Kiruna(Settlement)Swedish From the name of the mountain Kiirunavaara, composed of Finnish kiiruna "ptarmigan" and vaara "large forested hill" (from Northern Sami várri "mountain"). Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden known for the Kiruna Mine, the largest and most modern underground iron ore mine in the world, and Esrange Space Center, a rocket range and research centre.
Kristianstad(Settlement)Swedish Swedish city founded in 1614, named after the Danish king Kristian IV. The city is located in Skåne which belonged to Denmark until 1658.
Kyiv(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Ukrainian, English, Danish, Indonesian, Malagasy, Malay, Norwegian, Tagalog From Old East Slavic Киевъ (Kievu) of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally attributed to the given name Кий (Kyi) referring to one of the three legendary founders of the city, although another theory suggests that it is derived from Ukrainian кий (kyi) meaning "stick, pole" (so named because the city was palisaded by poles)... [more]
Linköping(Settlement)Swedish Combination of Swedish ljung "heather" and köping "marketplace". The name was first mentioned in Old Swedish as Liunga. kaupinga in 1103.
Lofoten(Other)Norwegian Modern definite form of Lófót which is a combination of Old Swedish ló "lynx" and Old Norse fótr "foot". Lofoten is a archipelago in Norway known for it's dramatic scenery.
Longyearbyen(Settlement)Norwegian Means "the Longyear town" in Norwegian. Longyearbyen is the main settlement of the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. The town was named after American businessman John Munro Longyear (1850-1922) whose company helped develop the settlement.
Lönneberga(Settlement)Swedish, Literature Combination of Swedish lönn "maple" and berg "mountain". This is the name of a small village and parish in Småland, southern Sweden... [more]
Luleå(Settlement)Swedish Derived from the name of the Lule River (see Lule Älv). A combination of Lule Sami lulij "the people living in the east" (referring to forest Sami people) and the place name element -eå denoting the city's location near the river.
Lule Älv(River)Swedish Combination of Lule Sami lulij "the people living in the east" (referring to forest Sami people), and Swedish älv "river".
Malaysia(Country)Malay, English, Danish, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish, Filipino, Tagalog From the name of the Malay people combined with the Greek suffix σία (sia). The ethnic name itself is of uncertain origin. It may come from Melayu or Malayu, the name of an ancient Sumatran kingdom, itself possibly derived from Tamil மலை (malai) or Malayalam മല (mala) both meaning "hill, mountain" combined with Tamil ஊர் (ur) meaning "village, town"... [more]
Mariefred(Settlement)Swedish Swedish town named after a charterhouse called Pax Mariae "Maria's peace". A combination of the name Maria and Swedish fred "peace" (pax means "peace, harmony" in Latin).
Mariestad(Settlement)Swedish Means "Maria's town". It was founded in 1583 by Charles IX of Sweden and was named after his wife Maria of the Palatinate.... [more]
Medelhavet(Body of Water)Swedish Combination of Swedish medel "middle, centre, medium" and havet "the sea". This is the Swedish name of the Mediterranean Sea.
Miðjarðarhafið(Body of Water)Icelandic Combination of Icelandic mið/ur "middle", jarðar (the genitive singular form of jörð) "earth" and haf "sea". This is the Icelandic name for the Mediterranean Sea.
Muscat(Settlement)English, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Tagalog From Arabic مسقط (Masqat) of disputed meaning, perhaps of Arabic or Old Persian origin. This is the name of the capital city of Oman.
Närke(Region)Swedish Närke is Swedish historical province. The name is believed to be derived from the word när meaning "ridge, hill" (not to be confused with the word nära "close, near").
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]
Nidelva(River)Norwegian The name of a river that runs through Trondheim, and the name of a river in southern Norway. The name is a combination of the words elv "river" and nid (of unknown meaning).
Odense(Settlement)Danish From Old Norse Óðinn's vé meaning "Odin's sanctuary". This is the 3rd largest city in Denmark and the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the author of fairy tales such as 'The Little Mermaid' (1837), and 'The Snow Queen' (1844).
Øksfjord(Settlement)Norwegian Øksfjord is a small settlement in Norway. Founded in 1941... [more]
Oppland(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the Old Norse upp meaning "up, upper" and lǫnd meaning "lands." The inner regions of Norway were called Upplǫnd in Norse times.... [more]
Örebro(Settlement)Swedish Combination of Swedish ör, an archaic word meaning "gravel", and Bro "bridge. ... [more]
Oslo(Settlement)Norwegian Meaning uncertain. Possibly a combination of Old Norse áss meaning either "ridge" or "Æsir god", and ló "meadow, clearing". Oslo is the capital city of Norway... [more]
Østersjøen(Body of Water)Norwegian Means "the eastern sea" in Norwegian. This is the Norwegian bokmål name for the Baltic Sea.
Östersjön(Body of Water)Swedish Means "the eastern sea" in Swedish. This is the Swedish name for the Baltic Sea.
Østfold(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From the old name of the Olsofjord fold and the Norwegian word øst. The name means, "the region east of the fold."... [more]
Rangoon(Settlement)Danish, Dutch, Swedish, English (Archaic) Historical English form of Yangon based on the Arakanese pronunciation of the city's name. It is also the standard Danish, Dutch and Swedish form.
Reykjavík(Settlement)Icelandic Means "bay of smokes", from Old Norse reykir, plural of reykr “smoke” and vík "bay". Steam from hot springs in the region is said to have inspired Reykjavík's name.
Riksgränsen(Settlement)Swedish Means "the national border" in Swedish. Riksgränsen is a small village and popular ski-resort in Northern Sweden, close to the Norwegian border.
Roslagen(Region)Swedish Derived from roslag, an old dialectal word meaning "rowing crew", ultimately derived from Old Swedish *roþs- "rowing". Compare Rus, and modern Swedish ro "to row".
Sápmi(Region)Sami, Swedish, English Perhaps ultimately derived from Proto-Balto-Slavic *źemē meaning "earth". Suomi, the Finnish name for Finland, is believed to be derived from the same root... [more]
Senja(Island)Norwegian An island and a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The meaning of the name is officially unknown, but it could come from the word sundr which means "split apart" or "tear"... [more]
Sjælland(Island)Danish, Norwegian Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of Old Norse selr "seal" and the place name suffix -und. In Norse mythology, Sjælland was created by the god Gefion.
Skåne(Political Subdivision)Swedish Province and county in southern Sweden that was a part of Denmark until 1658. The name is likely derived from Old Norse Skáney (ultimately derived from the Germanic root *Skaðin-awjō) meaning "danger" or "damage"... [more]
Skellefteå(Settlement)Swedish Combination of an unexplained first element, though it's believed to be of Sami origin, and the place name suffix -eå "river".
Södermanland(Political Subdivision)Swedish Södermanland is a Swedish county and province meaning "land of the southern people". The southern people referred to people living south of Mälaren... [more]
Sollefteå(Settlement)Swedish Possibly a combination of Swedish sol "sun" and the place name suffix -eå "river". The river Ångermanälven runs through the town.
Solna(Settlement)Swedish From Old Swedish Solnö, a combination of soln "sun" and ö "island". Solna is a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden.
Sønderborg(Settlement)Danish (Modern) Town in Denmark located in North Slesvig specifically on the southern part of the island of Als and partly on the peninsula Jutland. Sønder meaning "southern" and borg meaning "castle"... [more]
Sparta(Settlement)English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Manx, Polish, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman From Doric Greek Σπάρτα (Sparta) and Attic Greek Σπάρτη (Spartē), which is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from σπάρτον (sparton) meaning "rope, cable" - a reference to the cords laid as the city’s foundation boundaries, though this could be just a folk etymology.... [more]
Stilla Havet(Body of Water)Swedish Means "the calm sea" in Swedish, from stilla "still, calm" and havet "the sea". This is the Swedish name for the Pacific Ocean.
Storsjön(Body of Water)Swedish Means "the great lake" in Swedish (from stor "big, great, large" and sjön "the lake"). Storsjön is the 5th largest lake in Sweden, but it's also known for being the supposed home of Storsjöodjuret ("The Great-Lake monster"), a lake monster similar to the one in Loch Ness.
Strängnäs(Settlement)Swedish Combination of an uncertain first element (possibly from a word describing a snare used for hunting, but other meanings are possible), and Swedish näs "isthmus". On June 6 in 1523, Gustaf Vasa was elected king of Sweden here... [more]
Surtsey(Island)Icelandic Means "Surtr's island" in Icelandic. Surtsey is an uninhabited island south of Iceland that formed in a volcanic eruption (which lasted several years) in the mid-1960s.
Svalbard(Political Subdivision)Norwegian, English, Swedish Originally from Old Norse Svalbarð, composed of svalr "cold" and barð "edge, ridge". Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean located right between continental Norway and the North Pole.
Tammerfors(Settlement)Finland Swedish Combination of an unknown first element and Swedish fors "rapid, waterfall". This is the Swedish name of Tampere.
Tavastland(Political Subdivision)Swedish, Danish, Dutch Swedish form of Tavastia, which some countries have adopted as their name for the historical Swedish province that is now part of Finland.
Telemark(Political Subdivision)Norwegian From teler the name of an old Germanic tribe and the Old Norse mǫrk meaning "woodland, borderland, or march/mark."... [more]
Thingvellir(Other)Icelandic The ancient site of the Icelandic government, now a national park. From the Scandinavian 'Þingvöllr', meaning "the meeting place of the assembly".