Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Marawi(Settlement)Filipino, Maranao, Tagalog From Maraghui or Marahui, the name of a Maranao fort that was seiged in 1895. This is the name of the capital city of the Philippine province of Lanao del Sur.
Mariefred(Settlement)Swedish Swedish town named after a charterhouse called Pax Mariae "Maria's peace". A combination of the name Maria and Swedish fred "peace" (pax means "peace, harmony" in Latin).
Mariestad(Settlement)Swedish Means "Maria's town". It was founded in 1583 by Charles IX of Sweden and was named after his wife Maria of the Palatinate.... [more]
Matsue(Settlement)Japanese The kanji that make up the name are 松 (matsu), meaning "pine tree", and 江 (e), meaning "creek, inlet, bay"... [more]
Matsuyama(Settlement)Japanese Means "pine mountain" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 松 (matsu), meaning "pine tree", and 山 (yama), meaning "mountain"... [more]
Maykop(Settlement)Russian From Adyghe Мыекъуапэ (Myeqwapa) meaning "cape of apples", from мые (mye) meaning "apple" and къуапэ (qwapa) meaning "cape, gorge, height". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Adygea.
Mecca(Settlement)English, Italian, Romanian From Arabic مكة (Makka) which is from بكة (bakka), an ancient name for the region. The name is of uncertain origin and meaning; it may be from Arabic بكى (baka) meaning "to cry, to mourn" or Ge'ez ምኵራብ (məkʷrab) meaning "temple, sanctuary"... [more]
Medan(Settlement)Indonesian Possibly from Tamil மைதானம் (maidhanam) meaning "ground, field". This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra.
Medicine Hat(Settlement)English (Canadian) A city in Alberta, Canada. The name is from the Siksiká 'saamis', the word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men.
Mellieħa(Settlement & Body of Water)Maltese The name of a large village or small town located on the northern tip of Malta's main island, it comes from mellieħa meaning "salt pan," derived from the Semitic root m-l-h (compare melħ meaning "salt"), probably referring to the ancient Punic-Roman salt pans which existed at Mellieħa Bay, the site of which is now occupied by the Għadira Nature Reserve.
Melrose(Settlement)Scottish Habitational namefor a place near Galashiels in the Scottish borders, so named from British words that were ansetors of Welsh moel 'bare', 'barren' rhos 'heath'.... [more]
Mesa(Settlement)English, Spanish From Spanish mesa, literally "table", referring to a flat-topped elevation. This is the name of a city in the US state of Arizona.
Miami(Settlement)English Name of a city in Florida. The name was first mentioned by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a captive of Indians in southern Florida for 17 years, when he referred to what is now Lake Okeechobee as the "Lake of Mayaimi, which is called Mayaimi because it is very large"... [more]
Milton(Settlement)English Name of a town in Ontario, Canada.
Milwaukee(Settlement)English From Algonquian millioke, meaning "good", "beautiful" and "pleasant land". This is the name of several settlements in the United States, including the largest city in the state of Wisconsin.
Minnetonka(Settlement)English Name of a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, means "great water" from Dakota mni "river, stream" and tanka "freat".
Minsk(Settlement)Belarusian, English, Russian From Old East Slavic Мѣньскъ (Menisku), which was derived from a river named Men. This is the name of the capital city of Belarus.
Mito(Settlement)Japanese The kanji that make up the name are 水 (mizu), meaning "water", and 戸 (to), meaning "door". This is the name of the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Mitsue(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a village located in the eastern-most part of Nara prefecture in western Japan.... [more]
Montreal(Settlement)English Name of a city in Canada, from French le mont Royal "mont royal". Jacques Cartier named it after the nearby mountain, but it is uncertain how royal became real... [more]
Morioka(Settlement)Japanese Means "prosperous hill" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 盛 (mori), meaning "prosper", and 岡 (oka), meaning "hill". This is the name of the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Mörön(Settlement)Mongolian Means "river" in Mongolian. This is the name of a city in Mongolia.
Morvah(Settlement)Cornish From Cornish Morvedh, derived from mor "sea" and bedh "grave". This is the name of a small Cornish village.
Moscow(Settlement)English From the name of the Moskva River, which is of uncertain origin. It may be from the Proto-Indo-European root meu meaning "wet" or mesg meaning "to dip, to sink" or from the Finno-Ugric name Mustajoki meaning "black river"... [more]
Mos Eisley(Settlement)Popular Culture Mos Eisley is a fictional town and large spaceport located on the planet Tatooine in the 'Star Wars' universe. The name is unexplained.
Muntinlupa(Settlement)Filipino The City of Muntinlupa was founded in 1601. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 39.75 km2 and has 504,509 people living in it as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Nagoya(Settlement)Japanese Of uncertain meaning; the name may be derived from the adjective nagoyaka (なごやか), meaning "peaceful". This is the name of the capital city of Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Naha(Settlement)Japanese Possibly a corruption of naba, a Western Japanese and Ryukyuan word for "mushroom". This is the name of the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
Nairn(Settlement)Scottish A town in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The town is so called due to its location on the river Nairn, the name of which is probably of pre-Celtic origin.
Namyangju(Settlement)Korean Combination of 南 (남, nam, "south"), 楊 (양, yang, "willow") and 州 (주, ju, "province"), thus "southern willow province". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Nara(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a city which is the capital of Nara Prefecture in western Japan. The kanji used are 奈 (dai, na, nai, ikan, karanashi) meaning "Nara, what?" and 良 (ryou, i.i, yo.i, ra) meaning "good, pleasing, skilled."... [more]
Narathiwat(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai นร (nara) meaning "man" and อธิวาส (athiwat) meaning "residence, house". This is the name of a province and city in Thailand.
Narni(Settlement)Italian Derived from the name of the Nera River which was called Nar in Latin. Author C.S. Lewis used the town's Latin name Narnia for a fictional country in his Chronicles of Narnia series of fantasy novels first released 1950.
Navotas(Settlement)Filipino The City of Navotas was founded on December 20, 1827. It is one of the 16 cities making up the NCR of the Philippines. It has a land area of 10.77 km2 and has a population of 249,463 as of the 2015 census.... [more]
Naypyidaw(Settlement)English From Burmese နေပြည်တော် (Nepyidaw) meaning "abode of the king" or "royal abode", from နေပြည် (ne pyi) meaning "abode" and တော် (taw) meaning "royal, sacred"... [more]
Nazran(Settlement)Russian From Ingush Наьсаре (Nasare) possibly from Нясара (Nyasara), supposedly the name of the first person to settle in the region. This is the name of a town in Ingushetia that served as the republic's capital until 2000.
Neftekamsk(Settlement)Russian From Russian нефть (neft) meaning "oil, petroleum" combined with the name of the Kama River. This is the name of a city in Bashkortostan, Russia.
Newcastle(Settlement)English A city in North-East England. It simply denoted the site of a New Castle, as this is where a castle was erected by William the Conquer in 1080.... [more]
Nha Trang(Settlement)Vietnamese Possibly from Eastern Cham YjaTran, Ea Trang or Ea Dran (literally meaning "reed river"), all names for the Cái River. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.
Niagara(Body of Water, Settlement & Region)Iroquois Name of a popular waterfall, a town, and region, in Canada. Derived from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra, meaning either "the strait", or "bisected bottom lands"
Niamey(Settlement)English, Armenian, Danish, Finnish, French, Italian, Slovak, Spanish Of uncertain origin; there are several theories on the origin of the name. It may be derived from a combination of Zarma words nia ("tree") and me ("shore where water is drawn"), or from the phrase "Wa niammané" ("take this city"), reportedly said by a Kalle clan chief... [more]
Nicosia(Settlement)English From a French corruption of Greek Λευκωσία (Lefkosia), which is of uncertain meaning. The most probable theory states that it is derived from the Greek phrase λευκό περιουσία (lefko periousia) meaning "white estate"... [more]
Nida(Settlement)Lithuanian The name of a Lithuanian resort town located at the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic states, close to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. It is said to be derived from Old Prussian nida meaning "fluent."
Nidaros(Settlement)Medieval Scandinavian From the the name of the River Nid (see Nidelva) combined with Old Norse óss denoting the city's location near the river. This was the former name of Trondheim.
Niigata(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese Means "new lagoon" in Japanese. The kanji that make up the name are 新 (nii), meaning "new", and 潟 (kata), meaning "lagoon". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Nipigon(River & Settlement)Ojibwe Town and river in Ontario, Canada. From the Ojibwe word Alimipigon, possibly meaning "where the water begins".
Nipissing(Body of Water & Settlement)Algonquin Lake and town in Ontario, Canada. From the Algonquin word meaning "big water"
Nixa(Settlement)English Named after one of the towns first civic leaders, Nicholas A. Inman. Originally supposed to be called 'Nix' before the inclusion of Inman's middle initial.
Niza(Settlement)Spanish Spanish for the city of Nice, France.
Norwich(Settlement)English From Old English "north" and wic "trading center"/"harbor". Name of a city in the county of Norfolk.
Nottingham(Settlement)English Dervied from its Old English name "homestead of Snot's people"; the initial S was lost in the 12th century, due to the influence of Anglo-Norman French (the combination of sn- is alien to French). Name of a city in Nottinghamshire, from which the county gets its name.
Nouakchott(Settlement)French, English From Arabic نواكشوط (Nuwakshut), itself from Tamazight Nawākšūṭ meaning "place of the winds" or inua u-kshut meaning "made of wood, made of sticks". This is the name of the capital of Mauritania.
Nur-Sultan(Settlement)Kazakh, English, Russian From the given name Nursultan. This is the name of the capital city of Kazakhstan, which was renamed in honour of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940-)... [more]
Oakland(Settlement)English This is name of places in the United States and Canada (including the one in California).... [more]
Oban(Settlement)Scottish An t-Òban in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay''.
Odense(Settlement)Danish From Old Norse Óðinn's vé meaning "Odin's sanctuary". This is the 3rd largest city in Denmark and the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the author of fairy tales such as 'The Little Mermaid' (1837), and 'The Snow Queen' (1844).
Ojai(Settlement)English Derived from a hispanicized form of the Ventureño Chumash word ʼawhaʼy which meant "moon". This is the name of a city and valley in Southern California.
Oka(Settlement)Mohawk Unknown meaning. Name of town in Quebec
Ölgii(Settlement & Mountain)Mongolian Means "motherland" in Mongolian. This is the name of a city and a mountain in western Mongolia.
Olisipo(Settlement)Ancient Roman Ancient name of Lisboa used while the city were a part of the Roman Empire. Probably derived from the name Odysseus.
Omaha(Settlement)Sioux Siouan people of northeastern Nebraska, 1804, Maha, perhaps from Omaha umaha, perhaps literally "upstream (people), against the flow." The Nebraska city was founded in 1854.
Onslow(Settlement)English Meaning, "a place within the liberty of Shrewsbury, in Salop', the original and still confusingly used, name for the county of Shropshire.
Oran(Settlement)English, French From the Arabic name وهران (Wahran), which is ultimately derived from the Berber root hr meaning "lion". This is the name of a city in Algeria.
Orival(Settlement)French Derived from Latin aurea vallis meaning "golden vale/valley," the name belonging to three communes (one since defunct), located in the Seine-Maritime & Somme départements of northern France and Charente département of western France.
Oslo(Settlement)Norwegian Meaning uncertain. Possibly a combination of Old Norse áss meaning either "ridge" or "Æsir god", and ló "meadow, clearing". Oslo is the capital city of Norway... [more]
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 a city in Northern Finland.
Padang(Settlement)Indonesian, Minangkabau Means "field, plain" in Indonesian. This is the name of the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra.
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.
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".
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]
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]
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]
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]
Pavlodar(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, English Derived from the name of Pavel Alexandrovich, a former Grand Duke of Russia. The city was originally named Koryakovsky before Pavel's birth. Pavlodar is a northeastern city in Kazakhstan.
Paxson(Settlement)English This is the name of 3 places, two being in America and one being in Canada.... [more]