Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Å(Settlement)Swedish, Norwegian Taken directly from Swedish and Norwegian å meaning "stream, creek, small river". This is the name of several villages in Sweden and Norway.
Aabenraa(Settlement)Danish Aabenraa is a settlement in south Denmark. ... [more]
Aalborg(Settlement)Danish Ultimately derived from Old Norse áll "river, stream" and borg "fortress, castle". This is the name of the fourth largest city in Denmark.
Aarhus(Settlement)Danish From Old Danish Árós meaning "river mouth", ultimately derived from Old Norse á "river" and óss "mouth (of a river)". Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark.
Abisko(Other)Swedish From Northern Sami Ábeskovvu meaning "forest by the big water", from Sami áphi "lake, sea, big water" and skovvu, identical to Swedish skog "forest". The "big water" is probably Torneträsk... [more]
Åbo(Settlement)Finland Swedish Possibly from Swedish å "river" and bo "home, dwelling" or "dweller, inhabitant". Other meanings are possible, like it being derived from the given name Aabo... [more]
Addis Ababa(Settlement)English, Danish, Turkish From Amharic አዲስ አበባ (ʾädis ʾäbäba), meaning "new flower". This is the name of the capital city of Ethiopia.
Akershus(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the name of Akershus Fortress, composed of Aker (from Old West Norse akr "acre, field") and hús "house, castle, fortress". Aker used to be a Norwegian municipality, but it is now an area in Oslo... [more]
Akureyri(Settlement)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic akur "field" and eyri "sandbank". Akureyri is a town in the north of Iceland.
Åland(Island)Finland Swedish Either derived from Old Norse *Ahvaland meaning "land of water" (from ahva "water"), or from Finnish Ahvenanmaa "perch land" (from ahven "perch"). Åland is an autonomous archipelago province in the Baltic Sea... [more]
Ålesund(Political Subdivision)Norwegian Means "eel strait" in Norwegian. Ålesund is the name of a town, a municipality and a region in Norway. It is also the name of a settlement (Ny-Ålesund) on Svalbard.
Ångermanälven(River)Swedish Combination of Old Norse anger "deep fjord" and the definite form of Swedish älv "river". The river runs through the province Ångermanland from where it got its name.
Ångermanland(Region)Swedish Derived from Old Norse anger "deep fjord". Ångermanland is a historical province in Northern Sweden.
Åre(Settlement)Swedish Meaning uncertain, but probably derived from Old West Norse *ár "peak, crest". Åre is a village and a popular ski resort in Jämtland, Sweden.
Arendal(Settlement)Norwegian Combination of Old Norse ǫrn "eagle" and dalr "valley, dale". Arendal is a town and municipality in Southern Norway.
Århus(Settlement)Danish, Swedish Danish alternative form of Aarhus, as well as the Swedish form.
Bandaríkin(Country)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic bönd "connections, relations, ties" and ríki "state". This is the Icelandic name for the United States.
Bergen(Settlement)Dutch, Norwegian, German Newer form of Bjǫrgvin, a combination of Old Norse bjarg "mountain" and vin "meadow". This is the 2nd largest city in Norway.
Björneborg(Settlement)Finland Swedish Combination of Swedish björn "bear" and borg "castle, fortress". This is the Swedish name for Pori (whose name is a Finnicized form of -borg).
Bottenviken(Body of Water)Swedish Combination of Old Swedish botn "bay, gulf" and the definite form of Swedish vik "bay", making it a tautological place name meaning "the bay bay". Bottenviken is a part of Bottniska viken and the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea.
Bouvetøya(Political Subdivision)Norwegian "Bouvet Island" in Norwegian, an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway.
Bro(Settlement)Swedish Means "bridge" in Swedish. This is the name of many localities and parishes in Sweden. It's also a common place name element (see Örebro).
Buskerud(Political Subdivision)Norwegian Named after an old manor of the same name. (Biskupsruð) It derives from the Old Norse biskup (bishop) and ruð (clearing, farm.) The biskup part referring in particular to the Bishop of the ancient Catholic diocese of Hamar.... [more]
Christiania(Settlement)Norwegian (Archaic) Named in honor of Christian IV (1577-1648), king of Denmark-Norway. This was the name of the capital of Norway between 1624 and 1925.
Djakarta(Settlement)Dutch (Archaic), Afrikaans, Icelandic Archaic Dutch form of Jakarta as well as the modern Afrikaans and Icelandic form of the name. The modern Dutch form is written exactly the same as the English form.
Eskilstuna(Settlement)Swedish Combination of the Swedish name Eskil and Swedish tun (from Old Norse tún) meaning "enclosure, fence, homestead, courtyard, plot"... [more]
Eyjaálfa(Region)Icelandic From Icelandic ey meaning "island" and álfa meaning "continent". This is the Icelandic name of Oceania.
Eyjafjallajökull(Other)Icelandic Means "island mountain glacier". From Icelandic eyja "island", fjall "mountain", and jökull "glacier". Eyjafjallajökull is a glacier and volcano in Iceland whose eruptions in 2010 caused a great air travel disruption in Europe.
Fannborg(Mountain)Icelandic The name of a mountain peak of Kerlingarfjöll, a mountain range in the highlands of Iceland, possibly meaning "snow fortress" from Icelandic fönn "snow" and borg "castle" (from Old Norse borg).
Finnmark(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse finn(ar) (the Old Norse same of the Sami), and mǫrk meaning "woodland, borderland, or march/mark."... [more]
Förenta staterna(Country)Swedish Swedish form of United States, consisting of Swedish förenta "united" and staterna "the states". The name is always said in definite form unless the full name Amerikas förenta stater is used.
Føroyar(Country)Faroese Probably derived from Old Norse fær "sheep" and oyer, an archaic Faroese word meaning "islands".
Frakkland(Country)Icelandic, Old Norse Ultimately from Old Norse frakkar "Franks" and land "land". This is the Icelandic and Old Norse form of France.
Gävle(Settlement)Swedish From the name of the river Gavleån whose name was derived from archaic Swedish gavel "steep river bank". Gävle is a city in Sweden and the capital of Gävleborg County. The city was founded in 1446, but the name (ij) Gæffla was first mentioned in 1432.
Gnarp(Settlement)Swedish Etymology unknown. Perhaps derived from *gnarp "lump, bump", or from gnarp, an onomatopoeic word meaning "creak, screech".
Götaland(Region)Swedish Means "land of the Geats". The Geats (sometimes referred to as Goths) were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting southern Sweden. Götaland is one of three lands of Sweden, the others being Svealand and Norrland.
Göteborg(Settlement)Swedish From the name of Göta älv ("River of the Geats"), combined with Swedish borg "castle, fortress". The Geats were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting present-day Sweden. Göteborg is the second largest city in Sweden.
Gotland(Island)Swedish Gotland is the largest island in Sweden. It was named after a North Germanic tribe that inhabited it in ancient times, the Gutes (Old Norse gotar).
Grænhöfðaeyjar(Country)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic grænn "green", höfði "headland, promontory", and eyjur "islands". This is the Icelandic name for Cape Verde.
Hafnarfjörður(Settlement)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic höfn "harbour, port" and fjörður "fjord". Hafnarfjörður is the third largest city in Iceland.
Hälsingland(Region)Swedish Hälsingland is a province in central Sweden meaning "land of the Hälsings". Hälsing is believed to be a combination of Swedish hals "throat, neck" and inge "dweller". The hals-part is probably not referring to the anatomical part, but rather to a narrow strait of water.
Hedmark(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse Heiðmǫrk. That's from heiðnir the name of an old Germanic tribe (related to heið meaning moorland) and mǫrk meaning "woodland, borderland, or march/mark."... [more]
Helsingborg(Settlement)Swedish Helsingborg is a city in Scania, Sweden. The name is a combination of hals "neck, narrow strait" and borg "castle, fortification". There has been a permanent settlement around Helsingborg since 1085, making it one of Sweden's oldest cities.
Helsingfors(Settlement)Finland Swedish, Swedish From Swedish helsing, composed of hals "neck, narrow strait" and -inge denoting an inhabitant, combined with fors "rapid, waterfall". Helsing was either taken from the name of the Swedish province Hälsingland (where many early settlers originated from), or directly from the Swedish word (referring to a narrow part of the Vantaa River)... [more]
Helsingør(Settlement)Danish, Norwegian Combination of helsing (itself a combination of Danish hals "narrow strait, neck" and -ing, a suffix denoting an inhabitant) and ør "gravel" (in this case referring to Øresund, a strait separating Denmark from Sweden)... [more]
Hordaland(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse hǫrðar, meaning (and old Germanic tribe) and lǫnd meaning "lands."... [more]
Huddinge(Settlement)Swedish Newer form of Uddunge (first mentioned as Wddunge in 1314) meaning "those who live by the headland". Huddinge is a part of Stockholm urban area.
Húsavík(Settlement)Icelandic, Faroese Combination of Icelandic and Faroese hús "house" and vík "bay".
Jan Mayen(Island)Norwegian Jan Mayen first appeared on Willem Jansz Blaeu's 1620 edition map of Europe, originally published by Cornelis Doedz in 1606. Blaeu, who lived in Amsterdam, named it "Jan Mayen" after captain Jan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout of the Amsterdam-financed Gouden Cath... [more]
Jeddah(Settlement)English, Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Swedish, Tagalog From Arabic جدة (Jiddah) derived from the word جَدَّة (jaddah) meaning "grandmother", perhaps referencing the folk belief that the Tomb of Eve (who is considered the 'grandmother' of humanity) is located there... [more]
Jórvík(Settlement)Old Norse, Icelandic Icelandic and Old Norse form of York. It is believed to be derived from Old English Eoforwic, itself believed to be derived from Latin Eboracum possibly meaning "place of the yew trees".
Jukkasjärvi(Settlement)Swedish, Finnish Originally from Northern Sami Čohkkirasjávri meaning "lake of assembly". It was later changed to the much more Finnish-sounding name Jukkasjärvi. This probably changed the meaning of the name as the first element jukkas is of uncertain origin (but it coincides with the Finnish given name Jukka)... [more]