Bucharest(Settlement)English Meaning uncertain. Traditional etymologies state that the city's name is derived from Bucur, the name of a prince, outlaw, fisherman, shepherd, or hunter (depending on the specific legend), whose name is derived from Romanian bucurie meaning "joy, happiness", probably of Dacian origin... [more]
Bucharest(Settlement)English, Malay, Tagalog From Romanian București, which is believed to be derived from the given name Bucur (referring to a figure in Romanian legend) combined with the suffix -ești used for place names... [more]
Bucheon(Settlement)Korean Combination of 富 (부, bu, "wealth") and 川 (천, cheon, "river, stream"), thus "wealthy river". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Bueng Kan(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai บึง (bueng) meaning "lake, marsh" and กาฬ (kan) meaning "black, dark". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as its provincial capital.
Buenos Aires(Settlement)Spanish Ultimately derived from Aragonese buen ayre “good air”. It is the capital city of Argentina. The explorer who founded the city originally called it Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Nuestra Señora la Virgen María de los Buenos Aires meaning "City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Good Airs" which was later shortened to just Buenos Aires.
Bukhara(Settlement)English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian From Uzbek Buxoro, itself derived from Persian بخارا (bokhara) of uncertain meaning, possibly from Sogdian βuxārak meaning "place of good fortune". Alternately it may have come from Sanskrit विहार (vihara) referring to a Buddhist monastery... [more]
Bukit Merah(Settlement)Malay, English Means "red hill" in Malay from bukit meaning "hill" and merah meaning "red", referring to the red-coloured soil of a hill in the area. This is the name of a planning area and town in Singapore, also called Redhill.
Bukit Panjang(Settlement)Malay, English Means "long hill" in Malay, from bukit meaning "hill" and panjang meaning "long". This is the name of a planning area and town in Singapore.
Bukit Timah(Settlement)Malay, English Literally means "tin hill" in Malay, from bukit meaning "hill" and timah meaning "tin". However, the name is more likely a corrupted form of the original Malay name Bukit Temak meaning "temak hill", from bukit meaning "hill" and temak referring to a type of tree (genus Shorea)... [more]
Bukittinggi(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau Means "tall hill" from Indonesian bukit meaning "hill" and tinggi meaning "high, tall". This is the name of a city in West Sumatra province, Indonesia.
Bulawayo(Settlement)Shona Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and is also a province in the Matabeleland region. It was founded by a king named Lobengula around 1840. The city's name means 'place of slaughter'.
Bunduqiyyah(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Venetia (see Venice) via the German form Venedig. It is usually written with the definite article: البندقية (al-Bunduqiyyah).
Bunkyō(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 文 (bun) meaning "literature, culture, writing" and 京 (kyō) meaning "capital city". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo.
Buôn Ma Thuột(Settlement)Vietnamese Means "village of Y Thuôt's father" from Rade ƀuôn meaning "village", ama meaning "father" and the given name Y Thuôt. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Buriram(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Means "city of happiness" from Thai บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town" and รัมย์ (ram) meaning "joyful, pleasurable". This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Burlington(Settlement)English Burlington is a city in Vermont and other states, it could be named this from Richard Boyle, the third Earl of Burlington, or a family with he surname Burling.
Busan(Settlement)Korean From Sino-Korean 釜山 (Busan) meaning "cauldron mountain", from 釜 (bu) meaning "cauldron, pot, kettle" and 山 (san) meaning "mountain". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Byzantium(Settlement)Late Greek (Latinized) Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony on the site that later became Constantinople, the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire since 330 AC. From 1204 to 1261 was conquered and ruled by crusaders but Michael VIII Palaeologus reintroduced there a Byzantine dynasty... [more]
Cadix(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French French form of Cádiz.
Cádiz(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish From Arabic قادس (Qadis), ultimately derived (via Latin) from Phoenician 𐤂𐤃𐤓 (gdr) meaning "wall, compound". This is the name of a province and city in southwestern Spain, historically known as Gades in Latin and Γάδειρα (Gadeira) in Greek.
Caernarfon(Settlement)English, Welsh From the Welsh words caer "fort", yn "in" and Arfon "opposite Môn (Anglesey)", therefore altogether translating to "the fort in the land opposite Anglesey"... [more]
Cagayan De Oro(Settlement)Filipino Cagayan de Oro, officially the City of Cagayan de Oro, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Northern Mindanao, Philippines. It is the capital of Misamis Oriental where it is geographically situated but governed administratively independent from the provincial government.
Cainhannoch(Settlement)Mormon From an alternative name for New York used in the Doctrine and Covenants. A possible origin could be that in the Bible, Cain, the son of Adam, had a son named Enoch. A derivative of that is Henoch, and a further derivative is Hanoch... [more]
Caiseal(Settlement)Irish The original Gaelic name of a town in County Tipperary, Ireland, known in the English-speaking world as Cashel. It means "stone ringfort", ultimately from Latin castellum.
Caleta(Settlement)Spanish City name meaning ''little bay, inlet, or cove''. Most often La Caleta.
Callifae(Settlement)English From the name of a town in ancient Italy, of uncertain origin. It was mentioned only by the Roman historian Livy, and may correspond to the village Calvisi, at the foot of the Monte Matese.
Caloocan(Settlement)Filipino Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people, making it the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines
Caloocan(Settlement)Tagalog, English Derived from Tagalog kalookan meaning "interior, inland, innermost region". This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Cà Mau(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 哥 (cà) meaning "to sing" and 毛 (mau) meaning "fur".
Cà Mau(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese Derived from Khmer ទឹកខ្មៅ (tuk khmaw) meaning "ink" (literally "black water"), from ទឹក (tuk) meaning "water" and ខ្មៅ (khmaw) meaning "black". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Vietnam.
Cambridge(Settlement)English Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of London.... [more]
Campeche(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish Derived from Kaan Peech, the name of the 16th-century Maya chiefdom meaning "place of snakes and ticks", derived from Yucatec Maya kaan meaning "snake" and peech meaning "tick"... [more]
Campobasso(Settlement)Italian, English, French, German, Spanish Literally "low field"; derived from Latin Campus Vassorum, denoting that the city was host to vassals. This is the name of the capital city of the southern Italian region of Molise.
Cana(Settlement)Biblical The Galilean settlement where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning the water to wine, according to the Gospel of John.
Canton(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English (Archaic), French, Italian Derived from Portuguese Cantão, which was ultimately from Chinese 广东 (Guǎngdōng) (see Guangdong). Used for both the Chinese province of Guangdong and the city of Guangzhou, it is considered dated in English but still current in French and Italian.
Cao Bằng(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Vietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 高 (cao) meaning "tall, high" and 平 (bằng) meaning "level, even, peaceful". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which the city is located.
Cardiff(Settlement)Welsh The capital city of Wales. Cardiff derives from the city's Welsh name Caerdydd, which in turn was derived from the city's Old Welsh name Caerdyf (In Welsh f (v) is often mutated to dd (th)).... [more]
Carperby(Settlement)English A village in Yorkshire, England. The second element is Old Norse -byr, 'farm'. The first element is possibly the Old Gaelic personal name Cairpre. This seems to indicate a farm of an Irish or Scottish Viking, who settled in England... [more]
Carson(Settlement)English (American) Carson City is the capital of the American state of Nevada.
Carson City(Settlement)English It was named after American frontiersman Kit Carson, this is the capital city of the US state of Nevada.
Carveth(Settlement)English From Cornish Karvergh ("fort of horses"), from kar ("fort") and mergh ("horse"). This is the name of a village in Cornwall.
Casablanca(Settlement)English, French, Spanish Means "white house" in Spanish. The name comes from a Spanish translation of the Arabic name الدار البيضاء (ad-Dar al-Bayda'), which in turn was derived from a calque of the Portuguese name Casa Branca... [more]
Casciago(Settlement)Italian Town in Italy. Possibly the site of the ancient Cassiciacum, a place where Saint Augustine and his friends lived after his conversion to Christianity.
Casper(Settlement)English From the name of Fort Caspar named after United States army officer Caspar Collins (see Caspar). Casper is city in Wyoming, USA.
Castlebar(Settlement)Irish Means "Barry's Castle", from a castle built by the de Barry family, which the town grew around.... [more]
Castleblayney(Settlement)English "Castle", referring to the castle outside the town, + "Blayney", after Sir Edward Blayney, whom the British Crown granted land in the area to.
Castries(Settlement)French Creole Named for Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix de Castries.
Catania(Settlement)Italian, English, German, Sicilian, Spanish From Ancient Greek Kατάvη (Katánē), itself either from Sicel katane ("grater"), due to its proximity to Mount Etna and the resulting rough earth, or from Proto-Italic katina ("basin"), owing to the wide valley around the town... [more]
Catanzaro(Settlement)Italian, English, French, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, German From Latin Catanciarium, itself derived from Catacium, ultimately from Ancient Greek Καταρτάριοι, meaning "silk spinners". This is the name of a city in southern Italy, the second city in Calabria, as well as its capital city.
Cavite(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Other)English (Hispanicized), Filipino (Hispanicized) Hispanicized form of Tagalog kawit, meaning "hook". This name originally referred to a peninsula where Cavite City is located in, but usage eventually expanded to the entire province.
Cebu(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Cebuano Sugbo, derived from Old Cebuano sibu or sibo meaning "trade", itself a shortened form of the phrase sinibuayng hingpit meaning "place for trading". This is the name of an island, province and city (Cebu City) in the Philippines.
Celje(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Slovene From Latin Celeia (the Roman-era name of the settlement), from Ancient Greek Κέλεια (Keleia) of unknown origin... [more]
Celle(Settlement)German Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Ceuta(Settlement)English, Spanish, Portuguese The settlement below Jebel Musa was later renamed for the seven hills around the site, collectively referred to as the "Seven Brothers". In particular, the Roman stronghold at the site took the name "Fort at the Seven Brothers"... [more]
Chachoengsao(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Believed to be a corruption of Khmer ស្ទឹងជ្រៅ (stoeng chrau) meaning "deep river", from ស្ទឹង (stoeng) meaning "small river, stream" and ស្ទឹង (chrau) meaning "deep"... [more]
Chainat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai ชัย (chai) meaning "victory" and นาท (nat) meaning "resounding, roaring". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Chaiyaphum(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai ชัย (chai) meaning "victory" and ภูมิ (phum) meaning "land, region". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Chandigarh(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Hindi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, English From the name of the Hindu goddess Chandi combined with Hindi गढ़ (garh) meaning "fort". This is the name of a union territory and city in northern India.
Changan(Settlement)Chinese Changan was the capital of the Tang dynasty from A.D 618 to A.D 907. It was even the largest city in the world. But it was lost due to rebellion and invasion.
Changsha(Settlement)Chinese Means "long sandbar" from Chinese 长 (cháng) meaning "long" and 沙 (shā) meaning "sand, gravel"... [more]
Changwon(Settlement)Korean Combination of 昌 (창, chang, "prosperity") and 原 (원, won, "meadow"), thus "prosperous meadow". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Chanthaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai Most likely derived from Thai จันทร์ (chan) meaning "moon" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of, as well as a district and town in, Thailand.
Chantilly(Settlement)French From the name of a town in France near Paris, ultimately derived from the Gallo-Roman name Cantilius. The city gave its name to a type of delicate lace originally made there.
Chardonnay(Settlement)French The name of a famous village for the white wine produced here. Means "a place of thistles" from the latin cardonnacum.
Charlotte(Settlement)English Name of a city in North Carolina, named in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who had become the Queen of Great Britain just seven years before the town's incorporation.
Chattogram(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Bengali, English Alternate transcription of Bengali চট্টগ্রাম (see Chottogram) officially used by the government of Bangladesh.
Cheltenham(Settlement)English (British) First recorded in 803, as Celtan hom; the meaning has not been resolved with certainty, but latest scholarship concludes that the first element preserves a pre-British noun cilta, 'steep hill', here referring to the Cotswold scarp; the second element may mean 'settlement' or 'water-meadow'... [more]
Chengdu(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 成 (chéng) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded" and 都 (dū) meaning "capital city, large city", supposedly named during the city's founding by the ninth king of the Kaiming dyntasty of the ancient state of Shu... [more]
Chennai(Settlement)Indian, Tamil, English Most likely from the name of 17th-century Telugu monarch Damarla Chennapa Nayaka (or Chennappa Naicker). This is the name of the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which was officially called Madras until 1996.
Cheonan(Settlement)Korean Combination of 天 (천, cheon, "sky, heaven") and 安 (안, ān, "peace"), thus "heavenly peace". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Cheongju(Settlement)Korean Combination of 淸 (청, cheong, "clear, clean") and 州 (주, ju, "province"), thus "clear province", or "perfect province". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Cheragh(Settlement)Persian This is the name of a village in Lorestan Province in western Iran. This is also used as a place name element (first or last) in other villages across Iran.... [more]
Chiang Mai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai, English Means "new city" from Thai เชียง (chiang) meaning "(walled) city" and ใหม่ (mai) meaning "new". This is the name of a province of and city in Thailand.
Chiang Mai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai, Northern Thai Means "new city" from Thai เชียง (chiang) or Northern Thai ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦ (chiang) both meaning "city" and Thai ใหม่ (mai) or Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨾᩲ᩵ (mai) meaning "new"... [more]
Chiang Rai(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai เชียง (chiang) meaning "walled city" and ราย (rai) referring to Mangrai (1238-1311), the first king of the Lan Na Kingdom who established the city. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Thailand.
Chiba(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 葉 (ha) meaning "leaf". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Chicago(Settlement)English Name of a city in Illinois, from town founded in 1833, named from a Canadian French form of Algonquian sheka:ko:heki "place of the wild onion," or Ojibwa shika:konk "at the skunk place".
Chicomoztoc(Settlement & Other)Nahuatl, Aztec From Nahuatl chicome (“seven”), oztotl (“cave”), and -c (“place”).
Chihuahua(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish Meaning unknown, possibly of Nahuatl origin meaning "the place where water of the rivers meet, confluence". This is the name of a state of, as well as a city in, Mexico.
Chippenham(Settlement)English One possibility for its naming may have been from Cyppa's Hamme which comes from the words ce-ap meaning market, and Hamme meaning enclosed by the river or an enclosed water meadow both of which Chippenham was.... [more]
Chittagong(Settlement)Bengali, English The etymology of Chittagong is uncertain. One explanation credits the first Arab traders for shatt ghangh, where shatt means "delta" and ghangh stood for the Ganges. The Arakanese chronicle states that a king named Tsu-la-taing Tsandaya, after conquering Bengal, set up a stone pillar as a trophy or memorial at the place since called Tst-ta-gaung as the limit of conquest... [more]
Chittagong(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Bengali চট্টগ্রাম (Chottogram) of uncertain meaning. This is the name of an administrative division of, as well as a city in, Bangladesh (officially named Chattogram).
Chiyoda(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand", 代 (yo) meaning "generation" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy"... [more]
Choibalsan(Settlement)Mongolian In honor of Communist leader Khorloogin Choibalsan, who took part in the Mongolian Revolution of 1920. This is the name of a city in Mongolia.
Chonburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai ชล (chon) meaning "(body of) water" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town", so named for the nearby Gulf of Thailand. This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Christiania(Settlement)Norwegian (Archaic) Named in honor of Christian IV (1577-1648), king of Denmark-Norway. This was the name of the capital of Norway between 1624 and 1925.
Chumphon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai ชุม (chum) meaning "come together, assemble, gather" and พร (phon) meaning "blessing". The second element may be a corruption of พล (phon) meaning "force, strength, power" or, alternately, the entire name may come from a corruption of อุทุมพร (uthumphon) meaning "gular fig tree"... [more]
Chūō(Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 中央 (chūō) meaning "centre, middle, central". This is the name of a special ward of Tokyo as well the name of wards in multiple other cities throughout Japan. It is also the name of a city in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Cilacap(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese, Sundanese Derived from Javanese tlacap meaning "corner, point, end", so named for the sharp angle made by the end of a local bay. This is the name of a regency and city in Indonesia.
Cilegon(Settlement)Indonesian, Sundanese Derived from Sundanese cai meaning "water" and legon meaning "arch, bay, cove". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Cill Dara(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish The Irish name for County Kildare. Means "church of the oak" in Irish.... [more]
Cill Mhantáin(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Irish Irish name for the county of Wicklow. Meaning "church of Mantan". It is named after a peer of Saint Patrick. Mantan had his teeth knocked out by Irish pagans, and then he was renamed Mantan, which means "toothless one".
Cimahi(Settlement)Indonesian, Sundanese From the name of a river derived from Sundanese cai mahi meaning "enough water". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.