Monterrei(Political Subdivision)Spanish, English From Galician monte "mountain" and rei "king". This was the modern name of a municipality in Galicia, historically called Monterrey.
Monterrey(Region)Spanish Borrowed from Galician Monterrei. This is the name of the largest city in northeastern Mexico. This is also the name of a city in California.
Montevideo(Settlement)English, Spanish All agree that "Monte" refers to the Cerro de Montevideo, the hill situated across the Bay of Montevideo, but there is disagreement about the etymological origin of the "video" part. This is name of Uruguay’s capital city.
Naticocha(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly from Quechua ñat'i or nati meaning "sickness, bowels, the most hidden" and qucha meaning "lake".
Ñausacocha(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly meaning "blind lake", from Quecha ñawsa meaning "blind" and qucha meaning "lake".
Nayarit(Political Subdivision)Spanish From the ethnic name of the Cora people, Náayerite, itself derived from the name of chief Cora Naye. This is the name of a state of Mexico.
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]
Niza(Settlement)Spanish Spanish for the city of Nice, France.
Oviedo(Settlement)Spanish, Asturian One of the best-known theories suggests that the term Oviedo comes from the union of urbs and vetus, which in Latin means "old city." Other theories relate it to "ovem" (sheep), and possibly meaning "place full of sheep"
Patagonia(Region)Spanish, English A geographical region in South America. From the Spanish word patagón, referring to a legendary race of giants, which the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan used to describe the peoples indigenous to the area.
Peñarroya(Settlement, Mountain & Other)Spanish Means "red rock," from peña meaning "rock, stone, cliff" combined with roya meaning "red" (usual word is rojo/roja).... [more]
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.
Quiulacocha(Body of Water & Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain and lake in Peru. Possibly meaning "gull lake", from Quecha qillwa, qiwlla, or qiwiña meaning "gull" and qucha meaning "lake".
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]
Reggio Emilia(Settlement)Italian, English, Dutch, German, Spanish From Latin Regium, abbreviation of Regium Lepidi, named after Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who oversaw the construction of the Via Aemilia. This is the name of a city in northern Italy.... [more]
Rimac(River)Spanish (Latin American) Rimac River, Rimac derives from quechua "Rimay" which means "to speak", Rimac River is called "the speaking river", "the river that babbles/chatters/speaks a lot", in some sense "the roaring river" or "the noisy river".
Rincón(Settlement)Spanish From Spanish rincón meaning "nook".
Rodesia(Country)Greek, Spanish, Italian Greek and Spanish form of Rhodesia as well as an Italian alternative name for the former country.
Roncesvalles(Settlement)Spanish Derived from Latin roscida vallis meaning "dewy valley". Alternatively, it may be derived from Basque *Erozabal meaning "the plain of the Erro valley", which may have later mutated into Rozavalles, a form first recorded in 1050... [more]
Roraima(Political Subdivision, Region & Mountain)Portuguese, Spanish, English Of Peron origin, meaning either "parrot mountain" or "green peak," referring to Mount Roraima, located on the border between Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela. Since 1962, the name has also been used on a federal territory in north-western Brazil, which became a state in 1988.
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.
San Francisco(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Francis. One noteworthy place is the city of San Francisco in the US state of California.
San Gabriel(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Gabriel, including one city in the US state of California.
San José(Settlement)Spanish The name of numerous places in the Spanish-speaking world, in honour of Saint Joseph.
San Juan(Other)Spanish The name of the Capital of Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and largest city, sits on the island's Atlantic coast. Its widest beach fronts the Isla Verde resort strip, known for its bars, nightclubs and casinos... [more]
San Lorenzo(Settlement)Spanish This was one of the principal sites of the Olmec peoples when they were making a life for themselves near the Gulf of Mexico.
Santa Clara(Settlement)English, Spanish Name of a city in California, named for Saint Claire (Spanish for “Saint Claire”)
Santa Fe(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Spanish The name of several places in the Spanish-speaking world, derived from Spanish Santa Fe meaning "Holy Faith".
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.
Siero(Political Subdivision)Asturian, Spanish Name of a council (municipality) in Asturias. It could have been formed from a name of the person possessing the land at some historical moment, perhaps SIARIUS or SEGARIUS or SIGERIUS... [more]
Sucre(Settlement)Spanish This is the constitutional capital city of Bolivia, it was named after Venezuelan revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre in 1839.
Sudáfrica(Country)Spanish Form of South Africa used in Spanish speaking countries.
Tamaulipas(Political Subdivision)Spanish Uncertain, possibly derived from Huastec Tamaholipa perhaps meaning "place of high hills". Alternately it may come from the phrase ta ma ho'lipam meaning "place where the Lipan Apache prey"... [more]
Tamboraga(Mountain)Spanish (Latin American) A mountain in Peru. Possibly meaning "tambo crack, tambo crevice," from Quecha tampu meaning "inn, tambo" and raqra meaning "fissure, crack, crevice".
Teide(Mountain)Spanish Meaning uncertain, but possibly derived from a Guanche term referring to a powerful being living inside the volcano. Teide is a volcano on the Spanish island Tenerife... [more]
Tenerife(Island)Spanish, English Means "snow mountain" or "white mountain" in Guanche, probably referring to the volcano Teide. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, Spain.
Tijuana(Settlement)Spanish Derives from the rancho that Santiago Argüello Moraga established in 1829 on his Mexican land grant, naming it Rancho Tía Juana.... [more]
Tlaxcala(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish From Nahuatl Tlaxcallān either derived from tlaxcalli meaning "tortilla" or texcalli meaning "crag" or "oven" combined with the suffix -tlan. This is the name of a state of, as well as a city in, Mexico... [more]
Totana(Political Subdivision)English, Spanish The name of a municipality in the Region of Murcia in Spain.
Trafalgar(Region, Other & Settlement)Spanish, English The name of both a small Spanish peninsula and a beloved British city square, which is most likely derived from Taraf al-Ghar (طرف الغار 'cape of the cave/laurel') or Taraf al-Gharb (طرف الغرب 'extremity of the west'), both of which are of Arabic origin.
Transcaspia(Political Subdivision)English, Italian, Spanish Means "beyond the Caspian Sea", derived from Latin trans meaning "across, beyond" combined with Latin Caspia meaning "Caspian Sea".... [more]
Transcaucasia(Region)English, Italian, Spanish Means "beyond the Caucasus", derived from Latin trans meaning "across, beyond" combined with the latinized Greek noun Caucasia meaning "the Caucasus" (both the mountains and their namesake region)... [more]
Vallejo(Settlement)Spanish, English The name of a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, which was founded by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1807-1890), a Californio military leader and landowner... [more]
Viedma(Settlement)Spanish Possibly of Huarpe origin. This is the name of a city in Argentina which is the capital of Río Negro province in northern Patagonia. Together with the city of Carmen de Patagones across the river in Buenos Aires Province, Viedma is the oldest European settlement in Patagonia (founded 1779).
Villarreal(Settlement)Spanish Means "royal village" in Spanish, from villa "small town, settlement" and real "royal". Villarreal is a city in the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain, named for being founded by King James I of Aragon.
Villaviciosa(Settlement)Spanish, Filipino Combination of villa meaning "small town" and viciosa meaning "vigorous; abundant" (usually "vicious, profligate").... [more]
Xeresa(Political Subdivision)Spanish Xeresa is a municipality in the comarca of Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Yabucoa(Settlement)Spanish (Latin American) A city in Puerto Rico. Likely from Taíno yaucoa meaning "cassava plantation". Another possibility is Taíno guaroca meaning "where water is found".
Yucatán(Political Subdivision & Region)Spanish Most likely from Chontal Maya Yokot'an either meaning "I do not understand you" or "hear how they talk!", both phrases supposedly uttered by the Mayans when questioned by Spanish explorers. Alternately it may mean "land of yucas", referring to the edible tuber... [more]
Zacatecas(Political Subdivision)Spanish Derived from Nahuatl zacatēcah meaning "people of the place of grass" or "where grass is abundant", ultimately from zacatl meaning "grass". This is the name of a state of Mexico.
Zamboanga(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Chavacano, Cebuano, Tagalog, English, Spanish Spanish form of Sinama Samboangan meaning "mooring place", derived from samboang meaning "mooring pole" and the place marker suffix -an. This is the name of a peninsula in the Philippines, as well as three provinces and a city located on the peninsula.
Zamora(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish The name of a Spanish city and municipality, possibly derived from Berber ⴰⵣⵎⵎⵓⵔ (azemmur) meaning "wild olive tree".
Zapopan(Settlement)Spanish (Mexican) From Nahuatl Tzapopan, from a combination of tzapotl, referring to a sapote tree, and the locative suffix -pan.... [more]
Zaragoza(Settlement)Spanish, English From Çaragoça, the medieval form of the Arabic name سرقسطة (Saraqusṭa), from the Roman name Caesaraugusta, which is the combination of two Roman names Caesar and Augusta.
Zarzal(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Spanish Name of a city in Colombia.