Information about List of subnational name etymologies

This article provides a collection of the etymology of the names of subnational entities. This page generally only deals with regions and provinces; cities and other localities and features may appear listed under the individual country, with a link below.

Australia

States

New South Wales: ostensibly named with reference to Wales by James Cook on 22 August 1770
Queensland: named in honour of Queen Victoria^[1]
- South Australia: located in the south-central region of Australia
- Tasmania: named after Abel Tasman, who sighted the island in 1642; originally named by Tasman as Van Diemen's Land, after Anthony van Diemen, the colonial governor who commissioned Tasman's voyage
- Victoria: named in honour of Queen Victoria^[2]
  - Western Australia: comprises the western third of Australia
  Territories
  
  Mainland Territories
  - Northern Territory: Territory in the north-centre of Australia
  - Jervis Bay Territory: originally named "Long Nose" by Captain James Cook; renamed in 1791 for the naval hero Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent.^[3]
    External Territories
    - Ashmore and Cartier Islands: named for Ashmore Reef islets and Cartier Island
    - Ashmore Reef: first recorded sighting by a European, Captain Samuel Ashmore of the Hibernia, 11 June, 1811^[4]
      - *Cartier Island: discovered by a Captain Nash, aboard the Cartier^[5]
        Christmas Island: named on 25 December (Christmas Day), 1643, by Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company^[6]
        Cocos (Keeling) Islands:
        Cocos: after the plentiful coconuts (Cocos nucifera) growing there^[7]
        * Keeling: discovered in 1609 by William Keeling, a mariner of the English East India Company^[8]
        Coral Sea Islands: uninhabited islands in the Coral Sea, named for the its coral formations, especially the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world.^[9]
        Heard Island and McDonald Islands:
        Heard Island: discovered (first confirmed sighting) by Captain John Heard of the merchant vessel Oriental, 25 November, 1853^[10]
        * McDonald Islands: discovered by Captain William McDonald, 4 January, 1854^[11]
        Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen): discovered and named by James Cook (1774) either for the Duke of Norfolk^[12] or for his wife^[13] ^[14]
        Austria
        
        BundeslÃ¤nder (States)
        
        Burgenland (German; Hungarian: VÃ¡rvidÃ©k ; Croatian: Gradišće ): originally called Vierburgenland, "Land of four Burgs (castles)", a name suggested in 1919 from the endings of the four former counties forming the state: PreÃŸburg, Wieselburg, Ã–denburg and Eisenburg. In 1922 Austria ceded Ã–denburg Hungary and dropped the numeric prefix Vier-; the remaining three counties became Burgenland.^[15] The Hungarian VÃ¡rvidÃ©k and Croatian Gradišće calque the German Burgenland
        Carinthia, German KÃ¤rnten: derived from the early Slovene medieval state Karantania (Slovenian Karantanija, German Karantanien); a suggested etymology references a Celtic term for "stone" or "crag", while a popular etymology holds that the name means "land of friends"
        Lower Austria, German Nieder-Ã–sterreich: the lower part (lower in height) of the original territory of Austria ('the eastern country'), as opposed to Upper Austria; also called Ã–sterreich unter der Enns "Austria below the (river) Enns"
        Salzburg: after the city of Salzburg (literally "salt castle"), which takes its name from the salt mines that existed there during the Middle Ages
        Styria, German Steiermark: after the castle of Steyr; in the high Middle Ages, it formed a march of the Holy Roman Empire, hence -mark
        Tyrol, German Tirol, Italian Tirolo: after the castle of Tirol near Merano
        Upper Austria, German Ober-Ã–sterreich: the upper (physically higher) part of the original territory of Austria, as opposed to Lower Austria; also called Ã–sterreich ob der Enns "Austria above the (river) Enns"
        Vienna, German Wien: from Celtic Vindobona (vindo "white" + bona "foundation, fort")
        Vorarlberg, literally "in front of the Arlberg", takes its name from the Arlberg, a mountain (German: Berg) characterised by Arle, a local German term for "mountain pine".
        
        Belgium
        Official languages: Dutch; French; German
        Gewesten / RÃ©gions / Regionen (Regions)
        
        Brussels, Dutch Brussel, French Bruxelles (the capital city, outside any province; also Belgium's third region): medieval Dutch broek 'bog' + zele (in many place names in the Low Countries = "habitation using thatching")
        Flanders, Dutch Vlaanderen, French Flandre(s): plural of a terrain type; extended from the historical county (about half lost to French and Dutch neighbours; the rest roughly made up two administrative provinces, East Flanders and West Flanders; in French les Flandres, plural) to the whole Dutch-speaking, majority part of Belgium (French la Flandre, singular)
        Wallonia, French Wallonie: from the (Romanized (Germano-) Celtic, now Francophone) Walloon people: as in many European countries, so named by Germanic neighbours; meaning: "strangers". Compare "Wales".
        
        Provincies / Provinces / Provinzen (Provinces)
        
        LiÃ¨ge: of disputed etymology. The name LiÃ¨ge may have the same origin as the ancient name of Paris, i.e. Lutetia; the German form, LÃ¼ttich, suggests this. LiÃ¨ge and Lutetia would both derive from Latin lucotÃ¦tia, "marsh" or "mud". Another suggestion derives the names from Latin LÃ¦tica, "colony", or Leudica, "free". Alternatively, the Latin Leudica meaning "public place" may have given rise to the Walloon LÃ®dje and thence to LiÃ¨ge. Note that the name appeared in written form as LiÃ©ge (with an acute accent) until the 1950s.
        
        Brazil
        See List of Brazil state name etymologies.
        Canada
        
        Provinces and territories
        
        See Canadian provincial name etymologies
        
        Regions
        
        Acadia (French Acadie): origin disputed:
        
        # Credited to Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, who first named a region around Chesapeake Bay Archadia (Arcadia) in 1524 because of "the beauty of its trees", according to his diary. Cartographers began using the name Arcadia to refer to areas progressively farther north until it referred to the French holdings in maritime Canada (particularly Nova Scotia). The -r- also began to disappear from the name on early maps, resulting in the current Acadia.^[16]
        # Possibly derived from the MÃkmaq word akatik, pronounced roughly "agadik", meaning "place", which French-speakers spelled as -cadie in place names such as Shubenacadie and Tracadie, possibly coincidentally.^[17]
        Nunatsiavut: Inuktitut, meaning "our beautiful land".^[18]
        Czech Republic
        
        Bohemia: from the Celtic tribe Boii, former inhabitants of the territory.
        Czech Čechy
        Moravia (Czech Morava): from the river "Morava"
        
        China
        
        People's Republic of China
        Most of the names of the modern administrative regions appeared as coinages in the Ming Dynasty and in the Qing Dynasty in ancient China. The Republic of China (ruling all of China from 1911 to 1949) and the People's Republic of China (ruling most of China after 1949) inherited most of them, and each made modifications and innovations. This list only includes the subnational entities under the effective control of the People's Republic of China.
        省 Shěng (Provinces)
        
        Anhui - Anqing + Huizhou (Huangshan)
        Beijing - "northern capital"
        Chongqing - "double celebration"
        Fujian - Fuzhou + Jian'ou
        Gansu - Ganzhou (Zhangye) + Suzhou (Jiuquan)
        Guangdong - Guangzhou + east (Dong)
        Guangxi - Guangzhou + west (Xi)
        Guizhou - after Mount Gui
        Hainan - "south of the ocean"
        Hebei - "north of the River (Huang He)"
        Heilongjiang - "black dragon river" (Amur)
        Henan - "south of the River (Huang He)"
        Hong Kong - "incense harbour" or "fragrance harbour"
        Hubei - "north of the lake (Lake Dongting)"
        Hunan - "south of the lake (Lake Dongting)"
        Jiangsu - Jiangning (Nanjing) + Suzhou
        Jiangxi - from "Jiangnanxi", meaning "western part of the region south of the Yangtze River"
        Jilin - Manchu name for "by the river"
        Liaoning - "Liao tranquil"; the region traditionally bore the name of "Liao"
        Nanjing - 'southern capital'
        Ningxia - "tranquil Xia," "Western Xia" was a Tangut state in the region from 1032 to 1227
        Qinghai - "green/blue sea" (after Lake Qinghai)
        Shaanxi - "west of Shan (陝) (a mountain pass region in China between modern Henan and Shaanxi)"
        Shandong - "east of the mountains (Taihang Mountains)"
        Shanxi - "west of the mountains (Taihang Mountains)"
        Sichuan - literally "four-rivers", after the four circuits (provinces) in the region during the Song Dynasty. Before then, the region simply had the name Chuan ("rivers") for its many rivers
        Tianjin - "river ford of the emperor (literally 'sky')"
        Xi'an - 'peaceful west'
        Xizang (Tibet) - either "Zang of the west" or "western Zang"; Zang (the Tibetan nationality) comes from Tsang, a name for central-southern Tibet
        Xinjiang - "new frontier"
        Yunnan - "south of the clouds, or Yunling ("mountains of the clouds")"
        Zhejiang - old name of the Qiantang River
        
        Republic of China (Taiwan)
        The Republic of China governed all the territory of China from 1911 to 1949, and retreated to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war (1927 - 1949). The list below includes only the subnational entities under the effective control of the Republic of China.
        Hsinchu: "new bamboo" in Mandarin, named after a bamboo fortress
        Hualien: "lotus flower" in Mandarin
        Kaohsiung: "bamboo forest" in a Formosan language
        Miaoli: "plain" in a Formosan language, originally sounds like "pali" (貓裡)
        Penghu: "clashing-wave lakes" in Mandarin
        Tainan: "southern Taiwan" in Mandarin
        Taipei: "northern Taiwan" in Mandarin
        Taitung County: "eastern Taiwan" in Mandarin
        Taoyuan: "peach orchard" in Mandarin
        
        Denmark
        
        Bornholm: the Old Norse version of the name, Burgundarholm, suggests connections with the Burgundians, who traditionally originated in Scandinavia
        Copenhagen (Danish: KÃ¸benhavn) - a corruption of the original designation for the city, KÃ¸bmandshavn, or "Merchants' Harbour" in Danish. It comes to English via the German Kopenhagen.
        Faroe Islands (Danish: FÃ¦rÃ¸erne, Faroese: FÃ¸royar) - literally, "Sheep Islands", from their dense population of sheep
        Greenland (Danish: GrÃ¸nland): from Old Norse Grœnland, literally, "green land"; so named by Erik the Red to induce settlement there. Greenlandic-speakers use the name Kalaallit Nunaat, meaning "Land of the Greenlanders"
        Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: JÃ¼tland) - name associated with the Jutes
        Zealand (Danish: SjÃ¦lland) - literally "seal-land", from the seals found on the coasts of the island
        
        Finland
        
        Helsinki: from Old Norse Helsingfors (Helsing, a local tribe, plus fors meaning "waterfall")
        Ostrobothnia (or in Swedish: Ã–sterbotten) - "Eastern Bothnia"
        
        France
        Note that most modern French dÃ©partements take their names from local geographical features: usually rivers, occasionally mountain ranges or coasts. Thus most such names have a self-evident immediate origin: even non-speakers of French can deduce them with a minimum of geographical knowledge. The traditional provinces and regions (of any period) often bear names with more obscure and superficially richer histories.
        Alsace - from Latin Alisatia, a Latinised form of the Germanic name that also yields Old High German El-sasz, allegedly meaning "foreign settlement"
        Artois - from Latin Atrebatensis, adjectival form derived the Belgic tribe Atrebates; the name of its main city Arras (Atrecht in Dutch) derives directly from the tribe's name Atrebates, so Artois properly means "territory of Arras"
        Brittany (Bretagne) - area occupied by refugee Britons from Roman Britain (Britannia) circa 500 AD
        Burgundy (Bourgogne) - part of the land settled by the East Germanic Burgundians, who possibly originated on the island now known as Bornholm
        Champagne - from the Latin campania (plain, open country, battlefield)
        Corsica (Corse) - possibly from the Phoenician Korsai, which means something like "forest-covered"
        DauphinÃ© - from the nickname and coat of arms of former ruler Guy VIII of Vienne: "dolphin"
        Franche-ComtÃ© - in French, literally the "Free County" of Burgundy (as opposed to the Duchy of Burgundy)
        Gascony (Gascogne) - from the Duchy of Vasconia (also Wasconia), itself derived from the ancient tribe of the Vascones. In Latin and Romance languages in medieval times, Vascones came to apply to all the Basque-speaking peoples.
        Languedoc - the region speaking the langue d'oc (as opposed to the regions whose language (langue d'oÃ¯l) developed into modern French)
        Limousin - from an adjective referring to the local centre, Limoges
        Lorraine - from the Mediaeval Latin coining Lotharingia, meaning the lands granted as a kingdom in 855 AD to Lothair, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I
        Normandy (Normandie) - land settled by Viking Northmen in the early 10th century
        Basque Country (French: Pays Basque, Basque: Euskal Herria) - derived from the ancient tribe of the Vascones via the medieval Duchy of Vasconia and a County of Vasconia, split from it. The Basque name derives from Euskara (the autochthonous name of the Basque language).
        Labourd(Lapurdi): from the Roman city of Lapurdum (modern Bayonne).
        Lower Navarre (French: Basse Navarre, Basque: Nafarroa Behera, Benafarroa). From the medieval Kingdom of Navarre, itself of disputed etymology (either Basque nabar: "brownish, multicolor", also "ploughshare"; or Romance nava: "river bank").
        Soule: deformation of the original Basque name Zuberoa or Xiberue
        Provence - from Latin provincia (province), short for Provincia Narbonensis, the Roman province located in present-day southern France.
        Savoy - of unknown origin, but dating to the days of the Kingdom of Burgundy
        
        Germany
        
        BundeslÃ¤nder (States)
        
        Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg: formed by combining the names of the former states of Baden and of WÃ¼rttemberg.
        Baden: after the city of Baden-Baden, formerly Baden, the name became reduplicated to distinguish it from the state (as in "Baden in Baden"). The name means "baths", after the springs in the city.
        WÃ¼rttemberg: after WÃ¼rttemberg Castle, which stood on the WÃ¼rttemberg, a hill in Stuttgart, formerly Wirtemberg, further origin uncertain (-berg means "mountain")
        Bavaria (German Bayern): the state of Bavaria developed out of the tribe of the Baiuvarii, who probably gained their name from the land of Bohemia
        Brandenburg: after the city of Brandenburg. The earlier Slavic name of the castle (Burg) of Brandenburg appears as Branibor ("Branim's forest")
        Hamburg: from the 9th-century name Hammaburg, where Hamma has multiple conflicting interpretations, but burg means "castle".
        Hesse: after the tribe of the Chatti
        Lower Saxony (German Niedersachsen): after the tribe of the Saxons. "Lower Saxony" became differentiated in modern times from the state of Saxony to its southeast. The word "lower" reflects Lower Saxony's location in the lowlands of the North German Plain, as opposed to Saxony, which has a higher elevation
        Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern): formed geographically by joining Mecklenburg with the western part of Pomerania, also called Hither Pomerania.
        Mecklenburg takes its name from Mecklenburg Castle in Dorf Mecklenburg, Nordwestmecklenburg District (Burg means "castle" in German, the first part means "big": compare Middle Low German mekel, cognate with English mickle — "big castle").
        Pomerania (German Pommern) comes from Slavic roots meaning "near the ocean"
        North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) — geographically formed by joining the northern part of the Rhineland (after the River Rhine) with Westphalia.
        Westphalia formed the westernmost subdivision of the Saxon tribe; the origin of the second part (-falen in German) remains unknown
        Rhineland-Palatinate (German Rheinland-Pfalz): formed geographically by joining parts of the Rhineland (after the River Rhine) with the Rhenish Palatinate, formerly a palatine county located near the Rhine, meaning that its count administered a palace of the Holy Roman Emperor. The word derives from Latin palatinus "imperial", from palatium "palace", after the location of the palace of the Roman Emperor Augustus on the Palatine Hill in Rome
        the Saarland - after the Saar River
        Saxony (German Sachsen): land of the Saxons (possibly the "sword-folk"). The state of Saxony developed out of the Saxon tribe, which principally inhabited present-day Lower Saxony; during the Middle Ages and early modern times, the name migrated to the current location of the state of Saxony
        Saxony-Anhalt (German, Sachsen-Anhalt): formed geographically by joining the Prussian Province of Saxony (see above under Saxony) with Anhalt
        Anhalt takes its name from Anhalt Castle near Harzgerode; the origin of the name of the castle remains unknown
        Schleswig-Holstein: created by joining Schleswig and Holstein.
        Schleswig takes its name from the City of Schleswig, which in turn derives its name from the Schlei bay and the Low German word wig for "trading place".
        "Holstein" comes from a Saxon subtribe named, in Latin, Holcetae
        Thuringia (German ThÃ¼ringen) — after the tribe of the Thuringii
        
        Historic regions
        
        Franconia (German: Franken): from the traditional designation "Franks", referring especially to the Kingdom of the East Franks
        Oldenburg, first recorded in 1108 as the town of Aldenburg, subsequently also a county, duchy, grand duchy and republic
        Prussia (German: PreuÃŸen) — (at times historically connected with Germany or with parts thereof): from the people known as the Prussians, a grouping of western Balt peoples whose collective name (German: Prussen or anciently Pruzzen) may possibly derive from an Indo-European root meaning "swamp": see Prussian people
        Swabia (German: Schwaben or Schwabenland): after the tribe of the Suebi
        
        Greece
        
        Arcadia: from Arcas, the legendary eponymous leader of early Hellenic settlers
        Sparta: from Greek spartē, a cord or rope made from the shrub spartos, a type of broom
        Macedonia, from Greek mak- (long, tall) - 'highland'.
        
        India
        
        States
        The element Pradesh appears in the names of many Indian states. It means "land" or "province" in Sanskrit.
        Andhra Pradesh: land of the Andhras. Andhra also denotes "south" in Sanskrit - the equivalent of Australis in Latin. (An early Indian people also bore the name Andhra: see Satavahana.)
        Arunachal Pradesh: in Sanskrit, aruna means "dawn-lit" and achal "mountains"
        Assam: from Kamarupa in Sanskrit; or from Ahom, a name given to the ruling Shan people by the inhabitants of the former kingdom of Kamarupa, and later assimilated in the Sanskrit form Asama, meaning "unequalled, peerless or uneven", referring to the undulating nature of the land.
        Bihar: from vihara ("Buddhist monastery"). Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as military cantonments; the word Bihar may have come from the large number of viharas thus employed in the area that later became Bihar.
        Chhattisgarh: "thirty-six forts". Originally many-towns land of Dasarana (ten cities), which over time changed to Dahala and, after the Muslim conquest as the region atrophied with no connections to the rest of India, reverted to forest and to tribal ways. The name Chhattisgarh preserves the memory of the many cities. The ruling Haihay clans and their 36 forts preserved the independence of the region against foreign invaders.
        Gujarat: land of the "Gurjars", a Kshatriya tribe or warrior-class. The Gurjaras, later immigrants, had Vaishaya and Sudra tribes only (no Kshatriyas). The book History of Paramaras by Pratipala Bhatiya mentions that after the Hunas and Gurjaras merged into the melting-pot of India, the Hunas acted as the Kshhatriya tribe of the Gurjara nation. The ruling clan of Prtaiharas claimed descent from Lakshaman, brother of Rama.
        Haryana: the name Hari refers to the Hindu deity Vishnu. The term "Hara" refers to the Hindu deity Shiva. The land also gave shelter to wandering tribes of Ahir and Hunas. Haryana to this extent thus means "Land of God" or "Land of Ahirs and Hunas".
        Himachal Pradesh: in Sanskrit, hima means "snow" and achal "mountain" (referring to the Himalayas). Multiple synonyms exist: Himanchal, Himachal, Himalaya, Himaratta and Himapradesh.
        Karnataka: from Karu + Naad = Karnaad, which means "lofty + land". "Karnatik", also spelt "Carnatic", the adjectival form of "Karnaad", means "of Karnaad". The term "Carnatic Music" also shares this etymology. Two other (probably erroneous) proposed etymologies suggest:
        "Karnaad" as from "Kari + Naad", "kari" in Sanskrit meaning "elephant"; hence: "Land of Elephants". (Note: kara in Sanskrit means "tax".)
        Even more unlikely: "Karnaad" as "Kara + Naad", from "Kaaraa", the Turkic/Mongol/Urdu/Hindi and Sanskrit word for "black", hence "Black Land". Champions of this etymology believe it refers to the black cotton soil of central Maharashtra, which however quickly turns red as one moves southward.
        
        These latter two etymologies also share a common flaw in that they combine the Dravidian word "Naad" for "country" with Hindi "Kaaraa" or Sanskrit "Kari".
        
        Kerala: The etymology of Kerala occasions much dispute and remains a matter of conjecture. It may derive from Sanskrit keralam, meaning "the land added on", with reference to its mythical and geographical origins. Another prevailing theory postulates an imperfect Malayalam portmanteau that fuses kera ("coconut palm tree") and alam ("land" or "location" or "abode of" ). Natives of Kerala — Keralites — thus refer to their land as Keralam. Other theories derive the name from the phrase chera alam ("land of the Chera").
        Madhya Pradesh: "Middle Province". At the time of the setting up of the state, Nehru commented that no state in India had a name directly associated with India. Accordingly, the local people rejected the proposed name (Mahakosala) and selected the word Madhya or "Central India" for the area.
        Maharashtra: "Great State". Maha means "great" or "big" (compare Latin and English 'major') and rashtra means "nation" or "state". (The name actually appears in a reduced form: it derives from the conquerors of the land, called Rathis (Charioteers) or later Maharathis (Great Charioteers). The land takes its name from them. Compare Marathi people#Etymology.)
        Manipur: "Jeweled land"
        Punjab: Persian for panj plus ab, "five rivers" — though the land has seven rivers and ancient Persians called it Hapta Hindu or "Seven rivers". The etymology remains doubtful. Persian uses the word hindu for "river" — ab comes from the Persian cognate of the Sanskrit Ap, meaning "waters".
        Rajasthan: Raja's land (-sthan) - Land of Kings
        Tamil Nadu: Tamil country (Nadu in the Tamil language means "country" or "homeland")
        Uttar Pradesh: in Sanskrit, uttar means "north", pradesh means "province". (At the time of independence, Dr. Sampurnand suggested the name Aryavrata; another proposal favored Antarvedi (between the rivers). But Nehru wanted a name which preserved the initials "U P" from the earlier name "United Provinces of Agra and Awadh". Various suggestions emerged, like Urvara Pradesh or Uddichya Pradesh, but later another Nehru prefernce: for names associated with the name of the nation, led to the adoption of Uttara or "North India".)
        West Bengal: the word Bengal derives ultimately from Sanskrit Banga, an area that currently falls largely in Bangladesh and eastern India. Persian, Hindi, and Bengali derived BangÃ¢lah, BangÃ¢l and BÃ¢nglÃ¢, respectively, from the Sanskrit original. The British anglicised these words into Bengal, and this name came to denote the entire linguistic region. - The term West Bengal originated after the partition of Bengal province in 1905, when the administration set up the two separate provinces of West and East Bengal. The latter, after a period as East Pakistan (1955 - 1971), became the present country of Bangladesh. (The leaders of Bihar (Dr. Srikrishan Sinha), of Bengal (Dr. B C Roy), of UP (Dr. Sampurnanand), of Orissa (Dr. Mahtab) and of MP (Dr. Mishra) each gave a honorary pledge to Nehru not to change the names of their states (as others did) after Independence. West Bengal changed its name after 52 years, while Bihar, UP, Orissa and MP have kept the names Nehru liked.
        
        Union Territories
        
        Andaman Islands: From the name of the Hindu God Hanuman (Hanumant)
        Chandigarh: "Chandi's fort". No actual fort ever existed; a large Chandi temple "protected" the locals, hence the name. The goddess Chandi appears as a form of the goddess Kali or of Parvati.
        Delhi: according to one theory: city of the Goddess Dhilika. The area had seven temples of Yoginis or Goddesses in the area, the highest dedicated to the Goddess Dhillika. Compare Dhillika.
        Lakshadweep: "Hundred Thousand Islands". In Sanskrit, laksha means "a hundred thousand" and dweep means "island".
        Puducherry: Pudu + cheri, from the Tamil words for "new" and "settlement" or "camp". Formerly a French colony: Pondicherry.^[19]
        Indonesia
        
        Bandung: from the word bandungan (dam)
        Bekasi: from the word bagasasi meaning "harmonious Baga River"
        Jakarta: from Jayakarta, "City of Victory"
        Jayapura: jaya means "glory" and pura means "city"
        Sumatra: from Ibn Battuta's pronunciation of the name of the Samudra Kingdom
        Surabaya: sura means "shark" and baya means "crocodile". The name came from myths or legends of a battle between Sura and Baya in the Surabaya River.
        
        Iran (Persia)
        
        Lorestan: land of the Lurs
        Mazendran: land of Mazda Indra or the god Indra.
        
        Italy
        
        Campania: from the Latin campania (countryside, plain, battlefield). Compare Champagne in France.
        Friuli: from the Latin Forum Julii (The market of Julius), which at the beginning referred only to the city of Cividale, founded by Julius Caesar and then extended to the whole region
        Latium (in modern Italian: Lazio): land of the early Italic inhabitants known as Latins, in their turn popularly associated with the mythological King Latinus [in turn, "Latins" (in Latin, Latīnī) — as well as the name of King Latīnus (simply the singular of the same name) — clearly derived their names from Latium by means of the ethnic suffix -īnus, with the obvious meaning of "inhabitant(s) of Latium", which makes this etymology ridiculously circular, but let that serve as a warning to the reader as to the quality of this and other etymologies on this page]. Ovid hints at perhaps a slightly more sophisticated folk etymology, with a legend of the naming of Latium after Saturn latente deo (as a god in hiding) after he allegedly fled to Italy following his expulsion by Jupiter. - Modern linguists postulate origins in a Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) root *stela- (to spread, extend), expressing the idea of "flat land" (in contrast to the local Sabine high country). But the name may originate from an earlier, non Indo-European one. See the Online Etymological Dictionary.
        Lombardy: from the Germanic tribe of the Lombards (literally "long-beards" or "long-bearded axe people", or, according to another theory, "long-halberds"), who invaded Italy in the 6th century. Note: After the Lombard invasion, the name "Longobardia" or "Langobardia" applied to the whole of Italy for about two centuries, throughout Europe and also in Arabic (al-Ankubardiya). The name Italia did not return into wide use until the late 8th century
        Marche: literally. "marches", "borderlands". In the Middle Ages the region lay on the boundaries between imperial lands and the more independent areas of southern Italy. The March of Ancona became the best known of such marches
        Sardinia: speculatively linked with the Shardana people and/or with Sardis
        Sicily: island settled by the Sicels
        
        Korea
        
        Chungcheong - from the first characters in the city names Chungju and Cheongju.
        Gangwon (South Korea) /Kangwŏn (North Korea) - from the first characters in the city names Gangneung and Wonju.
        Gyeonggi - the Chinese characters for the name mean "area around the capital", referring to the location of the province around Seoul, South Korea
        Gyeongsang - from the first characters in the city names Gyeongju and Sangju.
        Hamgyŏng - from the first characters in the city names Hamju and Kyŏngsŏng (?).
        Hwanghae - from the first characters in the city names Hwangju and Haeju.
        Jeolla - from the first characters in the city names Jeonju and Naju (The first character of Naju is actually "ra"—"r" changes to "n" in the initial position, and the combination "nr" changes to "ll" due to phonological characteristics of the Korean language).
        P'yŏngan - from the first characters in the city names P'yŏngyang and Anju.
        
        Malaysia
        
        Alor Star - alor in Malay means "furrow", while star refers to a kind of tree (Bouea macrophylla) that bears small, sour fruit known as kundang or remia in Malay
        Cyberjaya - Malay: "cyber excellence", a reference to the city's designation as the "Silicon Valley of Malaysia"
        Ipoh - named after the ipoh tree whose poisonous sap the Orang Asli used to coat their blowpipe darts with
        Johor - from Arabic jauhar, or "precious stones"
        Kangar - named for the Malay 'kangkok', a kind of hawk (Spizaetus Limnaetu)
        Kelantan - said to be a corruption of gelam hutan, the Malay name for the Melaleuca leucadendron tree, also possibly derived from kilatan ("lightning")
        Klang - possibly from Mon-Khmer klong or Malay kilang ("warehouse")
        Kota Bharu - Malay: "new town/fort"
        Kuala Lumpur - Malay: "muddy confluence", a reference to the founding of the city at the confluence of Gombak River and Klang River
        Kuching - Malay: "cat", but probably a corruption of the Indian cochin ("port") or a reference to the that used to proliferate where the city grew subsequently
        Labuan - derived from the Malay labuhan ("anchorage")
        Langkawi - Malay for "eagle island", but possibly related to Langkasuka, an ancient Hindu kingdom founded in Kedah in the 1st century CE
        Malacca - named by the founder of Malacca, Parameswara, after the Melaka tree under which he sheltered
        Negeri Sembilan - Malay: "nine states", a reference to the nine original districts (or nagari) settled by the Minangkabau
        Penang - named after the Pinang tree
        Perak - Malay: "silver", from the silvery colour of tin for which the area became famous; or possibly from the "glimmer of fish in the water"
        Putrajaya - Malay: "princely excellence", named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra and possibly a reference to the planned city's status as the new administration centre for the Federal Government
        Selangor - possibly from the Malay selangau ("fly") due to the abundance of flies along the Selangor River
        Sungai Petani - literally "farmer river" in Malay, said to originate from the concentration of paddy-fields and farmers in the state
        Taiping - Chinese: "great peace"
        
        Mexico
        
        See Mexican state name etymologies
        
        Netherlands
        
        Provinces
        
        Drenthe (Nedersaksisch: Drentie):
        Flevoland:
        Friesland (Frisian: FryslÃ¢n):
        Gelderland (also English: Guelders):
        Groningen (Gronings: GrÃ¶nnen or Grunnen):
        Limburg:
        North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant):
        North Holland (Dutch: Noord-Holland): Germanic "holt (i.e. wooded) land" (often incorrectly regarded as meaning "hollow [i.e. marsh] land")
        Overijssel:
        South Holland (Dutch: Zuid-Holland): Germanic "holt (i.e. wooded) land" (often incorrectly regarded as meaning "hollow [i.e. marsh] land")
        Utrecht:
        Zeeland (also English: Zealand):
        
        Other names
        
        Alkmaar: from Aelcemaer, meaning 'lake of auks', due to the fact that lakes formerly surrounded the core of Alkmaar - all of them now drained and thus turned into dry land
        Amsterdam: from Amstelredam, which means "dam over the Amstel" (the river Amstel flows through present-day Amsterdam)
        Batavia (Germanic): "arable land" (derived from the regional name "Betuwe", as opposed to the other regional name "Veluwe" meaning "fallow" or "waste" land)
        Holland (part of the Netherlands; but the term often refers to the country as a whole): Germanic "holt (i.e. wooded) land" (often incorrectly regarded as meaning "hollow [i.e. marsh] land")
        Rotterdam: meaning 'dam over the Rotte' (the river Rotte flows through present-day Rotterdam)
        
        New Zealand
        See also List of New Zealand place names and their meanings.
        Provinces
        
        Auckland: in honour of George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, a patron of William Hobson, who founded and named the city of Auckland. The Earl took his sobriquet from Auckland in Durham, United Kingdom, possibly deriving from the Celtic Alclet or Aclet, or "Cliffs of the Clyde". Although nowhere near the River Clyde, the locality may have had connections with the Celtic kingdom of Strathclyde; it may have borrowed the name of the Clyde for aesthetic or prestige reasons, as Alclet's river - the Gaunless - means "useless" in Old Norse; or a nearby river may have had the name "Clyde" — history does not record the name of the river Gaunless before the Norse named it
        Hawke's Bay: in honour of Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke of Towton
        Marlborough: to commemorate John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
        Nelson: in honour of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (the Admiral)
        Otago: anglicised from the Māori name Otakou, a kainga east of present-day Otago Harbour, originally meaning "one isolated village" or "place of red earth"
        Wellington: in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
        
        Other categories
        
        Levin: from a director of the railway company that created the town to help boost its railway
        Plimmerton: from John Plimmer, Wellington pioneer, director of the railway company that created the seaside resort to help boost its railway; central Wellington has Plimmer's Steps.
        Tasman: district named from the bay name, in honour of Dutchman Abel Tasman, commander of first European expedition to sight the country; also a mountain and glacier name. Abel Tasman National Park bears a fuller version of his name.
        Waikato: Named after the Waikato River. The hydronym means "flowing water" in Māori.
        
        Pakistan
        
        Provinces
        
        Afghania (North-West Frontier Province) - from the native Pashto language for "valley of the Afghans"
        Balochistan - Land of the indigenous Balochi people of the Makran that straddles south-east Iran and south-west Pakistan
        Punjab - from the Persian for "Land of Five Rivers" in Central Pakistan
        Sindh - from "Sindhu," the Sanskrit name for the Indus River
        
        Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir
        
        Azad Kashmir — Azad: Urdu, "Free"; "Kashmir" either:
        from the Koshur (Native Kashmiri) for "mountain tribes people" in north-east Pakistan; or
        from Sanskrit KaSyapa-mIra, land of the Kasyapa^[20], although some regard this as a folk etymology.^[21]
        Papua New Guinea
        
        New Britain - in honour of Great Britain. Originally named by William Dampier in the Latin form Nova Britannia; called Neu-Pommern (New Pomerania) during the period of German colonization until the conquest of the area by Australia in 1914
        
        Poland
        
        Greater Poland - from the tribe of Polans or from the word "pole" (field) meaning "country of fields" - "Greater" distinguishes it from the whole Polish state
        Kuyavia - "covered by sand dunes"
        Lesser Poland - in contrast with Greater Poland
        Lubusz Land - from the town of Lubusz
        Masovia - "boggy"
        Masuria - from the Masovians, who settled Masuria
        Podlachia, "by Lachs" , i.e., "by Poles"
        Polesie - "covered by forests"
        Pomerania - "along the sea"
        Silesia - from the holy Silesian mountain of Ślęża
        Subcarpathia - "at the foot of the Carpathians"
        Warmia - from the Old Prussian tribe of Varms
        
        Portugal
        
        Alentejo: meaning "beyond the Tejo (the Tagus river)"
        Algarve: meaning "country to the west" (of the Guadiana River), from the Arab "Al-Gharb"
        Azores: from AÃ§ores (pl.), after the "AÃ§or", a type of bird
        Beira: quite literally, the "edge" (during the early phase of Portugal's history, Beira formed a borderland)
        Madeira: "wood"
        
        Romania
        See: Etymological list of counties of Romania
        Bessarabia - from Basarab I, Wallachian king who led some expeditions in this land
        Bukovina - (in German: "Buchenland") = "beech land"
        Dobrogea - "good land"
        Haţeg - "Terra Herzog" = Duke's land
        Muntenia - from muntean = man of the mountains, from Romanian munte=mountain
        Oltenia - from the river Olt, called Alutus by the Romans, possibly from Latin lutum, meaning "mud" or "clay".
        Transylvania - "beyond the woods"
        Ardeal - probably a borrowing of the Hungarian name ErdÃ©ly, like the Romani name Ardyalo — speakers of old Hungarian pronounced ErdÃ©ly as ErdÃ©l. The initial Hungarian "e-" occasionally changes to "a-" in Romanian (compare Hungarian egres "gooseberry" and Egyed, which became agriş and Adjud in Romanian). An alternative explanation extracts the meaning "wooden hill": arde expresses an Indo-European root meaning "forest", the same as in English Forest of Arden and Belgian Ardennes Woods; deal means "hill" in Romanian.
        Wallachia - "land of the foreigners"
        
        Russia
        
        Amur River: Amur comes from the Tungus amor for "great or big river".
        Arkhangelsk Oblast: the region of the city of Arkhangelsk, whose name the inhabitants traditionally associated with a monastery in the area dedicated to the Archangel Michael (Russian: Архангел Михаил or Arkhangel Mikhail).
        Grozny or Groznyy: Russian for "threatening" or "terrible" or "dread" or "severe"
        Kaliningrad Oblast: from the Russian name Kaliningrad ("Kalinin-city) of its largest city, re-named in 1946 to commemnorate Mikhail Kalinin
        Kazan (historic name of a region): from the name of its capptal city, Kazan
        Khabarovsk Krai: the Khabarovsk region. The city of Khabarovsk took its name from the explorer Yerofey Khabarov
        Leningrad Oblast: from the city (Saint Petersburg formerly known as Leningrad (Russian for Lenin-city)
        Novaya Zemlya: Russian for "new land"
        Novgorod: from Russian roots meaning "new city"
        Novosibirsk: roughly means "new Siberian city"
        Sakhalin: derived from misinterpretation of a Manchu name "sahaliyan ula angga hada" (peak of the mouth of Amur River). "Sahaliyan" means "black" in Manchu and refers to the Amur River (sahaliyan ula).
        Siberia: from a Tatar word meaning "sleeping land"
        Smolensk: from the river Smolnya
        Vladikavkaz: Russian for "ruler of the Caucasus" or "rule the Caucasus"
        Vladivostok: Russian for "ruler of the East" or "rule the East"
        Volgograd: Russian for "city of the Volga" or "Volga city"
        
        Spain
        
        Andalusia: from the Arabic name (Al-Andalus, with several suggested etymologies) formerly applied to the whole Iberian Peninsula
        Aragon: from the Aragon River, that gave its name to the county of Aragon, one of the little Christian polities that resisted Islamic rule in Spain during its greatest extent (see Reconquista)
        Asturias: the land of the Astures, an early people of north-west Spain
        Basque Country (Basque: Euskal Herria: from the ancient tribe of the Vascones, whose name became an ethnonym in the Middle Ages. The Basque name derives from Euskara (the autochthonous name for the Basque language).
        Ãlava (Basque: Araba]]: of uncertain etymology. Various theories see it deriving from a Roman town called Alba, from several prossible Basque etymologies and even from Arabs (who, however, never occupied the province for long). A chronicle of 905 uses the form Arba, but later the word commonly appears as Alaba or Alava.
        Biscay (Basque: Bizkaia]]: variant of bizkarra ("shoulder", "back" or, in this case, "mountain range" in Basque)
        Guipuscoa (Basque: Gipuzkoa]]: of unknown etymology. Old documents sometimes use the variant Ipuscoa.
        Cantabria: from the Cantabri, a mountain people defeated by the Romans only after a great military effort (Cantabrian Wars, 29 - 19 BC). Celtologists have suggested a derivation from the Celtic root cant-, meaning "rock" or "stone", and from the suffix -abr, used frequently in Celtic regions. From this we can deduce that the word "cantabrus" means "dwelling in the mountains", referring to the rugged terrain of Cantabria. Another suggestion derives Cantabria from the Celtic Kant ("mountain" or "rock") and Iber (the river Ebro), thus "The Mountains of the Ebro". Spaniards also call this region La MontaÃ±a ("The Mountain"), but usually call the Bay of Biscay the Cantabrian Sea.
        Catalonia: from the castlÃ ("castellan") class who governed the nascent feudal Catalonia from their castles in the 11th and 12th centuries. (Compare the etymology of "Castile".)
        Extremadura: from Medieval Latin Extrema Dorii (literally, "extremes of the Douro river"), referring to the territories south of the Douro basin; or from an Old Castilian word used to designate the further territories controlled by the Christians (see Reconquista)
        Galicia: from Latin Gallaecia, the name of the province created in Roman Hispania by Diocletian in 298 CE. It derives from gallicoi or callicoi, (Galli or Celts).
        LeÃ³n: the ancient kingdom and subsequent province of LeÃ³n take their name from the city of LeÃ³n, whose name derives from its position as the base of a Roman legion (Latin legio)
        Navarre (Spanish: Navarra, Basque: Nafarroa): from the Kingdom of Navarre. Navarra has been argued to have either a Basque or Romance etymology. In the first case it would come from nabar ("brownish, multicolor", also "plowshare"), in the second from nava ("river bank").
        
        Switzerland
        
        Aargau: German name labelling the district (Gau) of the River Aar.
        Basel: traditionally associated with the Greek basileus ("king") or basileos ("of the king"): the city saw itself as preserving the Imperial Roman heritage of its parent settlement, the Roman town of Augusta Raurica. Note the use of the basilisk as a Basler icon.
        Berne: German BÃ¤r[e]n (bears): reflected in the capital city's bear-pits, foundation-legend and coat-of-arms
        GraubÃ¼nden: (the German name literally means "grey leagues") — from the Grey League, a grey-clad organisation started in 1395.
        NeuchÃ¢tel: French for "new castle"; Neuenburg in German
        St Gallen: from Saint Gall (c. 550 - c. 646), traditionally the Irish founder/namesake of the Abbey of St. Gall which came to dominate the area.
        Ticino: from the principal river of the canton, the Ticino, a tributary of the Po.
        
        Taiwan
        
        See Republic of China (Taiwan)
        
        Thailand
        
        Ban Dongphayom from ban (Thai for "village") + dong (Thai for "forest") + phayom (Thai for a type of hardwood of the genus Shorea) = "Hardwood Forest Village"
        Ban Grong Greng from ban (Thai for "village") + Grong Greng (named for Wat Grong Greng or Grong Greng Temple; the Thai word grong onomatopoeically names a "gong"; greng in Thai means "dread") = "Village of the Dreaded Gong"
        Ban Sam Ruen from ban (Thai for "village") + sam (Thai for "three") + ruen (Thai for "dwelling") = "Village of Three Dwellings"
        Bang Khratum from bang (Thai for "settlement") + khratum (Thai for the bur-flower tree or Anthocephalus Chinensis) = "Bur-Flower Tree Settlement"
        Nakhon Pa Mak from nakhon (Thai for "town") + pa (Thai for "forest") + mak (Thai for the betel palm) = "Betel Palm Forest Township"
        Phitsanulok from Phitsanu (a cognate of Vishnu) + lok (Thai for "globe") = "Vishnu's Heaven"
        
        Ukraine
        Most of Ukraine's oblasts take their names from their principal city; but Volyn Oblast, Zakarpattia Oblast, and the Crimean Autonomous Republic offer exceptions to this rule. See also subdivisions of Ukraine.
        Cherkasy Oblast: from the city Cherkasy
        Chernihiv Oblast: from the city Chernihiv
        Chernivtsi Oblast: from the city Chernivtsi
        Crimea: from the Crimean Tatar name: Qırım
        Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: from the city Dnipropetrovsk (re-named in 1926 after Dnipro ("Dnieper river") and the Soviet Bolshevik leader Grigory Ivanovich Petrovsky)
        Donetsk Oblast: from the city Donetsk, after the Donets river. Donetsk forms a diminutive and tributary of the Don.
        Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast: from the city Ivano-Frankivsk, named after the famous Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko (1856 - 1916) in 1962
        Kharkiv Oblast: from the city Kharkiv
        Kherson Oblast: from the city Kherson
        Khmelnytskyi Oblast: from the city Khmelnytskyi, named in 1954 on the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Andrusovo, after Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky
        City of Kiev: ancient name (Ukrainian: Kyiv). Myth/legend tells of a founder named Kyi
        Kiev Oblast: from the city Kiev
        Kirovohrad Oblast: from the city Kirovohrad ("Kirov City"), after Sergey Kirov (named Kirovo in 1934, Kirovograd in 1939)
        Luhansk Oblast: from the city Luhansk
        Lviv Oblast: from the city of Lviv, founded 1256 by King Danylo of Halych, and named after his son Lev Danylovich
        Mykolaiv Oblast: from the city Mykolaiv, after the day of Saint Nicholas (Ukrainian Mykolai, Russian Nikolai), December 19, 1788, commemorating the fall of the Turkish fortress of Ochakiv to the Russians
        Odessa Oblast: after the city Odessa in 1795; etymology unknown, but see Odessa: "History" for some possibilities
        Poltava Oblast: from Ltava, an ancient name of the city Poltava
        Rivne Oblast: from the city Rivne
        City of Sevastopol: (1783) Greek "highly respectable city, august city"; see Sevastopol: "Etymology"
        Sumy Oblast: from the city Sumy
        Ternopil Oblast: from the city Ternopil
        Vinnytsya Oblast: from the city Vinnytsia
        Volyn Oblast: ancient name of the region of Volyn
        Zakarpattia Oblast: "beyond the Carpathian Mountains", Transcarpathia
        Zaporizhia Oblast: from the city Zaporizhia, in turn after region "beyond the rapids" (seventeenth century), downstream of the rapids of the River Dnieper
        Zhytomyr Oblast: from the city Zhytomyr (988), after Zhytomyr, prince of the Drevlians
        
        United Kingdom
        
        For etymologies of the names "England", "Scotland", "Northern Ireland" and "Wales", see List of country-name etymologies.
        See also:
        British toponymy
        List of generic forms in British place names
        Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom
        
        United States
        
        States
        
        List of U.S. state name etymologies
        
        Counties
        
        Lists of U.S. county name etymologies
        
        Notes
        
        1. ^
        "How Queensland Got Its Name" at [1]
        2. ^
        [2]
        3. ^
        [3]
        4. ^
        [4]
        5. ^
        [5]
        6. ^
        [6]
        7. ^
        [7]
        8. ^
        [8]
        9. ^
        [9]
        10. ^
        [10]
        11. ^
      [11]
      12. ^
    [12]
    13. ^ [13]
    14. ^ [14]][15]
    15. ^ [16]
    16. ^ [17]
    17. ^ [18]
    18. ^
  [19]
  19. ^
Reference: [20]
20. ^

Talageri, Shrikant. Chapter 4:"The Geography of the Rigveda". The Rigveda. A historical analysis. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan 2000. Retrieved 25 November 2006
21. ^ Witzel, Michael. "Have Words, Will Travel!" from "WESTWARD HO ! The Incredible Wanderlust of the Rgvedic Tribes Exposed by S. Talageri", ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF VEDIC STUDIES Vol. 7 (2001), issue 2 (March 31). Retrieved 25 November 2006.

List Of Subnational Name Etymologies

Australia

States

Territories

Mainland Territories

External Territories

Austria

BundeslÃ¤nder (States)

Belgium

Gewesten / RÃ©gions / Regionen (Regions)

Provincies / Provinces / Provinzen (Provinces)

Brazil

Canada

Provinces and territories

Regions

Czech Republic

China

People's Republic of China

省 Shěng (Provinces)

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

BundeslÃ¤nder (States)

Historic regions

Greece

India

States

Union Territories

Indonesia

Iran (Persia)

Italy

Korea

Malaysia

Mexico

Netherlands

Provinces

Other names

New Zealand

Provinces

Other categories

Pakistan

Provinces

Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir

Papua New Guinea

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Spain

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United States

States

Counties

Notes

See also

Events

Events

Events