myanmar, which served as the country's capital until 2006... [more]
Yankton(Settlement & Body of Water)English (American) The city in South Dakota was named for the Yankton tribe of the Western Dakota, who are indigenous to the area; Yankton itself is derived from Dakota Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ, meaning "village at the end".
Yaoundé(Settlement)English, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Welsh, Yoruba From the outpost of Jaundo, founded between 1887 and 1889 by German explorers Lt. Richard Kund and Hans Tappenbeck and named so after the local Ewondo people, also known as Yaunde. The name could also have been a German rendition of the Ewondo expression mia wondo ("peanut farmers")... [more]
Yarmouth(Settlement)English The name Yarmouth is derived from the town of Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. The name is thought to be a combination of "Yare", the name of a nearby river, and "mouth", which refers to the mouth of the river... [more]
Yathrib(Settlement)Arabic Meaning uncertain, probably of Ancient North Arabian origin. This was the name of the city of Medina before the advent of Islam. Traditionally it is said that the city's name was changed due to its negative connotation with the Arabic root ث ر ب (th-r-b) meaning "to complain, to accuse, to blame".
Yauco(Settlement & River)Spanish (Latin American) A city and river in Puerto Rico. From Taíno coayuco meaning "cassava plantation".
Yazd(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Persian Derived from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭲𐭩 (yzdty) meaning "god, divinity", ultimately from Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 (yazata). This is the name of a province and city in Iran.
Yekaterinburg(Settlement)Russian Derived from the given name Yekaterina, named in honour of empress consort (later empress regnant) Catherine I of Russia. This is the name of a city in Russia.
Yên Bái(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 安 (yên) meaning "calm, peaceful" and 沛 (bái) meaning "abundant, full". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Yeovil(Settlement)English (British) Derived from the Celtic river name, 'gifl' meaning forked river - which was an earlier name for the River Yeo, which runs through Yeovil.
Yerevan(Settlement)Armenian, English, Russian Meaning unknown. It may be from Yervand, the name of a 3rd-century BC Armenian king (also known as Orontes IV), or from Էրեբունի (Erebuni), an ancient Urartian fortification and city... [more]
Yining(Settlement)Chinese Renamed from the former name 宁远 (Ningyuan) to avoid confusion with other places in China with the same name (such as a county in Hunan province). The name itself is literally written with the characters 伊 (yī), a third person pronoun, and 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, calm, serene"... [more]
Yogyakarta(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian From Javanese ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ (ngayogyakarta), itself derived from Sanskrit अयोध्या (ayodhya) meaning "unconquerable, irresistible" (also referring to the mythical city of Ayodhya mentioned in Hindu texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata) and कृत (krta) meaning "done, made, accomplished"... [more]
Yoichi(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a district and town in Shiribeshi Subprefecture in south-western Hokkaidō, located in northern Japan.... [more]
Yokohama(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "sideways, horizontal" and 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore". This is the name of a city in Japan.
Yokosuka(Settlement)Japanese This is from a place in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture in the east of the country. The kanji that make up Yokosuka are 横 (ou, yoko) meaning "horizontal, side, sideways, width, woof", 須 (shu, su, subekara.ku, subeshi, hige, matsu, machi.iru, mato.meru) meaning "by all means, necessarily, ought" and 賀 (ga, ka) meaning "congratulations, joy."... [more]
Yongin(Settlement)Korean Combination of 용 (yong, "dragon") and 인 (in, "benevolence"). This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Yongzhen(Settlement)Chinese Chinese form of Vientiane. This form is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Yonkers(Settlement)English Name of the 4th most populous city in New York state, a variant of Dutch Jonkers, jonker, "young gentleman", derived from Dutch jong "young".
Yorkton(Settlement)English Yorkton was named in 1882 by members of the York Farmers' Colonization Company, a group of settlers from Toronto (then called York). The name "York" honors York, England, and follows a common British colonial tradition of naming places after locations in the United Kingdom... [more]
Yoshkar-Ola(Settlement)Mari, Russian Means "red city" in Mari, from Eastern Mari йошкар (yoshkar) meaning "red" and ола (ola) meaning "city". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Mari El.
Ypres(Settlement)French French form of Ieper, known for the battles that occurred in 1914 and 1915 during the First World War.
Ytyk-Kyuyol(Settlement)Russian, Yakut A settlement in Yakutia, Russia. It is named for a nearby lake, whose name literally means "Sacred Lake" in the Yakut language.
Yuriria(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Body of Water)Mexican Short form of Purépecha Yuririapundaro meaning "lake of blood" or "place of the bloody lake". This is the name of a lake, town and municipality in central Mexico, located in the 'Bajío', or lowlands, of Guanajuato (state)... [more]
Zaagawaamik(Settlement)Ojibwe An Ojibwe settlement in Minnesota, from Ojibwe zaagawaamik meaning "sandbar".
Zalipie(Settlement)Polish Zalipie is known for being "Poland's Painted Village". The insides and outsides of the buildings, doghouses, and even bridges in Zalipie are painted in brightly colored folk art that attracts tourists from around the globe... [more]
Zamboanga(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Chavacano, Cebuano, Tagalog, English, Spanish Spanish form of Sinama Samboangan meaning "mooring place", derived from samboang meaning "mooring pole" and the place marker suffix -an. This is the name of a peninsula in the Philippines, as well as three provinces and a city located on the peninsula.
Zamora(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish The name of a Spanish city and municipality, possibly derived from Berber ⴰⵣⵎⵎⵓⵔ (azemmur) meaning "wild olive tree".
Zapopan(Settlement)Spanish (Mexican) From Nahuatl Tzapopan, from a combination of tzapotl, referring to a sapote tree, and the locative suffix -pan.... [more]
Zaragoza(Settlement)Spanish, 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.
Zarahemla(Settlement)Mormon The name of a prominent city in ancient America, according to the Book of Mormon, named after a man who was an ancestor of the prophet Ammon and a descendant of Mulek... [more]
Zarzal(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish Name of a city in Colombia.
Zhangzhou(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 漳 (zhāng), the name of a river, and 州 (zhōu) meaning "prefecture, province". This is the name of a city in China.
Zhengzhou(Settlement)Chinese Means "Zheng province" from Chinese 郑 (zhèng) referring to the ancient state of Zheng, which existed from the 9th to 4th centuries BC in what is now Henan province, and 州 (zhōu) meaning "province, prefecture"... [more]
Zhongshan(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 中 (zhōng) literally meaning "middle" and named in honour of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), who was also known by the Japanese pseudonym 中山樵 (Nakayama Kikori), and 山 (shān) meaning "mountain"... [more]
Zinkgruvan(Settlement)Swedish Means "the zink mine" in Swedish. Zinkgruvan is both a village and a mine. It is the only locality in Sweden starting with Z.
Zugdidi(Settlement)Georgian, Mingrelian Means "large hill" in Georgian and Mingrelian, from ზუგი (zugi) meaning "hill" and დიდი (didi) meaning "big, large". This is the name of a city in Georgia.
Zzyzx(Settlement)English The name of a place in Southern California, in the Mojave Desert, which was the site of the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa from 1944 to 1974, run by self-proclaimed medical doctor and Methodist minister Curtis Howe Springer (1896-1985)... [more]