Ipoh(Settlement)Malay, English From Malay ipuh meaning "upas" (a type of poisonous tree). This is the name of the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak.
Isfahan(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English From Persian اصفهان (Esfahan) ultimately derived from Old Persian spādānah meaning "connected with the army" or spādānām meaning "of the armies", from 𐎿𐎱𐎠𐎭 (spādaʰ) meaning "army"... [more]
Islamabad(Settlement)English, Hindi From Urdu اسلام آباد (Islam Abad) meaning "city of Islam" from the name of the religion and Urdu آباد (abad) meaning "inhabited place, city". This is the name of the capital city of Pakistan.
Istanbul(Settlement)English, Arabic From Turkish İstanbul, which comes from a misinterpretation of the Medieval Greek phrase εἰς τὴν Πόλιν (eis ten polin) meaning "to the City", a colloquial name for the city of Constantinople (reflecting its status as the only major city in the vicinity)... [more]
İzmir(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Turkish From Greek Σμύρνη (Smyrna) ultimately derived from the given name Myrrha. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Turkey.
Jabarsá(Settlement)Medieval Arabic The name of a city in "1001 Arabian Nights", which was also called the city of Japheth. The people there were fire-worshippers. The palace of Japheth was there and housed a sword-spear hybrid which was said to have been used by Japheth.
Jackson(Settlement)English After a person bearing the surname Jackson, such as Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), seventh President of the United States. This is the name of several settlements in the United States, such as the capital city of the State of Mississippi.
Jaipur(Settlement)English, Punjabi, Telugu From Hindi जयपुर (Jaypur) derived from the given name Jay 2 (so named for the city's founder, 18th century ruler Jai Singh II) and Sanskrit पुर (pura) meaning "fortress, city"... [more]
Jalalabad(Settlement)Afghan "Jalalabad" is a city in eastern Afghanistan. The name "Jalalabad" means "City of Glory" in Persian, derived from "jalal" meaning glory or grandeur, and "abad" meaning city or settlement.
Jamestown(Settlement)English Jamestown, named after King James, was a settlement in Virginia, one of the original thirteen colonies.
Janakpur(Settlement)Nepali, Maithili From the name of the mythological character Janaka combined with Sanskrit पुर (pura) meaning "city, fortress"... [more]
Jayapura(Settlement)Indonesian Derived from Sanskrit जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and पुर (pura) meaning "city". This is the name of a city in Indonesia.
Jeddah(Settlement)English, Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Swedish, Tagalog From Arabic جدة (Jiddah) derived from the word جَدَّة (jaddah) meaning "grandmother", perhaps referencing the folk belief that the Tomb of Eve (who is considered the 'grandmother' of humanity) is located there... [more]
Jeju(Settlement, Island & Political Subdivision)Jeju, Korean From Sino-Korean 濟 (je) meaning "to cross (a river)" and 州 (ju) meaning "state, province". This is the name of an island province and city in South Korea.
Jeonju(Settlement)Korean Combination of 全 (전, jeon, "perfect") and 州 (주, ju, "province"), thus "perfect province". This is the name of a city in South Korea.
Jepara(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Indonesian, Javanese Derived from Javanese para meaning "share, part, division", so named for the division of fish caught by local fishermen. This is the name of a regency of, as well as a town in, the Indonesian province of Central Java.
Jingdu(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Chinese Chinese form of Kyoto.
Jinghong(Settlement)Chinese From Tai Lue ᦵᦋᧂᦣᦳᧂᧈ (tsenghung) derived from ᦵᦋᧂ (tseng) meaning "city" and ᦣᦳᧂᧈ (hung) meaning "dawn, light". This is the name of a city in China.
Jiujinshan(Settlement)Chinese From Chinese 旧 (jiù) meaning "old" and 金山 (jīnshān) meaning "gold mine", referring to the 19th century California gold rush. This is the Chinese name for the US city of San Francisco.
Jiza(Settlement)Chinese, Arabic Chinese form of Giza, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic جيزة (see Jizah).
Jizah(Settlement)Arabic Arabic form of Giza, usually written with the definite article: الجيزة (al-Jizah).
Johannesburg(Settlement)French (African) Origin of Johannesburg's name is explained. In reaction to an inquiry, officials in Pretoria replied that Johannesburg was named after Johann Friedrich Bernhard Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert - the only document dealing directly with the origin of the city's name.
Johnstown(Settlement)English The are 27 settlements in the world named Johnstown. They can be found in the USA and Ireland.... [more]
Johor Bahru(Settlement)Malay, English From Johor and Malay bahru meaning "new". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Joilet(Settlement)English (American) It was renamed in 1845 for Louis Jolliet, the French Canadian explorer who visited the site in 1673. Joliet was once known as “Stone City” for its limestone, which was used throughout the Midwest (e.g., in the Rock Island Arsenal, the Illinois State House, and the Lincoln Monument in Springfield).Joliet (/ˈdʒoʊliɛt, dʒoʊliˈɛt/) is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Chicago... [more]
Jolo(Settlement & Island)Filipino, Tagalog, English Probably derived from Hokkien 好儂 (hó lâng) meaning "good people", named by Chinese traders to reflect how they perceived the native people of the region. This is the name of an island in the southern Philippines as well as the capital city of the province of Sulu.
Jórvík(Settlement)Old Norse, Icelandic Icelandic and Old Norse form of York. It is believed to be derived from Old English Eoforwic, itself believed to be derived from Latin Eboracum possibly meaning "place of the yew trees".
Jukkasjärvi(Settlement)Swedish, Finnish Originally from Northern Sami Čohkkirasjávri meaning "lake of assembly". It was later changed to the much more Finnish-sounding name Jukkasjärvi. This probably changed the meaning of the name as the first element jukkas is of uncertain origin (but it coincides with the Finnish given name Jukka)... [more]
Jullié(Settlement)French Jullié is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
Jumilla(Settlement)Spanish Jumilla is a town in southeastern Spain in the province of Murcia. The name comes from the Latin word for “reeds”.
Juneau(Settlement)English The capital city of Alaska, it is named after Canadian miner Joe Juneau.
Kabul(Settlement)English From Pashto کابل (Kabel) which may have been derived from Kambuja or Kamboja, the name of an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe and kingdom. The name is of uncertain meaning, possibly from Sanskrit काम (kama) meaning "love, desire" and भुज् (bhuj) meaning "use, possess, rule"... [more]
Kagoshima(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Japanese From Japanese 鹿子 (kako) meaning "fawn, young deer" and 島 (shima) meaning "island". This is the name of a city in Japan, as well as the prefecture in which the city is located.
Kaiyō(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a town in Japan's Tokushima Prefecture.... [more]
Kajang(Settlement)Malay, English Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Temuan kajang referring to an art of weaving pandanus leaves. Alternately it could be from Buginese berkajang meaning "camp, accommodation". This is the name of a city in Malaysia.
Kajr(Settlement)Maltese Maltese form of Cairo, usually written with the definite article: Il-Kajr.
Kalasin(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai กาฬ (kala) meaning "black, dark" and สินธุ์ (sin) meaning "river, stream", believed to be taken from the name of the nearby Nam Kam river. This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Kamphaeng Phet(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai กำแพง (kamphaeng) meaning "wall" and เพชร (phet) meaning "diamond". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as a city in said province.
Kampong Chhnang(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Means "port of pottery" in Khmer, from កំពង់ (kampong) meaning "port, landing" and ឆ្នាំង (chhnang) meaning "pot". This is the name of a province of and city in Cambodia.
Kampong Thom(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer Means "great port" in Khmer, from កំពង់ (kampong) meaning "port, landing" and ធំ (thom) meaning "big, large, great". This is the name of a province of and city in Cambodia.
Kampot(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Khmer The name of a province of and city in Cambodia, meaning uncertain.
Kanazawa(Settlement)Japanese Means "marsh of gold" in Japanese; derived from a local legend, according to which a peasant who found flakes of gold while digging for potatoes. The kanji that make up the name are 金 (kana), meaning "metal, gold", and 沢 (sawa), meaning "marsh"... [more]
Kanchanaburi(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Thai From Thai กาญจน (kanchana) meaning "gold" and บุรี (buri) meaning "city, town". This is the name of a province of Thailand as well as said province's capital city.
Kandahar(Settlement)Afghan "Kandahar" is a city in southern Afghanistan. The name "Kandahar" likely originates from the Sanskrit word "Gandhara," which referred to a region in ancient India that included parts of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan... [more]
Kandy(Settlement)English From Tamil கண்டி (Kanti) of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from Sinhala කන්ද උඩරට (kanda urarata) meaning "upland" or කන්ද උඩ පාස් රට (kanda ura pas rata) meaning "mountain pass country"... [more]
Kanga(Settlement & Other)Kongo, Popular Culture, Literature Even though it is also the name of a hill range in westernmost Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kanga is best known internationally as the name of a certain Kangaroo from Winnie the Pooh books and the basis for the name Kaänga.
Kankakee(Settlement)Indigenous American Kankakee is probably derived from the Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning: "open country/ exposed land/ land in open/ land exposed to view".
Karaganda(Settlement)English, Russian From Kazakh Қарағанды (Qaraghandy), which is derived from қараған (qaraghan) meaning "caragana" (a type of flower). This is the name of a city in Kazakhstan.
Karamea(Settlement)Maori, English Means "speargrass" in Maori, peobably from a corruption of kakara taramea meaning "sweet-scented gum (of speargrass leaves)". This is the name of a town in New Zealand.
Karasjok(Settlement)Norwegian Norwegianized form of the Northern Sami language name Kárášjohka. The meaning of the first element could be káráš from Northern Sami which could mean "food plate of wood", or from Finnish, kara, "something that sticks"... [more]
Karasu(Settlement)Japanese This is the name of a former town located in Japan's Mie Prefecture which merged and expanded, along with a few other towns and municipalities, into the city of Tsu.... [more]
Kargil(Settlement)English, Urdu Most likely derived from Tibetan དཀར (dkar) meaning "white, pure, bright" and སྐྱིལ (skyil) meaning "expanse" or འཁྱིལ ('khyil) meaning "mountainous amphitheater, place where water flows"... [more]
Karlshamn(Settlement)Swedish Means "Karl's port" in Swedish. It was named after Swedish king Karl X Gustav. ... [more]
Karlskrona(Settlement)Swedish Means "Karl's crown" in Swedish. It was named after Swedish king Karl XI. ... [more]
Karlstad(Settlement)Swedish Means "Karl's town" in Swedish. It was named after the Swedish king Karl IX who founded the town in 1584. ... [more]
Karnataka(Political Subdivision, Region, Settlement & Mountain)Kannada The name of this South Indian state is the Kannada word for a “lofty land”.
Karti(Settlement)Mingrelian From the Kartvelian root kart- referring to a Georgian person (compare the Georgian endonym ქართველი (kartveli)). This is the Mingrelian name for Tbilisi.
Kathmandu(Settlement)Nepali, English From the name of Kasthamandap, a Hindu temple and shrine in Nepal. The name means "wooden pavilion" from Sanskrit काष्ठ (kashtha) meaning "wood" combined with मण्डप (mandapa) meaning "pavilion, hall, square"... [more]