French Submitted Place Names

French names are used in France and other French-speaking regions. See also about French names.
type
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Abkhazie (Country) French
French form of Abkhazia.
Abondance (Political Subdivision) French
Abyssinie (Country) French
French form of Abyssinia.
Acadie (Region) French
French form of Acadia.
Acarnanie (Region) French
French form of Acarnania.
Achgabat (Settlement) French
French form of Ashgabat.
Açores (Political Subdivision & Region) Portuguese, Catalan, French
Portuguese form of Azores, which has been adopted into Catalan and French.
Adyguée (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Adygea.
Afrique Du Sud (Country) French
French form of South Africa.
Agadir (Settlement) Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber, English, French
Means "fortified fortress, wall" in Central Atlas Tamazight, ultimately from Phoenician gdr meaning "wall, compound". This is the name of a city in Morocco.
Ain (River & Political Subdivision) French
A river and department in France.
Alpes (Mountain) French, Spanish, Portuguese
French, Spanish and Portuguese form of Alps.
Alsace (Political Subdivision & Region) French, English, English (American)
From Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain". Alternatively, from Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace.... [more]
Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (Political Subdivision & Region) French
Combination of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine.... [more]
Ambracie (Settlement) French
French form of Ambracia.
Anatolie (Region) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Anatolia.
Ancre (River) French
This is the name of a river in Picardy, France.
Andelle (River) French
The name of a river in Normandy, France.
Andorre (Country) French
French form of Andorra.
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]
Antananarivo (Settlement) Malagasy, French, English
Means "city of thousand" in Malagasy, from the prefix an- combined with tanana meaning "city, town" and arivo meaning "one thousand". The name was chosen by Merina King Andriamasinavalona (1675-1710), who renamed the city in honour of the thousand soldiers who captured the site under the rule of King Andrianjaka... [more]
Anticosti (Island) French (Quebec)
Anticosti is an island in the Minganie Regional County Municipality Canada. Originally inhabited by natives , The Innu called it Notiskuan which means "where bears are hunted", and the Mi'kmaq called it Natigôsteg meaning "forward land".... [more]
Aoeur'gny (Island) Norman
Auregnais Norman version of Alderney.
Aoste (Settlement) French
French form of Aosta.
Aquitaine (Region) French
French form of Aquitania. This is the name of a historical region of France located roughly between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Garonne... [more]
Arachosie (Region) French
French form of Arachosia.
Arcadie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Arcadia.
Ardenne (Region & Other) French, French (Belgian)
From the forest known as Arduenna Silva in the Roman period; Arduenna probably derives from a Gaulish cognate of the Brythonic word ardu, as in Irish ard "high"... [more]
Ardennes (Other & Region) French (Anglicized), English
English pluralised form of Ardenne. ... [more]
Arie (Region) French
French form of Aria.
Arles (Political Subdivision) French (Gallicized)
From Arelati, a Gaulish word meaning "by the marsh" or "in front of the marsh". Latinized Arelate.
Arpitanie (Region) French
French form of Arpitania.
Aruba (Political Subdivision & Island) Afrikaans, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian
An island in the Caribbean Sea that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Aurigny (Island) French
French version of Alderney.
Australasie (Region) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Australasia.
Autriche (Country) French
French form of Austria
Autriche-hongrie (Country) French
French form of Austria-hungary.
Azerbaïdjan (Country) French
French form of Azerbaijan.
Bachkirie (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Bashkiria.
Bakou (Settlement) Breton, French, Haitian Creole
Breton, French, and Haitian Creole form of Baku.
Bamako (Settlement) English, Armenian, Catalan, Danish, Esperanto, French, Fula, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Union of Bambara words bama ("crocodile") and ("stream"). This is the name of the capital city of Mali.
Bangladesh (Country) Bengali, Armenian, Basque, Breton, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Malay, Mongolian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swahili, Swedish, Uzbek
From Bengali বাংলাদেশ (Bangladeś) meaning "land of the Bengalis", from the name of the Bengali people and Sanskrit देश (deśá) meaning "country, kingdom, land, state"... [more]
Bari (Settlement) Italian, English, Armenian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Sicilian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
From Latin Barium, itself of uncertain origin, possibly from Messapic *baur or *bur, meaning "house", ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bhreu ("to grow, to be"). This is the name of the capital city of Apulia, in southern Italy.
Bastille (Other) French
This is the name of a fortress, formally known as Bastille Saint-Antoine, which played an important role in France's internal conflicts.... [more]
Batoche (Settlement & Other) French
A historic village and National Historic Site in modern day Saskatchewan, Canada. Batoche is where Métis leader Louis Riel and his forces were defeated by the Canadian Army... [more]
Belgrade (Settlement) English, French
From Serbian Београд (Beograd) meaning "white city", derived from the Slavic root beli or beo meaning "white" combined with grad meaning "city, town". This is the name of the capital city of Serbia.
Béotie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Boeotia.
Bhoutan (Country) Breton, French
Breton and French form of Bhutan
Bisaltie (Region) French
French form of Bisaltia.
Bombay (Settlement) English (Archaic), Dutch, French, Spanish
From Portuguese Bombaim, which may have been derived from the phrase bom baim meaning "good little bay" or from the Marathi name मुंबई (Mumbai). This is an older English name for Mumbai, officially used until 1995... [more]
Bonaire (Political Subdivision & Island) Afrikaans, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
An island in the Caribbean Sea that is a special municipality of the Netherlands.
Bossier (Political Subdivision & Settlement) French
A city and parish in Louisiana, a place with Creole roots. This is also a French surname.
Bouriatie (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Buryatia.
Bouville (Settlement) French
Brescia (Settlement) Italian, English, Catalan, French, Polish, Romanian, Sicilian, Spanish, Turkish
From Latin Brixia, itself probably from a Gaulish or Celtic root denoting a hill. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.
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.
Bruneï (Country) French
Variant of Brunei.
Bruxelles (Settlement) French, Bosnian, Croatian, Danish, Italian, Romanian
French form of Brussels, which some countries have adopted as their name for the Belgian city.
Burcy (Settlement) French
A town in France.
Burhou (Island) Norman
A Channel Island in England. Means "storehouse island", from bur meaning "storehouse", and -hou, a Norman suffix derived from Old Norse holmr meaning "island".
Burundi (Country) Afrikaans, Albanian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, 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.
Cagliari (Settlement) Italian, English, Danish, French, Galician, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish
From Latin Calaris, itself from Phoenician Krly, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of the capital city of Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea and a region of Italy.
Calédonie (Region) French
French form of Caledonia.
Calvados (Political Subdivision) French
A department in Normandy, France. It is named after a cluster of sparsely vegetated rocks off the coast, likely from 'calva dorsa', meaning "bare backs".
Cambodge (Country) French
French form of Cambodia.
Cameroun (Country) Danish, French
Danish and French form of Cameroon
Campobasso (Settlement) Italian, English, French, German, Spanish
Literally "low field"; derived from Latin Campus Vassorum, denoting that the city was host to vassals. This is the name of the capital city of the southern Italian region of Molise.
Caquorobert (Island) Norman
Islet in the Channel Islands. Unknown meaning.
Caracas (Settlement) English, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish
From the earlier name Santiago de León de Caracas. The name Caracas is most likely derived from the name of a tribe that used to live in the area. This is the name of the capital city of Venezuela.
Caraïbes (Region) French
French form of Caribbean.
Carantanie (Country) French
French form of Carantania.
Carnie (Region) French
French form of Carnia.
Casablanca (Settlement) English, French, Spanish
Means "white house" in Spanish. The name comes from a Spanish translation of the Arabic name الدار البيضاء (ad-Dar al-Bayda'), which in turn was derived from a calque of the Portuguese name Casa Branca... [more]
Casquet (Island) French
An island chain in the Channel Islands. Could from derived from French 'cascade', referring the nearby strong tides, or from 'casque', referring to the helmet-like shape of the rocks, or from 'cas', meaning "broken" and 'quet', "rock".
Catalongne (Political Subdivision & Region) Norman, Picard
Norman and Picard form of Catalonia.
Catanzaro (Settlement) Italian, English, French, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, German
From Latin Catanciarium, itself derived from Catacium, ultimately from Ancient Greek Καταρτάριοι, meaning "silk spinners". This is the name of a city in southern Italy, the second city in Calabria, as well as its capital city.
Caucase (Region) French
French form of Caucasus.
Centre-Val de Loire (Region & Political Subdivision) French
Meaning literally "Centre-Loire Valley", as the centre of the Loire flows through the region.... [more]
Cerq (Island) Norman
Sercquiais Norman version of Sark.
Champagne (Region) French
French region famous for its luxury sparkling wine.... [more]
Chantilly (Settlement) French
From the name of a town in France near Paris, ultimately derived from the Gallo-Roman name Cantilius. The city gave its name to a type of delicate lace originally made there.
Chaonie (Region) French
French form of Chaonia.
Chardonnay (Settlement) French
The name of a famous village for the white wine produced here. Means "a place of thistles" from the latin cardonnacum.
Chausey (Island) Norman
A large group of islands in the Channel Islands, France. The -ey is the Norman word for "island".
Chorasmie (Region) French
French form of Khwarazm via its Greek and Latin name Chorasmia.
Chypre (Country & Island) French
French form of Cyprus.
Circassie (Region) French
French form of Circassia.
Ciscaucasie (Region) French
French form of Ciscaucasia.
Clairvaux (Settlement) French
Cluny (Settlement) French
Cognac (Settlement) French
A city in Charente, France.
Coire (Settlement) French
French form of Chur.
Colmar (Settlement) French
Alsatian City of Colmar.
Corbie (Political Subdivision) French
Corée Du Nord (Country) French
French form of North Korea
Corée Du Sud (Country) French
French form of South Korea
Corinthie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Corinthia.
Costa Rica (Country) Spanish, Afrikaans, Basque, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish
The name of the Country in Central America. Costa Rica is a rugged, rainforested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific. Though its capital, San Jose, is home to cultural institutions like the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, Costa Rica is known for its beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity... [more]
Côte D'ivoire (Country) French
A country in Africa. Also called the Ivory Coast.
Cotonou (Settlement) French
The name Cotonou comes from Fon origins, meaning, "by the river of death".
Crevichon (Island) Norman
Islet in the Channel Islands, England. Means "isle of crabs, crayfish, and cranes", due to the abundance of those animals in the area.
Crimée (Country, Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Crimea.
Dacca (Settlement) Finnish, French, Italian, Romanian
Form of Dhaka.
Daghestan (Political Subdivision) French, Italian, Persian, Romanian
French, Italian, Persian, and Romanian form of Dagestan.
Dardanie (Region & Settlement) French
French form of Dardania.
Digne (Political Subdivision) French (Archaic)
Digne-les-Bains, or simply and historically Digne, is a commune of France, capital of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, and situated in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Dijon (Settlement) French
From French Dijon, from the Roman name, Latin Divio, from the name Divius (“godly, divine”).... [more]
Dirouilles (Island) Norman, French
Islet chain in the Channel Islands. Each rock has many names. May mean "rags", as a direct transliteration of the French word dirouilles.
Dithouïl'yes (Island) Norman
Jèrriais Norman version of Dirouilles
Dniestr (River) French, Polish
French and Polish form of Dniester.
Dortmund (Settlement) English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
First mentioned in the 9th century AD as Throtmanni, of uncertain origin and meaning, the form Dortmunde first appeared in the 13th century. This is the name of a city in western Germany.
Douchanbé (Settlement) French
French form of Dushanbe.
Durcet (Settlement) French
It is the name of a commune in north-western France.
Êcrého (Island) Norman
Jèrriais Norman version of Écréhous.
Ecrehos (Island) Norman
Variant of Écréhous
Écréhous (Island) Norman, English, Medieval Scandinavian
Island chain in the Channel Islands in England. Derived from Old Norse 'esker', as in a "skerry", or a "small, rocky islet". and -hou, meaning "island".
Empoli (Settlement) Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
Of uncertain origin: possibly from the Germanic first name *Empo- with the suffix -ulus, or from Latin in portu ("in the port") as per the Tabula Peutingeriana. An eighth-century castle is documented with the names Empolum, Emporium and Empolis... [more]
Engadine (Region) French
French form of Engadin.
Erevan (Settlement) Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, French, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mongolian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Tajik, Ukrainian
Alternate transcription of Yerevan as well as the form used in various languages.
Érythrée (Country) French
French form of Eritrea
Étrurie (Region) French
French form of Etruria.
Euphrate (River) French
French form of Euphrates.
Fleury (Settlement) French
The name of various places in northern France, derived from Latin Floriacum, the name of a Gallo-Roman estate which was composed of the personal name Florus and the locative suffix -acum... [more]
Florence (Settlement) English, Dutch, French, Latvian
From Latin Florentia, derived from florens, ("flowering"), ultimately from flos, meaning "flower". This is the name of the capital city of Tuscany, in central Italy, as well as several settlements throughout the United States.... [more]
Forillon (Other) French
National park in Quebec, Canada. The name is thought to refer to a flowerpot island or sea stack in the area that has since been submerged in the ocean.
Fribourg-en-Brisgau (Settlement) French
French form of Freiburg im Breisgau.
Fundy (Other & Body of Water) French
Bay and national park in New Brunswick, Canada. The name comes from the French word 'fendu', meaning "split".
Galilée (Region) French
French form of Galilee.
Gambie (Country & River) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Gambia.
Gange (River) French, Italian
French and Italian form of Ganges.
Gatineau (Settlement & River) French (Quebec)
City and river in Quebec, Canada. Named after city official Nicholas Gatineau dit Duplessis.
Gédrosie (Region) French
French form of Gedrosia.
Genève (Settlement) French
French form of Geneva.
Grand Est (Region & Political Subdivision) French
Meaning literally "Great East" in French, reflecting the rich cultural history of the east of France and the region's borders with four other countries.... [more]
Grèce (Country) French
French form of Greece.
Groenland (Political Subdivision) Dutch, French, Afrikaans
Dutch, French and Afrikaans form of Greenland.
Groningue (Settlement) French
French form of Groningen.
Guam (Political Subdivision & Island) Afrikaans, Basque, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
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]
Gùernesey (Island) Norman
Cotentinais Norman form of Guernsey.
Haerme (Island) Norman
Norman version of Herm.
Haïti (Country & Island) French, Dutch, Afrikaans
French, Dutch and Afrikaans form of Haiti.
Hanoï (Settlement) French
French form of Hanoi.
Hauts-de-France (Political Subdivision & Region) French
Meaning literally "heights of France", also "Upper France".... [more]
Havane (Settlement) French
French form of Havana, usually written with the definite article: La Havane.
Hawaï (Political Subdivision & Island) Dutch, French
Dutch and French form of Hawaii.
Hazard (Other) French
The French word was probably borrowed from Arabic az-zahr, meaning “the dice” or “one of the dice.” ... [more]
Houmet (Island) Norman
The Houmets are an islet chain in the Channel Islands. The name is from the Norman word 'hou', meaning "island".
Hyrcanie (Region) French
French form of Hyrcania.
Île-de-France (Political Subdivision & Region) French
Meaning literally "island of France". Its ultimate etymology is unclear; the "island" may refer to the land between the rivers Oise, Marne and Seine, or it may have been a reference to the Île de la Cité, where the French royal palace and cathedral were located... [more]
Indonésie (Country) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Indonesia.
Ingouchie (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Ingushetia.
Isère (Other) French
The name of a region as well as a river in France.
Islande (Country & Island) French, Latvian
French and Latvian form of Iceland.
Israël (Country) Dutch, French
Dutch and French form of Israel.
Ithaque (Island) French
French form of Ithaca.
Jamaïque (Country & Island) French
French form of Jamaica.
Java (Political Subdivision & Island) English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
From Indonesian Jawa, which is of uncertain origin. It is most likely derived from Sanskrit यव-द्वीप (yava-dvipa) meaning "island of barley", though it may have come from Javanese ꦗꦸꦮꦮꦸꦠ꧀ (juwawut) meaning "foxtail millet (a type of plant)" or Malay jauh meaning "far, distant"... [more]
Jerri (Island) Guernésiais, Norman
Guernésiais and Cotentinais Norman form of Jersey.
Jethou (Island) Norman
One of the Channel Islands in England. The -'hou' suffix means small island or small hill.
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.
Judée (Region) French
French form of Iudaea (see Judea).
Jullié (Settlement) French
Jullié is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
Kaboul (Settlement) French
French form of Kabul.
Kalmoukie (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Kalmykia.
Kampala (Settlement) English, Armenian, Danish, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish
From K'empala, a shortening of the original Baganda Akasozi ke'Empala ("Hill of the Impala"). This is the name of the capital city of Uganda.
Katmandou (Settlement) French
French form of Kathmandu.
Khartoum (Settlement) English, Danish, French, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Swahili, Swedish, Welsh
Most likely from Arabic قرطم‎ (qurṭum), meaning "safflower", or possibly خرطوم (ḵurṭūm), meaning "elephant's trunk". This is the name of the capital city of Sudan.
Kinshasa (Settlement) English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Swedish
Named after a nearby village, this name derives from Kikongo ki, a locative marker, and nshasa ("salt"), thus "salt market". This is the name of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kirghizie (Country) French
French form of Kyrgyzstan via its Russian name Kirgiziya. This is an alternative name for the country; the standard name in France is Kirghizistan.
Kosovo (Country) Afrikaans, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Indonesian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Ukrainian
From Albanian Kosova or Kosovë, which is derived from Serbian кос (kos) meaning "blackbird", an ellipsis of Косово Поље (Kosovo Polje) meaning "blackbird field"... [more]
Koweït (Country) French
French form of Kuwait.
Laâyoune (Settlement) French, Afrikaans, Icelandic
French, Afrikaans and Icelandic form of Laayoune.
Laconie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Laconia.
La Haye (Settlement) French
French form of The Hague.
Latina (Settlement) Italian, English, Finnish, French
Derived from the former name Latinia, itself adopted in 1944 to replace the name Littoria, which had been chosen by the Fascist government upon the inauguration of the city in 1932... [more]
Lettonie (Country) French
French form of Latvia via its New Latin name Lettonia.
Lhassa (Settlement) French
French form of Lhasa.
Liburnie (Region) French
French form of Liburnia.
Libye (Country) Czech, French, Yiddish
Czech, French, and Yiddish form of Libya.
Lihou (Island) Norman, Breton
Island in the Channel Islands in England. From the Breton words 'lydd' or 'ligg', meaning "in or near water", and the Norman suffix -'hou', meaning "island". The island and reef in Australia named after this island.
Lille (Settlement) French
Name of a city in France.
Lilongwe (Political Subdivision, Settlement & River) English, Chewa, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swahili
From Chewa Lilongwe, of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a river and the capital city of Malawi, as well as the district around it.
Lisbonne (Settlement) French
French form of Lisbon.
Livonie (Region) French
French form of Livonia.
Loire (River) French
From Latin Liger, a transcription of the native Gaulish name of the river, derived from the Gaulish word liga, meaning "silt, sediment", itself deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-, meaning "to lie".... [more]
Luanda (Settlement & Other) English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish
From lu-, a plural marker in several Bantu languages, and ndandu, "value" or "object of commerce", referring to the shells of sea snails, which were used as currency in the ancient kingdoms of Kongo and Ndongo.... [more]
Lucerne (Settlement) English, French
Luçon (Island) French
French form of Luzon.
Lusaka (Political Subdivision & Settlement) English, Chewa, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish
From Lusaaka, the name of a local Lenje chief. This is the name of the capital city of Zambia, as well as the district and the province in which the city is located.
Lusitanie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Lusitania.
Madagascar (Country & Island) English, Catalan, Nahuatl, French, Italian, Manx, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish, Corsican
From Middle French Madagascar, from Madageiscar, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu by Marco Polo's misreading of Arabic.... [more]
Madrid (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Spanish, Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Asturian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Mongolian, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbek
From the older name Magerit, which is of uncertain meaning and origin. It may be derived from Arabic اَلْمَجْرِيط‎ (al-majrīṭ) meaning "source of water", from Latin matrix meaning "mother, source, origin (of rivers)", or from Celtic mageto ritu meaning "great bridge"... [more]
Maïkop (Settlement) French
French form of Maykop.
Makhatchkala (Settlement) French, Portuguese
French and Portuguese form of Makhachkala.
Malaisie (Country) French
French form of Malaysia.
Maldives (Country) Catalan, English, French, Greek, Malay
Uncertain, possibly means "Malé islands" from Dhivehi މާލެ (māle) referring to Malé, the capital city of the Maldives, combined with Sanskrit द्वीप (dvīpá) meaning "island"... [more]
Mali (Country) Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Lao, Latvian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Mongolian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek
From the name of the Mali Empire, which was derived from Mandinka or Bambara mali meaning "hippopotamus" or "the place where the king lives". This is the name of a landlocked country in West Africa.
Managua (Settlement) Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish
This is the capital city of Nicaragua, there are two possible origins for the name "Managua". It may have originated from the term Mana-ahuac, which in the indigenous Nahuatl language translates to "adjacent to the water" or site "surrounded by water"... [more]
Manille (Settlement) French
French form of Manila.
Marne (River) French
From Latin Dea Mātrōna, meaning literally “divine mother goddess”, the name of a mother goddess associated with the river who was worshipped by the Gauls.... [more]
Mauritanie (Country) French
French form of Mauritania.
Mayombe (Political Subdivision & Region) French, English
French and English variant of Mayumbe.
Meije (Mountain) French
From Occitan meija meaning "middle, centre, half," taken from its original name l'Agulha de la Meija meaning "the needle of the Meije."... [more]
Melville (Region) English, French, Scottish
Means "bad town" in French.
Messénie (Political Subdivision & Region) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Messenia.
Minquier (Island) Breton, Norman, English
An island chain in the Channel Islands, England. Could be from Breton 'minihi', meaning "sanctuary, or from 'minkier' meaning "seller of fish".
Mîntchièr (Island) Norman
Jèrriais Norman version of Minquier
Mirabeau (Political Subdivision) French
From Provençal mirar ("to see") and bel ("beautiful"). This is the name of a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which is in southeastern France.
Modène (Settlement) French
French form of Modena.
Molise (Political Subdivision) Italian, English, French
Most likely derived from the Norman family de Moulins of Moulins-la-Marche. Rodolphe de Moulins, forefather of the family, became count of Bojano in 1053, which would go on to form the County of Molise.... [more]
Moluques (Region) Catalan, French
Catalan and French form of Moluccas, which is a common alternative name for the Maluku Islands.
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]
Monténégro (Country) French
French form of Montenegro
Moscou (Settlement) Catalan, French, Portuguese
Catalan, French and Portuguese form of Moscow
Munich (Settlement) English, French
English and French form of München.
Nairobi (Settlement & River) English (British), English (American), Danish, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Slovak, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish
From Maasai enkare nyrobi, which means "cold water" or "cold river". This is the name of a river and the capital city of Kenya.
Namibie (Country) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Namibia.
Nantes (Settlement) French (Latinized)
Nantes is a settlement in France , founded in 70BC.... [more]
Navarre (Country) French
From the name of the historic Royaume de Navarre, a kingdom in the West Pyrenees mountains which is divided today between Spain and France. It is either derived from the Basque nabar, meaning "brownish" or "multicolor" (which would be a contrast with the green mountain lands north of the original County of Navarre); or from the Basque naba, "valley" or "plain", and herri, "land" or "people".
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]
Nice (Settlement) French, English
Founded by Greek colonists and given the name Νίκαια (Nikaia), ultimately derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". Nice is a city on the south east coast of France.
Nicosie (Settlement) French
French form of Nicosia.
Nioué (Country) French
French form of Niue
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Political Subdivision & Region) French
A combination of the names of the constituent departments of Nord, meaning "North" (the northernmost department of France) and Pas-de-Calais "Strait of Calais", the French name of the Dover Strait.... [more]
Normaundie (Region) Norman
Rouenneis Norman form of Normandy.
Norvège (Country) French
French form of Norway
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.
Nouvelle-zélande (Country) French
French form of New Zealand
Noyal (Settlement) French, Breton
Nunavut (Political Subdivision) Inuit, English, French
Means "our land" in Inuktitut. This is the name of a territory of Canada.
Occitanie (Region) French, English
The name of a southernmost administrative region in France. Not to be confused with Occitania, the historical region which it is named after.
Oise (River & Political Subdivision) French
Related to the Latin name Isara, borrowed from Celtic, though ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *isərós “vigorous, quick”, from *eis(ə, related to Sanskrit इषिरम् “fast, quick”.... [more]
Oman (Country) Afrikaans, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Mongolian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Uyghur
From Arabic عمان‎ (ʿUmān), which is of disputed etymology. It may be from Arabic عُمَانَة (ʿumāna), a byname for the historical city of Sohar (presently located in Al Batinah North Governorate, Oman), which is probably derived from the root ع م ن‎ (ʿ-m-n) meaning "to settle, to remain, to dwell"... [more]
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.
Orsay (Settlement) French
A town near Paris. Originates from the Latin given name Orcius
Ortac (Island) Norman
A small Channel Island in England. Likely means "large rock at the edge" from the Norman 'or', meaning "edge", and 'etac', meaning "stack", referring to the geological landform.
Ossétie (Region) French
French form of Ossetia.
Ouagadougou (Settlement) English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Luxembourgish, Mossi, Norwegian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Welsh
From Mossi Wogodogo, meaning "where honor and respect are received". This is the name of the capital city of Burkina Faso
Oudmourtie (Political Subdivision) French
French form of Udmurtia.
Oufa (Settlement & River) French
French form of Ufa.
Oulan-Bator (Settlement) French
French form of Ulaanbaatar.
Oulan-Oude (Settlement) French
French form of Ulan-Ude.
Oural (Region, River & Mountain) French
French form of Ural.
Outaouais (Region) French (Quebec)
Region in Quebec. From the French name for the indigenous Odawa people.
Ouzbékistan (Country) French
French form of Uzbekistan.
Paksé (Settlement) French
French form of Pakse.
Palestine (Country & Region) English, Biblical, French
From Hebrew Pelesheth, which probably means "land of the Philistines". This is the name of a historical/geographic region in Western Asia. It is also the name of a sovereign state in Western Asia (officially the State of Palestine).
Parthie (Region) French
French form of Parthia.
Pasci (Other) French
Pays De La Loire (Region & Political Subdivision) French
Meaning  "lands of the Loire", describing the river that flows through the area.... [more]
Pélagonie (Region) French
French form of Pelagonia.
Penang (Political Subdivision & Island) Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish
From Malay Pulau Pinang meaning "betel palm island", from pinang meaning "betel nut" or "betel palm" (a type of tree). This is the name of an island and state in Malaysia.
Péonie (Region) French
French form of Paeonia.
Phnom Penh (Settlement) English, French
From Khmer ភ្នំពេញ (Phnum Pin) meaning "Penh's hill", from ភ្នំ (phnum) meaning "hill, mountain" and ពេញ (pin), the name of a legendary woman who supposedly founded the city in 1372... [more]
Picardie (Political Subdivision & Region) French
French form of Picardy. ​From Old French pic, meaning "pike", which was the characteristic weapon used by ancient Picards.... [more]
Polynésie (Region) Czech, French
Czech and French form of Polynesia.
Porto Rico (Political Subdivision) French, Italian, Portuguese
French, Italian and Portuguese form of Puerto Rico.
Potenza (Settlement) Italian, English, French
From Latin Potentia, itself from the Latin adjective potens, meaning "powerful", "mighty". This is the name of the capital city of the southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Prato (Settlement) Italian, English, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish, Dutch
Italian for "meadow". This is the name of a city in northern Italy, which was probably chosen because the city was founded on a meadow.
Précy (Settlement) French
Précy is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.
Pyrénées (Mountain) French
French form of Pyrenees.
Qatar (Country) Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Persian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek
From Catharrei, the name given to the inhabitants of region by Roman writer Pliny the Elder, which may have been based on the name of a local settlement. The name Catara was later used by Greek astronomer Ptolemy to refer to the peninsula, which was eventually transmitted into Arabic... [more]
Quito (Settlement) English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish
From the Quitu tribe, whose name is derived from the combination of the Tsafiki words quitso ("center") and to ("world"). This is the name of the capital city of Ecuador.
Rabat (Settlement) English, French, Spanish
From Arabic الرباط (ar-Ribat) meaning "the ribat", referring to a type of fortification used during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. It is also used as a shortened form of the city's Arabic nickname, رباط الفتح (ribatu l-fath), which means "fortification of conquest, fortification of victory"... [more]
Racine (Settlement) English, French
Means "root" in French. It is the name of a large city in Wisconsin.
Rangoun (Settlement) French
French form of Yangon.
Région Centre (Region & Political Subdivision) French
Meaning "central region", a reference to the region's location in the central part of the original French language area.... [more]
Réunion (Island) French
French for “Reunion”
Rhin (River) French
French form of Rhine.
Rhodésie (Country) French
French form of Rhodesia.
Richmond (Region, Mountain & Other) French
It is a habitational name, with the Old French elements riche ‘rich’, ‘splendid’ + mont ‘hill’. ... [more]
Rimini (Settlement) Italian, English, French, German, Polish, Russian
From Latin Ariminum or Ariminium, itself from Etruscan arimna or harimne, of uncertain meaning.... [more]
Roer (River) Dutch, French, Italian, Luxembourgish
Dutch, French, Italian and Luxembourgish form of Rur.
Roseville (Political Subdivision) French
A city in California.
Sahara (Region) English, French, Italian, Spanish
Derived from Arabic صحارى‎ (sahara) meaning "deserts", the plural of صحراء (sahra') meaning "desert". This is the name of a desert in Northern Africa.
Saïgon (Settlement & River) French
French form of Saigon.
Sainte-Lucie (Country & Island) French
French form of Saint Lucia.
Saint Germain (Region) French
Named after the French Saint Germain.
Saint-Malo (Settlement) French
An historic French port located in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany on the English Channel coast, named after Saint Malo.
Saint-remy-en-bouzemont-saint-genest-et-isson (Settlement) French
From the union of three formerly independent communes: Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont, Saint-Genest and Isson. This is the name of a commune in Marne Department, Grand Est; this is the longest name of any commune in France.
Samarie (Region) French
French form of Samaria.
São Paulo (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Portuguese, English, French, German, Norwegian
Portuguese form of Saint Paul. This is the name of a city and a state in Brazil.
Sardaigne (Region & Island) French
French form of Sardinia.
Seine (River) French
From Gaulish Sēquana, the Gallo-Roman goddess of the river. Sometimes associated with Latin; the Latin word seems to derive from the same root as Latin sequor "to follow", from Proto-Indo-European *seikw-, meaning 'to flow'.... [more]
Ser (Island) Norman, Sercquiais
Sercquiais and Cotentinais Norman form of Sark.