American Submitted Place Names

ABAKAN (Settlement & River) Russian, English
Derived from the name Abakhan which is the name of a mythological Turkish khan (king). His name means "bear's blood" in the Khakas language, and was bestowed to the present-day Abakan River and the city of the same name... [more]

ABERDEEN (Settlement) English (Rare)
A city in Scotland, stemming from the prefix aber- meaning 'river mouth', and the suffix -deen, which could possibly be referring to the rivers don and dee.

ABKHAZIA (Country) English
From Russian Абхазия (Abkhaziya), which is ultimately from Georgian აფხაზეთი (Apxazeti) derived from the Georgian exonym for the Abkhaz people, აფხაზი (Apxazi)... [more]

ABYSSINIA (Country) English
The name of Ethiopia until the early 20th century.

ADYGEA (Political Subdivision) English
From Russian Адыгея (Adygeya) which is ultimately from Adyghe адыгэ (adyge), the endonym of the Circassian (Adyghe) people. The ethnic name is of uncertain meaning, though it may mean "mountain between seas" or "mountain by the sea"... [more]

AGADIR (Settlement) English, Berber
Derived from Berber ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ (agadir) meaning "wall, enclosure, fortified building, citadel". Agadir is a port city located in southwestern MOROCCO along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.

ALABAMA (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a state in the United States, from the name of the Native American tribe Alabama meaning "thick cutters," from Choctaw albah "medicinal plants" and amo "to clear".

ALASKA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from Russian Аляска (Alyaska), which in turn is derived from Aleut alaxsxaq meaning "object to which the action of the sea is directed". Alaska is the largest of the 50 American states, located northwest of the United States mainland and bordering CANADA.

ALBANY (Settlement) English
Name of the capital in NEW YORK, renamed after British acquisition in 1664 in honor of the Dukes of Albany (House of Stuart), hence a name borne by their retainers.

ALBERTA (Political Subdivision) English
Name of one of the 12 provinces in CANADA, named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Victoria, Queen of Canada, and Albert, Prince Consort.

ALMATY (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English, Belarusian, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Kazakh алма (alma) meaning "apple". This is the name of the largest city in KAZAKHSTAN.

ALTAI (Political Subdivision & Mountain) English, Mongolian, Russian, Altai, Kazakh
Combination of Mongolian алт (alt) meaning "gold" and тай (tay) meaning "with" (wholly meaning "the mountain with gold"). The Altai Republic is a federal subject north of Mongolia in Russia... [more]

ANGERTON (Settlement) English

ANJOU (Other) English, French
From the name of the former county/duchy/province centered around the city of Angers in the Loire Valley of western France, which is in the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire. It was the cradle of the House of Plantagenet who ruled England from the twelfth century, of whom the current royal family are descendants... [more]

ANKARA (Settlement) Turkish, English
Derived from Ancient Greek ἄγκυρα (ánkura) meaning "anchor". The city was formerly called Ancyra and Angora. Ankara is a city in Turkey and the largest city after Istanbul.

ANSONIA (Political Subdivision) English
An eponymous city in Connecticut's Naugatuck River Valley named for founder Anson Green Phelps. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Ansonia was an manufacturing hub; one successful business was the Ansonia Clock Company, which sold world-wide... [more]

ANTARCTICA (Region) English
Greek for "opposite of the North".

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (Country) English
The history of Antigua and Barbuda can be separated into three distinct eras. In the first, the islands were inhabited by three successive Amerindian societies. The islands were neglected by the first wave of European colonization, but were settled by England in 1632... [more]

AONIA (Country) English
This was an ancient name of the country of Boeotia in Greek legend, allegedly derived from that of the hero Aon. Aonia was a region sacred to the Muses, whom the English poet Alexander Pope called the "Aonian maids".

APPALACHIA (Region) English
Appalachia is the name of a cultural region in the Eastern United States. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it is ultimately of Native American origin, as the region was named after a Native American tribe.

ARIZONA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally as the name of a breakaway Confederate region of southern New Mexico, organized roughly along modern lines as a U.S. territory in 1863. From Spanish Arizonac, probably from a local name among the O'odham (Piman) people meaning "having a little spring"... [more]

ARKANSAS (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from the French pronunciation of the Quapaw people who lived on the Arkansas River.

ARLINGTON (Settlement) English
Three possible places called Arlington in Gloucestershire, Devon, and East Sussex.

ARRINGTON (Settlement) English
Arrington, a place in Cambridgeshire, named from an Old English byname, Earn(a), meaning ‘eagle’ + -inga- ‘people or followers of’ + tūn ‘settlement’.

ASHBY (Settlement) English
Ash farm; ash settlement... [more]

ASHGABAT (Settlement) English, Yoruba, Scots, Occitan, Malay, Swahili, Irish, Indonesian, Welsh, Shona
Means "city of love", "city of devotion" from Persian عشق‌آباد (ešq-âbâd), a combination of Persian عشق ('ešq) meaning "love" and آباد (âbâd) "city". This is the name of the capital city of TURKMENISTAN.

ASHTON (Settlement) English

ASKRIGG (Settlement) English
A village in rural Northeast England. It is derived from the Old Norse askr, 'ash tree' (c.f Swedish ask, 'ash tree') and hryggr, 'ridge' (c.f Swedish rygg, 'ridge, spine', German rücken, 'spine', Scots rig, 'ridge').

ASTANA (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Kyrgyz, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Ukrainian
Means "capital city" in Kazakh, ultimately from Persian آستانه (âstâne). This was the name of the capital city of KAZAKHSTAN, which is now called NUR-SULTAN.

ATHERTON (Settlement) English
Placename meaning Ather's town.

ATLANTA (Settlement) English
Name of a city in Georgia, named by J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad.

ATLANTIS (Other) English, Mythology
Derived from Ancient Greek Ἀτλαντίς (Atlantís), itself derived from Ἄτλας (Átlas) meaning "endure, suffer" (see ATLAS). Atlantis is the name of a mythological country that sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

AUCKLAND (Settlement) English
The Baron Auckland and the Earl of Auckland are titles of the English nobility. The first Baron Auckland, William Eden, had the city of Auckland in New Zealand named after him. Bishop Auckland is a town in the county of Durham in Britain which has lent its name to the title... [more]

AUROVILLE (Settlement) English
The name of an indian town built by UNESCO located in southern India. It was built as an experimental town to see how is the world without politics, money or polution.

AUSTRALASIA (Region) English
Means ”south of Asia” (Latin australis ”southern, of the south” combined with ASIA). It is a region in OCEANIA consisting of AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, and neighbouring islands.

AUSTRIA (Country) English
Medieval Latin word meaning "eastern borderland" Austriaca is the Latinised form of the Old High German name for the country, Ostarreich, which means 'eastern kingdom'; ostar meaning 'eastern' and reich meaning 'kingdom' in Old High German.

AZERBAIJAN (Country) English, Basque, Indonesian, Malay
From Persian آذربایجان (âzarbâyjân), which is from Middle Persian Ādurbādagān referring to ATROPATES, an ancient Persian governor under the Achaemenid Empire. The given name is the Greek rendering of the Old Persian name Āturpāt probably meaning "protected by fire"... [more]

BADLEY (Settlement) English
Habitational name from Badley in Suffolk or Baddeley Green in Staffordshire, both named with the Old English personal name Bad(d)a + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.

BAHAMAS (Country) English
The name of the Country in the Caribbean. The Bahamas is a coral-based archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. Its 700-plus islands and cays range from uninhabited to packed with resorts. The northernmost, Grand Bahama, and Paradise Island, home to many large-scale hotels, are among the best known... [more]

BAHRAIN (Country) English
The name of the Country in the Middle East. Bahrain, a nation comprising more than 30 islands in the Persian Gulf, has been at the center of major trade routes since antiquity. In its modern capital, Manama, the acclaimed Bahrain National Museum showcases artifacts from the ancient Dilmun civilization that flourished in the region for millennia... [more]

BAIKAL (Body of Water) Russian, English
Derived from Mongolian Байгал нуур (Baygal nuur) meaning "nature lake"; from Mongolian байгалө (baigalö) "nature" and нуур (nuur) "lake". Lake Baikal is a rift lake in SIBERIA of RUSSIA and the largest freshwater lake in the world.

BAKU (Settlement) English
Derived from Persian باد-کوبه (Bād-kube) meaning "wind-pounded city" (bād meaning "wind" and kube meaning "to pound". Baku is the capital of the Transcaucasian country of Azerbaijan.

BALTIC SEA (Body of Water) English
The Baltic sea is a sea in Northern Europe. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Some claim it is derived from Latin balteus "belt". The name was first used, as Mare Balticum, by ADAM of Bremen in the 11th century... [more]

BALTIMORE (Settlement) English
Baltimore is an independent city in the state of Maryland within the United States.

BANGLADESH (Country) English, Breton, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Interlingua, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish
Means "land of the Bengalis", from Bengali বাংলা (Bangla) meaning "Bengali" (referring to the Bengali people or Bengali language spoken by the Bengali people), which is ultimately from Vanga, the name of an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent (see BENGAL) combined with দেশ (desh) "country, land, state", ultimately from Sanskrit देश (deśá)... [more]

BARBADOS (Country) English
The name of the Country in the Caribbean. Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation. Bridgetown, the capital, is a cruise-ship port with colonial buildings and Nidhe Israel, a synagogue founded in 1654... [more]

BARCELONA (Settlement) Catalan, Spanish, English
Barcelona is a city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain.

BASHKIRIA (Political Subdivision) English
Variant name for BASHKORTOSTAN.

BASHKORTOSTAN (Political Subdivision) Russian, English, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Tatar
From Bashkir Башҡортостан (Bashqortostan), a combination of the name of the Bashkir people and the Persian suffix -ستان (-stan) meaning "land of". The name of the ethnic group is most likely derived from Turkic baš meaning "head, leader" and kurt meaning "wolf"... [more]

BASUTOLAND (Country) English
Lesotho's name prior to 1966.

BEIRUT (Settlement) English
The capital of Lebanon. It is derived from Hebrew be'erot which means "the wells".

BELGRADE (Settlement) English
Derived from Slavic beli, beo meaning "white" and grad meaning "city, town". The name comes from a white wall of a fortress that protected the city.

BELLEVILLE (Settlement) English
Name of a city in Canada and various others in America. Means "beautiful town" from the French belle (beautiful) and ville (city or town).

BENGAL (Country) English
An independent kingdom from 1338-1539, now part of Bangladesh and India.

BENIN (Country) English, Croatian
The name of the Country in West Africa. Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, is a birthplace of the vodun (or “voodoo”) religion and home to the former Dahomey Kingdom from circa 1600–1900... [more]

BENNINGTON (Settlement) English
Derived from the Old English personal name Beonna combined with -ing-, a connective particle denoting association, and tūn "farmstead, settlement".

BERESTIA (Region) History, English
This is the name of a historical region in Eastern Europe. Its territory was located in what is now Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. The region was named after the Belarusian city of Brest, which was at its centre.

BERMUDA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from the surname of Juan de Bermúdez, a 16th-century Spanish navigator alleged to have discovered the archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. Bermúdez is a surname meaning "son of Bermudo".

BEXLEYHEATH (Other) English

BHUTAN (Country) English
Meaning uncertain, though one theory suggests an origin from Tibetan བོད (Bod), referring to the present-day region of TIBET in CHINA, which ultimately derives from Sanskrit भोट-अन्त (Bhoṭa-anta) meaning "end of Tibet", relating to Bhutan's geographical position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau... [more]

BIKINI ATOLL (Island) English
From Marshallese Pikinni "surface of coconut". Bikini is an island located in the Marshall Islands, famous for being a place the United States formerly did nuclear tests.

BIR LEHLOU (Settlement) English
Derived from Hassaniya Arabic bir lehlou meaning "sweet water well". Bir Lehlou is an oasis town in the Polisario-controlled region in northeastern Western SAHARA.

BIRMINGHAM (Settlement) English
A city in central England. Its name derives from the Anglo-Saxon words meaning 'the farm of Beormund's people', from the personal name Beormund, ingas, meaning 'people' and ham, meaning 'farm'.

BISHKEK (Settlement) Kyrgyz, Russian, English, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Malay, Persian, Tajik, Ukrainian, Uzbek
Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests that it comes from a word meaning "whorl, whisk" in Kyrgyz, referring to a tool used to prepare kumis (a dairy product). It could also mean "five heights" from Kyrgyz беш (besh) meaning "five" and бийик (biyik) meaning "tall, high" or "five chiefs" from беш (besh) meaning "five" and the Turkish title beg meaning "chieftain, master"... [more]

BLACKHEATH (Political Subdivision) English
English place name which may be a corruption of "bleak heath", or simply mean "dark heath" from Old English blæc "black" and hǣth (see also Heath). According to a false popular belief, the place (originally an open heathland) was given its name due to its reputed use as a mass burial ground for victims of the Black Death in the 1340s... [more]

BLACKPOOL (Settlement) English
A coastal town in Lancashire. Literally means 'black pool', so named from a nearby drainage stream which ran through a peat bog, discharging discoloured water into the nearby Irish Sea. (Compare DUBLIN).

BORNEO (Island) English
The name of the Island in Asia. Borneo, a giant, rugged island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago, is shared by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the tiny nation of Brunei... [more]

BOSTON (Settlement) English
From a surname which was originally taken from an English place name meaning "Botwulf's stone". (It is likely that Botwulf was an ordinary landowner; later the place name became associated with the saint of the same name, Botulph, who built a monastery there in the 7th century.) A city in Massachusetts bears this name... [more]

BOTSWANA (Country) English
The name of the Country in Southern Africa. Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta, which becomes a lush animal habitat during the seasonal floods... [more]

BOULDER (Settlement) English
Name of a city in COLORADO, from Middle English bulderston, from a Scandinavian source akin to Swedish dialectal bullersten "noisy stone", (Swedish buller "rumbling noise" + sten "stone".

BRAMPTON (Settlement) English
A city in the Great Toronto-Hamilton area of Ontario, Canada. From the surveyor of the same name.

BRIGHTON (Settlement) English
The name of an English city, meaning "bright town" in Old English.

BRIXTON (Settlement) English
The name of Brixton (a town in England).

BROMLEY (Settlement) English
This is the name of a district and borough in south-east London.... [more]

BRONSTON (Settlement) English
Town in Pulaski County, Kentucky.

BRONX (Settlement) English
Name of a borough in New York City, name after Swedish settler Jonas Bronck.

BROUGHTON (Settlement) English
Broughton (Welsh: Brychdyn) is a district in Flintshire, Wales, close to the Wales–England border, located to the west of the City of Chester, England.

BRUGES (Settlement) French, English, Italian, Luxembourgish, Portuguese, Romanian
French form of Brugge, which some countries (mostly Romance ones) have adopted as their name for the Belgian city.

BRUNEI (Country) Malay, English, Indonesian, Catalan, Finnish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Danish, Tagalog, Dutch, Turkish
Probably derived from Borneo, the name of an island, which in turn is most likely from Sanskrit वरुण (váruṇa) meaning "ocean, water". A local legend suggests that the name may be derived from the phrase baru nah meaning "there!" or "that's it!", which was supposedly declared by Muhammad Shah, Brunei's first sultan... [more]

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]

BURKINA FASO (Country) English, Croatian, French
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. ... [more]

BURUNDI (Country) Afrikaans, Albanian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian
The name of the Country in East Africa. Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.

BURYATIA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from the name Buryat with an unknown meaning, denoting the indigenous Mongolic people who originally inhabited the area. Buryatia is a federal subject of Russia located in SIBERIA.

BUZZARDS BAY (Body of Water) English
Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

CAIRNS (Settlement) English
City in Australia

CALIFORNIA (Political Subdivision) Spanish, English
Name of a state in the United States, and two states in Mexico. California was once believed to be an island, and was named after the fictional island, California, in Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo's novel 'Las Sergas de Esplandián'... [more]

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.

CAM (River) English
The River Cam is the main river flowing through CAMBRIDGE in eastern England.... [more]

CAMBODIA (Country) English
From French Cambodge, which is taken from the Khmer name កម្ពុជា (Kampuchea). The name comes from Sanskrit कम्बोजदेश (Kambujadeśa), which is a combination of काम्बोज (kāmboja), the name of a tribe and kingdom described in Hindu literature, and देश (deśá) meaning "kingdom, country"... [more]

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]

CAMEROON (Country) English
The name of the Country in Central Africa. Cameroon, on the Gulf of Guinea, is a Central African country of varied terrain and wildlife. Its inland capital, Yaoundé, and its biggest city, the seaport Douala, are transit points to ecotourism sites as well as beach resorts like Kribi – near the Chutes de la Lobé waterfalls, which plunge directly into the sea – and Limbe, where the Limbe Wildlife Centre houses rescued primates.

CANBERRA (Settlement) English
From the city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

CARIBBEAN (Region) English
The name of the Region. The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

CARMAY (Other) English

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]

CASABLANCA (Settlement) English, Spanish
Means "white house", from Portuguese casa meaning "house" and branca meaning "white". The present-day spelling follows the Spanish form (casa "house"; blanca "white"), however, because of the Portuguese Kingdom joining the Spanish Kingdom... [more]

CAUCASUS (Region & Mountain) English
English form of the Greek Καύκασος (Kaúkasos) of unknown meaning, perhaps derived from Scythian *χrohu-käsi meaning "ice-shining" or "white with snow", of Greek origin meaning "seagull's mountain", or from a compound word meaning "high mountain"... [more]

CEYLON (Country) English
Previous name of the country Sri Lanka. The name Ceylon most likely traces its roots back to the Sanskrit Sinha, meaning "lion". As lions are not native to Sri Lanka, another possible interpretation of the name is "lion-like man" or "hero".

CHARLESTON (Settlement) English
Place name meaning "CHARLES's town".

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.

CHECHNYA (Political Subdivision) English, Indonesian, Malay, Russian
From Russian Чечня (Chechnya) meaning "(place) of the Chechens", which is ultimately from the name of the Chechen people (natively called Nokhchi). The exonym is of uncertain meaning, with Russian folk etymologies suggesting that it originates from the name of a village; on the other hand, it may be derived from the Kabardian exonym Шашан (Shashan)... [more]

CHEVIOT (Mountain) English
The name of a mountain and the surrounding mountains on the Anglo-Scottish border. The name is thought to be Celtic and to derive from Brythonic *ceμ-, *cejn 'ridge, spine' (Welsh chefn, 'back, ridge'), and -ed, which might have meant 'having the quality of-'.

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".

CHILE (Country) English
From the name of the country Chile.

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]

CHUKOTKA (Political Subdivision) Russian, English
Derived from the Russian name Чукчи (Chukchi), referring to the native people who originally inhabited the area. The word Chukchi is derived from Chukchi Chauchu meaning "rich in reindeer", used by the Reindeer Chukchi people to distinguish themselves from the Maritime Chukchi (the Anqallyt meaning "sea people")... [more]

CHUVASHIA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from the name Chuvash, referring to the indigenous Turkic ethnic group originally inhabiting the area. The etymology of the name Chuvash is disputed; there are three main theories of its origin... [more]

CIRCASSIA (Region) English, Italian
From Turkish Çerkes or Russian Черкес (Cherkes) referring to the Circassian (Adyghe) people. The exonyms are of uncertain meaning; they may be derived from Kerkety, the name of a Circassian tribe, or from Persian چهار کس (čahâr kas) meaning "four people" (probably denoting four tribes)... [more]

CLADDAGH (Settlement) Irish, English
The name of an ancient village in Ireland, where the tradition of the Claddagh ring developed.

COLORADO (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named after the Colorado river, from Spanish colo + "colored" rado "reddish", "ruddy".

CONNECTICUT (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from the name of the Connecticut river, from Algonquian quinnitukqut "at the long tidal river," from kwen "long" + ehtekw "tidal river" + enk "place".

COPENHAGEN (Settlement) English
English form of KØBENHAVN.

COQUET (River) English
A river in Northumberland, England. Its name originates from words of a local Brythonic-Celtic language, equivalent to the Welsh coched, meaning 'red, brown'.

CORSICA (Island) English
Mediterranean island where Napoleon Bonaparte was born.

CRIMEA (Political Subdivision & Region) English
Derived from Crimean Tatar Qırım (today known as Stary Krym), the old name for the city that served as the capital of the province during the Golden Horde. The meaning of "Qırım" is uncertain, though it is either of Greek or Turkic origin... [more]

CUBA (Country) English
From the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as 'where fertile land is abundant' (cubao), or 'great place' (coabana). Authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in PORTUGAL.

CUMBERLAND (Region) English
A historical English county, covering the Northern half of modern-day Cumbria. It derives from the Brythonic combrogi, meaning 'fellow-countrymen'.

DAGESTAN (Political Subdivision) Russian, English, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Serbian, Swedish, Ukrainian
From Russian Дагестан (Dagestan), which is from Turkish dağ meaning "mountain" combined with the Persian suffix -ستان (-stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a republic in southern RUSSIA.

DAHOMEY (Other) English
The name of the Kingdom. Dahomey Kingdom was an African kingdom that existed from about 1600 until 1894, when the last king, Behanzin, was defeated by the French, and the country was annexed into the French colonial empire.

DECORAH (Settlement) English
Decorah, Iowa.

DELAWARE (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a state in the United States, named after the Delaware river, which was named after Lord De La Warr, from French de la guerre or de la werre literally "of the war".

DES MOINES (Settlement) English
Name of the capital and the most populous city in IOWA, which derived from Fort Des Moines, which was named for the Des Moines River. The French des Moines translates to either "from the monks" or "of the monks".

DETROIT (Political Subdivision) English (American)
From the French word, meaning “strait.” The full name of the city’s phrase is “le détroit du Lac Érie,” meaning “the strait of Lake Erie.”

DEVIZES (Settlement) English
Derived from castrum ad divisas, latin for “castle at the boundary”

DJIBOUTI (Country) English
The name of the Country in East Africa. Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, is a mostly French- and Arabic-speaking country of dry shrublands, volcanic formations and Gulf of Aden beaches. It's home to one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, the low-lying Lake Assal, in the Danakil Desert... [more]

DONCASTER (Settlement) English
A town in England located on the River Don. The first element is from the Roman fort Danum, likely from an earlier Celtic settlement relating to the River Don. The second element is the Old English ceaster, 'fort' (c.f Modern English castle).

DOVER (Settlement) English
Dover is a small, but important port town in Kent, Southern England. It is derived from the Brythonic Dubrās, meaning 'water' (Modern Welsh ddwfr, 'water, tears').... [more]

DUBLIN (Settlement) English, Croatian
From Irish dubh "black" "dark" referring to a dark tidal pool where the River Poddle entered the Liffey on the site of the Castle Gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle.

DURHAM (Settlement & Region) English, Anglo-Norman
A cathedral city in the North-East of England. The name is derived from the city's Latin name Dunelm, which comprises of the Celtic element dun, 'fortress' (c.f Welsh dinas, 'city') and the Old Norse holme, which meant an island (referring to the peninsular formed by the River Wear).

DUSHANBE (Settlement) Tajik, English
Derived from Persian دوشنبه meaning "Monday". Dushanbe is the capital city of the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan. It was formerly called Dyushambe and Stalinabad during Russian rule.

ECUADOR (Country) English
The name of the Country in South America. Ecuador is a country straddling the equator on South America’s west coast. Its diverse landscape encompasses Amazon jungle, Andean highlands and the wildlife-rich Galápagos Islands... [more]

EDEN (River) English
The name of a river in Cumbria, England. It derives from the Brythonic *ituna, 'to gush forth'.

EDMONTON (Settlement) English
From Eadhelm and ton, mean "field owned by Eadhelm". City in Canada, named after the district of London.

ELLESMERE (Other) English

ELSINORE (Settlement) Literature, English
Anglicized form of HELSINGØR. This is the name of Hamlet's castle in William Shakespeare's play.

ESSEX (Region) English
The name of a county in south-eastern England, it is derived from Old English Ēastseaxe meaning "East Saxons," referring to the Kingdom of the East Saxons.

EUROPE (Region) English, French
Meaning uncertain. It could be derived from Greek εὐρύς (eurus) meaning "wide" or "broad" and ὤψ, ὠπ-, ὀπτ-(ōps, ōp-, opt-) meaning "eye", "face", or "countenance". It could also be from Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down" or "set"... [more]

FAROE ISLANDS (Country) English
English form of FØROYAR. The name is probably derived from Old Norse fær "sheep". The Faroe Islands are an autonomous country within the Danish kingdom.

FAROES (Country) English
Shortened form of FAROE ISLANDS.

FEATHERSTONHAUGH (Settlement) English
A town in Northumberland, England. From Old English feðere "feather", stān "stone", and healh "corner."

FLORIDA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, formerly a Spanish colony, from Spanish Pascua florida, literally "flowering Easter", a Spanish name for Palm Sunday, because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Spanish explorer Ponce de León.

FRANKFURT (Settlement) German, English
A metropolis and the largest city in the State of Hesse, In Germany. It is also the fifth largest city of Germany.

FRENCH GUIANA (Other) English
French Guiana is an overseas region of France on the northeast coast of South America, composed mainly of tropical rainforest. The ruins of 17th-century Fort Cépérou overlook the capital, Cayenne, with its colorful Creole houses and street markets... [more]

GABON (Country) English, Croatian
The name of the Country in Central Africa. Gabon, a country along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, has significant areas of protected parkland. The forested coastal terrain of its famed Loango National Park shelters a diversity of wildlife, from gorillas and hippos to whales... [more]

GAMBIA (Country) English
The name of the Country in West Africa. The Gambia is a small West African country, bounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It's known for its diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River... [more]

GASTONIA (Settlement) English
Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States.

GATESHEAD (Settlement) English
A town in Northeast England. It most likely means 'goat's headland', implying that wild goats were a part of the local fauna.

GENEVA (Settlement) English
Geneva is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous city of the Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland.... [more]

GLASTON (Settlement) English
This name is derived from towns scattered around Europe. There are French towns named Glaston, and it also is similar to the famous town Glastonbury Tor, the predicted location of the Holy Grail.

GLENDALE (Other) English
Named for the suburb in Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney, Australia. The name is Scottish in origin and is taken from two words which both mean "valley".

GOTHAM (Settlement) Popular Culture, English
Gotham, or Gotham City, is a fictional city and the home of Batman in the comic books published by DC Comics. Outside of the comics, Gotham is a nickname for NEW YORK City first used in 1807 by writer Washington Irving in his work "Salmagundi"... [more]

GOTHENBURG (Settlement) English
English form of GÖTEBORG.

GREENLAND (Country) English, Scots
Cognate of GRŒNLAND.

GROZNY (Settlement) Russian, English, French, Dutch
Means "formidable, menacing, fearsome" in Russian. This is the name of the capital city of CHECHNYA, a republic in southern RUSSIA.

GUAM (Other) English
The name of the Territory. Guam is a U.S. island territory in Micronesia, in the Western Pacific. It's distinguished by tropical beaches, Chamorro villages and ancient latte-stone pillars. Guam’s WWII significance is on view at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, whose sites include Asan Beach, a former battlefield... [more]

GUATEMALA (Country) English
The name of the Country in Central America. Guatemala, a Central American country south of Mexico, is home to volcanoes, rainforests and ancient Mayan sites. The capital, Guatemala City, features the stately National Palace of Culture and the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology... [more]

GUYANA (Country) English
The name of the Country in South America. Guyana, a country on South America’s North Atlantic coast, is defined by its dense rainforest. English-speaking, with cricket and calypso music, it's culturally connected to the Caribbean region... [more]

HACKNEY (Settlement) English
A district of LONDON. It possibly derives from Old English Haka’s ey, meaning 'Haka's Island'.

HAITI (Country) English
The name of the Country in the Caribbean. Haiti is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic to its east. Though it’s still recovering from a 2010 earthquake, many of Haiti's landmarks dating to the early 19th century remain intact... [more]

HALIFAX (Settlement) English

HAMPSHIRE (Other) English
Name of numerous places in England, foremost a large county in South England, from the name HAMPTON + Old English scir "division", "district".

HAMPTON (Other) English
Name of numerous places in England, from Anglo-Saxon ham "homestead " or hamm "water meadow" + tun "enclosure" "settlement".

HAWAII (Island) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, of uncertain origin. Theories from Proto-Polynesian hawaiki which possibly means place of the gods" or from Proto-Polynesian sawaiki "homeland", or possibly named for Hawaiʻiloa, legendary discoverer of the Hawaiian islands.

HELMSLEY (Settlement) English
A small market town in Northern England. It's name derives from the Old English Helm, a personal name and leah, which means 'clearing, field'.

HERSHEY (Settlement) English
A small community in Pennsylvania.

HERTFORD (Settlement) English
Comes from a ford where a Hart (a male deer) drank at a ford.

HIALEAH (Settlement) American
The name of a city in the American state of Florida, commonly said to mean "pretty prairie" from Muskogee haiyakpo "prairie" and hili "pretty". Alternatively it may mean "high prairie" or "upland prairie" in Seminole.

HINXTON (Settlement) English
The name of a village in Cambridgeshire, ultimately derived from a contraction of Old English Hengestestun which possibly meant "town of Hengest", itself from the genitive of the Old English byname HENGEST (or from Old English hengest "stallion") and Old English tun "enclosure, yard, town".

HOLLYWOOD (Settlement) English
This is the name of several places throughout the United States as well as a few places in England. The most notable place is the district in Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA, known for being the home of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose name allegedly means "hauling wood".

HONOLULU (Settlement) Hawaiian, English
Means "sheltered harbor", from Hawaiian hono "bay, harbor" and lulu "shelter". This is the state capital of HAWAII.

HULL (Settlement & River) American, English

ICELAND (Country) English
English form of ÍSLAND.

IDAHO (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, of uncertain origin, possibly from Shoshone term ee-da-how, meaning "gem of the mountains" or "the sun comes from the mountains".

ILKLEY (Settlement) English
Of uncertain origin. The English-born clergyman Robert Collyer (1823-1912) claimed this is derived from an old British word llecan meaning "rock". The second syllable may be derived from Old English leah "(woodland) clearing".

ILLINOIS (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from the modern French spelling of the Algonquian people who called themselves Inoca or Ilinouek.

INGUSHETIA (Political Subdivision) English
From Russian Ингушетия (Ingushetiya) meaning "(place) of the Ingush", from an exonym for the Ingush people (natively called Ghalghai). The ethnic name is believed to be derived from Ангушт (Angusht), the Ingush name of a village currently located in North Ossetia-Alania... [more]

IOWA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, possibly from Dakota ayuxba "sleepy ones".

ISLAMABAD (Settlement) Urdu, English
Means "city of Islam", a combination of اسلام (Islām) referring to the monotheistic religion and the Persian آباد (ābād) "city, building, habitation". This is the name of the capital city of PAKISTAN.

ISTANBUL (Settlement) English
Misinterpretation of a Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" (eis tín pólin) meaning "to the city". It was formerly called Constantinople and Byzantium. Istanbul is the capital city of Turkey.

ITASCA (Body of Water) English
Lake Itasca in north central Minnesota.... [more]

JAKARTA (Settlement) Indonesian, English, Acehnese, Balinese, Javanese, Minangkabau, Sundanese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Malay, Romanian, Swedish
From Sanskrit जयकर्त (jayakarta) meaning "that which causes victory", from जय (jayá) "victory, triumph" and कृत (kṛtá) "done, made, accomplished". This is the name of the capital city of INDONESIA.

JAMAICA (Island) English
From the Arawaks originally called the island "Xymaica". It means "land of wood and water". Before the spaniards changed the name into Jamaica.

JOELTON (Settlement) English (Modern)
Means "JOEL's town".

JOHOR BAHRU (Settlement) Malay, English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
Means "new gem" from Arabic جَوْهَر‎ (jawhar) meaning "jewel, precious stone, gem" and Malay bahru meaning "new". This is the name of a city in MALAYSIA.

JUDICE (Settlement) English
Judice is an unincorporated community in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States.

KABARDINO-BALKARIA (Political Subdivision) English
Kabardino-Balkaria is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus region.

KALMYKIA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from the name Kalmyk, denoting the native people who originally inhabited the area. The Mongolian name, Халимаг (Khalimag), means "the people moving away"; ultimately from Mongolian халих (khalikh) meaning "overflow, leakage, seepage, overpour", referring to how the Kalmyk people were originally Mongolians who "leaked away" from their ancestral homeland... [more]

KAMPUCHEA (Country) Khmer, English
Khmer form of CAMBODIA, also used to refer to the old English name for the country used from 1975-1989.

KANSAS (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named after Kanas river, from French variant of Kansa, native name of the Siouan people who lived there.

KARAKALPAKSTAN (Region) English
Derived from qara meaning "black" and qalpaq meaning "hat". Karakalpakstan is an autonomous region in present-day Uzbekistan.

KARELIA (Political Subdivision) English
Combination of Finnish karja meaning "livestock" and the suffix -la denoting place names. The Republic of Karelia is a federal subject in northern Russia, bordering FINLAND.

KATHMANDU (Settlement) English
Named after the Kasthamandap Temple in Kathmandu, which is derived from Sanskrit काष्ठ (Kāṣṭha) meaning "wood" and मण्डप (Maṇḍap) meaning "covered shelter"; literally means "wood-covered shelter"... [more]

KAZAN (Settlement) Tatar, Russian, English
Meaning disputed, although some sources say that the name of the city is derived from the Volga Bulgar and Tatar word qazan meaning "boiler" or "cauldron". Other sources say that it comes from the name of the Kazanka River or that it was named after the cauldron-shaped hill the city sits atop of... [more]

KENTUCKY (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, which possibly derived from the Iroquoian word wyandot, meaning meadow.

KHAKASSIA (Political Subdivision) English
Derived from the name Khakas, referring to the native Khakas people (a Turkic ethnic group) who originally inhabited the area. The etymological origin of the name Khakas is unknown. Khakassia is a federal subject of Russia, located near the border between RUSSIA and MONGOLIA.

KIELDER (River) English
A river and reservoir in Northern England. It's name could come from Celtic words cognate with Welsh clou, 'fast' and dwr 'river'.

KIEV (Settlement) Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, German, English
The name Kiev comes from a medieval legend about the founding of the city told by a Chronicler of Rus-Ukraine. It was three brothers, Kie, Shchek and Khoriv, and their sister Lebid, who were the founders.

KILDARE (Region) Irish, English
From Irish Cill Dara meaning "church of the oak".

KOMI (Political Subdivision) English, Russian, Komi
Derived directly from the name Коми (Komi), referring to the native people of the region. The word Komi is a self-designation of the ethnic group, derived from a Finno-Ugric word for "man, human"... [more]

KOSOVO (Country) English, Serbian, Croatian
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognized state with a disputed territory in Southeastern Europe.

KUALA LUMPUR (Settlement) Malay, English, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Means "muddy confluence" from Malay kuala meaning "confluence" and lumpur "mud". This is the name of the capital and largest city of MALAYSIA.

KUWAIT (Country) English
The name of the Country in the Middle East. Kuwait, an Arab country on the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, has cultural heritage dating back to antiquity. Kuwait City, the capital, is known for its modern architecture, ranging from skyscrapers to the striking Kuwait Towers, water towers whose design recalls the tiled domes of a classic mosque... [more]

LAAYOUNE (Settlement) English
Derived from Arabic العيون (al-'ayūn) meaning "the (water) springs". Laayoune is the largest city in the disputed region of Western SAHARA.

LACONIA (Settlement) English
Laconia is a place in New Hampshire.

LAMPERT (Settlement) English
A tiny hamlet in Northumberland, near the border with Cumbria. Despite this location's small size, several theories have emerged relating to the etymology of this unique name, which was first recorded in c.1290 as Lythel Lampard.... [more]

LANSING (Settlement) English
The English usage is a place name originally derived from the town of Lancing in West Sussex (and which has also given names to other towns such as Lansing, Michigan and Lansing, New York). ''Lancing'' comes from the Old English personal name ''Wlanc'', meaning ''proud, imperious'', with the added suffix ''-ing'', indicating ''family of or follower of''.

LAOS (Country) English, Croatian
From a word coined by the French when they united the three kingdoms of Laos into the French Indochina, a group of federal colonial territories in Southeast Asia. They pluralized the word ລາວ (Lāo), which refers to the dominant ethnic group the region... [more]

LATVIA (Country) English, Finnish, Norwegian
Cognate of LATVIJA.

LEBANON (Country) English
From the name of Mount Lebanon, which is ultimately from the Phoenician and Semitic root lbn meaning "white", most likely referring to the snow on the mountains. This is the name of a republic in West Asia and the Middle East and a mountain range.

LESOTHO (Country) English
The name of the Country in Southern Africa. Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges including the 3,482m-high peak of Thabana Ntlenyana... [more]

LEXINGTON (Settlement) English
A place name meaning "Leaxa's town" in Old English.

LIBYA (Country) English
Derived from Arabic ليبيا (Līb(i)yā), denoting AFRICA or northwest Africa; ultimately from ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē). Libya is an African nation in the MAGHREB.

LINDLEY (Settlement) English
This is the name of several places located in England, United States and South Africa.... [more]

LINLEY (Settlement) English
This is the name of a hamlet, located in Shropshire in England.... [more]

LINZ (Settlement) English

LISBON (Settlement) English
English form of LISBOA.

LIVERPOOL (Settlement) English, Welsh
A port city in western England on the mouth of the River Mersey. Uncertain origin. Possibly derived from Cumbric words equivalent to the Welsh leidiau, meaning 'mud' and pwll, meaning 'pool', or else the Old English formation *Liferpōl, 'thick, muddy pool'.

LIVONIA (Region) History, Albanian, Aragonese, Asturian, Basque, English, Galician, Indonesian, Italian, Romanian, Spanish
Livonia was a historic region in the Baltic, located approximately in present-day southern ESTONIA and northern LATVIA. The name is derived from the name of the indigenous people living in the area, the Livonians.

LJUBLJANA (Settlement) Slovene, Croatian, English
The origin of the city's name is unclear. In the Middle Ages, both the river and the town were also known by the German name Laibach. This name was in official use as an endonym until 1918, and it remains frequent as a German exonym, both in common speech and official use... [more]

LOUISIANA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named after King Louis XIV of France.

LOXTON (Settlement) English
A town in England.

LUCERNE (Settlement) English, French

LUXEMBOURG (Country) English
The name of the Country in Europe. Luxembourg is a small European country, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. It’s mostly rural, with dense Ardennes forest and nature parks in the north, rocky gorges of the Mullerthal region in the east and the Moselle river valley in the southeast... [more]

LUXOR (Other) English

LYD (River) English
The name of a river in Devon, England, perhaps derived from a Celtic source such as Lludd, though the usual derivation is Old English hlȳde "noisy stream" - which the Saxons may have assumed was the river's name.

LYDBROOK (Settlement) English
This is a village in the Forest of Dean, Old English for "dwell by the river"

LYVENNET (River) English

MACEDONIA (Region) Ancient Greek (Latinized), English, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish
Derived from Greek Μακεδονία (Makedonia), which is the name of an ancient kingdom and region that was named after the ancient Macedonian people. In turn, their name is derived from ancient Greek μακεδνός (makednós) meaning "tall, taper".

MADRID (Settlement) Spanish, Croatian, English, Catalan, Czech, Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Tatar, Turkish
Newer form of Magerit. The etymology is uncertain, but it could be derived from Arabic المجريط (al-Magrīt) "source of water". This is the name of the capital of Spain.

MAINE (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, possibly from French Maine, a region in France (named for the river that runs through it, which has a name of Gaulish origin).

MAKHACHKALA (Settlement) Russian, English
Combination of Makhach, the nickname of Dagestani revolter Magomed-Ali Dakhadaev and Kumyk къала (qala) meaning "fortress". In the Kumyk language, it is referred to as Анжикъала (Anzhiqala) meaning "pearl fortress" (анжи (anzhi) "pearl", къала (qala) "fortress")... [more]

MAKURIA (Country & Region) History, English
Derived from Μακουρια (Makouria), which is the hellenized form of the autochthonous name of a Nubian kingdom that existed from the 5th century AD to the late 15th century AD. The original Nubian name is unknown, as is its meaning... [more]

MALAWI (Country) English
The name of the Country in East Africa. Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, is defined by its topography of highlands split by the Great Rift Valley and enormous Lake Malawi. The lake’s southern end falls within Lake Malawi National Park – sheltering diverse wildlife from colorful fish to baboons – and its clear waters are popular for diving and boating... [more]

MALAYSIA (Country) Malay, English, Indonesian, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, Romanian
From Malay, which refers to the Malay Peninsula and the Malay people, combined with the Greek suffix -σία (síā). The name Malay is from Melayu or Malayu, the name of a Sumatran kingdom, which is probably derived from Tamil மலை (malai) or Malayalam മല (mala) meaning "hill, mountain"... [more]

MALI (Country) English, French, Croatian
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa.... [more]

MALTA (Country) English, Basque, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Galician, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Turkmen, West Frisian
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea.... [more]

MANCHESTER (Settlement) English
A large city in North-West England. Manchester is an Anglicization of the town's Latin name Mancunium. This was likely derived from an earlier name in a language similar to Welsh. It may have derived from words equivalent to Welsh mamau, meaning 'mother', in reference to a local river goddess... [more]

MANILA (Settlement) English, Cebuano, Ilocano, Maranao, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Ukrainian
From Tagalog may-nilà meaning "where indigo is found", ultimately from Sanskrit नील (nī́la) referring to the indigo plant. This is the name of the capital city of the PHILIPPINES.

MANITOBA (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a province in CANADA, from Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwa manidoobaa, both meaning "straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit",

MARIEHAMN (Settlement) Swedish, English
Mariehamn is the capital of ÅLAND, named after Russian empress MARIA Alexandrovna.

MARLBOROUGH (Other) English
Originating from the name of a market town in Wiltshire. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin and that the name of the town, Marlborough comes from Merlin's Barrow.... [more]

MARMARA (Body of Water) English (Modern, Rare)
Place name; the Sea of Marmara is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea in Turkey.

MARYLAND (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England.

MASSACHUSETTS (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named for the Algonquian native people who lived around the bay, from Algonquian massachusett "at the large hill," in reference to Great Blue Hill, southwest of Boston.

MAURITANIA (Country) English
Derived from Latin Maurītānia, itself from Maurus meaning "Moor" (referring to the Moors, a group of Muslims who historically inhabited the MAGHREB in Northern Africa), ultimately from Greek μαυρός (maurós) meaning "dark"... [more]

MAYKOP (Settlement) Russian, English, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Ukrainian
From Adyghe Мыекъуапэ (Məeq°āpă) meaning "cape of apples", from мые (məe) meaning "apple" and къуапэ (q°āpă) meaning "cape, gorge, height". This is the name of the capital of ADYGEA, a republic in southern RUSSIA.

MEBANE (Settlement) English (Rare)
Mebane, NC

MECCA (Settlement) English
Possibly from Phoenician maqaq meaning "ruined" or Arabic mahrab meaning "sanctuary". The official name of the city is مكة المكرمة (Makkah al-Mukarramah / Makkatu l-Mukarramah) meaning "Mecca the Honored" or "The Holy City of Mecca"... [more]

MEDAN (Settlement) Indonesian, English
Meaning uncertain. According to the diary of a Portuguese merchant, the name is derived from Tamil மைதானம் (Maidhāṉam) meaning "ground" (or Hindi मैदान (Maidan)), adopted from Malay... [more]

MELANESIA (Region) English

MEZFIN (Other) American (Rare), Ethiopian (Rare)
Mezfin (English: Mez-fin) means Emperor: is a male name of American National multiracial origination. ... [more]

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]

MICHIGAN (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally applied to lake Michigan, perhaps from Old Ojibwa (Algonquian) meshi-gami "big lake".

MIDGARD (Other) English, Portuguese
Variant of MIÐGARÐR, meaning "middle yard" or "middle enclosure". This is the name for where the humans live, located between heaven and hell, in Norse mythology.

MINNEAPOLIS (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a city in MINNESOTA, from Dakota mni "river, stream" + Ancient Greek ‎polis "city".

MINNESOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Dakota (Siouan) mnisota, literally "cloudy water", "milky water", from mni "river, stream" + sota "slightly clouded".

MINNETONKA (Settlement) English
Name of a suburban city in Hennepin County, MINNESOTA, means "great water" from Dakota mni "river, stream" and tanka "freat".

MISSISSIPPI (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally the name of a river, from Ojibwe misi-ziibi "Great river".

MISSOURI (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from Illinois mihsoori, "dugout canoe".

MOLDOVA (Country) English

MONACO (Country) English, French
This is the name of a sovereign city-state and microstate bordering France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on one side.... [more]

MONTEREY (Settlement) English

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. A common explanation is that real is the Middle French form of Royal, but Cartier himself recorded le mont Royal when he named it.

MORDOVIA (Political Subdivision) English
Refers to the Mordvins, the native ethnic group inhabiting the area. The name Mordvin itself is a self designation adopted by the people, believed to be derived frm Scythian mard meaning "man"... [more]

MOSCOW (Settlement) English
Transliteration of Russian Москва (Moskva) meaning "the city by the Moskva River".

NAGORNO-KARABAKH (Political Subdivision) English
Combination of Russian нагорный (nagorniy) "highland" and Karabakh, derived from Turkish kara "black" and Persian باغ (bāgh) "garden". Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region in the CAUCASUS and internationally recognized as a part of AZERBAIJAN.

NAMIBIA (Country) English
The name of the Country in Southern Africa. Namibia, a country in southwest Africa, is distinguished by the Namib Desert along its Atlantic Ocean coast. The country is home to diverse wildlife, including a significant cheetah population... [more]

NASHVILLE (Settlement) English
Name of the capital city in TENNESSEE, named after Gen. Francis Nash.

NEBRASKA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from Otoe Ñí Brásge meaning "flat water".

NEFTEKAMSK (Settlement) Russian, English
Derived from Russian нефть (neft') meaning "oil, petroleum" and the name of the Kama River. Neftekamsk is a city in Russia and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

NENT (River) English
A river in the North Pennines. Its name is derived from Cumbric nent, meaning 'stream'. It is a tributary of the TYNE.

NEVADA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish Sierra Nevada "snow-covered mountains".

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]

NEWFOUNDLAND (Country) English
From 1907 to 1949, Newfoundland existed as the self-governing Dominion of Newfoundland. In 1949, Newfoundland joined Canada as a province.

NEWGUINEA (Island) English
The name of the Island. New Guinea is a large Island in the South West Pacific region. It is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km², and the largest wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a state in the United States, named after HAMPSHIRE in England.

NEW JERSEY (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a state in the United States, named after the largest of British channel islands Jersey.

NEW MEXICO (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, a calque of Spanish Nuevo México "New MEXICO".

NEW YORK (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a state in the United States, also the name of a city in that state, named after the then Duke of YORK, later King James II of England.

NEW ZEALAND (Country) English
Named after the Dutch province ZEELAND. This is the name of a country in the southwestern PACIFIC OCEAN.

NICARAGUA (Country) English
The name of the Country in Central America. Nicaragua, set between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is a Central American nation known for its dramatic terrain of lakes, volcanoes and beaches... [more]

NICOSIA (Settlement) English
Capital of Cyprus.

NOLITA (Political Subdivision) American
A neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Derived from "NOrth of Little ITAly"123. Nolita is bounded on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south roughly by Broome Street, and on the west by Lafayette Street... [more]

NORMANDY (Political Subdivision) English (Rare)
English name for the French region of Normandie.

NORTH CAROLINA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, Named after King Charles I of England.

NORTH DAKOTA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, also the name of indigenous people of the Great Plains, from the Dakota word dakhóta "friend".

NORTHUMBERLAND (Region) English
From the much larger Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, meaning 'land north of the Humber'.

NOUAKCHOTT (Settlement) French, English, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese
From French Nouakchott through Arabic نواكشوط (Nuwākšūṭ), which is ultimately from Tamazight Nawākšūṭ meaning "place of the winds" or inua u-kshut meaning "made of wood, made of sticks"... [more]

NOVA (Other) English (American)
Means “son of pain’’ first used in the late 70s early 20th century. Brought about in honour of a very well respected and infamous speedboarder of the time.

NUR-SULTAN (Settlement) Kazakh, Russian, English, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, German, Italian, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Ukrainian
From the given name NURSULTAN. This is the capital city of KAZAKHSTAN, renamed in honour of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940-). It was previously known as ASTANA.

OAKLAND (Settlement) English
This is name of places in the United States and Canada (including the one in California).... [more]

OCEANIA (Region) English
A geographic region in the southern hemisphere consisting of several nations, including AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND. The name is ultimately derived from Greek ὠκεανός (ōkeanós) ”ocean”.

OHIO (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, originally used of the river, from Seneca ohi:yo "good river".

OKLAHOMA (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from Choctaw okla "people" "tribe" "nation" + homma "red".

OMAN (Country) English, Croatian
The name of the Country in the Middle East. Oman, a nation on the Arabian Peninsula, has terrain encompassing desert, riverbed oases and long coastlines on the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman... [more]

ONTARIO (Region) English

ORAN (Settlement) English
Derived from Berber hr meaning "lion", believed to be bestowed to the city when lions were spotted in 900 BC. Oran is a port city in northwest ALGERIA and the second largest city after ALGIERS.

OREGON (Political Subdivision) English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from the name of a large river in the west of North America, possibly from Algonquin wauregan "beautiful".

OREGON TRAIL (Other) English (American)
Trail in Oregon, USA.

ORLANDO (Political Subdivision) English
Name of a city in FLORIDA, named in honor of Orlando Reeves who died in 1835 during a supposed attack by Seminoles in the Second Seminole War.