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.
Alsace(Political Subdivision & Region)French, English 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]
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]
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]
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]
Aubange(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French The French name of a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.
Auvergne(Political Subdivision & Region)French From the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, the Arverni, a Latinised form of Gaulish *Aruernoi. Its etymology remains unclear; proposed origins include *ar(e)-uer-no-, meaning "those who are above", or *uernā-, meaning "alder".... [more]
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]
Bayonne(Political Subdivision)French, English (American), Basque, Medieval Latin (Modern) New Jersey: From French Bayonne. The first element of the name is variously said to be Basque or Latin; the second element is Basque on (“good”). More at Bayonne. Also compare Latin baia.... [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.
Bentaberria(Settlement)Basque, French, Spanish Means "new inn" in Basque from benta meaning "inn" and berri meaning "new". It is the name of several places in Basque Country.
Bordaberri(Settlement)Basque, French, Spanish Means "new hut/sheepfold/farm" in Basque, from borda meaning "hut, sheepfold, farm" and berri meaning "new". It is a widespread place name in Basque Country.
Bordaberria(Settlement)Basque, French, Spanish Means "new hut/sheepfold/farm" in Basque, from borda meaning "hut, sheepfold, farm" and berri meaning "new". It is a widespread place name in Basque Country.
Bourgogne(Political Subdivision & Region)French From the ethnonym for the Burgundians, an East Germanic people who moved westwards beyond the Rhine during the late Roman period.... [more]
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".
Cadix(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French French form of Cádiz.
Caen(Settlement)French The name Caen is of Gaulish origin, from the words catu-, referring to military activities and magos, field, hence meaning "manoeuvre field" or "battlefield". In Layamon's Brut, the poet asserts that King Arthur named the city in memory of Sir Kay1... [more]
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".
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.
Canton(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English (Archaic), French, Italian Derived from Portuguese Cantão, which was ultimately from Chinese 广东 (Guǎngdōng) (see Guangdong). Used for both the Chinese province of Guangdong and the city of Guangzhou, it is considered dated in English but still current in French and Italian.
Caquorobert(Island)Norman Islet in the Channel Islands. Unknown meaning.
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".
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.
Centre-Val de Loire(Region & Political Subdivision)French Meaning literally "Centre-Loire Valley", as the centre of the Loire flows through the region.... [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.
Chardonnay(Settlement)French The name of a famous village for the white wine produced here. Means "a place of thistles" from the latin cardonnacum.
Chartreux(Settlement)French A village in Dauphine, France, named from words meaning "Battle King" (location of the Carthusian Monastery on Chartreuse Mountain)
Chausey(Island)Norman A large group of islands in the Channel Islands, France. The -ey is the Norman word for "island".
Conakry(Settlement)French, English The capital of Guinea. Its name is derived from Kɔnakiri, a local village populated by the Susu, a Mande speaking ethnic group.
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.
Dauphin(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French, English The name Dauphin comes from the French word for "dolphin", which was historically used as the emblem of the heir to the French throne (the "Dauphin"). The name likely refers to the Dauphin River, which in turn was named after the French title... [more]
Dieppe(Political Subdivision & Settlement)French Dieppe, New Brunswick, was named after Dieppe, France, a coastal city in Normandy. The French name Dieppe likely comes from the Old Norse word djúp (djúp = "deep"), referring to the deep waters of the port... [more]
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.
Dixie(Region & Settlement)English, French The name Dixie is historically used to refer to the southeastern United States, particularly the states that were part of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.... [more]
Drummondville(Settlement)French Drummondville is named after Frederick Drummond, a British army officer and the first person to be granted land in the area during the early 19th century. The name follows the common tradition of naming settlements after prominent figures... [more]
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]
Equatorial Guinea(Country)French (African) Combination of Guinea and French word for equator. Named after the two locations is a country in central Africa.
Essaouira(Settlement)French, English Derived from Arabic الصويرة (as-Sawirah) meaning "the small wall", from a diminutive of سور (sur) meaning "wall, fence, rampart, border". This is the name of a city in Morocco.
Finistère(Political Subdivision & Region)French, English The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning “end of the earth”. As its name suggests, it is the westernmost department in mainland France.
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.
Franche-Comté(Political Subdivision & Region)French From Franche-Comté de Bourgogne, or "Free County of Burgundy", a region separated from Burgundy proper in the 15th century. Comté, "county", was formerly feminine, although today it is masculine.... [more]
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]
Hazard(Other)French The French word was probably borrowed from Arabic az-zahr, meaning “the dice” or “one of the dice.” ... [more]
Hennepin(Political Subdivision)English (American), French The name of a county in Minnesota, from the French surname Hennepin, after Louis Hennepin, a Belgian Catholic priest and missionary.
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]
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]
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.
Jullié(Settlement)French Jullié is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
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]
Lausanne(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English, English (British), French From Latin Lausanna or Lausonium, ultimately from Proto-Celtic lausa meaning “slab.” This is the name of the fourth most populated city of Switzerland... [more]
Laval(Settlement)French Laval is likely derived from the French surname "Laval", which has several potential origins. One possibility is that it comes from the Old French word "vau", meaning a valley or lowland, combined with the suffix "-al", denoting a place... [more]
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.
Limousin(Political Subdivision & Region)French From the ethnonym of a Celtic tribe, the Lemovices, from Gaulish *Lemouīcēs, meaning "those who vanquish by the elm", probably referring to the wood their weapons were made of, which derives from the Proto-Celtic stem *lēmo- or *limo-, which comes from from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élem or *h₁leym-... [more]
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]
Longueuil(Settlement)French Longueuil is derived from the French word "long", meaning long, and the suffix "-euil", which is a place-naming suffix in French. The name likely refers to the area's long shape or a notable long piece of land near the river... [more]
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]
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]