Ancient Roman Submitted Place Names

Actium (Settlement) Ancient Roman

Adriatic Sea (Body of Water) Ancient Roman
The Adriatic Sea is located near Central Italy. It is named after Adria. See Hadria for more info.

Apulia (Political Subdivision) English, Ancient Roman, Polish, Spanish
From Latin Apulia, itself of unknown origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep-, meaning "water". This is the name of a region in southern Italy.

Boeotia (Region) English, Ancient Roman
From Greek Βοιωτία (Boiotia), supposedly from the eponymous founder Boeotus, though it’s more likely to derive directly from βοώτης (bootes) meaning "herdsman", itself from βοῦς (bous) meaning "ox, cow"... [more]

Caletum (Settlement) Ancient Roman
From the name of the Caletes people; the name itself may derive from proto-Celtic kaletos meaning "hard, cruel, strong".

Campania (Political Subdivision) Italian, English, Galician, Spanish, Ancient Roman
From Latin Campania, itself from campania felix, denoting the fertile countryside around Mount Vesuvius. This is the name of a region in southern Italy.

Chorasmia (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English, Greek
Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman name for the region of Khwarazm in Central Asia. It was named after the Chorasmians, a local Iranian tribe who were known as Χωράσμιοι (Chorasmioi) to the Greeks and as Chorasmii to the Romans.... [more]

Cracovia (Settlement) Galician, Italian, Ancient Roman, Sicilian, Spanish
Galician, Italian, Latin, Sicilian and Spanish form of Krakow.

Etruria (Country) English, Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman, History
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an ancient country in the Italian Peninsula (located in what is now Tuscany) inhabited by the Etruscans.... [more]

Florentia (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Greek
Latin and Greek form of Florence.

Hadria (Settlement) Ancient Roman
The name of two Roman settlements. The first one is modern Adria. It is an important Etruscan port town in northern Italy. The second one is modern Atri. It is named after the northern town in Italy... [more]

Herculaneum (Settlement) Ancient Roman
An ancient Roman town in Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Derived from the name of Hercules, a mythological figure whom some claimed had founded the settlement.

Igilium (Island) Ancient Roman

Ister (River) Ancient Greek (Latinized), Ancient Roman
Latinized form of Istros. The Romans used this as an alternative name for the Danube river, which was primarily known to them under the name Danubius.

Iuverna (Country & Island) Ancient Roman
A Roman name for Ireland, from Old Celtic *Iveriu "Ireland" (accusative case *Iverionem, ablative *Iverione) - from which eventually arose Irish Ériu and Éire.

Londinensi (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin
Latin form of London, the capital city of the United Kingdom.

Lucania (Region & Political Subdivision) Ancient Roman, Italian, History
From the Osco-Sabellic luc, meaning "light", associated with the morning star Lucifer in the east, as Lucania was east of the river Sele (then known as Silarus). This was the homeland of the Oscan Lucani people, now known as Basilicata.

Mantua (Settlement) English, Dutch, German, Ancient Roman, Spanish
A city in Italy, the birthplace of the famous Ancient Roman poet Vergil. Etymology uncertain; possibly from the name of the Etruscan god Mantus.

Mare Nostrum (Body of Water) Ancient Roman, Late Roman
Ancient Roman term for the Mediterranean Sea. Meaning "our sea", from Latin mare meaning "sea" and nostrum meaning "our, ours".

Mutina (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Latin form of Modena, from Etruscan Mutna, of uncertain meaning.

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.

Ostia (Settlement) Ancient Roman, Italian
From Latin ōs, meaning "mouth", transferred to mean "opening, entrance". This was a major port city in Ancient Rome, which is still the name of a coastal area of the modern city of Rome.

Pannonia (Region) Medieval Hungarian, Ancient Roman
Pannonia was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia... [more]

Parma (Settlement) Italian, English, Ancient Roman, Catalan, German, Maltese, Spanish, Russian
From Latin Parma, itself from Etruscan parme, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.

Pompeii (Settlement) Ancient Roman
Possibly derived from the Oscan pompe "five", becoming the Latin second declension plural, pompeii. This may be because the community formerly consisted of five hamlets, or was perhaps settled by a family group (gens Pompeia).... [more]

Scania (Region & Political Subdivision) English, Italian, Ancient Roman
English, Italian and Latin form of Skåne.

Sparta (Settlement) English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Manx, Polish, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman
From Doric Greek Σπάρτα (Sparta) and Attic Greek Σπάρτη (Spartē), which is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from σπάρτον (sparton) meaning "rope, cable" - a reference to the cords laid as the city’s foundation boundaries, though this could be just a folk etymology.... [more]

Svecia (Country) Ancient Roman
Latin form of Sverige.

Tiberis (River) Ancient Roman, Medieval Latin
The name of a river running through Rome. Etymology unknown, but likely pre-Roman.

Transoxania (Region) Ancient Roman
Means "beyond the river Oxus", derived from Latin trans meaning "across, beyond" combined with the Latin noun Oxus meaning "the river Oxus".... [more]

Ulcisia Castra (Region) Ancient, Ancient Roman
Latin for "wolf castle". Now is a part of Szentendre.

Vesuvius (Mountain) Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman
There are three theories about the origin of the name Vesuvius:... [more]