Snohomish(Settlement & River)English (American) A city and river in Washington State. From the name of the Snohomish people, who are indigenous to the area.
South Carolina(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, Named after King Charles I of England.
South 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".
Springville(Settlement)English (American) The city of Springville in Utah was named after Fort Springville, a fort that religious leader Brigham Young ordered to be built to be turned into a town as soon as possible.
Suwannee(River)English (American) A river in Georgia and Florida. Possibly from Spanish San Juan, from the name of the Shawnee Native American people, or from Creek sawani eaning "echo".
Swannanoa(Settlement & River)English (American) A river and a settlement in North Carolina, as well as a village in New Zealand named for the river. From Cherokee Suwa’lĭ-Nûñnâ’hĭ meaning “the trail to Suwa’li". Suwa’li, also called Joara, was a nearby kingdom... [more]
Tahlequah(Settlement)English (American) A city in Oklahoma. Most likely from Cherokee di li gwa meaning "grain, rice".
Taos(Settlement)English (American) From the Taos word tə̂o (“village”). The word may come from Spanish tao meaning «tau cross ensign», ultimately from the name for the Greek letter tau.... [more]
Thermopolis(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wyoming. From Ancient Greek θερμόςthermós meaning "warm, hot" and πόλιςpólis meaning "city".
Tolovana(River)English (American) The name of a river in Alaska, derived from Koyukon tolbaa no’ meaning "pale-water river".
Toppenish(Settlement)English (American) A city in Washington State. Likely from Sahaptin txápniš meaning "protruded, stuck out". The name refers to a nearby landslide.
Truckee(Settlement)English (American) A river in California and Nevada. From the name of a Northern Paiute medicine chief and prophet, Truckee.
Tuskegee(Settlement)English (American) A city in Alabama. The name is derived from the Muskoagee word taskeke meaning "warriors".
Ukiah(Settlement)English (American) Two cities in California and Oregon. From Pomo yokáya meaning "deep valley, south valley".
Utah(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).
Vacaville(Settlement)English (American) From the Spanish surname Vaca and the English suffix ville, meaning "city". The city in California is named for Juan Manuel Cabeza Vaca, an early settler in the land that would become the city.
Val Verde(Settlement)English (American) A town in New Mexico. Meaning "green valley", from Spanish val "valley" and verde "green".
Vermont(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, literally "green mountain" from French verde "green" + mont "mountain".
Vieques(Settlement & Island)English (American), Spanish (Latin American) An island and town east of Puerto Rico. The name is derived from the Hispanicization of a Taíno word said to mean "small island, small land".
Virginia(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, "country of the Virgin", after Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.
Wabash(Settlement & River)English (American) A river and various cities in the United States. From Miami-Illinois waapaahšiiki meaning "it shines white, pure white", after the white limestone making up the riverbed.
Wabasha(Settlement)English (American) Transferred use of the Dakota given name Wabasha. The city in Minnesota was most likely named for Wabasha II, a chief of the Dakota people.
Wabasso(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota. From Ojibwe waabooz meaning "rabbit, snowshoe hare".
Waco(Settlement)English (American) A city in Texas, named for the Waco subdivision of the Wichita people, who are indigenous to the area.
Waconia(Settlement & Body of Water)English (American) A city and lake in Minnesota. From Dakota meday wa ko ni ya meaning "lake of the fountain, lake of the spring" or "out of the water comes life".
Waggaman(Settlement)English (American) Transferred usage of the surname Waggaman. The settlement in Louisiana is named for George A. Waggaman, the US Senator for Louisiana from 1831-1835.
Wahpeton(Settlement)English (American) Two cities in Iowa and North Dakota. The name is derived from the Wakhpetonwan band of the Dakota.
Wakonda(Settlement)English (American) A city in South Dakota. From Dakota wakor or waukon meaning "wonder, miracle, marvel, sacred, medicine".
Wanaque(Settlement)English (American) A river and city in New Jersey. The name is possibly derived from a Lenape word meaning "land of sassafras".
Wantagh(Settlement)English (American) A hamlet in New York, named for a sachem of the Montauk people, who are indigenous to the area.
Wapakoneta(Settlement)English (American) A city in Ohio. The name is possibly derived from the Shawnee word wa-po'kanite meaning "the place of white bones".
Wapsipinicon(River)English (American) A river in Iowa, from Ojibwe waabiziipiniikaan-ziibi, "river abundant in wild artichokes".
Waseca(Settlement)English (American) A city in Minnesota, derived from the Dakota word washecha, meaning "rich, fertile".
Washougal(Settlement)English (American) A city in Washington, USA. The name is derived from the Chinookan language, but its meaning is unknown.
Watab(River)English (American) A river in Minnesota. From Ojibwe wadab-ziibi meaning "spruce-root river".
Watauga(Settlement, Body of Water & River)English (American) A river, lake, and several settlements in the United States. Possibly meaning "river of islands", "the land beyond," or "beautiful river, beautiful water" in an unknown Native American language, likely Cherokee.
Wauconda(Settlement)English (American) A village in Illinois. While the meaning of the name is unknown, local legend claims that it is named for a Native American leader whose name meant "spirit water".
Waukegan(Settlement)English (American) A city in Illinois. The name is derived from the Potawatomi word wakaigin meaning "fort, fortress".
Waukesha(Settlement)English (American) A city in Wisconsin. Likely an Anglicization of Ojibwe waagoshag meaning "foxes" or derived from the Potawatomi name Wau-tsha.
Wawina(Settlement)English (American) A township in Minnesota. From Ojibwe waawiinaa meaning "I mention him often".
Waxahachie(Settlement)English (American) A city in Texas. Possibly from the Alabama term waakasi hachi meaning "calf's tail", or from the Muscogee compound word wakyhyce meaning "cow river".
Wayzata(Settlement)English (American) From the Dakota word wazíyata, meaning "north" or "north shore".
Weehawken(Settlement)English (American) A city in New Jersey. The name is most likely from a Lenape language, and has been suggested to mean "maize land", "place of gulls", "rocks that look like trees", or "at the end".
Wekiwa(River)English (American) Two rivers in Florida. The name is derived from the Creek-Seminole word wekiwa meaning "spring".
Wenatchee(Settlement)English (American) A city in Washington. From the name of the Wenatchi people, who are indigenous to the area.
Weslaco(Settlement)English (American) A city in Texas. The name is a truncation of the W.E. Stewart Land Company.
West Virginia(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, The western, transmontane, counties of Virginia; separated from Virginia during Civil War.
Westwego(Settlement)English (American) Possibly from the English phrase "west we go", as the city in Louisiana was a major crossing point on the Mississippi River during the westward migration of Euro-American colonizers.
Why(Settlement)English (American) Small community in Arizona State, US. Arizona law stated that a settlement's name must have at least 3 letters, so the towns founders named the town, which was situated on a Y-section, "Why" instead of "Y"... [more]
Wildomar(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. The name is derived from the first syllables of the names William Collier and Donald Graham (the city's founders), and Margaret Collier Graham (Graham's wife and Collier's sister).
Willimantic(Settlement)English (American) Various cities in the United States. Of either Mohegan-Pequot or Narragansett origin, probably meaning "place near the evergreen swamp".
Winnebago(Political Subdivision & River)English (American) A river and county in Iowa. From Ojibwe Wiinibiigoo ("Winnebago, Ho-Chunk"), an exonym for the Ho-Chunk people who lived in the area.
Winnemucca(Settlement & Body of Water)English (American) A dry lake and city in Nevada, both named for Chief Winnemucca, a leader of the Northern Paiute people who are indigenous to the area.
Winnetka(Settlement)English (American) A city in Illinois. The name is said to be derived from a Potawatomi term meaning "beautiful place".
Winnibigoshish(Body of Water)English (American) A lake in Minnesota. From Ojibwe wiinibiigoonzhish meaning "filthy water, brackish water".
Winooski(Settlement & River)English (American) A river and multiple settlements in the United States. The name is derived from the Abenaki word winoskik meaning "at wild onion land".
Wisconsin(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from French Ouisconsin, likely from the Miami word Meskonsing "it lies red".
Wyoming(Political Subdivision)English (American) Name of a state in the United States, from Algonquian chwewamink "at the big river flat," from xw "big" + e:wam "river flat" + enk "place".
Yankton(Settlement & Body of Water)English (American) The city in South Dakota was named for the Yankton tribe of the Western Dakota, who are indigenous to the area; Yankton itself is derived from Dakota Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ, meaning "village at the end".
Yellowstone(River)English (American) The name of a major tributary of the Missouri River. The name Yellowstone derives from translations of several indigenous names for the river that refer to the sulfur-containing yellow rocks the river has carried out of the Yellowstone Caldera, an active supervolcano that powers the hydrothermal features of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming... [more]
Yosemite(Other)English (American), Indigenous American (Anglicized, Rare) A national park and a valley located in Mariposa County, California, the name is derived from the Southern Sierra Miwok joh-heˀ-HmetiH-, meaning "warriors, killers, those not afraid to die"... [more]
Ypsilanti(Settlement)English (American) Derived from the Greek surname Ypsilantis. The city in Michigan is named for Demetrios Ypsilantis, a Greek officer known for his role in the Greek War of Independence.
Yucaipa(Settlement)English (American) A city in California. From Serrano yukaipa't meaning "green valley".
Yuma(Settlement)English (American) A city in Arizona. Named for the Quechan, or Yuma, people, who are indigenous to the area.