Abra(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ilocano, Tagalog From Spanish abra meaning "opening, gap", so named for a topographic feature in the region. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Agusan(Political Subdivision & River)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog Derived from Manobo agusan meaning "where the water flows". This is the name of two provinces of the Philippines (Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur), as well as a the name of a former province and a river.
Aklan(Political Subdivision & River)Filipino, Hiligaynon, Tagalog Derived from Aklanon akean meaning "where there is boiling or frothing", in reference to the flow of water at the shallow mouth of the Aklan River. This is the name of a province of, as well as a river in, the Philippines.
Albay(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Central Bikol, Tagalog From Spanish al baye meaning "the bay", shortened from the former names La Baye la baye and Bay la Bay. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Antique(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon, Tagalog Hispanicized form of Kinaray-a hamtik or Hiligaynon hantik both referring to a species of large red ant. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Apayao(Political Subdivision & River)Filipino, Itawit, Ilocano, Tagalog Derived from the word apa'yaw meaning "overtaking" in numerous Cordilleran languages, referring to the swift-flowing waters of the Apayao River. This is the name of a province of, as well as a river in, the Philippines.
Bangsamoro(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog From Malay bangsa meaning "nation, country, race" combined with Moro, the collective term for the thirteen predominantly Muslim ethnic groups of the Philippines, which is ultimately of Spanish origin... [more]
Basilan(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tausug, Cebuano, Tagalog, English Probably from Tausug basi'-lan meaning "iron way, iron road" or basi'-balan meaning "magnetic iron". This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Bataan(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English From the word batan of unclear indigenous origin, which was used to refer to the peninsula across Manila Bay. It may be related to the Malayo-Polynesian root bataŋ meaning "tree trunk, log"... [more]
Batanes(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ivatan, Ilocano, Tagalog Most likely from a Hispanicized plural form of the Ivatan endonym Ibatan or Batan, which is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Batangas(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Tagalog, English Derived from Tagalog batangan meaning "timberland, place of wooden rafts", itself from batang meaning "log" combined with the place marker suffix -an. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, the Philippines.
Benguet(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Ilocano, Pampangan, Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Tagalog, English Hispanicized form of Kankanaey benget meaning "edge", originally used as the name for a village at the edge of a swamp. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Biliran(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Waray, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From Waray biliran meaning "edge" or "something that forms corners or tips", likely referencing a local topographic feature. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Bohol(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From Cebuano bo-ol referring to a type of fruiting tree found on the island. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Bucharest(Settlement)English, Malay, Tagalog From Romanian București, which is believed to be derived from the given name Bucur (referring to a figure in Romanian legend) combined with the suffix -ești used for place names... [more]
Bulacan(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English From the name of a town called Bulakan, derived from Tagalog bulak meaning "cotton" and the place marker suffix -an. This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Caloocan(Settlement)Tagalog, English Derived from Tagalog kalookan meaning "interior, inland, innermost region". This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Camarines(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Central Bikol, Tagalog, English Either from a Hispanicized plural form of Bikol kamalig meaning "shelter, hut, storage shed" or the plural form of Spanish camarín meaning "alcove, niche". This is the name of two provinces of the Philippines, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.
Camiguin(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, English Derived from Cebuano kamagong meaning "velvet apple", referring to a type of fruiting tree found on the island. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Capiz(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Capiznon, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, English From Spanish Cápiz, itself from Capiznon kapis referring to the shell produced by the windowpane oyster (genus Placuna). This is the name of a province of the Philippines.
Catanduanes(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Central Bikol, Tagalog, English From a Spanish plural form of Bikol katanduan either meaning "place of tandu", referring to a type of beetle, or "place of tando", referring to a type of tree. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Cebu(Political Subdivision, Settlement & Island)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Cebuano Sugbo, derived from Old Cebuano sibu or sibo meaning "trade", itself a shortened form of the phrase sinibuayng hingpit meaning "place for trading". This is the name of an island, province and city (Cebu City) in the Philippines.
Cotabato(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Tagalog, English From Maguindanao Kutawatu meaning "stone city", from kuta meaning "city, fort" and wato meaning "stone, rock". This is the name of both a province and a city in the southern Philippines.
Dinagat(Political Subdivision & Island)Filipino, Cebuano, Surigaonon, Waray, Tagalog, English From Cebuano dinagat meaning "of the sea", ultimately from dagat meaning "sea". This is the name of an island in the Philippines, as well as a province (called Dinagat Islands).
Dumaguete(Settlement)Cebuano, Tagalog Derived from Cebuano dagit meaning "snatch, abduct, carry away", so named because the area was frequently raided by pirates. This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Guimaras(Political Subdivision & Island)Filipino, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, English From a Spanish corruption of the name Himal-us of uncertain origin and meaning. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Iloilo(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, English Derived from Hiligaynon Ilong-Ilong, itself from ilong meaning "nose" referring to the nose-like shape of a landform in the region. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city in, the Philippines.
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]
Jolo(Settlement & Island)Filipino, Tagalog, English Probably derived from Hokkien 好儂 (hó lâng) meaning "good people", named by Chinese traders to reflect how they perceived the native people of the region. This is the name of an island in the southern Philippines as well as the capital city of the province of Sulu.
Kyiv(Settlement & Political Subdivision)Ukrainian, English, Danish, Indonesian, Malagasy, Malay, Norwegian, Tagalog From Old East Slavic Киевъ (Kievŭ) 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]
Lanao(Political Subdivision & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Maranao ranaw meaning "lake, body of water". This is the name of a lake and two provinces in the southern Philippines.
Lebanon(Country & Mountain)English, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai Derived from the Pro-West Semitic root laban meaning "white". This is the name of a country and mountain range in Western Asia.
Luzon(Island)Filipino, Tagalog, Ilocano, Pampangan, English Of uncertain meaning, probably from Tagalog lusong meaning "mortar (for pounding rice)". This is the name of the largest island in the Philippines.
Maguindanao(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From Spanish Maguindanao, a corruption of Magindanaw, the endonym of the Maguindanao people. The ethnic name means "people of the flood plains" or "people of the lake" from the word danao meaning "lake"... [more]
Makati(Settlement)Tagalog, English Derived from the phrase makati na, kumakati na meaning "ebbing tide". This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Manchuria(Region)English, Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Tagalog Likely from a Dutch calque of Japanese 満州 (Manshū) derived from the name of the Manchu people, ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ (manju), of uncertain origin. The ethnic name is probably derived from the name of the bodhisattva Manjushri in Buddhist tradition... [more]
Marawi(Settlement)Filipino, Maranao, Tagalog From Maraghui or Marahui, the name of a Maranao fort that was seiged in 1895. This is the name of the capital city of the Philippine province of Lanao del Sur.
Marawi(Settlement)Filipino, Maranao, Tagalog From the name of the 19th century Fort Maraghui, itself from Maranao rawi' meaning "bend, part, recline", referring to the Agus River. This is the name of a city in the Philippines.
Marinduque(Island & Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English From a Spanish corruption of Tagalog malindig meaning "elegant, tall", also referring to a volcano on the island. This is the name of an island province of the Philippines.
Micronesia(Country & Region)Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog From Greek μικρός (mikrós) meaning "small, little" and νῆσος (nesos) meaning "island". This is the name of a subregion of Oceania as well as an island country... [more]
Mindanao(Island)Filipino, Cebuano, Tagalog, English From a Spanish corruption of Magindanaw, the endonym of the Maguindanao people. The ethnic name means "people of the flood plains" or "people of the lake" from Maguindanao danao meaning "lake"... [more]
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.
Pampanga(Political Subdivision & River)Filipino, Pampangan, Tagalog From Kapampangan pampang meaning "riverbank". This is the name of a province of, as well as a river in, the Philippines.
Pangasinan(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Pangasinan, Ilocano, Tagalog, English From the name of the Pangasinan people meaning "place of salt" or "land of salt", derived from Pangasinan pang- meaning "for", asin meaning "salt" and the place marker suffix -an... [more]
Quezon(Political Subdivision & Settlement)Filipino, Tagalog, English From the surname Quezon. This is the name of both a province and city in the Philippines, which were named in honour of Manuel Quezon (1878-1844), the second president of the Philippines.
Rizal(Political Subdivision)Filipino, Tagalog, English The name of a province of the Philippines, named for Filipino nationalist and writer JoséRizal (1861-1896).
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.
Simunul(Settlement)Filipino, Sama-Bajau, Tagalog The name of a city in the Philippines, derived from the Arabic phrase اسمي نور (ismi nur) meaning "my name is light".
Sulu(Political Subdivision, Region & Body of Water)Filipino, Tagalog, English From Suluk, the Malay name for the Tausug people, in turn derived from Tausug Tau Sūg meaning "people of the current", from tau meaning "man, person" and sūg meaning "(sea) current, flow of water"... [more]
Taal(Body of Water, Mountain & Settlement)Filipino, Tagalog The name of a lake, volcano and municipality in the Philippines, meaning "true, genuine, native" in Tagalog.
Tarlac(Political Subdivision, Settlement & River)Pampangan, Pangasinan, Ilocano, Tagalog, English Derived from Pampangan malatarlak referring to a type of grass. This is the name of a province of, as well as a city and river in, the Philippines.
Tawi-Tawi(Political Subdivision & Island)Filipino, Tausug, Tagalog, English From Sinama Jawi Jawi, which is derived from Malay jejawi meaning "banyan tree". This is the name of an island and province in the southern Philippines.
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.