List of country name etymologies

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This list covers English language country names with their etymologies. Some of these include notes on indigenous names and their etymologies. Countries in italics no longer exist as sovereign political entities.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


[edit] A

Afghanistan:

The origin of the word Afghan - which is synonymous with Pashtun - remains unknown. One explanation derives it from Apakan, an 8th or 9th century Iranian ruler[citation needed]. Others point out a 3rd century Sassanid reference to "Abgan", the oldest known mention of a word variant of "Afghan"[citation needed]. It also appears in the inscriptions of Shapur I of Iran at Naqš-e Rostam which mentions a certain Goundifer Abgan Rismaund[citation needed]. The sixth-century Indian Astronomer Varahamihira, in his Brhat Samhita (11.61; 16.38), refers to Afghans as Avagan. The seventh-century Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang refers to a people located to the north of Sulaiman Mountains whom he calls Apokien which obviously alludes to Avagans or Afghans. A modern view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name Afghan evidently derives from Sanskrit Ashvaka or Ashvakan (q.v.), (Panini's Ashvakayana), the Assakenois of Arrian. The Ashvakayan/Asvakan are stated to be a sub-section of the Kambojas who specialised in horse-culture.
See also: Origins of the name Afghanistan

Albania:

"Alb" from the PIE root meaning "white" or "mountain". Historians speculate that mountain tribes from modern Kosovo brought their highland ethnonym to the narrow coastal plain.
  • Albanian: Shqipëria - "land of the eagle", the eagle probably functioned as a tribal totem.
  • Turkish: Arnavutluk

Algeria:

The name Algeria is derived from the name of the city of Algiers (French Alger), from the Arabic word "الجزائر" (al-jazā’ir), which translates as the islands, referring to the four islands which lay off that city's coast until becoming part of the mainland in 1525; al-jazā’ir is itself short for the older name jazā’ir banī mazghannā, "the islands of (the tribe) Bani Mazghanna", used by early medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi.

America:

Believed to derive from the Latinized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form, America. Another less-popular theory derives it from the name of Richard Amerike.
See also United States of America below and Naming of America

American Samoa (territory of the United States of America):

See America above and Samoa, United States of America below.

Andorra:

Etymology unknown and contested; of pre-Roman, possibly Iberian or Basque origin. The name Andorra may be derived from al-Darra, the Arabic word for forest. When the Moors invaded Spain, the valleys of the Pyrenees were especially wooded, and the title Andorra can be found linked to villages in other parts of Spain which had been under Moorish domination. Still others claim that it comes from the Spanish andar, meaning "to walk", which gave name to the nomadic tribe of Andorrisoe which ostensibly migrated to the valleys in and around present-day Andorra, or could possibly originate from a Navarrese word andurrial, which translates as "shrub-covered land." An oft-told legend is that the name came from the archaic "Endor", which Louis le Debonnaire christened what he referred to as the "wild valleys of Hell" after defeating the Moors – wild and desolate mountain ranges have been associated with the Devil throughout much European literature.

Angola:

From Ngola, a title used by the monarch of the Kingdom of Ndongo. The Portuguese named the area in honour of a Ngola allied with them.

Anguilla (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

When Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1493 he called it "Anguilla" – Spanish for "eel", due to its elongated shape.

Antigua and Barbuda:

Christopher Columbus named Antigua in honour of the Santa María La Antigua ("Saint Mary the Old") cathedral in Seville, Spain when he landed there in 1493. "Barbuda" means "bearded" in Portuguese. The islands gained this name after the appearance of the their fig trees, whose long roots resemble beards. Alternatively, it may refer to the beards of the indigenous people.

Argentina:

From the Latin argentum, meaning "silver". Early Spanish and Portuguese traders used the region's Rio de la Plata or "Silver River" to transport silver and other treasures from Peru to the Atlantic. The land around the terminal downstream stations became known as Argentina – "Land of Silver".
See also: Origin and history of the name of Argentina

Armenia:

Derived from the Persian name Armanestân and Arman attested in Old Persian inscriptions. Some believe the word Armen refers to the ancient semi-legendary figure Aram, famed for his valiant deeds. Iranians call the people "Armens" or "Armenians".

Aruba (territory of Netherlands):

Two possible meanings exist. One story relates how the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda named the island in 1499 as "Oro Hubo", implying the presence of gold (oro hubo in Spanish means "there was gold"). Another possible derivation cites the Arawak Indian word oibubai, which means "guide".

Australia:

Originally from Latin terra australis incognita - "unknown southern land". Early European explorers, sensing that the Australian landmass far exceeded in size what they had already mapped, gave the area a generic descriptive name. The explorer Matthew Flinders (1774 – 1814), the first to sail around and chart the Australian coast, used the term "Australia" in his publication. Previous Dutch explorers had referred to the continent as Australisch and as "Hollandia Nova" (New Holland).

Austria:

Compare the modern German Österreich, from Old High German ôstarrîhhi, which literally means "empire in the East." In the 9th century, the territory formed part of the Frankish empire's eastern limit, and also formed the eastern limit of German settlement bordering on Slavic areas. Under Charlemagne and during the early Middle Ages, the territory had the Latin name marchia orientalis (Eastern March). This translated to Ostarrîchi in the vernacular of the time; that Old High German form first appears in a 996 document.
  • Arabic Nimsa: Presumably from the Slavic word nowaday used for Germany, via Turkish.
  • Czech Rakousko

Azerbaijan:

Native spelling Azərbaycan (from surface fires on ancient oil pools; its ancient name, (Media) Atropatene (in Greek and Latin) or Atrpatakan (in Armenian), actually referring to the present-day Azerbaijan region of Iran. The name became Azerbaijan in Arabic. The Persians knew the territory of the modern republic of Azerbaijan as "Aran"; and in classical times it became "(Caucasian) Albania" and, in part, "(Caucasian) Iberia", although this last term corresponds mostly to the present-day republic of Georgia. (See Georgia below.) The region of Media Atropatene lay further to the south, located south of the River Araxes. "Aran" may derive from the same root as modern "Iran", while "Albania" and "Iberia" appear as toponyms of Caucasus mountain derivation. The name "(Media) Atropatene" comes from Atropates ("fire protector" in Middle Persian) who ruled as the independent Iranian satrap at the time of the Seleucids. The modern ethnonym 'Azerbaijani' has often become the subject of sharp differences of opinion between the ethnically Turkic inhabitants of the modern republic of Azerbaijan and the inhabitants of the Persian-dominated neighboring republic of Iran. Iranians regard the names "Azerbaijan" and "Atropatene" as expressions of historically Persian culture, and therefore often refer to the modern republic of Azerbaijan as "Turkish Azerbaijan", and to its inhabitants as "Azerbaijani Turks". In contrast, Turkophone Azerbaijanis insist on their own place as an historically continuous presence in Azerbaijani history. The suffix -an in Persian means "land".

[edit] B

Bahamas:

From Spanish Baja Mar – "Low (Shallow) Sea". Spanish conquistadors thus named the islands after the waters around them.

Bahrain:

From Arabic. The exact referents of the "two seas" remain a matter of debate. Bahrain lies in a bay formed by the Arabian mainland and the peninsula of Qatar, and some identify the "two seas" as the waters of the bay on either side of the island. Others believe that the name refers to Bahrain's position as an island in the Persian Gulf, separated by "two seas" from the Arabian coast to the south and Iran to the north. Yet another claim suggests that the first sea surrounds Bahrain and the second "sea" metaphorically represents the abundant natural spring waters under the island itself.

Baker Island (territory of the United States of America):

Named after Michael Baker, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who claimed to have discovered it in 1832 (subsequent to its actual discovery).

Bangladesh:

From Bengali/Sanskrit, Bangla referring to the Bengali-speaking people, and Desh meaning "country", hence "Country of the Bengalis". The country previously formed part of colonial British India. Bengali culture spans a wider area than that of the state of Bangladesh: the culture extends into present-day India (in Assam (Boro Peoples), Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkand.
  • East Pakistan (former name): the name used when Pakistan comprised both modern-day Pakistan, or "West Pakistan", and modern-day Bangladesh — "East Pakistan". See Pakistan below (note that the name "Pakistan" comes from an acronym of the country's various regions/homelands; Bangladesh or its regions do not feature as part of the acronym.)

Barbados:

Named by the Portuguese explorer Pedro A. Campos "Os Barbados" ("The Bearded Ones") in 1536 after the appearance of the island's fig trees, whose long roots resemble beards.

Belarus:

From Belarusian, meaning "White Rus'", "White Ruthenia". Formerly known as Byelorussia, a transliteration from the Russian name meaning "White Russia". (See Russia below.) The name changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union to emphasize the historic and ongoing separate distinctness of the nations of Belarus and Russia. (See Belarus: Name for more.) The exact original meaning conveyed by the term "Bela" or 'White' remains uncertain. Early cultures commonly employed the concept of "whiteness" as representing the qualities of freedom, purity, or nobility. On the other hand, it may simply have originated as a totem color of convenience. Note that part of the western territory of modern Belarus historically bore the name of "Chernarossija" or 'Black Rus'. The term "Black" most commonly applied to landscapes featuring especially rich and productive soils. How this may reflect on the origin of the term 'White Rus' remains as yet unexplored. Yet another region in present-day western Ukraine historically had the name "Red Russia" or "Red Ruthenia". Note also that colors represented cardinal directions in Mongol and Tatar culture.

Belgium:

From the name of a Celtic tribe, the Belgae.
The name Belgae is may derive from the PIE *bolg meaning "bag" or "womb" and indicating common descent; if so, it likely followed some unknown original adjective.
Another theory suggests that the name Belgae may come from the Proto-Celtic *belo, which means "bright", and which relates to the English word bale (as in "bale-fire"), to the Anglo-Saxon bael, to the Lithuanian baltas, meaning "white" or "shining" (from which the Baltic takes its name) and to Slavic "belo/bilo/bjelo/..." meaning "white" (like town names Beograd, Biograd, Bjelovar, etc all meaning "white city") (see Beltane). Thus the Gaulish god-names Belenos ("Bright one") and Belisama (probably the same divinity, originally from *belo-nos = "our shining one") may also come from the same source.

Belize:

Traditionally said to derive from the Spanish pronunciation of "Wallace", the name of the pirate who set up the first settlement in Belize in 1638. Another possibility relates the name to the Maya word belix, meaning "muddy water", applied to the Belize River.
  • British Honduras (former name): after the colonial ruler (Britain). For "Honduras" see Honduras below. See also Britain below.

Benin:

Named after an old African Empire of Benin, on whose territory modern Benin does not actually lie.
  • Dahomey (former name): Named after the principal ethnic group of the country.

Bermuda (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

From the name of the Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez who sighted the islands in 1503.

Bhutan:

The ethnic Tibetans or Bhotia migrated from Tibet to Bhutan in the 10th century. The root Bod expresses an ancient name for Tibet. Bhutanese language: Druk Yul - "land of the thunder dragon", "land of thunder", or "land of the dragon". From the violent thunder storms that come from the Himalayas.

Bolivia:

Named after Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), an anti-Spanish militant and first president of Bolivia the country after gained its independence in 1825. His surname comes from La Puebla de Bolibar, a village in Biscay, Spain

Bosnia and Herzegovina:

The country consists of two distinct regions: the larger northern section, Bosnia, represents the name of the Bosna river. The smaller southern territory, Herzegovina takes its name from the German noble title Herzog, meaning "Duke". Frederick IV, King of the Romans, made the territory's ruler, the Grand Vojvoda Stjepan Vukcic, a duke in 1448.

Botswana:

Named after the country's largest ethnic group, the Tswana.
  • Bechuanaland (former name): derived from Bechuana, an alternative spelling of "Botswana".

Bouvet Island (territory of Norway):

Named after the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier who discovered the remote island in 1739.

Brazil:

Named after the brazilwood tree, so-named because its reddish wood resembled the color of red-hot embers (brasil in Portuguese). In Tupi it is called "ibirapitanga", which means literally 'red wood'. The wood of the tree was used to color clothes and fabrics.
Another theory stands that the name of the country is related to the Irish myth of Hy-Brazil, a phantom island similar to St. Brendan's Island, situated southwest of Ireland. The legend was so strong that during the 15th century many expeditions tried to find it, the most important being John Cabot. As the Brazilian lands were reached by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 A.D., the Irish myth would have influenced the late name given to the country (after "Island of Real Cross" and "Land of Holy Cross"). The proof that the legend was popular among Iberic people may be verified by the name of the Azorean Terceira Island, registered around 1436 on the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco.
See also list of Brazil state name etymologies

Britain:

From Pritani, "painted"; perhaps a reference to the use of body-paint and tattoos by early inhabitants of the islands; may also derive from the Celtic goddess Brigid. The form 'Britain' comes from Latin 'Britannia', probably via French.
See also United Kingdom below.

British Indian Ocean Territory (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

?

British Virgin Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

Christopher Columbus, on discovering a seemingly endless number of islands in the nort-east Caribbean in 1493, named them after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 virgins.

Brunei:

In its full name "Negara Brunei Darussalam", "Darussalam" means "Abode of Peace" in Arabic, while "Negara" means "State" in Malay. "Negara" derives from the Dravidian "Nagara", meaning "city."

Bulgaria:

Named after the Bulgars. Their tribal name, Bulgar may come from burg, which means "castle" in Germanic languages. A. D. Keramopoulos derives the name "Bulgars" from burgarii or bourgarioi meaning "those who maintain the forts" (burgi, bourgoi, purgoi) along the northern boundaries of the Balkan provinces, and elsewhere in the Roman Empire, first mentioned in Greek in an inscription dated A.D. 202, found between Philippopolis and Tatar Pazardzhik (and last published in Wilhelm Dittenberger's Sylloge inscriptionum graecarum, 3 ed., vol. II [1917], no. 880,1. 51, p. 593). The Bulgarians, previously known as Moesians, inhabited Thrace.
  • An alternative Turkic etymology for the name of the pre-Slavicised Central-Asian Bulgars derives from Bulgha meaning sable and has a totemistic origin.
  • Some associate the name Bulgar with the River Volga in present-day Russia: Bulgars lived in that region before and/or after the migration to the Balkans: see Volga Bulgaria.

Burkina Faso:

From local languages, meaning "land of upright people", "land of honest men" or "land of the incorruptible". President Thomas Sankara, who took power in a coup in 1983, changed the name from "Upper Volta" in 1984. The two parts of the name come from two of the country's main languages: Moré (Burkina) and Dioula (Faso).

Burma:

see Myanmar below.

Burundi:

From a local name meaning "land of the Kirundi-speakers."

[edit] C

Cambodia:

The name "Cambodia" derives from that of the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadesa). The ancient Sanskrit name Kambuja or Kamboja referred to an early north Indian tribe, the Kambojas, named after the founder of that tribe, Kambu Svayambhuva, apparently a variant of Cambyses, Kambujiya or Kamboja. See Etymology of Kamboja.
  • Kampuchea (local name): derived in the same fashion. It also served as the official English-language name from 1975 to 1989.

Cameroon:

From Portuguese Rio de Camarões ("River of Shrimps"), the name given to the Wouri River by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century.

Canada:

From the word canada meaning "village" or "settlement" in the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian language spoken by the inhabitants of Stadacona and the neighbouring region in the 16th century, near present-day Quebec City; see Canada's name. Also see Canadian provincial name etymologies

Cape Verde:

Named after Cap-Vert a cape in Western Africa. From Portuguese Cabo Verde, "Green cape".

Caroline Islands

Named after Charles II, who reigned as king of Spain from 1665 to 1700.
See "Micronesia" and "Palau" below

Catalonia:

From the word meaning "land of castles" in old French "catel-onia". See Castile for a similar origin.

Cayman Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

Christopher Columbus discovered the islands in 1503 after winds blew him off his course from Panama to Hispaniola. He called the islands Las Tortugas ("The Turtles" in Spanish) due to the large numbers of turtles on the islands. Around 1540 the islands gained the name Caymanas, from a Carib word for marine alligators or "caiman", an animal found on the islands.

Central African Republic:

Named after its geographical position in the center of the continent of Africa.
See also Africa on the Placename etymology page.

Chad:

Locally known in French as République du Tchad. Named for Lake Chad (or Tchad) in the country's southwest. The lake in turn got its name from the Bornu word tsade, "lake".

Chile:

Exact etymology unknown. Possibilities include that it comes from a native Araucanian term meaning "the depths", a reference to the fact that the Andes mountain chain looms over the narrow coastal flatland. The Quechua or Mapuche Indian word "chili/chilli" or "where the land ends/where the land runs out/limit of the world" also provides a possible derivation. Another possible meaning originates with a native word tchili, meaning "snow".

China:

The English name of China comes from the Qin Dynasty, possibly in a Sanskrit form; the pronunciation "China" came to the western languages through the Persian word چین "Chin". (see also: China in world languages)
  • Chinese: Zhong Guo - "central country"
  • Archaic English Cathay, Turkish Xytai and Russian Китай (Kitai), from the Khitan people who conquered China in the 10th century.

Christmas Island (territory of Australia):

So named because Captain William Mynors discovered the island on Christmas Day in 1643.

Clipperton Island (territory of France):

Named after the English mutineer and pirate John Clipperton, who made it his hideout in 1705.

Cocos Islands (territory of Australia):

Named after coconuts, the main local product.
  • Keeling Islands (alternative name), after Captain William Keeling who discovered the islands in 1609.

Colombia:

Named after the explorer Christopher Columbus, despite the fact that he never actually set foot in the country.

Comoros:

From the Arabic "Djazair al Kamar" — "Island of the moon."

Congo, Republic:

Named after the former Kongo kingdom, in turn named after the Bakongo people.

Congo, Democratic Republic of:

Named after the former Kongo kingdom, in turn named after the Bakongo people.

Cook Islands (territory of New Zealand):

Named after Captain James Cook, who sighted the islands in 1770.

Costa Rica:

The name, meaning "rich coast" in Spanish, given by the Spanish explorer Gil González Dávila.

Côte d'Ivoire:

From French. The French named the region "Ivory Coast" in reference to the ivory traded from the area - in similar fashion, nearby stretches of the African shoreline became known as the "Grain Coast", the "Gold Coast" and the "Slave Coast."

Croatia:

Latinization of the Croatian name Hrvatska, derived from Hrvat (Croat): a word of unknown origin, possibly from a Sarmatian word for "herdsman" or "cowboy". May be related to an aboriginal tribe of Alans.

Cuba:

From Taíno Indian Cubanacan — "centre place". In Portugal, many believe that the name echoes that of the Portuguese town of Cuba, speculating that Christopher Columbus provided a link.

Cyprus:

Derived from the Greek Kypros for "copper", in reference to the copper mined on the island.

Czechoslovakia:

Roughly "land of the Czechs and Slovaks" from the two main Slavic ethnic groups in the country, with "Slovak" deriving from the Slavic for "Slavs"; and "Czech" ultimately of unknown origin.

Czech Republic:

From Čechové (Češi, i.e. Czechs), the name of one of the Slavic tribes on the country's territory, which subdued the neighboring Slavic tribes around 900. The origin of the name of the tribe itself remains unknown. According to a legend, it comes from their leader Čech, who brought them to Bohemia. Most scholarly theories regard Čech as a sort of obscure derivative, i.e. from Četa (military unit).
  • Bohemia (Latin and traditional English variant): after a Celtic tribe Boii.

[edit] D

Democratic Republic of Congo:

See Congo, Democratic Republic of, above

Denmark: Unknown, but a theory say: From PIE dhen "low" or "flat" and Germanic "mark": "border land" and/or "border forest".

Djibouti:

Named after the bottom point of the Gulf of Tadjoura. Possibly derived from the Afar word "gabouti", a type of doormat made of palm fibres. Another plausible, but unproven etymology suggests that "Djibouti" means "Land of Tehuti" or Land of Thoth, after the Egyptian Moon God.
See also France below.

Dominica:

From the Latin "Dies Dominica" meaning "Sunday": the day of the week on which Christopher Columbus first landed on the island.

Dominican Republic:

Derived from Santo Domingo, the capital city, which bears the name of the Spanish Saint Domingo de Guzmán, the founder of the Dominican Order.

[edit] E

East Timor:

From the Malay word timur meaning "east". The local official Tetum language refers to East Timor as Timor Lorosae or "East Timor", or Timor-Leste in Portuguese. In neighbouring Indonesia it has the formal name Timor Timur - etymologically "eastern east". But Indonesians usually shorten the name to Tim-Tim.

Ecuador:

"Equator" in Spanish, as the country lies on the Equator.

Egypt:

From ancient Greek (attested in Mycenean) Αίγυπτος, or Aígyptos, which according to Strabo, derived from "Αιγαίου υπτίως" (Aegeou yptios - the land below the Aegean sea). This becomes more apparent in the variation Aegyptos [1]. Alternatively, from the Egyptian name of Memphis, meaning "temple of the soul of Ptah".
  • Mişr (Arabic name, pronounced Maşr in Egyptian Arabic): a widespread Semitic word (Hebrew: "Mizraim"), first used to mean "Egypt" in Akkadian, and meaning "city". The Turkish name Mısır derives from the Arabic one.
  • Kimi (Coptic name): simply means "black" (ancient Egyptian kmt), as opposed to the desert, called "red".
  • Kemt (i.e. ancient Egyptian kmt, see above): the land of the "black" (mud of the Nile, or as some have argued: people).

El Salvador:

"The saviour" in Spanish, named after Jesus.

England:

Derived from the Old English name Englaland, literally translatable as "land of the Angles".

Equatorial Guinea:

"Equatorial" from the word "equator", despite the fact that the country doesn't actually lie on the Equator (though very close to it). "Guinea" perhaps from the Berber term aguinaoui, which means "black".
See also Spain below.

Eritrea:

Named by Italian colonizers, from the Latin name for the Red Sea "Mare Erythraeum" ("Errythraean sea") which in turn derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea: "Erythrea Thalassa".

Estonia:

From the Latin version of the Germanic word Estland, which could originate from the Germanic word for "eastern (way)", or from the name Aestia, first mentioned in ancient Greek texts. Palaeogeographers have not located Aestia exactly: the name may have referred to modern Masuria, in Poland.
  • Chud (Old East Slavic): originally derived from the Gothic for "people" (see "Deutschland" under the heading "Germany"); more recent folk-etymology has also linked the name to the Slavic root for "weird". Lake Peipus still bears the name of "Chudskoe Lake" in Slavic languages.
  • Igaunija (Latvian): from the ancient Ugaunian tribe in southeastern Estonia.
  • Viro (Finnish variant): from the ancient Vironian tribe in northern Estonia.

Ethiopia:

From the Greek word Αἰθιοπία (Æthiopia), from Αἰθίοψ (Æthiops) ‘an Ethiopian’ -- sometimes parsed by Westerners as a purely Greek term meaning "of burnt (αιθ-) visage (ὄψ)"; however, some (i.e. the 16-17th c. Book of Aksum [Matshafa Aksum]) Ethiopian sources state that the name derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Aksum.

Europa Island (territory of France):

The island takes its name from the British ship Europa, which visited it in 1774.

[edit] F

Falkland Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

The English Captain John Strong named the sound (straight) between the two main islands the Falkland Sound when he landed on the islands in 1690. The name honoured Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland, the then First Lord of the Admiralty, and the term eventually came to apply to the whole island group.

Faroe Islands (territory of Denmark):

From Faroese (originally Old Norse) Føroyar, "sheep islands".

Fiji:

From the Tongan name for the islands: Viti.

Finland:

From the Germanic Land of the Finns. Originally, the Germanic term Finn referred to the Sami or Lapps. The word may derive from the Germanic root seen in English fen (a synonym for "swamp") or, alternatively, from a root meaning "nomadic hunter and gatherer", related to the English verb "find".
  • Suomi (Finnish name), Soome (Estonian name), Sum' (Old Russian name): may derive from the Finnish root suo for "marsh" and maa for "land" or from the Baltic root zeme for "land".

Formosa:

see Taiwan.

France:

French derivation of Francia, "Land of the Franks", literally "land of the free men".

French Guiana (territory of France):

see France above and Guyana below.

French Polynesia (territory of France):

The geographic term Polynesia means "many islands", formed from the Greek roots: poly = many; and νῆσος nēsos = island.
See also France above.

French Southern and Antarctic Lands (territory of France):

From the geographic location of the territories (in the southern Indian Ocean).
Note: France's claims to Antarctic lands remainin abeyance in line with the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
See also France above.

[edit] G

Gabon:

From Gabão, the Portuguese name for the Komo river estuary (French: Estuaire de Gabon). The estuary took its name from its shape, which resembles that of a hooded overcoat (gabão). Gabão comes from Arabic قباء qabā’.

Gambia:

From the river Gambia that runs through the country. The word gambia supposedly derives from the Portuguese word câmbio (meaning "trade" or "exchange"), in reference to the trade the Portuguese carried out in the area.

Georgia:

Derived from Persian Gurj, probably derived from a PIE term meaning 'mountainous'. In classical times Greeks referring to the region used the names of Colchis (the coastal region along the Black Sea) and Iberia(further inland to the east). Both names probably derive from indigenous Caucasian languages.
  • Gruzia in Slavic languages (Грузия in Russian, for example) and Gorjestân (گرجستان) in Persian derive from the same source.
  • Sakartvelo (Georgian name; in English commonly "Kartvelia"): derived from a pagan god called Kartlos, once regarded as the father of all Georgians.
  • Vrastan (Armenian: Վրաստան)

Germany:

Main article: Names for Germany
From Latin "Germania", of the 3rd century BC, of unknown origin. The Oxford English Dictionary records theories about the Celtic roots gair ("neighbour") (from Zeuß), and gairm ("battle-cry") (from Wachter and from Grimm). Partridge suggested *gar ("to shout"), and describes the gar ("spear") theory as "obsolete". Italian, Romanian, and other languages use the latinate Germania as the name for Germany.
  • Allemagne (French), Alemania (Spanish), Alemanha (Portuguese), Almanya (Turkish): either "land of all the men" i.e. "our many tribes" or from the Alamanni, a southern Germanic tribe (whose name may have the same sort of etymology).
  • Deutschland (German), Duitsland (Dutch): from the Old High German word "diutisc", meaning 'of the people' (itself from ancient Germanic "thiuda" or "theoda" 'people') and "land" 'land': "land of the people". In English, "Dutch", the equivalent word to German "Deutsch", came to refer to the people of the (Netherlands).
  • Niemcy (Polish), Německo (Czech), Nemecko (Slovak), немецкий (nemetski) - but Германия (Germania) for the country) (Russian), Németország (Hungarian): from a Slavic root meaning "mute", "dumb", i.e., metaphorically, "those who do not speak our language".
  • Purutia (Tahitian): Prussia.
  • Saksa (Estonian, Finnish): from the name of the Germanic tribe of Saxons (in turn, possibly from Old High German sahs, 'knife').
  • Tyskland (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish), Þýskaland (Icelandic), Tedesco (Italian adjective form): also ancient Germanic "thiuda" or "theoda" 'people' (see above under "Deutschland").
  • Vācija (Latvian), Vokietija (Lithuanian):

Ghana:

After the ancient West African kingdom of the same name. The modern territory of Ghana, however, never formed part of the previous polity. J. B. Danquah suggested the use of the name in the run-up to Ghanaian independence. His research led him to believe that modern Ghanaian peoples descended from the ancient Ghana Kingdom; others dispute his conclusions.
  • Gold Coast (former name): after the large amount of gold that colonisers found in the country. Compare the names Europeans gave to nearby stretches of shoreline: "Ivory Coast", "Slave Coast" and "Grain Coast".

Gibraltar (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

A corruption of the Arabic words "Jebel Tarik" which means "Tarik's Mountain", named after Tarik-ibn-Zeyad, a Berber who landed at Gibraltar in 711 to launch the Islamic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.

Glorioso Islands (territory of France):

The Glorioso or Glorieuses Islands take their name, presumably, for their wonderful (glorious) looks. A Frenchman, Hippolyte Caltaux, settled in 1880 and established a coconut and maize plantation on Grande Glorieuse. (This does not explain the Spanish or Portuguese-looking form of the name used in English.)

Greece:

Main article: Names of the Greeks
From the Latin Græcus (Greek Γραικοί, claimed by Aristotle to refer to the name of the original people of Epirus)
  • Hellas/Ellas/Ellada (Greek name): land of the Hellenes, descended in mythology from Hellen; the place name has a linguistic cognate in the English verb "settle". A popular folk etymology holds the name to mean "land of light", relating to ἥλιος (hḗlios), the Greek word for "sun".
  • Hurumistan (Kurdish variant), Urəm (Урым, Adyghe):
  • Saberdzneṭi (საბერძნეთი, Georgian):
  • Yunanistan (Azeri, Kurdish variant, Turkish), al-Yūnān (Arabic), Yavan (Hebrew): after Ionians, an older name for Greeks of Asia Minor

Greenland (territory of Denmark):

English name given by Eric the Red in 982 to attract settlers.
  • Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenlandic name): means "lands of humans".

Grenada:

After the southern Spanish city of Granada. Columbus originally named the island Concepción.

Guadeloupe territory of France):

Christopher Columbus named the island in honour of Santa María de Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain when he landed in 1493.

Guam (territory of the United States of America):

From the native Chamorro word 'guahan', meaning 'we have'.

Guatemala:

Mayan for "land of trees". When the Spanish arrived, they saw a decayed tree with lots of trees around it right in front of the palace. The Spanish believed this the center of the Mayan Kingdom. When the Spanish asked the name of the area, the Native Amerindians guessed Guatemala.

Guinea:

From the Susu (Sousou) language meaning 'Women'. The first Europeans to arrive in the area would have heard Susu, the main language spoken by the inhabitants of coastal Guinea. The English form comes via Portuguese Guiné from a (presumed) indigenous African name. Or possibly from the Berber "Akal n-Iguinawen" meaning "land of the blacks".

Guinea-Bissau:

That part of the region known as "Guinea" which has as its capital the city of Bissau. Compare the usage of Congo-Brazzaville.

Guyana:

From the indigenous peoples who called the land "Guiana", meaning "land of many waters", in reference to large number of rivers in the area.
  • British Guiana (former name): after the colonial ruler (Britain). "Guiana" has the same etymology as "Guyana".
See also Britain above

[edit] H

Haiti:

Taíno/Arawak Indian, "Hayiti/Hayti" meaning "mountainous land". The island of which Haiti forms a part, Hispaniola (roughly, "little Spain") originally had the name Hayiti.

Honduras:

Christopher Columbus named the country "Honduras", Spanish for "depths", a reference to the deep waters off the northern coast.

Hong Kong (Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China):

A transliteration of the Chinese term "香港" based on Hakka Chinese / Cantonese Chinese, meaning "fragrant harbour" or "incense harbour", presumably from the fact that Hong Kong functioned as a major trading port for incense.

Howland Island (territory of the United States of America):

Captain George E. Netcher named the island after the lookout who sighted it from his ship the Isabella on 9 September 1842.

Hungary:

Turkic: on-ogur, "(people of the) ten arrows" — in other words, "alliance of the ten tribes". Byzantine chronicles gave this name to the Hungarians; the chroniclers mistakenly assumed that the Hungarians had Turkic origins, based on their Turkic-nomadic customs and appearance, despite the Finno-Ugric language of the people. The Hungarian tribes later actually formed an alliance of the seven Hungarian and three Khazarian tribes, but the name originates from the time before this, and first applied to the original seven Hungarian tribes. The ethnonym Hunni (referring to the Huns) has influenced the Latin (and English) spelling.
  • Uhorshchyna (Угорщина, Ukrainian), Vuhorščyna (Вугоршчына, Belarusian), Węgry (Polish), Wędżierskô (Kashubian), and Ugre in Old Russian: from the Turkic "on-ogur", see above. The same root emerges in the ethnonym Yugra, a people living in Siberia and distantly related to Hungarians.
  • Magyarország (native name - land of the Magyars): According to a famous Hungarian chronicle (Simon of Kéza: Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum, 1282), Magyar (Magor), the forefather of all Hungarians, had a brother named Hunor (the ancestor of the Huns); their father king Menrot, builder of the tower of Babel, equates to the Nimrod of the Hebrew Bible.

[edit] I

Iceland:

"Land of ice" (Ísland in Icelandic). Popularly (but falsely) attributed to an attempt to dissuade outsiders from attempting to settle on the land. In fact the early settler/explorer Flóki Vilgerðarson coined the name after he spotted "a firth full of drift ice" to the north. This occurred during spring after an especially harsh winter during which all his livestock had died and he had started debating whether to leave.

India:

Derived from the original name Sindhu of the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan, which gave its name to the land of Sind. People later applied derivations of the Persian form of this name, Hind, to all of modern Pakistan and India. Main article: Origin of India's name
  • Bharat (Sanskrit name): Popular accounts derive "Bharat" from the name of either of two ancient kings named Bharata.
  • rGya.gar (Dzongkha), rGya.gar.yal (Tibetan variant):

Indonesia:

A pseudo-Greek name, apparently invented in the mid-19th century to mean "Indies Islands", from the Greek νῆσος nēsos "island", added to the country name India. (Europeans previously referred to Indonesia as the "East Indies".)

Iran:

"Land of the Aryans" or "land of the free". The term "Arya" derived from the PIE (Proto Indo-European), and generally carrying the meaning of "noble" or "free", cognate with the Greek-derived word "aristocrat".
  • Persia (former name): from Latin, via Greek "Persis", from Old Persian "Paarsa", a placename of a central district within the region, modern Fars. A common Hellenistic folk-etymology derives "Persia" from "Land of Perseus".
  • Uajemi (Swahili variant): from the word Ajam which Arabs used to refer to Persians. The Arabic word Ajam means "the ones whose language we don't understand".

Iraq:

From the city of Erech/Uruk (also known as "Warka") near the river Euphrates. Some archaeologists regard Uruk as the first major Sumerian city. Another theory suggests that Iraq derives from Irak, which in older Iranian languages meant the Lesser Iran. Note that the natives of the western part of today's Iran also called their area "the Persian Iraq" for many centuries.
  • Mesopotamia (ancient name and Greek variant): a loan-translation (Greek meso- (between) and potamos (river)) of the ancient Semitic Beth-Nahrin, "Between the Rivers", a reference to the Tigris and Euphrates.

Ireland:

After Éire from Proto-Celtic *Īweriū "the fertile place" or "Place of Éire (Eriu)" a Celtic fertility goddess. Often mistakenly derived as "Land of Iron"
  • Hibernia (ancient name and Latin variant): apparently assimilated to Latin hibernus (wintry).

Israel:

Israel takes its name from the biblical patriarch Jacob, later known as Israel, literally meaning "struggled with God/he struggles with God". According to the account in the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with a stranger (in later tradition said to have been an angel) at a river ford and won through perseverance. God then changed his name to Israel signifying that he had deliberated with God and won as he had wrestled and won with men.

Italy:

Main article: History of Italy#Origins of the name
From Latin Italia, the name having entered Latin from a non-Latin source. The etymology of Italia probably directly relates to an ancient Greek word italos (bull), from PIE *wet; the Greek word follows the sound-changes from Proto-Indo-European to Greek, but the Latin equivalent vitulus (young bull) from this root, does not. Speakers of ancient Oscan called Italy Viteliu, also from PIE *wet. Varro wrote that the region got its name from the excellence and abundance of its cattle (italos, "bull" hence italia). Some disagree with this etymology. Compare Italus.
  • Friagi or Friaz' in Old Russian: from the Byzantine appellation for the medieval Franks.
  • Valland (variant in Icelandic): land of "valer", (an Old Norse name for Celts, later also used for the Romanized tribes).
  • Włochy (Polish) and Olaszország (Hungarian): from Gothic walh, the same root as in Valland, see details under "Wallachia" below.

Ivory Coast:

see Côte d'Ivoire above

[edit] J

Jamaica:

Taíno/Arawak Indian "Xaymaca" or "Hamaica", "Land of wood and water" or perhaps "Land of Springs".

Japan:

The English name of "Japan" comes from Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本 (pinyin: rìběn), or "sun-origin", i.e. "Land of the Rising Sun", indicating Japan as lying to the east of China (where the sun rises). Also formerly known as the "Empire of the Sun". See also Names of Japan.
  • Nihon / Nippon: Japanese name, from the local pronunciation of the same characters as above.

Jarvis Island (territory of the United States of America):

The island was named after the owners Edward, Thomas, and William Jarvis of the British ship Eliza Francis by her commander, one Captain Brown, who discovered the island.

Johnston Atoll (territory of the United States of America):

Named after Captain Charles J. Johnston, the commanding officer of the ship Cornwallis, who came across the atoll on 14 December 1807.

Jordan:

After the river Jordan, the name of which derives from the Hebrew and Canaanite root yrd — "descend" (into the Dead Sea.) The river Jordan forms part of the border between Jordan and Israel/West Bank. In classical times, the region (known as Nabataea) encompassed territories on both sides of the River Jordan, infrequently also territories on the Sinai peninsula in Africa.

Juan de Nova (territory of France):

Named after João da Nova, a 15th century Spanish explorer/navigator.

[edit] K

Kazakhstan:

Means "land of the Kazakhs". The word "Kazakh" does not have a straightforward exact English translation, but it means something along the lines of "independent/rebellious/wanderer/brave/free". The Russian term kazak (казак) - "cossack" in English - offers a cognate word. -stan as a Persian suffix means "land".

Kenya:

After Mount Kenya, from the Kĩkũyũ name "Kere-Nyaga" ("Mountain of Whiteness").
See also Britain above and Africa on the Placename etymology page.

Kingman Reef (territory of the United States of America):

Named after Captain W.E. Kingman, who came across the reef whilst sailing in the boat Shooting Star on 29 November 1853.

Kiribati:

An adaptation of "Gilbert", from the former European name the "Gilbert Islands". Note the pronunciation of "Kiribati": /'kiribas/.

Korea (North and South):

After the Goryeo Dynasty, the first Korean dynasty visited by Persian merchants who referred to Koryŏ (Goryeo) as Korea. The name of the Goryeo Dynasty itself appears to be derived from a traditional name for the "race" of people, known in Classical Chinese as Gāolí (高麗), who founded various ancient states and empires in the area of Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula, such as Ancient Joseon and Goguryeo. At present, South Koreans call their country Hanguk, while North Koreans call it Joseon. The ancient Joseon may have meant "land of morning calm."
See also: Names of Korea

Kuwait:

From the Arabic diminutive form of "Kut/Kout" meaning "fortress built near water".

Kyrgyzstan:

Derives from three words — kyrg meaning "forty", yz meaning "tribes" and -stan meaning "land" in Persian — "land of forty tribes".

[edit] L

Laos:

Name coined under French rule, derived from Lao lao meaning "a Laotian" or "Laotian", possibly originally from an ancient Indian word lava. Lava names one of the twin sons of the god Rama. Formerly known as "Lan Xang" or "land of a million elephants".

Latvia:

Derived from the regional name "Latgale", itself a hydronym, most likely of Germanic origin.
See also Lithuania below

Lebanon:

From the Semitic "Laban", "white", referring to the snow on Lebanon's mountains.

Lesotho:

After the indigenous Sotho people, whose own name means "black" or "dark-skinned".

Liberia:

From the Latin liber, "free", so named from the establishment of the Liberian state as a homeland for freed African-American slaves.

Libya:

After an ancient Berber tribe called Libyans by the Greeks and Rbw by the Egyptians. Up to and until the country's independence, the term "Libya" generally applied only to the vast desert interposed between the Tripolitanian Lowland and the Fazzan plateau (to the west) and Egypt's Nile river valley (to the east). With "Tripoli" the name of new country's capital and the old northeastern regional name 'Cyrenaica' having passed into obsolescence, "Libya" became the convenient name for the country, despite the fact that much of the Libyan desert actually forms part of Egyptian territory.

Liechtenstein:

"Light stone" ("light" in weight rather than in brightness). The country took its name from the Liechtenstein dynasty, which purchased and united the counties of Schellenburg and Vaduz. The Holy Roman Emperor allowed the dynasty to rename the new property after itself.

Lithuania:

Modern scholars tend to connect this name with the Latin "litus" (see littoral), but no proof exists of any similar regional hydronym. "Litve", a Latin variant of the toponym, appears in a 1009 chronicle describing an archbishop "struck over the head by pagans in Lituae". A 16th-century scholar associated the word with the Latin word "litus" (tubes) — a possible reference to wooden trumpets played by Lithuanian tribesmen. The country name "Latvia" and its region "Latgalia" may share the etymology of "Lithuania".

Luxembourg:

From Celtic Lucilem "small" (cognate to English "little") and Germanic burg "castle", thus lucilemburg "little castle".

"stan" or "sthaan" means land/place in Sanskrit (before Persian)

[edit] M

Macedonia:

After the ancient people named Macedonians, whose status as a Hellenic people remains disputed among scholars. Hesiod said the name derived from Makedon, the royal founder of the land, a son of Zeus and a grandson of Deucalion, first cousin to Aeolus, Dorus, and Xuthus. Though named after ancient Macedon, most of the territory of the modern Republic of Macedonia formed part of the kingdom of Paionia (inhabited by the ancient Paeonians), before Macedon and (later) Rome conquered the area, which became part of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris or Macedonia Secunda. The legal name of the modern country remains currently a matter of dispute between the inhabitants of Greece (who claim the name "Macedonia" as their own cultural patrimony) and the Slavic inhabitants of the "Macedonian" republic (who claim the right to use such a term).

Madagascar:

From the name of the island in Malagasy language: Madagasikara, itself derived from the proto-Malay "end of the Earth", a reference to the island's long distance by sea from an earlier homeland in Southeast Asia.

Malawi:

Possibly based on a native word meaning "flaming water", believed to have derived from the sun's dazzling reflections on Lake Malawi. But President Hastings Banda, the founding President of Malawi, reported in interviews that in the 1940s he saw a "Lac Maravi" shown in "Bororo" country on an antique French map titled "La Basse Guinee Con[t]enant Les Royaumes de Loango, de Congo, d'Angola et de Benguela" and he liked the name "Malawi" better than "Nyasa" (or "Maravi"). "Lac Marawi" does not necessarily correspond to today's Lake Malawi. Banda had such influence at the time of independence in 1964 that he named the former Nyasaland "Malawi" himself, and the name has stuck.
  • Nyasaland (former name): "Nyasa" literally means "lake" in the local indigenous languages. The name applied to Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa, or "Niassa").

Malaysia:

Land of the Malay people. The country bore the name Malaya until 1963 following the accession of Singapore (seceded in 1965), Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo. The change of name reflected the expansion of the country's boundaries beyond Malay Peninsula. The adjective Malaysian refers to nationality of all races while Malay specifically refers to the native Malay people which make up about half of the total population.

Maldives:

From Arabic Mahal("palace") or "Dhibat-al-Mahal / Dhibat Mahal" as Arabs used to refer to the country. Therefore referring to the Arabic terminology it could mean "Palace Islands" as the main island, Malé, held the palace of the islands' Sultan. Some scholars believe that the name "Maldives" derives from the Sanskrit maladvipa, meaning "garland of islands". Some sources say Tamil malai or Malayalam mala "mountain(s)"), and Sanskrit diva, "island", thus "Mountain Islands"
  • Dhivehi Raajje (Maldivian name): "Kingdom of Maldivians". Dhivehi is a noun describing the Dhives people (Maldivians) and their language "Dhivehi" simultaneously.
  • Maladwipa (Sanskrit for "garland (mala, pronounced /maalaa/) of islands"; or more likely "small islands" from mala (pronounced /mala/) meaning "small".
  • Dhibat Mahal (Arabic)

Mali:

After the ancient West African kingdom of the same name, upon which a large part of the modern state lies. The word "Mali" came in turn from the Malinké people.

Malta:

From the Phoenician root MLT meaning "refuge". The term may have survived due to the existence of the Greek and Latin word melitta or "honey", the name of the island in classical times, and also the major export from the island during those centuries. The modern name comes from Maltese, previously from Arabic ملطة Malṭah, previously of the same Phoenician origin.

Marshall Islands:

Named after British Captain John Marshall, who first documented the existence of the islands in 1788.

Martinique (territory of France):

When Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1502 (he had sailed past it in 1493 but neglected to land) he named it in honour of St. Martin.

Mauritania:

Misnamed after the classical Mauretania in northern Morocco, itself named after the Berber Mauri tribe.

Mauritius:

Named Prins Maurits van Nassaueiland in 1598 after Maurice of Nassau (1567 - 1625), Stadtholder of Holland Prince of Orange (1585 - 1625).

Mayotte (territory of France):

(?)

Mexico

After the Mexica branch of the Aztecs. The origin of the term "Mexxica" remains uncertain. Some take it as the old Nahuatl word for the sun. Others say it derived from the name of the leader Mexitli. Yet others simply ascribe it to a type of weed that grows in Lake Texcoco. Leon Portilla suggests that it means "navel of the moon" from Nahuatl metztli (moon) and xictli (navel). Alternatively, it could mean "navel of the maguey" (Nahuatl metl). Also see Mexican state name etymologies.

Micronesia

A name coined from the Greek words mikros (small) and nesos (island) — "small islands".

Midway Islands (territory of the United States of America):

Named after their geographic location midway between somewhere and somewhere else in the Pacific ocean. Originally named the Middlebrook Islands or the Brook Islands, after their discoverer Captain N.C. Middlebrooks ("Captain Brooks").

Moldova

From the Moldova River in Romania, possibly from Gothic Mulda (dust, mud) via the [[Principality of Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian). See Etymology of Moldova.

Monaco

"Himself alone", a reference to the Greek demigod Hercules, once worshipped at a shrine on the territory. Alternatively, Monaco derives its name from the nearby Greek colony Monoikos founded in the 6th century B.C. by Phocian Greeks. The Phocians constructed a temple there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos (Μόνοικος means "single house" or "single temple"). (The association of Monaco with monks (Italian monachi) dates fron the Grimaldi conquest of 1297: see coat of arms of Monaco.

Mongolia

From Mongol, which probably means "brave" or "fearless".

Montenegro

Venetian conquerors gave Montenegro its name, Montenegro meaning "black mountain", after the appearance of Mount Lovćen or most likely its dark coniferous forests. (Contrary to popular belief, "Montenegro" does not represent a standard modern Italian name, as "black mountain" in official Italian translates as monte nero without the "g".)
  • Crna Gora (the local Serbian/Montenegrin name for Montenegro): literally translates as "black mountain".
  • Doclea (ancient name for Montenegro): Doclea, the name of the region during the early period of the Roman Empire, reflected the name of an early Illyrian tribe. In later centuries, Romans "hyper-corrected" it to "Dioclea", wrongly guessing that an "I" had disappeared due to vulgar speech patterns.
  • Zeta (ancient name for Montenegro): The earliest Slavic name, Zeta, derives from the name of a river in Montenegro which itself derives from an early root meaning "harvest" or "grain".

Montserrat (territory of the United Kingdom):

Christopher Columbus named the island "Santa Maria de Montserrate" while sailing past it in 1493 because it reminded him of the Blessed Virgin of the Monastery of Montserrate in Spain. The name "Montserrat" itself, literally means "jagged mountain".

Morocco:

From Marruecos, the Spanish pronunciation of the name of the city of "Marrakesh", believed to derive from the Berber roots tamart "land" + akush "God".
  • Al Maghrib (Moroccan name):means "the Farthest West".

Mozambique:

From the name of the Island of Mozambique, which in turn probably comes from the name of a previous Arab ruler, the sheik Mussa Ben Mbiki.

Myanmar:

One explanation sees the name as a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw; an alternative etymology suggests that myan means "quick/fast" and mar means "hard/tough/strong". The renaming of the country in 1989 has aroused political controversy; as certain minority groups and activist communities charge the symbolism of the move intended to strengthen the position of hard-line political elements inside the country. Correspondingly, such groups continue to refer to Myanmar as "Burma".
  • Burma (former name): The name Burma apparently derives from the Sanskrit name for the region: "Brahmadesh", land of (the deity) Brahma.

[edit] N

Namibia:

From the coastal Namib Desert. "Namib" means "area where there is nothing" in the Nama language.
See also Africa on the Placename etymology page and Germany above.

Nauru:

The name "Nauru" may derive from the Nauruan word "Anáoero", which means "I go to the beach". The German settlers called the island "Nawodo" or "Onawero".

Navassa Island (territory of the United States of America):

In 1504, Christopher Columbus, stranded on Jamaica, sent some crew members by canoe to Hispaniola for help. They ran into the island on the way, but it had no water. They called it Navaza, "nava-" meaning plain, or field. Mariners avoided the island for the next 350 years.

Nepal:

The toponym "Nepal" may derive from the Sanskrit nipalaya, which means "at the foot of the mountains" or "abode at the foot," a reference to its location in relation to the Himalayas. (Compare the analogous European toponym "Piedmont"). An alternative suggestion derives the name from the Tibetan niyampal, which means "holy land".

Netherlands:

Germanic for "low lands".
  • Holland (part of the Netherlands; a name often used to refer to the country as a whole): Germanic holt-land ("wooded land") (often incorrectly regarded as meaning "hollow [i.e. marsh] land")
  • Batavia (Latin): derived from the name of the Germanic Batavii tribe.
  • Nederland (Dutch) "low-land".

Netherlands Antilles: (territory of Netherlands):

"Antilles" from a mythical land/island (Antilia) west of Europe or a combination of two Portuguese words "ante" or "anti" and "ilha" which means island. "Netherlands" after the colonial ruler, the Netherlands

New Caledonia (territory of France):

Captain James Cook named the islands in 1774 in reference to Scotland. The mountains he saw reminded him of those in Scotland ("Caledonia" in Latin).

New Zealand:

After the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, which means "Sealand" in reference to the large number of islands it contains. Abel Tasman referred to New Zealand as Staten Landt, but subsequent Dutch cartographers used Nova Zeelandia in Latin, followed by Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch, which Captain James Cook subsquently anglicised as New Zealand.
  • Aotearoa has become the most common name for the country in the indigenous Maori language, supplanting the loan-phrase Niu Tireni. Aotearoa conventionally means "land of the long white cloud".

Nicaragua:

Named by the Spanish explorer Gil González Dávila after Nicarao, a leader of an indigenous community inhabiting the shores of Lake Nicaragua; subsequently, the ethnonym of that native community.

Niger:

Named after the Niger River, from a native term "Ni Gir" or 'River Gir'. The name has often been misinterpreted, especially by Latinists, to be deriving from the Latin niger ("black"), a reference to the dark complexions of the inhabitants of the region.
See also Nigeria below

Nigeria:

After the Niger river that flows through the western areas of the country and out into the ocean.
See also Niger above

Niue (territory of New Zealand):

Niu means "coconut," and "é" means "behold." According to legend, the Polynesian explorers who first settled the island knew they had come close to land when they saw a coconut floating in the water.

Norfolk Island (territory of Australia):

The first European known to have sighted the island,Captain James Cook, in 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific on HMS Resolution, named it after the wife of the premier peer of Britain, Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (1685 - 1777).

Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth in political union with the United States of America):

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (the first European to sight the islands in 1521), named them Islas de los Ladrones (Islands of Thieves). In 1668 Jesuit missionary San Vitores changed the name to Las Marianas in honour of Mariana of Austria (1634 - 1696), widow of king Philip IV and regent of Spain (1665 - 1675).

North Korea:

After the location in Korea.
See also Korea above

Northern Ireland:

After the location in Ireland.
See also Ireland above

Norway:

From the old Norse norðr and vegr "northern way". 'Norðrvegr' refers to long coastal passages from the western tip of Norway to its northernmost lands in the Arctic.
  • Urmane, or Murmane in Old Russian: from the Norse pronunciation of the word Normans (Northmen). (This word survives in the name of the Russian city Murmansk.)

[edit] O

Oman:

The name Oman has a disputed origin. Some sources claim that the name derives from an Arabic term for "settled" (as opposed to nomadic), or from other Arabic words meaning "peace" or "trust". Others claim that it took its name from a person, possible candidates including Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, Oman bin Qahtan, and Oman bin Loot (the Arabic name for the biblical figure Lot[citation needed]). The name has existed for some time: the geographer Ptolemy (AD 85 — AD 165) mentions it.

[edit] P

Pakistan:

The Cambridge student and Muslim nationalist Choudhary Rahmat Ali coined this name. He devised the word and first published it on 28 January 1933 in the pamphlet "Now or Never". He constructed the name as an acronym of the different states/homelands/regions, which broke down into: P=Punjab, A=Afghania (Ali's preferred name for the North West Frontier Province), K=Kashmir, S=Sindh and the suffix -stan from BalochiSTAN, thus forming "Pakstan". An "i" intruded later in order to ease pronunciation. The suffix -stan in Persian expresses "home of" and Sanskrit means "place". Rahmat Ali later expanded upon this in his 1947 book Pakistan: the Fatherland of the Pak Nation. In that book he explains the acronym as follows: P=Punjab, A=Afghania, K=Kashmir, I=Iran, S=Sindh, T=Turkharistan (roughly the modern central-Asian states), A=Afghanistan and N=BalochistaN. The Persian word پاک pāk, which means "pure", adds another shade of meaning, with the full name thus meaning "land of the pure". Use of the name gradually became widespread during the campaign for the setting up of a Muslim state in the then British India.

Palau:

-?-
  • Belau or Belaw (local names):-?-
  • Pelew (alternative name): the English Captain Henry Wilson suffered shipwreck on a reef off Palau's Ulong Island in 1783. Wilson spelt "Palau" as "Pelew".

Palestine:

Named after the ancient Philistines of the area around Gaza. The Greeks adopted the name to refer to the broader area, as Palaistinê, but Herodotus and others considered this as one part of Syria. The Roman Empire later adopted this concept in the form Syria Palaestina, as a new name for the province (formerly known as Judaea) after the defeat of Bar Kochba in AD 135.

Palmyra Atoll (territory of the United States of America):

Named after the boat Palmyra, which belonged to the American Captain Sawle. He sought shelter on the atoll on 7 November 1802, and became the first person to land on it.

Panama:

After a former village near the modern capital, Panama City. From the Cueva Indian language meaning "place of abundance of fish/place of many fish", possibly from the Caribe "abundance of butterflies", or possibly from another native term referring to the Panama tree.

Papua New Guinea:

The country acquired its name in the 19th century; the word "Papua" derives from Malay papuah describing the frizzy Melanesian hair. "New Guinea" comes from the Spanish explorer Inigo Ortiz de Retes, who noted the resemblance of the local people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa.

Paraguay:

The exact meaning of the word "Paraguay" remains unknown, though it seems to derive from the river of the same name. One of the most common explanations suggests that it means "water of the Payagua (a native tribe)". Another meaning links the native words "paragua" and "i" meaning "crowned river".

Peru:

The exact meaning behind the word "Peru" remains obscure: the most popular theory derives it from the native word biru meaning "river" (compare with the River Biru in modern Ecuador). Another explanation claims that it comes from the name of the Indian chieftain Beru. Spanish explorers asked him the name of the land, but not understanding their language, he assumed they wanted his own name, which he gave them. Another possibility explanation traces the name to pelu, presumptively an old native name of the region.

Philippines:

"Lands of King Philip" (Philip II of Spain, reigned 1556 - 1598) - the "-ines" part at the end of the name functions adjectivally. A recent and very romantic descriptive name, "Pearl of the Orient Seas" derives from the poem, "Mi Ultimo Adios" written by Philippine nationalist hero José Rizal. Other names include Katagalugan (used by the Katipunan when referring to the Philippines and means "land of/by the river", though this name is more used to refer to the Tagalog areas) and Maharlika (from the name of the upper class in pre-Hispanic Philippines, meaning "rich").

Pitcairn Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom):

A member of the English Captain Philip Carteret's crew in his boat HMS Swallow first sighted the remote islands in July 1767. Carteret named the main island "Pitcairn's Island" after the man who first saw land: the son of Major Pitcairn of the Marines.

Poland:

"Land of Polans", the territory of the tribe of Polans (Polanie). When the Polans formed a united Poland in the 10th century, this name also came into use for the whole Polish state. The name "Poland" (Polska) expressed both meanings, until, in the 13th/14th century, the original territory of the Polans became known as Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), instead. The name of the tribe comes probably from Polish pole ("field", "open field").
  • Lengyelország (Hungarian), Lenkija (Lithuanian), Lahestân (Persian) all derive from the Old Ruthenian or Old Polish ethnonym lęděnin ("man ploughing virgin soil"?) and its augmentative lęch.

Portugal:

From medieval Romance Portucale, from Latin portus, "port" and Cale, the name of the Roman port of Cale (modern Porto). The origin of the name Cale is debated. It may have been related to the Gallaeci, a Celtic people who lived north of the Douro River in pre-Roman times.
  • Lusitania (ancient predecessor and literary variant): after the Lusitanians, probably of Celtic origin, as Lus and Tanus, "tribe of Lusus".

Puerto Rico (territory of the United States of America) with commonwealth status):

Christopher Columbus named the island "San Juan Bautista" in honour of Saint John in 1493. The Spanish authorities set up a capital city called Puerto Rico (meaning "rich port"). For still unknown reasons the island and capital city had exchanged names by the 1520s.

[edit] Q

Qatar:

Derives from "Qatara", believed to refer to the Qatari town of Zubara, an important trading port and town in the region in ancient times. The word "Qatara" first appeared on Ptolemy's map of the Arab world. In the early 20th century English-speakers often used to pronounce Qatar as "Cutter", which closely resembles the local pronunciation used in Qatar. However, the traditional English pronunciation ("Kuh-tahr") has prevailed.

[edit] R

Réunion (territory of France):

The island changed names often in the past, but the name "Réunion" (recombination) became associated with the island in 1793 by a decree of the French Convention. The name commemorates the union of revolutionaries from Marseille with the French National Guard in Paris, which took place on August 10, 1792.

Romania:

"Roman Realm". The Roman Empire conquered a large part of the territory of the country, and the inhabitants became Romanized (Romanians). Older variants of the name include "Rumania" and (in a French-influenced spelling) "Roumania".
  • Dacia, older name and Latin variant: named after the ancient people the Dacians.
  • Wallachia, Slavic name for the country, from the Gothic word for Celts (walh), later also used for the Romanized tribes. This Germanic form derives from the name of the Celtic tribe of Volcae. Compare with the etymologies of the names "Wales" and "Wallonia".
See also: Etymology of Romania

Russia:

From a Varangian group known as the Rus' and from the state of Kievan Rus' they co-founded. (Soviet scholars disliked attributing the foundation of the Old East Slavic state to Scandinavian dynasts rather than to Slavic cultural groups, and therefore often insisted that the term "Rossija" derived from the name of the river Ros near Kiev.)
See also Etymology of Rus and derivatives and "Ruotsi" under Sweden (below) for details.

Rwanda:

From the name of the people Vanyaruanda, a word of unknown origin, but obviously cognate to the name of Rwanda. Also known fondly as "Land of a Thousand Hills" (Pays des milles collines).

[edit] S

Saint Helena (territory of the United Kingdom):

The Portuguese navigator João da Nova discovered the island on 21 May 1502 (Saint Helena's Day) and named it after Helena of Constantinople (mother of the Roman emperor Constantine).

Saint Kitts and Nevis:

St. Kitts took its name in honour of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelling. Christopher Columbus probably named the island for Saint Christopher, though this remains uncertain. British sailors later shortened the name to St. Kitts. Nevis derives from the Spanish phrase "Nuestra Senora de las Nieves", which means "Our Lady of the Snows", after the permanent halo of white clouds that surrounded mountains on the island.

Saint Lucia:

According to tradition, named after Saint Lucy by French sailors shipwrecked on the island on 13 December 1502 – the feast day of Saint Lucy.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon (territory of France):

Originally named the 'Eleven Thousand Virgins' by Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes in 1521. The French called the islands the 'Islands of Saint-Pierre'. Miquelon comes from the Basque language and means "Michael" (maybe after Saint Michael). In 1579 Martin de Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot published the names Micquetõ and Micquellefor the first time. The name evolved over time into Miclon, Micklon, and finally Miquelon.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:

Named after the Spanish Saint Vincent by Christopher Columbus on 22 January 1498, the day of the Feast of Saint Vincent. The Grenadines, like Grenada, take their name from the southern Spanish city of Granada.

Samoa:

The islands allegedly derive their name from that of a local chieftain, or from an indigenous word meaning "place of the moa". The moa, a large bird now extinct, may have served as the islanders' totem.

San Marino:

Takes its name from Marinus, a (possibly legendary) Christian stonemason who fled the island of Arbe (in modern day Croatia) to escape the anti-Christian Romans. He made his refuge on Mount Titano with his Christian followers in 301/305 in the area that acquired the Italian name San Marino (Saint Marinus).

São Tomé and Príncipe:

Portuguese for: Saint Thomas and Prince (islands). Portuguese explorers discovered the islands on St. Thomas's Day.

Saudi Arabia:

"Saudi" after the al-Saud family, who founded the country and who still rule it. The dynasty takes its name from its ancestor, "Sa`ûd", whose name means "very happy". The etymology of the term "Arab" or "Arabian" links closely with that of the place-name "Arabia". The root of the word has many meanings in Semitic languages, including "west / sunset", "desert", "mingle", "merchant", "raven" and "comprehensible", all of which appear to have some relevance to the emergence of the name.

Scotland:

Land of the Scots, from Old English Scottas, "inhabitants of Ireland." Old English borrowed the word from late Latin Scotti, of unknown origin. It may possibly have come from an Irish term of scorn, scuit. After the departure of the Romans from Britain in 423, an Irish tribe invaded Scotland, and the name came with them. It later extended to other Irish who settled in the northern regions of Britain.
  • Alba (Gaelic name): The Scots- and Irish-Gaelic name for Scotland derives from the same Celtic root as the name Albion, which designates sometimes the entire island of Great Britain and sometimes the country of England, Scotland's southern neighbour. The term derives from an early Indo-European word meaning 'white', generally held to refer to the cliffs of white chalk around the English town of Dover, ironically located at the furthest end of Great Britain from Scotland itself.

Senegal:

After a Portuguese variant of the name of the Berber Zenaga (Arabic Senhaja) tribe, which dominated much of the area to the north of modern Senegal, i.e. present-day Mauritania.
  • Daradia (Latin variant): -?-

Serbia

Serbia probably takes its name from a Slavic word for "ally/friend". The name of the Sorbs in present-day Germany has the same origin, the Serbs having migrated into the Balkan area from the region in Germany known as Lusatia, where the Sorbs currently live.

Seychelles:

Named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Finance Minister to King Louis XV of France from 1754 to 1756.

Sierra Leone:

Adapted from the Spanish version: Sierra León - of the Portuguese Serra Leoa "Lion Mountains". The Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra named the country after the striking mountains that he saw in 1462 while sailing the West African coast. It remains unclear what exactly made the mountains look like lions. Three main explanations exist: that the mountains resembled the teeth of a lion, that they looked like sleeping lions, or that thunder which broke out around the mountains sounded like a lion's roar.
  • Deorum Currus (Latin variant): -?-

Singapore:

Singapura (in Malay) derives from Sanskrit Simhapura (or Singhapura) which means "Lion City". Earlier the island was known as Temasik from Malay or Javanese root tasik meaning lake. Singapore is the anglicized form of the Malay name which is still in use today along with variants in Chinese and Tamil, the 4 official languages of Singapore.

Slovakia:

From the Slavic "Slavs". The origin of the word Slav itself remains controversial.
See also: origin of the term Slav

Slovenia:

From the Slavic "Slavs". The origin of the word Slav itself remains controversial.
See also: origin of the term Slav

Solomon Islands:

The Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña y Neyra named the islands in 1567/8. Expecting to find a lot of gold there, he named them after the Biblical King Solomon of Israel, renowned for his great wisdom, wealth, and power.

Somalia:

Takes its name from the Somalis, its indigenous people. The eytmology of their name remains uncertain, but various sources have proposed the following:
  • From a Cushitic word meaning "dark," or "black," a reference to the color of their own skin.
  • From a local phrase soo maal which means "go and milk," implying a friendly people who offered milk to their guests.
  • From the name of an ancient and mythical figure-patriarch, who almost all Somalis directly link to, known Samaale.

South Africa:

Takes its name from its geographical location on the continent of Africa.
  • Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans): "South[ern] Africa"
  • Azania (alternative name): some opponents of the white-minority rule of the country used the name Azania in place of "South Africa" . The origin of this name remains uncertain, but the name has referred to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, two suggestions for the origin of the word have emerged. The first cites the Arabic `ajam ("foreigner, non-Arab"). The second references the Greek verb azainein ("to dry, parch"), which fits the identification of Azania with arid sub-Saharan Africa.
See also Africa on the Placename etymology page.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (territory of the United Kingdom):

On 17 January 1775 the British Captain James Cook landed on the main island and named it the "Isle of Georgia" in honour of King George III of the United Kingdom. He named the South Sandwich Islands after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who served as the First Lord of the Admiralty at the time and who had helped fund Cook's explorations.

South Korea:

After the location in Korea.
See also Korea above

Soviet Union:

Shortening of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The word soviet (Russian: совет), a Russian abstract noun, means 'advice', 'counsel', or 'council', and comes from Slavic roots connoting "shared or common" and "knowledge".

Spain:

Phoenician/Punic אי שפנים ʾÎ-šəpānîm "isle of hyraxes". The Phoenician settlers found hares in abundance, and mistook them for hyraxes of Africa; thus they named the land in their Canaanite dialect. The Latin-speaking Romans adapted the name as Hispania. The Latin name was altered among the Romance languages, and entered English from Norman French Spagne.
  • Castile (former kingdom in modern-day Spain): from Castilla and this from "castle" (Castillo in Spanish).

Sri Lanka:

"Resplendent Lanka" in Sanskrit, the name "Lanka" sometimes appears translated as "island" - "magnificent island".
  • Serendip (ancient name): derived from the Sanskrit "Sinhala-dweepa", meaning either "land of lions" or "land of the Sinhala people"; sinha means "lion" in Sanskrit, and the Sinhalas (Sinhalese), an early Aryan group, arrived in the island about 500 BCE.
  • Ceylon (English), Ceilão (Portuguese), Seilan (former names): from the Pali Sinhalana meaning "land of the lions".

Sudan:

From the Arabic Bilad as-Sudan, "Land of the blacks". Originally referred to most of the Sahel region.

Suriname:

After the Surinen people, the earliest known native American inhabitants of the region.

Svalbard (territory of Norway):

Name from Norse roots meaning "cold edge".

Swaziland:

Named after the Swazi people, the dominant ethnic group in the country. The word "Swazi" derives from Mswati I, a former king of Swaziland.

Sweden:

An old English plural form of Swede. The exact development of the ethnonym remains uncertain, but it certainly derives from the Old English Sweoðeod, in Old Norse: Sviþjoð. The etymology of the first element, Svi, links to the PIE *suos (one's own, of one's own kin). The last element, þjoð, means "people", cognate with deut in Deutsch and teut in Teutons.
  • Sverige (native name): derives from the phrase Svia Rike, meaning "the realm of the Swedes" (probably through Danish, even though a similar linguistic evolution happened within Swedish: mik->mig).
  • Ruotsi (Finnish), Rootsi (Estonian), Rūotšmō (Livonian), Ruoŧŧa (Sami): probably from a Varangian people called the Rus', originating from Roslagen in Svealand. Scholars debate the meaning of rus, but it probably originates from the element roþs- ("relating to rowing") which has the same origin as row.
See also Etymology of Rus and derivatives and Russia above

Switzerland:

From the toponym Schwyz (see there) first attested AD 972 as Suittes; possibly derived further from the OMH German Schweiz, meaning "swamp".[citation needed]

Syria:

From the ancient Greek name for the ancient state of Assyria, although the original heartland of ancient Assyria actually lies in modern Iraq. Before the Greeks, the area of the modern state of Syria had the name Aram, after which the Aramaic language, a former lingua franca of the Middle East still spoken in a few villages there today, takes its name.

[edit] T

Taiwan (Republic of China):

The Han characters used today mean "Terraced Bay" in Chinese (terraced rice fields typify the Taiwanese landscape). However, older characters (e.g. 台員) have entirely different meanings. Moreover, some scholars believe the characters serve merely as convenient phonetic vehicles for writing down an older Austronesian name. In the early 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company came to build a commercial post at Fort Zeelandia (today's Tainan), they allegedly adopted the name of an aboriginal tribe transliterated as "Tayouan" or "Teyowan" in their records. Chinese merchants (and, later, Chinese officials) also adopted this same name, although different transliteration into Han characters tended to obscure the real etymology by sound, and often evoked varying myths and imaginings. An old-fashioned story traced "Taiwan" to a Minnan phrase (埋冤) with the same pronunciation, meaning "burying the unjustly dead," suggesting the riskiness of the sea journey to Taiwan. But this kind of story has given way to more persuasive evidence from ethnological and colonial sources.
  • Formosa (former name): Portuguese for beautiful, Presumably because of the beauty of the island.

Tajikistan:

Main article: Tajiks
"Tajikistan" or "Tajikstan" (alternative name) means "land of the Tajiks", with "Tajik" being an alternative name of the Persians. The name was introduced in Central Asia by the conquering hords of Turco-Mongols, and step by step became the self-designation of Persian-speakers in that area.
The word "Tājīk" is possibly derived from the name of an Arabic tribe, known as Tayy, which governed the eastern borders of the Islamic Empire in Central Asia. Among the Turco-Mongols, it became synonymous with "Muslim", and later - due to large numbers of Persian-speaking Muslims in Central Asia - synonymous with "Persian".
Up to the 18th century AD and the fall of the Safavid dynasty in Persia, "Tajik" was the common designation of Persian-speakers from Iraq to India.
The Tibetans call all Persians "Tag Dzig" (Pronounced "Tajik") but in Tibetan this also means "tiger-leopard"[citation needed]. This could explain why so many Tibetan legends about their western neighbours feature tiger/leopard combinations. The suffix -stan, from Persian, means "land".

Tanzania:

A combination of the names of two states that merged to form this country, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar. Tanganyika takes its name from the lake in the area, first visited by a European in 1858 in the person of Sir Richard Burton. Burton explained the meaning from local language as tou tanganyka meaning "to join", giving the sense "where waters met". In 1871, however, Henry Stanley said the word came from Tonga, "island" and hika, "flat". Both theories remain uncertain. — Zanzibar derives its name from the Zengi or Zengj, a local people whose own name means "black". This root joined to the Arabic barr, which means "coast" or "shore".

Thailand:

From the native Thai thai, meaning free, combined with the suffix land; hence "land of the free".
  • Siam (former name): The name given to the ancient Thai people by their neighbours the Burmese, and probably deriving from the Pāli toponym Suvarnabhuma "Land of Gold", the ultimate root the Pāli root "sama", which variously denoted different shades of color, most often brown or yellow, but sometimes green or black.

Togo:

From the settlement Togo, currently Togoville. In Ewe, to means "water" and go, "shore".
  • French Togoland (former name): See Togo (above) and France (above).

Tokelau (territory of New Zealand):

From the Tokelauan "North" or "Northern", describing the islands' location relative to Samoa. The Tokelauan people traditionally originated as settlers from Samoa.

Tonga:

From the Tongan "South" or "southern", describing the islands' location relative to Samoa.

Trinidad and Tobago:

Christopher Columbus encountered the island of Trinidad on July 31, 1498 and named it after the Holy Trinity. Columbus reported seeing Tobago, which he named Bella Forma, but did not land on the island. The name Tobago probably derivesfrom the tobacco grown and smoked by the natives.
  • "Kairi" or "Iere" (old Amerindian name for Trinidad): Usually translated as The Land of the Hummingbird, although others have reported that it simply meant island.

Tromelin Island (territory of France):

From the Chevalier de Tromelin, a French Royal Navy officer, captain of the French corvette La Dauphine, who visited the island in 1776 [2].

Tunisia:

After its capital Tunis, whose name possibly derives from a Berber word signifying a small cape ([3] in French).

Turkey:

The Turkish name Türkiye subdivides into two words: Türk, which refers to "strong" in Turkish and usually signifies the habitants of Turkey or a member of Turkish nation; and the Arabic suffix iye which means "owner" or "related to". The root appears commonly among early Altaic tribal ethnonyms, and also appears in the name of the modern inhabitants of Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan:

From Turkmen and -stan. -stan as a Persian suffix means "land". Thus: "land of the Turkmen people.
See also Turkey, above

Turks and Caicos Islands (territory of the United Kingdom):

"Turks" after the indigenous Turk's Head "fez" cactus; and "Caicos" from the indigenous Lucayan term "caya hico", meaning "string of islands".

Tuvalu:

From the native "eight islands" or "eight standing with each other" (Tuvalu actually consists of nine isands in Tuvalu - only eight of them traditionally inhabited). An earlier name, Niulakita, the name of the first atoll settled in 1949, became suppressed.
  • Ellice Islands (former name): named after Edward Ellice, a British politician and merchant, by Captain Arent de Peyster, who sighted the islands in 1819 sailing on the ship Rebecca. Ellice owned the cargo of the ship. The Ellice Islands received the name Tuvalu following a vote for secession from the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) in 1975/1976.

[edit] U

Uganda:

From the Swahili version of "Buganda", the kingdom of the 52 clans of the Baganda people, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda. British officials adopted the name Uganda in 1894.

Ukraine:

From the Slavic word ukraina ("country"), etymologically cognate with the word "krajina".
See also: Name of Ukraine

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics:

Also called the Soviet Union for short. The word soviet (Russian: совет), a Russian abstract noun, mean 'advice', 'counsel', or 'council', but became an adjective denoting persons from the country.

United Arab Emirates:

The etymology of the term "Arab" or "Arabian" links with that of the place name "Arabia". The root of the word has many meanings in Semitic languages, including "west / sunset", "desert", "mingle", "merchant", "raven" and "comprehensible", all of which appear to have some relevance to the emergence of the name. Emirate refers to a territory ruled by an emir.

United Kingdom:

Full name: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland": "Kingdom" in reference to the monarchy.
See "Britain", "England", "Northern Ireland", "Scotland" and "Wales" above

United States of America:

The term "United States" comes from the end of the Declaration of Independence: "We, therefore, the representatives of the united States of America, in general congress, assembled...". The preamble to the U.S. Constitution reiterated the phrase: "We the People of the United States...". The authors of these two documents probably used the phrase "united states" in place of a list of colonies/states because they remained uncertain (at the time of drafting) which colonies/states would sign off on the sentiments therein. - The geographic term "America" specifies the states' home on the American continent, believed to derive from the Latinized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form, America. He chose the feminine to match the ending of all other known continents at the time; Asia, Africa, and (as known in Latin) Europa. Here is a list of U.S. state name etymologies, as well as lists of U.S. county name etymologies.

Uruguay:

The name comes from the Uruguay River, (indeed its official name Republica Oriental del Uruguay — "oriental" meaning "east" — references its position east of the river). The word "Uruguay" itself may derive from the Guaraní words "urugua" ("shellfish") and "i" ("water"), meaning "river of shellfish". Another possible explanation holds that the name "Uruguay" divides into three component Guaraní words: "uru" (a kind of bird that lived near the river); "gua" ("to proceed from"); and "i" ("water").

U.S. Virgin Islands (territory of the United States of America):

Christopher Columbus named the islands in 1493 after St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins, as he gained the impression of a seemingly endless number of islands.
  • Danish West Indies (former name): after the former colonial ruler (Denmark).
See also United States of America above.

Uzbekistan:

Comes from three words: "Uz", meaning "self" in Turkic; "Bek" meaning "master" in the Sogdian language, and "Stan" meaning "land" in Persian. Thus, "Uzbekistan" = "Land of the Self Masters."

[edit] V

Vanuatu:

Derived from a phrase found in some of the languages of Vanuatu meaning "Our Land"

Vatican City:

"Vatican" from the Latin vaticinari, "to prophesy", by way of the name of the hill "Mons Vaticanus" of which the Vatican City forms a part. Fortune-tellers and sooth-sayers used the streets beneath in Roman times.

Venezuela:

"Little Venice", from the diminutive form of "Venezia". The native stilt-houses built on Lake Maracaibo impressed the European explorers Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci and reminded them of buildings in Venice.

Vietnam:

(Cognate of the Chinese: 越南), "Beyond the southern border", as referred to by ancient Chinese, or "South Yue", after the Yue peoples of ancient southeast China.

[edit] W

Wake Island (territory of the United States of America):

Named after the British Captain William Wake, who sighted the island in 1796 in his boat the Prince William Henry (though the Spanish explorer Mendaña may have sighted it 1568).

Wales:

From Old English Waelisc, Walh, meaning "Romano-Celtic" or more generally "foreign" (actually, Old English Waelisc also provides the source of English word Welsh). Anglo-Saxons used their version of an Old Teutonic term to apply to speakers of Celtic languages as well as to speakers of Latin. The same etymology applies to walnuts as well as to Cornwall in Britain and to Wallonia in Belgium. Old Church Slavonic also borrowed the term from the Germanic, and it served as the origin of the name of the Romanian region of Walachia.

Wallis and Futuna (territory of France):

The "Wallis" comes from the English explorer Samuel Wallis, who sailed there in 1797.

Western Sahara (claimed by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic):

After its geographic position in the west of the Sahara desert. Sahara, is an English pronunciation of the word for desert in Arabic. The local nationalist group the Polisario Front have named their government in exile the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" after its people, the Sahrawis (or Saharawis).
See also Spain above.

[edit] Y

Yemen:

From the Arabic root ymn, expressing the basic meaning of "right"; however, its exact meaning remains in dispute. Some sources claim it comes from the form yamîn, meaning "right-hand side" and by extension "south" (many Semitic languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, show traces of a system with south on the right and north on the left). Other sources claim that it originates from the form yumn, meaning "happiness" or "blessings" (arising from the widespread idea that right = good.) The name (to the classical world Arabia Felix - "fortunate Arabia") originally referred to the entire southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

Yugoslavia (former name):

From "Jugoslavija", which means "Land of the South Slavs" (South Slavic jug means in English south).

[edit] Z

Zambia:

After the River Zambezi, which flows through the east of the country and also forms the border with Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe:

"Great House of Stone" or "Big House of Stone" in Shona, referring to the stone-built capital city of the ancient trading empire of Great Zimbabwe. The literally translates to "big house stone." The proper way of saying it when speaking Shona is "zimba re bwe." The "zi" part is used to describe something huge. The word "imba" means house in Shona and the word 'bwe' means stone. The plural form of the word 'imba' is 'dzimba,' and the plural form of the word 'bwe' is 'mabwe.'

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Room, Adrian. Brewer's Names: People. Places. Things. Cassell, 1992. ISBN 0-304-34077-4
  • Room, Adrian. Placenames of the World, Origins and Meanings. McFarland and Company, Inc, Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-7864-0172-9

[edit] External link

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