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.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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).
Palestine(Region & Country)English, French From Ancient Greek (via Latin) Παλαιστίνη (Palaistine), itself most likely derived from Hebrew פלשת (peleshet) meaning "Philistia, land of the Philistines". This is the name of a region and country in western Asia.
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]
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.
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.
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]
Rhône(River)French From Gaulish *Rodonos or *Rotonos, from a Proto-Indo-European root *ret-, meaning "to run/roll", frequently found in names for rivers.... [more]
Rhône-Alpes(Political Subdivision & Region)French From the French names of the Rhône river and the Alpes mountain range.... [more]
Richmond(Region, Mountain & Other)French It is a habitational name, with the Old French elements riche ‘rich’, ‘splendid’ + mont ‘hill’. ... [more]
Roseau(Settlement)French (Caribbean) Roseau, the capital of Dominica, got its name from the French word for "reed." It is believed that the French explorers who first settled the area named it Roseau due to the abundance of reeds along the banks of the Roseau River, which flows through the city.
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.
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.
Santerre(Region)French From Latin sanguinis terra ("land of blood") referring to battles that took place in the region in 451 CE, or from sana terra ("healthy land") referring to its fertile soils. It is the name of a plateau region in central Picardy between the Somme, Luce, and Avre rivers.
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]
Seychelles(Country)French, English, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Malay, Maltese, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog From the name of Jean Moreau de Séchelles (1690-1761), a French politician who served as Minister of Finance during the reign of King Louis XV. This is the name of an East African island country in the Indian Ocean.
Sihanoukville(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English, French From the name of king Norodom Sihanouk (1922-2012) combined with French ville meaning "town, city". This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, Cambodia.
Thibet(Region, Political Subdivision & Country)Thai, French, English (Archaic) Thai form of Tibet. It is also a French variant as well as an older English form of the name.
Toulouse(Settlement)French From Latin Tolosa of uncertain meaning, possibly of Gaulish, Iberian or Aquitanian origin. This is the name of a city in France.
Turin(Settlement)English, French, German, Piedmontese, Russian From Latin Augusta Taurinorum, itself from Taurini, the name of a tribe. This is the name of the capital city of Piedmont, in northern Italy.
Turkménie(Country & Political Subdivision)French (Rare) Gallicization of Turkmeniya, the Russian name for the country of Turkmenistan. In the Francophone world, this name was primarily used during the Soviet era... [more]
Vevey(Settlement)French Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.
Vientiane(Settlement)English, French French form of Lao ວຽງຈັນ (Wiangchan) meaning "city of sandalwood" or "city of the moon" from Lao ວຽງ (wiang) meaning "city, town" and ຈັນ (chan) meaning "sandalwood" or "moon"... [more]
Y(Settlement)French Probably from the Y family of Vermandois, who owned the district. This is the name of a commune in the Department of Somme, Hauts-de-France, France.
Yamoussoukro(Political Subdivision & Settlement)English, French, Danish, Portuguese In honor of Yamousso, a Baoulé queen and great-aunt of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1905–1993), with the addition of the suffix kro ("village"). This is the name of the de iure capital city of Côte D'ivoire, as well as the name of the district around it.
Yaoundé(Settlement)English, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Welsh, Yoruba From the outpost of Jaundo, founded between 1887 and 1889 by German explorers Lt. Richard Kund and Hans Tappenbeck and named so after the local Ewondo people, also known as Yaunde. The name could also have been a German rendition of the Ewondo expression mia wondo ("peanut farmers")... [more]