List of country-name etymologies

{{Short description|None}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} This list covers English-language '''country names with their etymologies'''. Some of these include notes on indigenous names and their etymologies. Countries in ''italics'' are endonyms or no longer exist as sovereign political entities.

==A==

===Afghanistan=== {{Main|Name of Afghanistan}}From Classical Persian افغان (''afğān'', "Afghan"), from Bactrian αβαγανο (''abagano''), first attested in the fourth century AD, most likely a compound of ''*apāka-'' ("distant, faraway"), from Proto-Iranian ''*Hapá'', from Proto-Indo-Iranian ''*Hapá'' ("away"), from Proto-Indo-European ''*h₂epó'' + ''*-āna'' ("ethnic group"), from Proto-Indo-European ''*-nós'', thus: "people from a distant land".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cheung |first=Johnny |title=Cheung2017-On the Origin of the Terms "Afghan" & "Pashtun" (Again) - Gnoli Memorial Volume.pdf |url=https://www.academia.edu/32353626 |journal=Gnoli Memorial Volume}}</ref> Various scholars have proposed Sanskrit etymologies since the nineteenth century (especially prior to the 2007 publication of earlier Bactrian attestations for the word), but linguist Johnny Cheung notes that these are "extremely difficult to reconcile" with recent evidence pointing to a Bactrian source.

===Albania=== {{main|Names of the Albanians and Albania|Albania (toponym)}} :"Land of the Albanians", Latinized from Byzantine Greek ''Albanía'' (Αλβανία), land of the rebel ''Albanoi'' (Αλβανοι) mentioned in Michael Attaliates ''The History'' around AD 1080.<ref name="MAhist">Attaliates, Michael. ''History'', as cited in Elsei, Robert. ''The Albanian Lexicon of Dion Von Kirkman'', pp. 113–122.</ref> In her ''Alexiad'', Anna Comnena also mentions a settlement called Albanon or Arbanon.<ref>As cited in Wilkes, J.J. ''The Illyrians'', p. 279. Wiley-Blackwell, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-631-19807-9}}.</ref> Both may be survivals of the earlier Illyrian tribe, the ''Albani'' of the Albanopolis northeast of modern Durrës which appears in Ptolemy around AD 150.<ref>Madrugearu, A. & Gordon, M. ''The wars of the Balkan Peninsula'', p. 146. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.</ref><ref>{{Barrington Atlas|map=49}}</ref> The demonym has been supposed to ultimately originate from Latin {{wikt-lang|la|alba}} ("white"){{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} or from the proposed Proto-Indo-European *''alb'' ("hill") or *''alb-'' ("white").<ref name="OEtDalb">Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=albania&searchmode=none Albania]".</ref> ::'''''Arbëri''''', its medieval endonym: "Land of the Albanians" in Albanian, presumably from the same source as above by way of rhotacism. An ''Arbanitai'' were mentioned in Attaliates's ''History'' as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium, near modern Durrës.<ref name="MAhist"/> ::'''''Arnavutluk''''', its Ottoman Turkish name: "Land of the Albanians", a metathesis from Byzantine Greek ''Arbanitai'' and the Turkish locative suffix ''-lik'' or ''-luk''.<ref name="Akesh">{{cite journal|last=Akademia e Shkencave e RPSH. Instituti Gjuhësisë dhe i Letersisë|year=1982|journal=Studime Filologjike|location=Tirana|title=Studime filologjike|issue=36|page=44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbJiAAAAMAAJ&q=Arnaut+arvanit|language=sq}}</ref> ::'''''Shqipëri''''', its modern endonym: "Land of the Understanding", from the Albanian adverb ''shqip'', "understanding each other".<ref>Kristo Frasheri. ''History of Albania (A Brief Overview)''. Tirana, 1964.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mirror.undp.org/albania/download/pdf/albanian.pdf|title=The Albanian Language|last=Lloshi|first=Xhevat|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|access-date=9 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709114947/http://mirror.undp.org/albania/download/pdf/albanian.pdf|archive-date=9 July 2011}}</ref> A popular pseudoetymology ("Land of the Eagles") erroneously derives it instead from {{wikt-lang|sq|shqiponjë}} ("eagle").<ref name="OEtDalb"/>

===Algeria=== {{main|Etymology of Algeria|Etymology of Algiers}} :"Land of Algiers", a Latinization of French colonial name ''l'Algérie'' adopted in 1839.<ref>Scheiner, Virgile. "''Le pays occupé par les Français dans le nord de l'Afrique sera, à l'avenir, désigné sous le nom d'Algérie.''" 14 October 1839. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The city's name derives from French ''Alger'', itself from Catalan ''Aldjère'',<ref name="leschi">Leschi, Louis. ''Origins of Algiers''. 1941 - as cited in ''El Djezair Sheets''. July 1941 - as cited in "[http://alger-roi.fr/Alger/alger_son_histoire/textes/3_origines_alger_1941_feuillets.htm History of Algeria]". {{in lang|fr}}</ref> from the Ottoman Turkish ''Cezayir'' and Arabic ''al-Jazāʼir'' ({{lang|ar|الجزائر}}, "the Islands"). This was a truncated form of the city's older name, ''Jazā'ir Banī Māzġānna'' ({{lang|ar|جزائر بني مازغان}}, "Islands of the sons of Mazġannā"), which referred to four islands off the city's coast which were held by a local Sanhaja tribe.<ref>al-Idrisi.{{better source needed|date=July 2024}}</ref><ref>Yaqut al-Hamawi.{{better source needed|date=July 2024}}</ref> ::'''''Algiers'''''<ref>{{cite book|last=Pulleyn|first=William|title=The Etymological Compendium: Or, Portfolio of Origins and Inventions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jzc-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA5|year=1840|publisher=W. Tegg}}, p. 5.</ref> or '''''Algier''''',<ref>Walker, J. & C. "[http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~20951~530043:North-Africa-or-Barbary-II--Algier-?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No North-Africa or Barbary II. Algier.]" Baldwin & Cradock (London), 1834.</ref> former names: As above.

===Andorra=== :Etymology unknown. Andorra was established as part of Charlemagne's ''Marca Hispanica'' and its name may derive from Arabic ''ad-Darra'' ({{lang|ar|الدرا}}, "the Forest")<ref>{{cite book|title=Andorra, the Hidden Republic: Its Origin and Institutions, and the Record of a Journey Thither|year=1912|page=9|last=Gaston|first=L. L.|publisher=McBridge, Nast & Co|location=New York, USA}}</ref> or Navarro-Aragonese ''andurrial'' ("scrubland").<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Andorra Andorra]." Accessed 16 September 2011.</ref> One folk etymology holds that it derives from the Biblical Endor, a name bestowed by Louis le Debonnaire after defeating the Moors in the "wild valleys of Hell".<ref>{{cite book|title=Images of the Medieval Peasant|page=189|last=Freedman|first=Paul|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=CA, USA|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8047-3373-1}}</ref>

===Angola=== {{main|Etymology of Angola}} :"Land of Ndongo", from the Portuguese colonial name (''Reino de Angola''),<ref>Heywood, Linda M. & Thornton, John K. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=S42CypbRTlQC&pg=PA82 Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the foundation of the Americas, 1585–1660],'' p. 82. Cambridge University Press, 2007.</ref> which erroneously derived a toponym from the Mbundu title ''ngola a kiluanje'' ("conquering ''ngola''", a priestly title originally denoting a "chief smith",<ref>Fage, J.D. ''The Cambridge History of Africa,'' Vol. 3: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=V7qpKqM2Ji8C&pg=PA536 The Cambridge History of Africa: From c. 1050 to c. 1600].'' Cambridge University Press, 1977. {{ISBN|0-521-20981-1}}. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref><ref>Collins, Robert O. & Burns, James M. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PZcX2jQFTRcC&pg=PA153 A History of Sub-Saharan Africa]'', p. 153. Cambridge University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-521-86746-0}}. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> then eventually "king") held by Ndambi a Ngola ({{langx|pt|Dambi Angola}}) as lord of Ndongo, a state in the highlands between the Kwanza and Lukala Rivers.

===Antigua and Barbuda=== :'''Antigua''': "Ancient", corrected from earlier ''Antego'',<ref name="HistAnti">Oliver, Vere Langford. ''[https://archive.org/details/historyofislando01oliv The History of the Island of Antigua, One of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the First Settlement in 1635 to the Present Time]''. Mitchell and Hughes (London), 1894.</ref> a truncation of the Spanish ''Santa Maria la Antigua'',<ref>Murphy, A. Reg. ''Archaeology Antigua''. "[http://www.archaeologyantigua.org/background_timeline.htm Timeline] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904065919/http://www.archaeologyantigua.org/background_timeline.htm |date=4 September 2011 }}." Accessed 23 September 2011</ref> bestowed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus in honor of the Virgen de la Antigua ("Virgin of the Old Cathedral"<ref>Kessler, Herbert L. & Nirenberg, David. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-VIC1TWU5JgC&pg=PA270 Judaism and Christian Art: Aesthetic Anxieties from the Catacombs to Colonialism].'' University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref>), a revered mid-14th-century icon in the Chapel of La Antigua in Seville Cathedral.<ref>Wheatcroft, Geoffrey. "Oh, to Be in Antigua: This Caribbean Island Makes an Englishman Feel Right at Home." ''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. 274, October 1994.</ref> :'''Barbuda''': "Bearded" in Spanish, corrected from earlier ''Barbado'', ''Berbuda'', ''Barbouthos'', &c.<ref name="HistAnti"/><ref>Frank, Mackenzie. ''Barbudaful''. "[http://www.barbudaful.net/historical-notes.html Historical Notes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117232040/http://www.barbudaful.net/historical-notes.html |date=17 January 2014 }}". Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> This may derive from the appearance of the island's fig trees, or from the beards of the indigenous people.

===Argentina=== {{Main|Etymology of Argentina}} :The first description of the region by the word ''Argentina'' has been found on a Venetian map in 1536.<ref>The name ''Argentine'' (Spanish) [http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi99/libros-digitales/html/argentin.htm El nombre de Argentina] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175318/http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi99/libros-digitales/html/argentin.htm|date=3 March 2016}}</ref> The name "Argentina" comes from Italian. ''Argentina'' (masculine ''argentino'') means in Italian "(made) of silver, silver coloured", derived from the Latin "argentum" for silver. ''La Argentina'' ("the silvery"), a 17th-century truncation of ''Tierra Argentina'' ("Land beside the Silvery River", {{abbr|lit.|literally}} "Silvery Land"), named via {{wikt-lang|es|argento}} (either in Italian or poetic Spanish) in reference to the Río de la Plata, so called by Italian explorer Sebastian Cabot during his expedition there in the 1520s after acquiring some silver trinkets from the Guaraní along the Paraná near modern-day Asunción, Paraguay.<ref name="BritRdlP">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Río de la Plata|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463804/Rio-de-la-Plata|access-date=11 August 2010}}</ref>

===Armenia=== {{Main|Etymology of Armenia|Armenia (name)}} :Etymology unknown. Latinized from Greek ''Armenía'' ({{wikt-lang|grc|Ἀρμενία}}), "Land of the ''Armenioi''" ({{wikt-lang|el|Αρμένιοι}}) attested in the 5th century BC,<ref>Hecataeus of Miletus, as cited in {{Cite book |last =Chahin |first =Mark |title =The Kingdom of Armenia |publisher =Routledge |year =2001 |location =London |pages = fr. 203 |isbn =0-7007-1452-9 }}</ref> from Old Persian ''Armina'' (15px 15px 15px 15px 15px) attested in the late 6th century BC,<ref>Darius I the Great. Behistun Inscription. (Which also lists the Elamite name ''Harminuya''.</ref> of uncertain origin. :It may be a continuation of the Assyrian ''Armânum''<ref name="RiggJr">Rigg Jr., Horace A. "A Note on the Names ''Armânum'' and ''Urartu''", pp. 416{{spaced ndash}}418. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', Vol. 57, No. 4. December 1937.</ref> which was conquered by Naram-Sin in 2200 BC<ref>Babylonian copy of c. 2200 BC. URI 275, lines I.7 & 13, II.4, III.3 & 30.</ref> and has been identified with an Akkadian colony in the Diarbekr region.<ref name="RiggJr"/> The name has also been claimed as a variant of the ''Urmani'' or ''Urmenu'' appearing in an inscription of Menuas of Urartu,<ref>Kurkjian, Vahan. ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/4*.html History of Armenia]''.{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2010}} Michigan, 1968.</ref> as a proposed tribe of the Hayasa-Azzi known as the ''Armens'' ({{langx|hy|Արմեններ}}, ''Armenner'')<ref>Also ''Armans'' and ''Armani'' ({{langx|hy|Առամեններ}}, ''Aṙamenner''). Ishkhanyan, Rafael. ''Illustrated History of Armenia''.{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2010}} Yerevan, 1989.</ref><ref name="Bauer">Bauer, Elisabeth. ''Armenia: Past and Present'', p. 49. 1981</ref> or as a continuation of the Biblical ''Minni'' ({{langx|he|מנּי}})<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|51:27}}</ref> and Assyrian ''Minnai'',<ref>Orr, James. "[http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T6063 Minni]". ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia''. 1915. Retrieved 19 September 2011.</ref> corresponding to the Mannai. (Addition of the Sumerogram ḪAR would make this name equivalent to "the mountainous region of the Minni".<ref name="Names&Histories">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Isaac |url=https://archive.org/details/namesandtheirhi00taylgoog/mode/1up |title=Names and Their Histories; a Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature |publisher=Rivingtons |location=London |year=1898 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>Easton, M.G. "Minni". ''[http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/minni.html Illustrated Bible Dictionary]'', 3d Ed. Thomas Nelson, 1897. Retrieved 19 September 2011.</ref>) Diakonoff derived the name from a proposed Urartian and Aramaic amalgam ''*Armnaia'' ("inhabitant of Arme" or "Urme"),<ref>Diakonoff, I.M. ''[http://rbedrosian.com/Classic/ftdiak10.htm The Pre-History of the Armenian People]''. Retrieved 17 September 2011.</ref> a region held by Proto-Armenians in the Sason mountains.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} Ultimately, the name has been connected to the Proto-Indo-European root ''*ar-'' ("assemble", "create") also found in the word ''Ararat'', ''Aryan'', ''Arta'', &c.<ref>Gamkrelidze, Tamaz & Ivanov, Vyacheslav. "The Early History of Indo-European (aka Aryan) Languages".{{Page needed|date=September 2010}} ''Scientific American''. March 1990.</ref><ref>Mallory, James P. "Kuro-Araxes Culture". ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture''.{{Page needed|date=September 2010}} Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.</ref> :The Armenians traditionally traced the name to an eponymous ancestor Aram ({{langx|hy|{{wt|hy|Արամ}}}}),<ref>Moses of Chorene. ''[http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/khorenaci/index.html The History of Armenia],'' Book 1, Ch. 12. {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">Chamich, Michael. ''History of Armenia from B.C. 2247 to the Year of Christ 1780, or 1229 of the Armenian era'', p. 19. Bishop's College Press (Calcutta), 1827.</ref> sometimes equated with Arame, the earliest known king of Urartu.<ref>Ačaṙean, H. "Արամ". ''Hayocʿ Anjnanunneri Baṙaran'', 2d Ed. Yerevan State University (Yerevan), 1942–62. {{in lang|hy}}</ref> Strabo derived the etymology from an Armenius of Armenium, a city on Lake Boebeïs in Thessaly,<ref>Strabo. ''Geographica''. XI.iv.8.</ref> while Herodotus called them Phrygian colonists.<ref>Herodotus. VII.73.</ref> ::'''''Hayastan''''', the local endonym: Etymology unknown. The modern Armenian ''Hayastan'' ({{wt|hy|Հայաստան}}) derives from earlier Armenian ''Hayk'' ({{wikt-lang|xcl|Հայք}}) and Persian ''-stān'' ({{wikt-lang|fa|ستان}}). ''Hayk''' derives from Old Armenian ''Haykʿ'' ({{wikt-lang|hy|հայք}}), traditionally derived from a legendary patriarch named Hayk ({{lang|hy|Հայկ}}).<ref>Panossian, Razmik. ''The Armenians: From Kings And Priests to Merchants And Commissars,'' p. 106. Columbia University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-231-13926-7}}.</ref> Aram above was considered to be one of his descendants.

===Australia=== {{main|Name of Australia}} :"Southern Land" in Neo-Latin, adapted from the legendary pseudo-geographical ''Terra Australis Incognita'' ("Unknown Southern Land") dating back to the Roman era. First appearing as a corruption of the Spanish name for an island in Vanuatu in 1625,<ref>Purchas, Samuel. "[http://memory.loc.gov/service/rbc/rbdk/d0404/02951422.jpg A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt]", in ''Hakluytus Posthumus'', Vol. IV, pp. 1422–1432. 1625.</ref> "Australia" was slowly popularized following the advocacy of the British explorer Matthew Flinders in his 1814 description of his circumnavigation of the island.<ref name="Flind">Flinders, Matthew. ''[http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/encounter/collection/B12985211_259_3.htm A Voyage to Terra Australis] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111005442/http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/encounter/collection/B12985211_259_3.htm |date=11 November 2012 }}''. 1814.</ref> Lachlan Macquarie, a Governor of New South Wales, used the word in his dispatches to England and recommended it be formally adopted by the Colonial Office in 1817.<ref>As cited in Letter of 12 December 1817. ''Weekend Australian'', 30–31 December 2000, p. 16.</ref> The Admiralty agreed seven years later and the continent became officially known as Australia in 1824.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Department of Immigration and Citizenship|title=Life in Australia|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|year=2007|page=11|isbn=978-1-921446-30-6|url=http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/values/book/english/lia_english_part1.pdf|access-date=30 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017070336/http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/values/book/english/lia_english_part1.pdf|archive-date=17 October 2009}}</ref> In Flinders' book he published his rationale: ::"There is no probability, that any other detached body of land, of nearly equal extent, will ever be found in a more southern latitude; the name Terra Australis will, therefore, remain descriptive of the geographical importance of this country, and of its situation on the globe: it has antiquity to recommend it; and, having no reference to either of the two claiming nations, appears to be less objectionable than any other which could have been selected."<ref>Matthew Flinders, [http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/encounter/collection/B12985211_259_3.htm ''A voyage to Terra Australis'' (Introduction)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111005442/http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/encounter/collection/B12985211_259_3.htm |date=11 November 2012 }}. Retrieved 25 January 2013.</ref> ::(Antarctica, the hypothesized land for which the name ''Terra Australis'' originally referred to, was sighted in 1820, and not explored until decades after Flinders' book had popularized this shift of the name.) ::'''Oz''', a colloquial endonym: Likely a contraction from above. Folk etymology traces the name to the 1939 film, ''The Wizard of Oz'', but the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' records the first occurrence as "Oss" in 1908.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Oz".</ref> Frank Baum's original book predates this and may have inspired the name,<ref>Jacobson, H. ''In the Land of Oz''. Penguin, 1988. {{ISBN|0-14-010966-8}}.</ref> but it is also possible Baum himself was influenced by Australia in his development of Oz.<ref>Algeo, J. "Australia as the Land of Oz". ''American Speech'', Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 86–89. 1990.</ref> ::'''''Nova Hollandia''''', a former name: "New Holland" in Neo-Latin ({{langx|nl|Nieuw Holland}}), after the Dutch province, bestowed by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644. For the further etymology of Holland, see the Netherlands below.

===Austria=== {{main|Etymology of Austria|Name of Austria}} :"Eastern March", Latinized as early as 1147 from German ''Österreich'',<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Austria Austria]".</ref> from Old High German ''Ostarrîchi'' (996) or ''Osterrîche'' (998),<ref name="Austria">"[http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.o/o622377.htm Ostarrîchi]".</ref> from Medieval Latin ''Marchia Orientalis'', an eastern prefecture for the Duchy of Bavaria established in 976.

===Azerbaijan=== {{Main|Azerbaijan#Etymology}} :"Land of Atropates", an Achaemenid then Hellenistic-era king over a region in present-day Iranian Azarbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan, south of the modern state.<ref>{{Citation|title=Ancient Egypt's warfare: a survey of armed conflict in the chronology of ancient Egypt, 1600 BC-30 BC|last=Benson|first=Douglas S.|year=1995|publisher=D. S. Benson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMRyAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref>"Originally, Media Atropatene was the northern part of greater Media. To the north, it was separated from Armenia by the R. Araxes. To the east, it extended as far as the mountains along the Caspian Sea, and to the west as far as Lake Urmia (ancient Matiane Limne) and the mountains of present-day Kurdistan. The R. Amardos may have been the southern border." from Kroll, S.E. "Media Atropatene". 1994. in Talbert, J.A. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=x_FHmc_E2uQC Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World: Map-by-map Directory]''. Princeton University Press, 2000.</ref> "Azerbaijan" derives from Persian ''Āzarbāydjān'', from earlier ''Ādharbāyagān'' and ''Ādharbādhagān'', from Middle Persian ''Āturpātākān'', from Old Persian ''Atropatkan''. (The name is often derived from the Greek ''Atropatene'' ({{wikt-lang|grc|Ἀτροπατηνή}}),<ref>Strabo. ''Geographica''. XI.xiii.524{{spaced ndash}}526.</ref><ref>Pliny. VI.13.</ref> ''Atropátios Mēdía'' ({{lang|grc|Ἀτροπάτιος Μηδία}}),<ref>Strabo. ''Geographica''. XI.xiii.523{{spaced ndash}}529.</ref> or ''Tropatēnē'' ({{lang|grc|Τροπατηνή}}),<ref>Ptolemy. ''Geography''. VI.2.5.</ref> although these were exonyms and Atropatkan was never thoroughly Hellenized.) Atropatkan was a renaming of the Achaemenian XVIII Satrapy of Eastern Armenia, comprising Matiene and the surrounding Urartians and Saspirians,<ref>Herodotus. ''History''. III.94., as cited in Rennell, James. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Poc9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA366 The Geography System of Herodotus Examined and Explained, by a Comparison with Those of Other Ancient Authors, and with Modern Geography]'', Vol. 1. C.J.G. & F. Rivington, 1830. Retrieved 17 September 2011.</ref> upon Aturpat's declaration of independence from the Diadochi Seleucus following the death of Alexander the Great. Aturpat's own name (Old Persian: 15px 15px 15px 15px 15px 15px; {{langx|grc|Aτρoπάτης}}, {{transliteration|grc|Atropátēs}}) is the Old Persian for "protected by ''atar''", the holy fire of Zoroastrianism.<ref name="Mino11">Minorsky, V. "[http://www.encislam.brill.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_COM-0016 Ādharbaydjān (Azarbāydjān)]{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam.'' E.J. Brill (Leiden), 2007.</ref> ::'''''Albania''''', a former name: From the Latin {{wikt-lang|la|Albānia}}, from the Greek {{transliteration|grc|Albanía}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|Ἀλβανία}}),<ref>Strabo. ''Geographica''. XI.xiv.1</ref> related to the Old Armenian ''Ałuankʿ'' ({{wikt-lang|xcl|Աղուանք}}). The native Lezgic name(s) for the country is unknown,<ref name="Hewsen">Robert H. Hewsen. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians". in Samuelian, Thomas J. (Ed.) ''Classical Armenian Culture. Influences and Creativity'', pp. 27–40. Chicago: 1982.</ref> but Strabo reported its people to have 26 different languages and to have only been recently unified in his time. It is often referenced as "Caucasian Albania" in modern scholarship to distinguish it from the European country above. ::'''''Arran''''', a former name: From the Middle Persian ''Arran'', from Parthian ''Ardhan'', derived via rhotacism from earlier names as above.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

==B==

===Bahamas=== {{Further|The Bahamas#Etymology}} :"Large upper middle island", from the Lucayan name ''{{lang|tnq|Bahama}}'' used by the indigenous Taíno people for the island of Grand Bahama.<ref name="Ahrens">{{cite book |last1=Ahrens |first1=Wolfgang P. |editor1-last=Hough |editor1-first=Carole |editor2-last=Izdebska |editor2-first=Daria |title='Names and Their Environment': Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences: Glasgow, 25-29 August 2014, Volume 1: Keynote Lectures: Toponomastics I |date=2016 |publisher=University of Glasgow |isbn=978-0-85261-947-6 |page=47 |url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_576595_smxx.pdf |chapter=Naming the Bahamas Islands: History and Folk Etymology}}</ref><ref name="Granberry">{{cite book |last1=Granberry |first1=Julian |last2=Vescelius |first2=Gary |title=Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8173-1416-4 |page=85}}</ref> Tourist guides often state that the name comes from the Spanish ''{{lang|es|baja mar}}'' ('shallow sea'),{{r|Ahrens}} in reference to the reef-filled Bahama Banks.<ref name="Allsopp">{{cite book |editor1-last=Allsopp |editor1-first=Richard |title=Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage |date=2003 |publisher=University of the West Indies Press |location=Kingston, Jamaica |isbn=976-640-145-4 |page=70}}</ref>

===Bahrain=== {{main|Etymology of Bahrain}} :"The Two Seas" in Arabic ({{wikt-lang|ar|البحرين}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Baḥrayn}}). However, the question of which two seas were originally intended remains in dispute.<ref name="EoIBah"/> A popular folk etymology relates Bahrain to the "two seas" mentioned five times in the Quran. The passages, however, do not refer to the modern island but rather to the Saudi deserts opposite modern Bahrain.<ref name="EoIBah">''Encyclopedia of Islam,'' Vol. I. "Bahrayn", p. 941. E.J. Brill (Leiden), 1960.</ref> It is possible Bahrain (previously known as Awal) simply acquired its name when that region became known as al-Hasa, but today the name is generally taken to refer to the island itself. The two seas are then the bay east and west of the island,<ref>Room, Adrian. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C&pg=PA45 Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites]''. 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2248-7}}.</ref> the seas north and south of the island,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} or the salt water surrounding the island and the fresh water beneath it which appears in wells and also bubbling up at places in the middle of the gulf.<ref name="Faroughy">Faroughy, Abbas. ''The Bahrein Islands (750–1951): A Contribution to the Study of Power Politics in the Persian Gulf.'' Verry, Fisher & Co. (New York), 1951.</ref> An alternate theory offered by al-Ahsa was that the two seas were the Great Green Ocean and a peaceful lake on the mainland;{{Which|date=September 2011}} still another provided by al-Jawahari is that the original formal name ''Bahri'' (lit. "belonging to the sea") would have been misunderstood and so was opted against.<ref name="Faroughy"/>

===Bangladesh=== {{Main|Names of Bengal}} The etymology of ''Bangladesh'' (Country of Bengal) can be traced to the early 20th century, when Bengali patriotic songs, such as ''Namo Namo Namo Bangladesh Momo'' by Kazi Nazrul Islam and ''Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy'' by Rabindranath Tagore, used the term.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geetabitan.com/lyrics/A/aaji-bangladesher-hridoy.html |title=Notation of song aaji bangladesher hridoy |access-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904011316/http://www.geetabitan.com/lyrics/A/aaji-bangladesher-hridoy.html |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref> The term ''Bangladesh'' was often written as two words, ''Bangla Desh'', in the past. Starting in the 1950s, Bengali nationalists used the term in political rallies in East Pakistan.

The exact origin of the word ''Bangla'' is unknown, though it is believed to come from "Vanga", an ancient kingdom mentioned in world's largest Epic Mahabharat even Ramayan and geopolitical division on the Ganges delta in the Indian subcontinent. It was located in southern Bengal, with the core region including present-day southern West Bengal (India) and southwestern Bangladesh. The suffix ''"al"'' came to be added to it from the fact that the ancient rajas of this land raised mounds of earth 10 feet high and 20 in breadth in lowlands at the foot of the hills which were called "al". From this suffix added to the Bung, the name Bengal arose and gained currency".<ref>Land of Two Rivers, Nitish Sengupta</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Ain-i-Akbari|author=Abu'l-Fazl|title-link=Ain-i-Akbari|author-link=Abu'l-Fazl}}</ref> Support to this view is found in Ghulam Husain Salim's Riyaz-us-Salatin.<ref name="riaj">[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=07601010&ct=11 RIYAZU-S-SALĀTĪN: A History of Bengal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215055926/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=07601010&ct=11 |date=15 December 2014 }}, Ghulam Husain Salim, The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1902.</ref>

Other theories point to a Bronze Age proto-Dravidian tribe,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+bd0014%29|title=Bangladesh: early history, 1000 B.C.–A.D. 1202|date=September 1988|website=Bangladesh: A country study|publisher=Library of Congress|location=Washington, DC|access-date=1 December 2014|quote=Historians believe that Bengal, the area comprising present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, was settled in about 1000 B.C. by Dravidian-speaking peoples who were later known as the Bang. Their homeland bore various titles that reflected earlier tribal names, such as Vanga, Banga, Bangala, Bangal, and Bengal.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207010051/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bd0014%29|archive-date=7 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> the Austric word "Bonga" (Sun god),<ref name="auto4">{{cite book |last=SenGupta |first=Amitabh |date=2012 |title=Scroll Paintings of Bengal: Art in the Village |publisher=AuthorHouse UK |page=14 |isbn=978-1-4678-9663-4}}</ref> and the Iron Age Vanga Kingdom.<ref name="auto4"/> The Indo-Aryan suffix ''Desh'' is derived from the Sanskrit word ''deśha'', which means "land" or "country". Hence, the name ''Bangladesh'' means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal".<ref name="auto3"/>Sanskrit language influenced the name of Bangladesh. The term Vanga was used in the Sanskrit texts.

The term ''Bangla'' denotes both the Bengal region and the Bengali language. The earliest known usage of the term is the Nesari plate in 805 AD. The term ''Vangaladesa'' is found in 11th-century South Indian records.<ref name="auto3">{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=1999 |orig-date=First published 1988 |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA281 |publisher=New Age International |page=281 |isbn=978-81-224-1198-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Keay |first=John |author-link=John Keay |year=2000 |title=India: A History |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/220 220] |isbn=978-0-87113-800-2 |quote=In C1020 ... launched Rajendra's great northern escapade ... peoples he defeated have been tentatively identified ... 'Vangala-desa where the rain water never stopped' sounds like a fair description of Bengal in the monsoon. |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/220 }}</ref> The term gained official status during the Sultanate of Bengal in the 14th century.<ref name="Ahmed2004">{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Salahuddin |date=2004 |title=Bangladesh: Past and Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA23 |publisher=APH Publishing |page=23 |isbn=978-81-7648-469-5 |access-date=14 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223012150/https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA23 |archive-date=23 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"But the most important development of this period was that the country for the first time received a name, ie Bangalah." [http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam,_Bengal Banglapedia: Islam, Bengal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723091245/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam,_Bengal |date=23 July 2015 }}</ref> Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah proclaimed himself as the first "Shah of Bangala" in 1342.<ref name="Ahmed2004"/> The word ''Bangla'' became the most common name for the region during the Islamic period. The Portuguese referred to the region as ''Bengala'' in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sircar |first=D.C. |date=1990 |title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |page=135 |isbn=978-81-208-0690-0 |access-date=19 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610203345/https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC |archive-date=10 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Barbados=== {{main|Etymology of Barbados}} :"Bearded ones", from the Portuguese ''As Barbadas'',<ref name="OxJurn"/> corrected from earlier ''Barbata'', ''Barbuda'', ''S. Barduda'', ''Barbadoes'', &c.<ref name="OxJurn">Reece, Robert. Oxford Journals: ''Notes and queries''. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=PeCIn2CrgYEC&pg=PA346 Barbados v. Barbadoes]". Oxford University Press, 1861. Retrieved 27 September 2011.</ref> First attested by a 1519 map done by the Genoese cartographer Visconte Maggiolo.<ref>Maggiolo, Vesconte. [http://bsb-mdz12-spiegel.bsb.lrz.de/~mdz/index.html?c=autoren_index&l=en&ab=Maggiolo%2C+Vesconte Seeatlas (Alte Welt und Terra Nova)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328064057/http://bsb-mdz12-spiegel.bsb.lrz.de/~mdz/index.html?c=autoren_index&l=en&ab=Maggiolo,+Vesconte |date=28 March 2012 }} – BSB Cod.icon. 135. (Genoa), 1519. {{in lang|de}}</ref> As with Barbuda, the name may derive from the appearance of the island's fig trees or from the beards of the indigenous people. (Isaac Taylor was of the opinion that Barbuda was named for its men, Barbados for its figs.<ref name="Names&Histories"/>)

===Belarus=== {{main|Etymology of Belarus}} :"White Russia", a compound of the Belarusian ''bel-'' ({{wt|ru|бел}}-, "white") and ''Rus'' ({{wt|ru|Русь}}, ''Rus''') adopted in 1991. The meaning is "Russian" in the cultural and historic ({{langx|orv|{{wt|orv|рускъ}}}}, ''ruskʺ''; Old Belarusian: {{lang|orv|руски}}, ''ruski''; {{langx|ru|{{wt|ru|русский}}}}, ''russkiy'') but ''not'' national sense ({{langx|ru|{{wt|ru|россиянин}}}}, ''rossiyánin''), a distinction sometimes made by translating the name as "White Ruthenia", although "Ruthenian" has other meanings as well. The name is first attested in the 13th century as German ''Weissrussland'' and Latin ''Russia Alba'', first in reference to Russia's White and then Black Sea coasts.<ref name="Biely">Белы, А. ''Хроніка "Белай Русі": нарыс гісторыі адной геаграфічнай назвы''. Энцыклапедыкс (Мінск), 2000. {{ISBN|985-6599-12-1}}. {{in lang|ru}} as cited in Biely, Ales. "[http://www.pravapis.org/art_white_russia.asp Why is the Russia White?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120913051151/http://www.pravapis.org/art_white_russia.asp |date=13 September 2012 }}". Retrieved 28 September 2011.</ref> The exonym was next applied to Great Novgorod and then Muscovy after its conquest of that region, finally being applied to its present region in the late 16th century to describe ethnically Russian regions being conquered from Poland.<ref name="Biely"/> This last change was politically motivated, with Russia employing the foreign term to justify its revanchism at Poland's expense.<ref name="Biely"/> The original meaning of "white" in Belarus's name is unknown. It may simply have arisen from confusion with legends concerning Caucasian Albania<ref name="Biely"/> or from a use of colors to distinguish cardinal directions as seen in "Red Russia".<ref>Fletcher, Giles. Correspondence. 1588, as cited in Biely, Ales. "[http://www.pravapis.org/art_white_russia.asp Why is the Russia White?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120913051151/http://www.pravapis.org/art_white_russia.asp |date=13 September 2012 }}". Retrieved 28 September 2011.</ref> Other theories include its use to distinguish Belarus as "free" or "pure", particularly of Mongolian control, or to distinguish the region from "Black Russia", a region of productive soil.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} For the further etymology of ''Rus'', see Russia below. ::'''''Belorussia''''' or '''''Byelorussia''''', a former name: "White Russia" in Russian ({{wikt-lang|ru|Белоруссия}}, ''Belorussiya''), truncated from the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic ({{wikt-lang|ru|Белору́сская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика}}, ''Belorússkaya Sovétskaya Sotsalistícheskaya Respúblika'') declared in 1919. ::'''''White Russia''''', a former name: a translation of the above.

===Belgium=== {{main|Etymology of Belgae|Belgium (terminology)}} :"Land of the Belgae", from the Roman province of ''Gallia Belgica'' ("Belgic Gaul") derived from the Latinized name of a Celtic tribe. The present Kingdom of Belgium adopted the name upon its independence from the Netherlands in 1830 based on the French-language name of Henri Van der Noot's brief-lived United States of Belgium ({{lang|fr|États-Belgiques-Unis}}) which had declared its independence from Austria in 1790. The tribe's exact endonym remains unknown, but the name ''Belgae'' is usually traced to the proposed Proto-Celtic root ''*belg-'' from the Proto-Indo-European ''*bhelgh-'', both meaning "to bulge" or "to swell" (particularly with anger) and cognate with the Old English ''belgan'', "to be angry".<ref>''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'', Vol. 44, Is. 1, pp. 67–69. 1991. ISSN (Online) 1865-889X, (Print) 0084-5302.</ref><ref>Koch, John. ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia'', p. 198. ABC-CLIO 2006.</ref><ref>Pokorny, Julius. ''Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch'', pp. 125–126. Bern-Muenchen-Francke, 1959. {{in lang|de}}</ref><ref>Pokorny, Julius. ''The Pre-Celtic Inhabitants of Ireland'', p. 231. Celtic, DIAS, 1960.</ref><ref>Maier, Bernhard. ''Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture'', p. 272. Boydell & Brewer, 1997.</ref> An alternate etymology takes it from a proposed Proto-Indo-European root meaning "dazzling" or "bright"<ref>Pokorny, Julius. ''Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch'', p. 118. 1959. {{ISBN|3-7720-0947-6}}. {{in lang|de}}</ref>

===Belize=== {{main|Etymology of Belize}} :Etymology unknown. Traditionally derived from a Spanish transcription of "Wallace", a Scottish buccaneer who established an eponymous settlement (on Spanish maps, ''Valize'' and ''Balize''<ref name="Names&Histories"/>) along the Belize River (which he also named after himself) in the early 17th century.<ref name="brit1893">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1892|title=British Honduras|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |volume=12|location=New York|publisher=The Britannica Publishing Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGRJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA133|access-date=25 October 2010}}</ref> Alternatively taken from the Mayan word ''beliz'' ("muddy water"),<ref>Wright, Ronald. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=F3QS1NJHJEMC&pg=PA24 Time among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico]''. Grove Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8021-3728-8}}. Retrieved 28 September 2011.</ref> presumably in reference to the river, or from Kongolese Africans who brought the name with them from Cabinda. Adopted in 1973 while still a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. :A previous folk etymology took it from the French {{wikt-lang|fr|balise}} ("beacon").<ref name="Names&Histories"/> ::'''''British Honduras''''', a former name: See Honduras and Great Britain below.

===Benin=== {{main|Etymology of Benin}} :"[Land beside] the Bight of Benin", the stretch of the Gulf of Guinea west of the Niger delta, a purposefully neutral name chosen to replace Dahomey (see below) in 1975. The Bight itself is named after a city and a kingdom in present-day Nigeria having no relation to the modern Benin. The English name comes from a Portuguese transcription (''Benin'') of a local corruption (''Bini'') of the Itsekiri form (''Ubinu'') of the Yoruba ''Ile-Ibinu'' ("Home of Vexation"), a name bestowed on the Edo capital by the irate Ife oba Oranyan in the 12th century.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} :An alternate theory derives ''Bini'' from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|bani}} ({{lang|ar|بني}}, "sons" or "tribe").{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} ::''Dahomey'' or '''''Dahomy''''', a former name: "Belly of Dã" in Fon (''Dã Homè''),<ref name="Names&Histories"/> from the palace of the ahosu Akaba, traditionally built over the entrails of a local ruler.<ref>Maire, Victor-Louis. ''Dahomey : Abomey, décembre 1893 – Hyères, décembre 1903''. "[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103695v/f17.image.r=agonglo.langFR Oueckbadia (1650–1680)]", p. 19. A. Cariage (Besançon), 1905. Retrieved 28 September 2011. {{in lang|fr}})</ref> In Fon, the name "Dã" or "Dan" can also mean "snake" or the snake-god Damballa. Upon the restoration of independence, the name was deemed no longer appropriate since the historic kingdom comprised only the southern regions and ethnicities of the modern state. ::''Abomey'', a former name: "Ramparts" in Fon (''Agbomè''), from the palace of the ahosu Houegbadja.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===Bhutan=== {{multiple image | footer = Two of Rennell's EIC maps, showing the division of "Thibet or Bootan" into separate regions. | image1 = 1777 Rennell - Dury Wall Map of Delhi and Agra, India - Geographicus - DelhiAgrah-dury-1777.jpg | alt1 = Near Delhi, Tibet appears as "Thibet or Bootan" | caption1 = 1777 | width1 = 200 | image2 = 1786 - A map of Bengal, Bahar, Oude & Allahabad - James Rennell - William Faden.jpg | alt2 = "Thibet" with its interior and "Bootan" clearly separated | caption2 = 1786 | width2 = 300 }} {{main|Etymology of Bhutan}} :Etymology unknown. Names similar to Bhutan{{mdash}}including ''Bottanthis'', ''Bottan'', ''Bottanter''{{mdash}}began to appear in Europe around the 1580s. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's 1676 ''Six Voyages'' is the first to record the name ''Boutan''. However, in every case, these seem to have been describing not modern Bhutan but the Kingdom of Tibet.<ref name="Kuensel"/> The modern distinction between the two did not begin until well into George Bogle's 1774 expedition{{mdash}}realizing the differences between the two regions, cultures, and states, his final report to the East India Company formally proposed labeling the Druk Desi's kingdom as "Boutan" and the Panchen Lama's as "Tibet". Subsequently, the EIC's surveyor general James Rennell first anglicized the French name as Bootan and then popularized the distinction between it and greater Tibet.<ref name="Kuensel">"[http://www.keystobhutan.com/bhutan/bhutan_history_europe.php History of Bhutan: How Europe heard about Bhutan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216090138/http://www.keystobhutan.com/bhutan/bhutan_history_europe.php |date=16 February 2012 }}". ''Kuensel''. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2011.</ref> The name is traditionally taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit ''Bhoṭa-anta'' ({{lang|sa|भोट-अन्त}}, "end of Tibet"), in reference to Bhutan's position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau and culture.<ref name="Names&Histories" /><ref name="chakravarti7">{{cite book|title=A Cultural History of Bhutan |volume=1 |first=Balaram |last=Chakravarti |publisher=Hilltop |year=1979 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VxuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> "Bhutan" may have been truncated from this or been taken from the Nepali name ''Bhutān'' (भूटान). It may also come from a truncation of ''Bodo Hathan'' ("Tibetan place").{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} All of these ultimately derive from the Tibetan endonym ''Bod''. An alternate theory derives it from the Sanskrit ''Bhu-Utthan'' ({{lang|sa|भू-उत्थान}}, "highlands").<ref name="chakravarti7"/> ::'''Druk Yul''', the local endonym: "Land of the Thunder Dragon" in Bhutanese (འབྲུག་ཡུལ་). Variations of this were known and used as early as 1730. The first time a Kingdom of Bhutan separate from Tibet did appear on a western map, it did so under its local name as "Broukpa".<ref name="Kuensel"/>

===Bolivia=== {{main|Etymology of Bolivia|Etymology of Bolívar}} :"Land of Bolívar" in Neo-Latin, in honor of Simón Bolívar, one of the leading generals in the Spanish American wars of independence. Bolívar had given his lieutenant Antonio José de Sucre the option to keep Upper Peru under Peru, to unite it with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, or to declare its independence. A national assembly opted for independence, then sought to placate Bolívar's doubts by naming Bolívar as the first president of a country named in his honor.<ref>''[http://www.historia-bolivia.com/6-de-Agosto-Independencia-de-Bolivia/6 6 de Agosto: Independencia de Bolivia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820091233/http://www.historia-bolivia.com/6-de-Agosto-Independencia-de-Bolivia/6 |date=20 August 2011 }}.'' {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref name="cob">Maria Luise Wagner. "Construction of Bolivia: Bolívar, Sucre, and Santa Cruz". In Hudson & Hanratty.</ref> The original name "Republic of Bolívar" was swiftly changed to Bolivia at the urging of the congressman Manuel Martín Cruz.<ref>"[http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2009/01/11/what-countries-are-named-after-individuals-or-families/ What countries are named after individuals or families?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719211218/http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2009/01/11/what-countries-are-named-after-individuals-or-families/ |date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> :Bolívar's own name derives from the village of Bolibar in Spanish Biscay. Its name comes from the Basque ''bolu'' ("windmill") and ''ibar'' ("valley").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euskaltzaindia.net/index.php?option=com_eoda&Itemid=478&lang=eu&testua=ziortza&view=izenak |title= Ziortza |author= Euskaltzaindia|access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref>

===Bosnia and Herzegovina=== {{main|Etymology of Bosnia and Herzegovina}} :Bosnia: "Land of the river Bosna" in Latin, first attested in the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII's 958 ''De Administrando Imperio''. (The 12th-century Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja also mentions an 8th-century source for the name which, however, has not survived.) "Bosna" was the medieval name of the classical Latin ''Bossina''.<ref name="Malcolm">Malcolm, Noel (1994). Bosnia A Short History. New York University Press. {{ISBN|0-8147-5520-8}}.</ref> Anton Mayer proposed a connection with the proposed Proto-Indo-European roots ''*bos'' or ''*bogh'' ("running water").<ref name="Imamovic">Imamović, Mustafa (1996). Historija Bošnjaka. Sarajevo: BZK Preporod. {{ISBN|9958-815-00-1}}</ref> Certain Roman sources{{Which|date=October 2011}} similarly mention ''Bathinus flumen'' as a name of the Illyrian ''Bosona'', both of which would mean "running water" as well.<ref name="Imamovic"/> Other theories involve the rare Latin ''Bosina'' ("boundary") or possible Slavic origins.<ref name="Imamovic"/> :Herzegovina: "Duchy" or "Dukedom", an amalgam of German ''Herzog'' ("duke") and the Bosnian {{wikt-lang|sh|-ina|-ovina}} ("-land"). The duke was Stjepan Vukčić, Grand Voivode of Bosnia, who proclaimed himself "Duke of Hum and the Coast"<ref name="vanAntwerp">{{cite book | last=Fine | first=John Van Antwerp | page=578 | title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest | year=1994 | publisher=University of Michigan Press | isbn=0-472-08260-4}}</ref> and then either proclaimed himself<ref name="vanAntwerp"/> or was bestowed the title{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} "Duke of Saint Sava of Serbia" by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III around 1448. The Ottoman sanjak formed in the area after its 1482 conquest was simply called ''Hersek'', but the longer Bosnian form was adopted by Austria and English.

===Botswana=== :"Country of the Tswana" in Setswana, after the country's dominant ethnic group. The etymology of "Tswana" is uncertain. Livingstone derived it from the Setswana ''tshwana'' ("alike", "equal"),<ref>Livingstone, pp. 200–201. 1857.</ref> others from a word for "free".<ref>Ripley, George & Dana, Charles A., Eds. "Bechuana". ''The American Cyclopædia''. (New York), 1879.</ref> However, other early sources suggest that while the Tswana adopted the name, it was an exonym they learned from the Germans and British.<ref>Willoughby, W.C. "[https://www.jstor.org/pss/2843071 Notes on the Totemism of the Becwana]". ''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 35, Jul – Dec Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1905.</ref> :*''Bechuanaland'', a former name: from "Bechuana", an alternate spelling of "Botswana".

===Brazil=== {{Main|Name of Brazil}} {{see also|list of Brazil state name etymologies}} :Brazilwood, from the Portuguese ''Terra do Brasil'', from the tree ''pau-brasil'' ("brazilwood", lit. "wood of ember", "wood in ember"),<ref name="Bueno36">Bueno, Eduardo. ''Brasil: uma História'', p. 36. Ática (São Paulo), 2003. {{ISBN|85-08-08213-4}}. {{in lang|pt}}</ref> a name derived from its similarity to red-hot embers ({{langx|pt|brasa}}).<ref name="CNRTL">Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales. "[http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/brésil Brésil]". {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="MDLP">"[http://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno/portugues/index.php?lingua=portugues-portugues&palavra=brasil Brasil]". ''Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa''. {{in lang|pt}}</ref><ref>[http://aulete.uol.com.br/site.php?mdl=aulete_digital&op=loadVerbete&pesquisa=1&palavra=brasil iDicionário Aulete] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229062555/http://aulete.uol.com.br/site.php?mdl=aulete_digital&op=loadVerbete&pesquisa=1&palavra=brasil |date=29 February 2012 }} {{in lang|pt}}</ref> The name may have been a translation of the Tupi ''ibirapitanga'', also meaning "red-wood".{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} The ending ''-il'' derives from the diminutive Latin suffix ''-ilus''.<ref name="CNRTL"/><ref name="MDLP"/> :The appearance of islands named "Bracile", "Hy-Brazil", or "Ilha da Brasil" on maps as early as the c. 1330 portolan chart of Angelino Dulcert<ref name="Bueno36"/> sometimes leads etymologists to question the standard etymology. While most of these islands of Brazil are found off the coast of Ireland and may be taken to stem from a Celtic rendering of the legendary Isle of the Blessed,<ref name="Bueno36"/> the 1351 Medici Atlas places one Brazil near Ireland and a second one off the Azores near Terceira Island. That use may derive from its four volcanoes or reference its dragon's blood, a red resin dye. Regardless, the initial names of present-day Brazil were ''Ilha de Vera Cruz'' ("Island of the True Cross") and then{{spaced ndash}}after it was discovered to be a new mainland{{spaced ndash}}''Terra de Santa Cruz'' ("Land of the Holy Cross"); this only changed after a Lisbon-based merchant consortium led by Fernão de Loronha leased the new colony for massive exploitation of the costly dyewood which had previously been available only from India. ::'''''Pindorama''''', a former name: "Land of the Palm Trees" in Guarani, the language of the Guarani people of Paraguay and southwest Brazil.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Britain=== :From the Latin name ''Britannia'' meaning ''Land of the Britons''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Britain - Etymology, Origin & Meaning of the Name |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Britain |access-date=2025-12-06 |website=etymonline |language=en-US}}</ref>.

===Brunei=== {{main|Etymology of Brunei}} * Full name of Brunei is Brunei Darussalam, Darussalam is in Arabic which mean the Abode of Peace. *:Etymology unknown. Modern folk etymology derives the name Brunei from a Malay exclamation ''Barunah!'' ("There!"), supposedly exclaimed by Awang Alak Betatar, the legendary 14th-century sultan, upon landing on Borneo or upon moving from Garang to the Brunei River delta.<ref>{{cite book|title=History for Brunei Darussalam: Sharing Our Past|year=2008|publisher=EPB Pan Pacific Curriculum Development Department|chapter=Section 2.2|isbn=978-99917-2-545-1|page=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/2007/03/08/treasuring-bruneis-past/ |title=Treasuring Brunei's past |publisher=Southeast Asian Archaeology |date=8 March 2007 |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> An earlier folk etymology traced it to his alleged membership in an Arabian tribe called the Buranun.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} Chinese sources recording a mission from the king of "Boni" ({{wikt-lang|zh|渤泥}}, ''Bóní'') as early as 978<ref>''Taiping Huanyuji'' (太平環宇記). {{in lang|zh}}</ref><ref name=jamilal-sufri>Jamil Al-Sufri. ''The Early History of Brunei up to 1432 AD''. Brunei History Centre (Bandar Seri Begawan), 2000.</ref> and a later "P'o-li" ({{wikt-lang|zh|婆利}}, ''Pólì'') seem to contradict these but may refer to Borneo as a whole.<ref name=jamilal-sufri/> It is mentioned in the 15th-century history of Java as a country conquered by Adaya Mingrat, general of Angka Wijaya,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Brunei}}</ref> and around 1550 by the Italian Ludovico di Varthema under the name "island of Bornei". Other derivations include an Indian word for "seafarers" (from {{langx|sa|वरुण}}, ''varunai''),<ref>"[http://www.brunei-online.com/weekend/news/mar3h36.htm Treasuring Brunei's Past]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}". ''Brunei Times'', 3 March 2007.</ref> another for "land" (from Sanskrit: ''bhumi''),<ref>Harper, Douglas. ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=borneo Borneo]". Retrieved 1 October 2011.</ref> or the Kelabit for the Limbang River.<ref>Maxwell, Allen R. "[http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Brunei-Darussalam.html Brunei-Darussalam]". Retrieved 1 October 2011.</ref> It is also said that the word 'Brunei' is said to have come from the Sanskrit word ''Bhūrṇi'' (भूर्णि) which means "land" or "earth" and Brunei could have been called ''Karpūradvīpa'' (कर्पूरद्वीप) which means "camphor island" as camphor was one export Brunei was well known for in ancient times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bt.com.bn/classification/life/2007/06/23/the_origins_of_the_name_brunei_darussalam|title=The origins of the name 'Brunei Darussalam'|website=The Brunei Times|access-date=2016-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091118/http://www.bt.com.bn/classification/life/2007/06/23/the_origins_of_the_name_brunei_darussalam|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

===Bulgaria=== {{main|Etymology of Bulgar}} :From the Bulgars, the extinct tribe of Turkic origin, which created the country. Their name is possibly derived from the Proto-Turkic word ''bulģha'' ("to mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative ''bulgak'' ("revolt", "disorder")<ref>Bowersock, Glen W. & al. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA354 Late Antiquity: a Guide to the Postclassical World]'', p. 354. Harvard University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0-674-51173-5}}.</ref> Alternate etymologies include derivation from a Mongolic cognate ''bulğarak'' ("to separate", "split off"){{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} or from a compound of proto-Turkic ''bel'' ("five") and ''gur'' ("arrow" in the sense of "tribe"), a proposed division within the Utigurs or Onogurs ("ten tribes").<ref>Karataty, Osman. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=h_Qu1ywX0-wC In Search of the Lost Tribe: the Origins and Making of the Croatian Nation]'', p. 28.</ref> :Within Bulgaria, some historians question the identification of the Bulgars as a Turkic tribe, citing certain linguistic evidence (such as Asparukh's name) in favor of a North Iranian or Pamiri origin.<ref>Dobrev, Petar. "Езикът на Аспаруховите и Куберовите българи". 1995. {{in lang|bg}}</ref><ref>Bakalov, Georgi. ''Малко известни факти от историята на древните българи''. [http://www.protobulgarians.com/Statii%20ot%20drugi%20avtori/Bakalov-1.htm Part 1] & [http://www.protobulgarians.com/Statii%20ot%20drugi%20avtori/Bakalov-2.htm Part 2]. {{in lang|bg}}</ref>

===Burkina Faso=== :"Land of Honest Men", from an amalgam of More ''burkina'' ("honest", "upright", or "incorruptible men") and Dioula ''faso'' ("homeland"; literally "father's house"), selected by President Thomas Sankara following his 1983 coup to replace Upper Volta. ::'''''Upper Volta''''', a former name: "Land of the Upper Volta River", whose main tributaries originate in the country. The Volta itself ({{langx|pt|"twist"}}, "turn") was named by Portuguese gold traders exploring the region.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Burma===  {{main|Etymology of Burma|Names of Burma}} : Named for the Burmans, the nation's largest ethnic group, a correction of 18th-century "Bermah" and "Birma", from Portuguese ''Birmania'', probably from ''Barma'' in various Indian languages, ultimately from Burmese ''Bama'' (ဗမာ|30px), a colloquial oral version of the literary ''Myanma'' (မြန်မာ|30px),<ref name="Ammon">{{cite book |title=Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society | last=Ammon | first=Ulrich | year=2004 | edition=2nd | volume=3/3 | isbn=3-11-018418-4 | publisher=Walter de Gruyter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA2012 | access-date=2 July 2008 | page=2012}}</ref> the eventual pronunciation of the Old Burmese ''Mranma'',<ref name=rlf-56>{{cite book | title=The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma | author=Thant Myint-U | year=2006 | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | isbn=978-0-374-16342-6 | page=56| author-link=Thant Myint-U }}</ref> first attested in an 1102 Mon inscription as ''Mirma'',<ref name=dgeh>{{cite book | title=Burma | last=Hall | first=DGE | chapter=Pre-Pagan Burma | year=1960 | edition=3 | page=13}}</ref> of uncertain etymology. It was not until the mid-19th century that King Mindon referred to his position as "king of the Myanma people",<ref name="thantmyintu2001">{{cite book | first=Thant | last=Myint-U | year=2001 | title=The Making of Modern Burma | isbn=0-521-79914-7 | publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press | location=Cambridge}}</ref> as it was only during the Konbaung Dynasty that Burmans fully displaced the Mon within the Irrawaddy valley. :The Indian name is alternatively derived from ''Brahmadesh'' ({{langx|sa|ब्रह्मादेश}}), "land of Brahma".{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} A folk etymology of ''Myanma'' derives it from ''myan'' ("fast") and ''mar'' ("tough", "strong").{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} ::Myanmar, the present endonym: As above. The terminal ''r'' included in the official English translation arose from the nation's status as a former British colony and reflects non-rhotic accents such as Oxford English.

===Burundi=== :"Land of the Ikirundi speakers" in Ikirundi, adopted upon independence from Belgian-occupied Rwanda-Urundi in 1962.<ref>Cook, C., ''What Happened Where'', p. 281.</ref>

==C==

===Cambodia=== {{main|Etymology of Cambodia|Name of Cambodia}} :"Land of the Kambojas". Latinized from French ''Cambodge'' via an intermediate Khmer form ''Kampuchea'', from Sanskrit ''Kambujadeśa'' ({{wikt-lang|sa|कम्बोजदेश}}). The AD 947 Baksei Chamkrong inscription explains (and probably invented) the Sanskrit name from ''Kambu'', a legendary Indian sage who journeyed to Indochina and married a naga princess named Mera, plus (''-ja'') meaning "descendants of".<ref>George Coedes. ''Inscriptions du Cambodge'', II, pp. 10 & 155. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In informal usage Cambodians refer to their country as Srok Khmer, "Land of the Khmers".

===Cameroon=== :"Shrimp", from the singular French ''Cameroun'' derived from the German ''Kamerun'', from the anglicized "Cameroons" derived from the Portuguese ''{{wikt-lang|pt|Rio de}}'' ''{{wikt-lang|pt|Camarões}}''<ref name="MLW"/> ("Shrimp River") bestowed in 1472 on account of a massive swarm of the Wouri River's ghost shrimp.<ref name="MLW">{{cite book |chapter-url=http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/lobsters.php?menuentry=soorten&id=73 |chapter=''Callianassa turnerana'' |title=FAO Species Catalogue, Vol. 13. Marine Lobsters of the World |author=Lipke B. Holthuis |author-link=Lipke Holthuis |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |year=1991 |isbn=92-5-103027-8 |series=FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724172129/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/lobsters.php?menuentry=soorten&id=73 |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref> ::''Kamerun'', a former name: The German name for their colony there between 1884 and the end of World War I, as above. Formerly also known simply as '''''German Cameroon'''''. ::''Cameroun'', a former name: The French name for their colony there between World War I and 1960, as above. Formerly also known simply as '''''French Cameroons'''''.

===Canada=== {{Main|Etymology of Canada|Name of Canada}} {{See also|List of Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies}} : A prominent theory is that the word Canada means "Village", from Iroquoian ''Kanada'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Origin of the Name, Canada|url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/o5-eng.cfm|publisher=Canadian Heritage|year=2008|access-date=23 May 2011|archive-date=27 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727225559/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/o5-eng.cfm}}</ref> adopted for the entire Canadian Confederation in 1867, from name of the British Province of Canada formed by the 1841 reunification of Upper and Lower Canada, previously established by a division of Quebec, the British renaming of the French territory of Canada. French Canada had received its name when its administrators adopted the name used by the explorer Jacques Cartier to refer to St. Lawrence River and the territory along it belonging to the Iroquoian chief Donnacona. In 1535, he had misunderstood the Laurentian ''Kanada'' as the name of Donnacona's capital Stadacona.<ref name="maura">{{cite journal|last=Maura|first=Juan Francisco|year=2009|title=Nuevas aportaciones al estudio de la toponimia ibérica en la América Septentrional en el siglo XVI|journal=Bulletin of Spanish Studies|volume=86|issue=5|pages=577–603|doi=10.1080/14753820902969345|s2cid=192056139|language=es}}</ref> :Another popular theory is that it folk etymology derived the name from Spanish or Portuguese ''acá'' or ''cá nada'' ("nothing here") in reference to the region's lack of gold or silver.<ref name=Hodgins>Hodgins, J. George. ''[https://archive.org/details/geographyandhis00hodggoog/page/n65  The Geography and History of British America, and of the Other Colonies of the Empire]'', p. 51. Maclear & Co. (Toronto), 1858.</ref><ref>Elliott, A. M. "Origin of the Name 'Canada'". ''Modern Language Notes'', Vol. 3, No. 6 (June 1888), pp. 164–173.</ref> ::'''''Quebec''''', a former name: "Where the river narrows", from Algonquin ''kébec'' via French, in reference to the St. Lawrence River near modern Quebec City. Samuel de Champlain chose the name in 1608 for the new town there,<ref>{{cite news| url = http://history.cbc.ca/history/?MIval=EpContent.html&series_id=1&episode_id=2&chapter_id=4&page_id=4&lang=E | title = Canada: A People's History – The birth of Quebec | publisher = Canadian Broadcast Corporation|year=2001 | access-date =26 August 2006}}</ref> which gave its name to a section of French Canada and then the British province of Quebec, which eventually became modern Canada and even briefly included the entire Ohio River valley between the enactment of the Quebec Act in 1774 and the surrender of the region to the United States in 1783. (Modern Quebec was formed from Canada East during the Canadian Confederation in 1867.)

===Cabo Verde=== :"Green Cape", from the Portuguese ''Cabo Verde'', from its position across from the mainland cape of that name since its discovery in 1444. The cape is located beside Gorée Island in the modern nation of Senegal and is now known by its French form "Cap-Vert". {{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

===Central African Republic=== :Self-descriptive, from its French name ''République centrafricaine''. For further etymology of "Africa", see List of continent-name etymologies. ::'''''Ubangi-Shari''''', a former name: From the French ''Oubangui-Chari'', from the Ubangi and the Chari Rivers, which ran through the territory.

===Chad=== :"Lake", from Lake Chad in the country's southwest, whose name derives from the Kanuri ''tsade'' ("lake").{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Chile=== {{main|Etymology of Chile}} :Etymology unknown. The name dates to the "men of Chilli",<ref name="hudson"/> the survivors of the first Spanish expedition into the region in 1535 under Diego de Almagro. Almagro applied the name to the Mapocho valley,<ref name="encina"/> but its further etymology is debated. The 17th-century Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales derived it from the Quechua ''Chili'', a toponym for the Aconcagua valley, which he considered a corruption of Tili, the name of a Picunche chief who ruled the area at the time of its conquest by the Inca.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chile.com/tpl/articulo/detalle/ver.tpl?cod_articulo=7225 |title=Chile.com.La Incógnita Sobre el Origen de la Palabra Chile |publisher=Chile.com |date=15 June 2000 |access-date=17 December 2009 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415204553/http://www.chile.com/tpl/articulo/detalle/ver.tpl?cod_articulo=7225 |archive-date=15 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459648/Picunche |title=Picunche (people) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=17 December 2009}}</ref> Modern theories derive it from the similarly named Incan settlement and valley of ''Chili'' in Peru's Casma Valley,<ref name="encina">{{Cite book|last1=Encina|first1=Francisco A.|first2=Leopoldo|last2=Castedo|title=Resumen de la Historia de Chile. 4th ed. Santiago|page=44|volume=I|publisher=Zig-Zag|year=1961|url=http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6293/chilenameuo6.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205171400/http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6293/chilenameuo6.jpg|archive-date=5 February 2009|language=es}}</ref> the Quechua ''chiri'' ("cold"),<ref name="1911britannica">"CHILE." Encyclopædia Britannica. 11th ed. 1911. ("derived, it is said, from the Quichua chiri, cold, or tchili, snow")</ref> the Aymara ''tchili'' ("snow"<ref name="1911britannica"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572974_4/Chile.html |title=Chile (república) |encyclopedia=Enciclopedia Microsoft Encarta Online |year=2005 |access-date=26 February 2005 |quote=The region was then known to its native population as Tchili, a Native American word meaning "snow." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510215421/http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572974_4/Chile.html |archive-date=10 May 2008 }} 31 October 2009.</ref> or "depths"<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Pearson|first=Neale J.|url=http://gme.grolier.com|title=Chile|encyclopedia=Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia|publisher=Scholastic Library Publishing|year=2004|access-date=2 March 2005|quote=Chile's name comes from an Indian word, Tchili, meaning "the deepest point of the Earth."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990210101840/http://www.gme.grolier.com/|archive-date=10 February 1999}}</ref>), the Mapuche ''chilli'' ("where the land ends" or "runs out"),<ref name="hudson">{{cite web|editor-last=Hudson|editor-first=Rex A.|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cltoc.html|title=Chile: A Country Study|work=GPO for the Library of Congress|year=1995|access-date=27 February 2005}}</ref> or the Mapuche ''cheele-cheele'' ("yellow-winged blackbird").<ref name="hudson"/><ref>{{cite book |first=Miguel |last=de Olivares y González SJ |contribution=Historia de la Compañía de Jesús en Chile |title=Colección de historiadores de Chile y documentos relativos a la historia nacional |year=1864 |orig-date=1736 |publisher=Imprenta del Ferrocarril |location=Santiago |volume=4 |language=es}}</ref> :A folk etymology attributes the name to chili peppers, sometimes via the Mexican Spanish ''chile'' ("chili"), but the two are almost certainly unrelated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Chile |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref>

===China=== {{main|Names of China}} {{hatnote|"China" is the conventional name for the People's Republic of China, even though the term was also used to refer to the Republic of China internationally in some contexts as late as the 1970s.}} :Derived from Middle Persian ''Chīnī'' {{Script|fa-Arab|{{wt|fa|چینی}}}}, derived from Sanskrit ''Cīnāh'' ({{wikt-lang|sa|चीन}}).<ref name="AmHerChin">''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''. "[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/China?qsrc=2888 China]". Houghton-Mifflin (Boston), 2000.</ref> Often said that the word "China" and its related terms are derived from the Qin state which existed on the furthest west of China proper since the 9th century BC, and which later unified China to form the Qin dynasty ({{wikt-lang|zh|秦}}, Old Chinese: ''*dzin'').<ref>{{cite journal |title= The Name China|author=Berthold Laufer|journal= T'oung Pao| volume= 13 |issue =1|pages= 719–726|year= 1912|doi= 10.1163/156853212X00377}}</ref><ref name="Wade">Wade, Geoff. "[http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China']", ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 188, May 2009. pp. 8-11</ref><ref name=yule>{{cite book |author=Yule, Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqgAb41ifIC&pg=PA2 |title=Cathay and the Way Thither | pages= 2–3 |isbn= 81-206-1966-8|year = 1913| publisher=Asian Educational Services }} "There are reasons however for believing the word {{font|text=China|font=Century Gothic}} was bestowed at a much earlier date, for it occurs in the Laws of Manu, which assert the ''Chinas'' to be degenerate Kshatriyas, and the Mahabharat, compositions many centuries older that imperial dynasty of {{font|text=Ts'in|font=Century Gothic}} ... And this name may have yet possibly been connected with the Ts'in, or some monarchy of the like title; for that Dynasty had reigned locally in Shen si from the ninth century before our era..."</ref> This is still the most commonly held theory, although many other suggestions have been mooted.<ref>{{cite book |author=Yule, Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqgAb41ifIC&pg=PA3 |title=Cathay and the Way Thither | pages= 3–7 |isbn= 81-206-1966-8|year = 1913| publisher=Asian Educational Services }}</ref><ref name="wade13">Wade, Geoff. "[http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China']", ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 188, May 2009. pp. 12–13.</ref> The existence of the word ''Cīna'' in ancient Hindu texts was noted by the Sanskrit scholar Hermann Jacobi who pointed out its use in the work ''Arthashastra'' with reference to silk and woven cloth produced by the country of ''Cīna''. The word is also found in other texts including the ''Mahābhārata'' and the ''Laws of Manu''.<ref name=wade>Wade, Geoff. "[http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China']". ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', No. 188, May 2009, p. 20.</ref> The Indologist Patrick Olivelle however argued that the word ''Cīnā'' may not have been known in India before the first century BC, nevertheless he agreed that it probably referred to Qin but thought that the word itself was derived from a Central Asian language.<ref name="Liu">Liu, Lydia He, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zxPpHkumqbEC&pg=PA78 The clash of empires]'', p. 77. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01995-9}}. "Scholars have dated the earliest mentions of ''Cīna'' to the ''Rāmāyana'' and the ''Mahābhārata'' and to other Sanskrit sources such as the Hindu Laws of Manu."</ref> Some Chinese and Indian scholars argued for the state of Jing (荆) as the likely origin of the name.<ref name="wade13"/> Another suggestion, made by Geoff Wade, is that the ''Cīnāh'' in Sanskrit texts refers to an ancient kingdom centered in present-day Guizhou, called Yelang, in the south Tibeto-Burman highlands.<ref name=wade /> The inhabitants referred to themselves as ''Zina'' according to Wade.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wade, Geoff |url=http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp188_yelang_china.pdf |title=The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China' |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers|volume = 188 |date= May 2009 |access-date= 4 October 2011}} "This thesis also helps explain the existence of Cīna in the Indic ''Laws of Manu'' and the ''Mahabharata'', likely dating well before Qin Shihuangdi."</ref> The word in Europe is first recorded in 1516 in the journal of Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1989), "China". {{ISBN|0-19-957315-8}}. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=edzW9fuOF-cC&q=%22Very+Great+Kingdom+of+China%22&pg=PA211 The Book of Duarte Barbosa]'' (chapter title "The Very Great Kingdom of China"). {{ISBN|81-206-0451-2}}. Portuguese original is [http://purl.pt/435/1/P221.html here]. ("O Grande Reino da China").</ref> The word is first recorded in English in a translation published in 1555.<ref>Eden, Richard, ''Decades of the New World'' (1555). "The great China whose kyng is thought‥the greatest prince in the world."</ref>

::'''Cathay''', a former & literary name: "Khitai", from Marco Polo's Italian ''Catai'', used for northern but not southern China, ultimately from the Khitan endonym ''Kitai Gur'' ("Kingdom of the Khitai"),<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.apu.ac.jp/~yoshim/part2-2.pdf |title= 契丹文dan gur與「東丹國」國號 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110927124339/http://www.apu.ac.jp/~yoshim/part2-2.pdf |archive-date= 27 September 2011 }} {{small|(731 KB)}}. {{in lang|ja}}</ref> possibly via Persian ''Khitan'' ({{wikt-lang|fa|ختن}}) or Chinese ''Qìdān'' ({{wikt-lang|zh|契丹}}). ::'''''Seres''''' and '''''Serica''''', former names: "Land of Silk" in Greek (Σηρες, ''Sēres'') and Latin, respectively. The further etymology is typically derived from the ''Chinese'' for silk ({{lang-zh|t={{wt|zh|絲}}|s={{wt|zh|丝}}|p=sī}}), but the modern correspondence belies the Old Chinese pronunciation ''*sə''.<ref name="Miyake">Marc Miyake. ''Amaravati: Abode of Amritas''. "[http://www.amritas.com/090207.htm#02042359 MAGNA SERICA EST ... ROMA?]". Retrieved 11 October 2011.</ref> ::'''''Zhongguo''''' or '''''Chung-kuo''''' ({{lang-zh|t={{wt|zh|中國}}|s={{wt|zh|中国}}|p=Zhōngguó}}), the most common endonym: originally meaning "Central Demesne", then "'''Middle Kingdom'''", now equivalent to "Central Nation". ::(For many other endonyms, see Names of China.)

===Colombia=== {{main|Etymology of Colombia}} :"Land of Columbus" in Spanish, adopted in 1863<ref>{{cite web|author=Carlos Restrepo Piedrahita|url=http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero1992/febrero2.htm|title=El nombre "Colombia", El único país que lleva el nombre del Descubrimiento|work=Revista Credencial|date=February 1992|access-date=29 February 2008|language=es|archive-date=5 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105031144/http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/febrero1992/febrero2.htm}}</ref> in honor of the earlier Gran Colombia formed by Simón Bolívar in 1819 after a proposal of Francisco de Miranda for a single pan–Hispanic American state. ::'''''Cundinamarca''''', a former name: "Condor's Nest" in Quechua<ref name="MakeColom"/> phono-semantically matched with the Spanish ''marca'' ("march"), adopted upon independence from Spain in 1810 on the erroneous<ref name="MakeColom">Bushnell, David. ''[https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernco00bush/page/93 The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself]''. Uni. of Calif. Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0-520-08289-3}}. Retrieved 10 October 2011.</ref> assumption it had been the indigenous Chibcha name for the native kingdom around Bogotá and the Magdalena Valley. ::'''''New Granada''''', a former name: Self-descriptive, from the earlier Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada, named after the region of Province of Granada in Spain. Adopted in 1835 following the secession of Venezuela and Ecuador from Gran Colombia. For further etymology of "Granada", see Grenada below. ::'''''Granadine Confederation''''', a former name: From the adjectival form of Granada ({{langx|es|Granadina}}).

===Comoros=== :"Moons", from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|Jazā'ir al-Qamar}} ({{lang|ar|جزر القمر}}, "Islands of the Moon").

===Republic of the Congo=== :"[Land beside] the Congo River", adopted by the country upon independence in 1960 from the previous French autonomous colony Republic of the Congo ({{langx|fr|République du Congo}}) established in 1958, ultimately from the name of the original French colony French Congo ({{lang|fr|Congo français}}) established in 1882. The river itself derived its name from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom which occupied its mouth around the time of its discovery by the Portuguese in 1483<ref>Gates, Louis & Appiah, Anthony. ''Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience'', p. 1105. 1999.</ref> or 1484<ref>Olson, James S. & Shadle, Robert. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&pg=PA225 Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism]'', p. 225. Greenwood Publishing Grp., 1991. {{ISBN|0-313-26257-8}}.</ref> and whose name derived from its people, the Bakongo, an endonym said to mean "hunters" ({{langx|kg|mukongo}}, ''nkongo'').<ref>Bentley, Wm. Holman. ''Pioneering on the Congo''. Fleming H. Revell Co., 1900.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Gill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCZt-beLHWMC&q=Bakongo+native+means+%22hunter%22 |title=Africa: Natural Spirit of the African Continent |date=2007 |publisher=Parragon |isbn=978-1-4054-8672-9 |language=en}}</ref> ::'''''French Congo''''', a former name: As above, with the inclusion of its occupier to distinguish it from the Belgian-controlled Congo to its south. For further etymology of "France", see below. ::'''''Middle Congo''''', a former name: From its position along the river, a translation of the French ''Moyen-Congo'', adopted as the colony's name between 1906 and 1958. ::'''Congo (Brazzaville)''': As above, with the inclusion of the country's capital to distinguish it from Congo (Léopoldville) or (Kinshasa) to its south. Brazzaville itself derives from the colony's founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzà, an Italian nobleman whose title referred to the town of Brazzacco, in the comune of Moruzzo, whose name derived from the Latin ''Brattius'' or ''Braccius'', both meaning "arm".<ref>Frau, Giovanni ''Dizionario Toponomastico Friuli-Venezia Giulia''. Istituto per l'Enciclopedia del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1978.</ref>

===Democratic Republic of the Congo=== : As above, adopted upon independence in 1960 as Republic of the Congo ({{langx|fr|République du Congo}}). ::'''''Congo Free State''''', a former name: As above, a translation of the French ''État indépendant du Congo'' ("Free State of the Congo"), formed by Leopold II of Belgium in 1885 to administer the holdings of the International Congo Society acknowledged as separate from the country of Belgium at the 1884 Berlin Conference. ::'''''Belgian Congo''''', a former name: As above, following the Free State's union with Belgium in 1908, whose name was often included to distinguish the colony from the French-controlled Congo to its north. For further etymology of "Belgium", see above. ::'''''Congo (Léopoldville)''''' and '''''Congo-Léopoldville''''', former names: As above, with the inclusion of the country's capital to distinguish it from Congo (Brazzaville) to its north. This usage was especially common when both countries shared identical official names prior to Congo-Léopoldville's adoption of the name "Democratic Republic of the Congo" ({{lang|fr|République démocratique du Congo}}) in 1964.<ref name="autogenerated2">Library of Congress. "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+zr0146) Zaire: Post-Independence Political Development]".</ref> Léopoldville itself was named for Leopold II of Belgium upon its founding in 1881. Leopold's own name derives from Latin ''leo'' ("lion") or Old High German ''liut'' ("people") and OHG ''bald'' ("brave"). ::'''Congo (Kinshasa)''' and '''Congo-Kinshasa''', alternate names: As above, following the renaming of Léopoldville after the nearby native settlement of Kinshasa or Kinchassa<ref>Great Britain Naval Intelligence Division. ''Geographical Handbook Series'', Vol. 515. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=nGp0AAAAMAAJ French Equatorial Africa & Cameroons]", p. 376. Naval Intelligence Division, 1942. Retrieved 10 October 2011.</ref> to its east<ref>Andree, Richard. ''The Times Atlas: Containing 117 Pages of Maps, and Comprising 173 Maps and an Alphabetical Index to 130,000 Names'', p. 111. "[http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~30741~1150675:West-Africa,-colonial-map---with--M?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No West Africa, Colonial Map. (with) Mouth of the Cameroons River]". Cassell & Co. (London), 1895.</ref> as part of the Mobutist Authenticity movement. ::''Zaire'' or '''''Zaïre''''', a former name: "[Land beside] the Congo River", a French form of a Portuguese corruption of the Kongo ''Nzere'' ("river"), a truncation of ''Nzadi o Nzere'' ("river swallowing rivers"),<ref>Forbath, Peter. ''The River Congo'', p. 19.</ref> adopted for the river and the country between 1971 and 1997 as part of the Authenticity movement.

===Costa Rica=== :"Rich Coast" in Spanish, although the origin of the epithet is disputed. Some claim it was bestowed by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1502 as ''Costa del Oro'' ("Gold Coast"),<ref name="Names&Histories"/> others by the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Côte d'Ivoire=== {{see also|Ivory Coast#Etymology}} :"Ivory Coast" in French, from its previous involvement in the ivory trade. Similar names for Côte d'Ivoire and other nearby countries include the "Grain Coast", the "Gold Coast", and the "Slave Coast". ::'''Ivory Coast''', an alternate name: Self-descriptive, the English translation of the above.

===Croatia=== {{main|Name of Croatia}} :Etymology uncertain. From Medieval Latin ''Croātia'', from ''Cruati'' ("Croatians") attested in the Šopot Inscription, from North-West Slavic ''Xrovat-'', by liquid metathesis from proposed Common Slavic *''Xorvat-'', from proposed Proto-Slavic ''*Xarwāt-'' (*''Xъrvatъ'')<ref name="AleGlu">{{cite book |last1=Gluhak |first1=Alemko |author1-link=Alemko Gluhak |title=Hrvatski etimološki rječnik |date=1993 |publisher=August Cesarec |location=Zagreb |isbn=953-162-000-8 |language=hr}}</ref> or *''Xŭrvatŭ'' (*''xъrvatъ''). :The most common theory<ref name="AleGlu"/> derives it from ''Harahvat-'', the Old Persian name for the Arachosia or Helmand River, or from {{lang|peo|Harahuvatiš}}, the land surrounding it. This is cognate with the Vedic Sarasvatī and Avestan ''Haraxvaitī''.<ref>''Vidēvdāt'' 1.12, as cited in Schmitt, Rüdiger. ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', Vol. 2, pp. 246 f. "[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v2f3/v2f3a010.html Arachosia]". Routledge & Kegan Paul (New York), 1987. {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This derivation seems to be supported by a 3rd-century Scythian form ''Xoroathos'' (ΧΟΡΟΑΘΟΣ) appearing in the Tanais Tablets.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} :Alternate theories include Zbigniew Gołąb's proposal that it is a borrowing from Proto-Germanic ''*C(h)rovati'', presumed to mean "warriors clad with horn-armor"<ref>Gołąb, Zbigniew. ''The Origins of the Slavs: A Linguist's View''. Slavica (Columbus), 1990.</ref> or ''chrawat'', "mountaineers".<ref name="Names&Histories"/>

===Cuba=== {{main|Etymology of Cuba}} :Etymology unknown. First bestowed by Christopher Columbus as ''Cabo de Cuba'' (the modern Punta de Mulas) after a supposed local settlement named "Cuba",<ref name="Names&Histories"/> probably from the Taíno ''cubao'' ("abundant fertile land")<ref>Carrada, Alfred. ''The Dictionary of the Taino Language'', "[http://www.alfredcarrada.org/notes8.html Plate 8] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219192148/http://alfredcarrada.org/notes8.html |date=19 February 2009 }}".</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=September 2009}} or ''coabana'' ("great place").<ref>"[http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/terms1.htm Taino Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean Dictionary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430163856/http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/terms1.htm |date=30 April 2008 }}".</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2009}} :Scholars who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese rather than Genovese argue "Cuba" is derived from the town of Cuba near Beja in Portugal.<ref>Barreto, Augusto Mascarenhas. ''O Português Cristóvão Colombo: Agente Secreto do Rei Dom João II.'' Lisbon, 1988. Translated edition: ''The Portuguese Columbus: Secret Agent of King John II''. Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|0-333-56315-8}}.</ref><ref>Da Silva, Manuel L. and Silvia J. ''Christopher Columbus was Portuguese'', pp. 396 ff. Express Printing (Fall River), 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-60702-824-6}}.</ref>

===Cyprus=== {{main|Etymology of Cyprus}} :Etymology unknown. Latinized from the Greek ''Kúpros'' (Κύπρος), first attested as Mycenaean Greek 15px 15px 15px 15px (''Kupirijo'', "Cypriot"). Possible etymologies include the Greek ''kypárissos'' (κυπάρισσος, "cypress")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Cyprus |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> or ''kýpros'' (κύπρος, "henna").{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} :The most common folk etymology derives its name from "copper", since the island's extensive supply gave Greek and Latin words for the metal.<ref>Fisher, Fred H. ''Cyprus: Our New Colony And What We Know About It'', pp. 13–14. Geo. Routledge & Sons (London), 1878.</ref> Although these words derived from Cyprus rather than the other way around, the name has more recently been derived from an Eteocypriot word for "copper" and even from the Sumerian ''zubar'' ("copper") or ''kubar'' ("bronze").{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===''Czechoslovakia''=== {{main|Czechoslovakia#Official names|Hyphen War}} :"Land of the Czechs and Slovaks". For further etymology of "Czech", see Czech Republic below; for further etymology of "Slovak", see Slovakia below.

===Czech Republic=== {{main|Etymology of the Czech Republic|Name of the Czech Republic}}

:Self-descriptive, adopted upon the Velvet Divorce in 1993. The name "Czech" derives from the archaic Czech endonym ''Czech'' or ''Cžech'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pressreader.com/czech-republic/lidove-noviny/20170701/281973197671948 |title=Czechia si to bude muset protrpět |trans-title=Czechia will have to endure it |last=Šitler |first=Jiří |date=1 July 2017 |work=Lidové noviny |language=cs |access-date=4 January 2020 |via=PressReader}}</ref> a member of the West Slavic tribe whose Přemyslid dynasty subdued its neighbors in Bohemia around AD 900. Its further etymology is disputed. The traditional etymology derives it from an eponymous leader Čech who led the tribe into Bohemia. Modern theories consider it an obscure derivative, e.g. from ''četa'', a medieval military unit.<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/czech Czech]". Retrieved 11 February 2011.</ref> ::'''Czechia''', a less common alternate name: A Latinized version of the Czech endonym ''Czechy''. ::'''Bohemia''', a former name:<ref>{{cite web|title=From Bohemia to Czechia|url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/letter/from-bohemia-to-czechia|publisher=Radio Prague International|year=2016|access-date=4 January 2020}}</ref> "Land of the Boii", a Celtic tribe of the region. The ultimate etymology of ''Boii'' is uncertain, but has been connected to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "cow" and "warrior". Now refers only to the area of Bohemia proper. ::'''''Czechy''''' or '''''Čechy''''', a former endonym: "Land of the Czechs" in archaic Czech. Now typically considered to refer only to the area of Bohemia proper, excluding Moravia and other areas. ::'''''Česko''''', a current endonym: "Land of the Czechs" in modern Czech. Although it appeared as early as the 18th century, ''Česko'' remained uncommon enough that most Czechs only associated it with its appearance in the Czech name for Czechoslovakia (''Česko-Slovensko'' or ''Československo'') so many resisted the use of it following the division of the country. Given the inability to use the former name ''Čechy'' either.<ref>Radio Prague. "[http://www.radio.cz/en/article/53850 Looking for a Name]". 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.</ref> The name ''Česko'' has got on and it is nowadays commonly used in the Czech language as the short name of Czechia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internetová jazyková příručka: Česko |url=https://prirucka.ujc.cas.cz/?id=725&dotaz=%C4%8Desko |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=prirucka.ujc.cas.cz |language=cs}}</ref>

==D==

===Denmark=== {{main|Etymology of Denmark}} :Etymology uncertain, but probably "The Danish forest" or "march" in reference to the forests of southern Schleswig.<ref>Navneforskning, Københavns Universitet [http://navneforskning.ku.dk/stednavne.doc/betydninger.doc Udvalgte stednavnes betydning] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716144406/http://navneforskning.ku.dk/stednavne.doc/betydninger.doc |date=16 July 2006 }}.</ref> First attested in Old English as ''Denamearc'' in Alfred's translation of Paulus Orosius's ''Seven Books of History against the Pagans''.<ref>Thorpe, B. ''The Life of Alfred The Great Translated from the German of Dr. R. Pauli To Which Is Appended Alfred's Anglo-Saxon Version of Orosius'', p. 253. Bell, 1900.</ref> The etymology of "Danes" is uncertain, but has been derived from the proposed Proto-Indo-European root ''*dhen'' ("low, flat"); ''-mark'' from the proposed Proto-Indo-European root ''*mereg-'' ("edge, boundary") via Old Norse ''merki'' ("boundary") or more probably ''mǫrk'' ("borderland, forest"). :The former folk etymology derived the name from an eponymous king Dan of the region.

===Djibouti=== :Etymology unknown, named for its eponymous capital Djibouti, founded in 1888 by the French pirate Éloi Pino and the capital of the previous French colonies French Somaliland and Afars & Issas. a French transliteration for "Land of Tehuti", after the ancient Egyptian moon god.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} ::'''''French Somaliland''''', a former name: From its position near today's Somaliland, distinguishing it from British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. For the further etymology of France and Somalia, see below here and here. ::'''''Afars and Issas''''', a former name: From the country's two main ethnic groups, the Afars and Issas.

===Dominica=== {{main|Dominica#Etymology and languages}} :"Sunday Island" in Latin, feminized from ''diēs Dominicus'' ("Sunday", {{abbr|lit.|literally}} "Lordly Day"), possibly via Spanish ''Domingo'', for the day of the island's sighting by Christopher Columbus on 3 November 1493. At the time of Dominica's discovery, there was no special saint's day on that date and Columbus's own father had been named Domenego. ::'''''Wai'tu Kubuli''''', a former endonym: "Tall is her body" in the local Carib dialect.<ref>Dominica.dm. "[http://www.dominica.dm/site/dominica.cfm Discover Dominica: an Introduction to Our Caribbean Island] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923082054/http://dominica.dm/site/dominica.cfm |date=23 September 2010 }}". Retrieved 27 June 2010.</ref>

===Dominican Republic=== :"Republic of Santo Domingo", the capital city of the Spanish-held region of Hispaniola since its incorporation by Bartholomew Columbus on 5 August 1498 as ''La Nueva Isabela, Santo Domingo del Puerto de la Isla de la Española'' ("New Isabela, Saint Dominic of the Port of Hispaniola") either in honor of Sunday (see Dominica above),<ref name="Names&Histories"/> his father Domenego, or Saint Dominic's feast day<ref>Partido Revolucionario Dominicano. "[http://www.prd.org.do/ciudad/leyenda-e-historia-envuelven-la-fundaci%C3%B3n-de-santo-domingo Leyenda e Historia Envuelven la Fundación de Santo Domingo]" {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701044753/http://www.prd.org.do/ciudad/leyenda-e-historia-envuelven-la-fundaci%C3%B3n-de-santo-domingo |date=1 July 2012 }}. Accessed 18 October 2011. {{in lang|es}}</ref> on 4 August.<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'', p. 100. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969. {{in lang|la}}</ref> Nicolás de Ovando shortened the name to ''Santo Domingo de Guzmán'' upon the city's refounding at a new site after a major hurricane in 1502.<ref>Meinig, D.W. ''The Shaping of America: a Geographic Perspective on 500 Years of History''. Vol. I — ''Atlantic America, 1492–1800''. Yale University Press (New Haven), 1986. {{ISBN|0-300-03882-8}}.</ref> Dominic himself was named for Saint Dominic of Silos, the monk at whose shrine his mother was said to have prayed.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} Dominic (from the Latin {{lang|la|Dominicus}}, "lordly" or "belonging to the Lord") was a common name for children born on Sunday (see "Dominica" above) and for religious names.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} ::''Hispaniola'', a former name: "Spanish [island]", Latinized by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera<ref name=McIntosh>{{cite book |title=The Piri Reis map of 1513| volume=1513 |first=Gregory C |last=McIntosh |publisher=University of Georgia Press |year=2000 |isbn= 978-0-8203-2157-8 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgRXuOWah7MC&q=Hispaniola+Espa%C3%B1ola&pg=PA88}}</ref> from Bartolomé de las Casas's truncated Spanish ''Española'', from the original ''La Isla Española'' ("Spanish Island") bestowed by Christopher Columbus in 1492.<ref name="McIntosh"/> Replaced by the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo theoretically in 1511 and actually in 1526. ::'''''Spanish Haiti''''', a former name: Self-descriptive, translated from the Spanish name ''República del Haití Español'' chosen upon independence in 1821. The "Spanish" distinguished it from the adjacent French-speaking Haiti. For further etymology of "Haiti", see below. ::'''''Ozama and Cibao''''', a former name: From the French ''Départements de l'Ozama et du Cibao'', from the Taíno ''cibao'' ("abounding in rocks", referring to the island's Central Range) and the Ozama River, from Taíno ''ozama'' ("wetlands", "navigable waters").{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

==E==

===East Timor=== {{main|Etymology of East Timor}} :"Eastern East [Island]", from the Portuguese {{lang|pt|Timor-Leste}} ("East Timor"), in reference to the state's position on the eastern half of the island of Timor, whose name derives from the Malay ''timur'' ("east"), from its position in the Lesser Sundas.<ref>Harper, Douglas. ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Timor Timor]"</ref> ::'''''Portuguese Timor''''', a former name: As above, with the addition of its colonizer to distinguish it from Dutch and later Indonesian Timor on the western half of the island. For further etymology of Portugal, see below. ::'''Timor-Leste''', an alternate name: "East Timor" in Portuguese. In the official name, {{lang|pt|Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste}} (Democratic Republic of East Timor).

===Ecuador=== :"Equator" in Spanish, truncated from the Spanish ''República del Ecuador'' ({{abbr|lit.|literally}} "Republic of the Equator"), from the former Ecuador Department of Gran Colombia established in 1824 as a division of the former territory of the Royal Audience of Quito. Quito, which remained the capital of the department and republic, is located only about {{convert|25|mi|km|order=flip}}, ¼ of a degree, south of the equator. ::'''''Quito''''', a former name: "Quitus", after its capital Quito, truncated from the original Spanish "Santiago de Quito" and "San Francisco de Quito", after an Indigenous Andean tribe recently annexed to the Incan Empire at the time of its conquest by the Spanish.

===Egypt=== [[File:Kmt obelisk.jpg|thumb|200px|The Egyptian name ''Km.t'' appearing on the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, Paris.]]

{{main|Etymology of Egypt}} :"Home of the ka of Ptah", from Latin {{wikt-lang|la|Aegyptus}}, from Greek ''Aígyptos'' ({{wikt-lang|grc|Αἴγυπτος}}), related to Mycenean ''*Aiguptiyós'' (15px 15px 15px 15px 15px), derived from Egyptian {{wikt-lang|egy|ḥwt k3 ptḥ}} (50px, ''*ḥei ko p'taḥ''), an alternate name for Memphis, the capital of the Egyptian empire, by metonymy from the cult and temple of Ptah there. Ptah's name itself meant "opener", both in relation to his creation of the world and his role in the opening of the mouth ceremony.<ref>Shabaka Stone. 8th century BC.</ref> :Strabo recorded the Greek folk etymology that it derived from the Greek ''Aigaíou hyptíōs'' (Αἰγαίου ὑπτίως, "[land] below the Aegean"). ::'''{{Transliteration|ar|Miṣr}}''' ({{IPA|ar|misˤɾ}}; "{{lang|ar|مِصر}}") is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern official name of Egypt, while "{{transliteration|arz|Maṣr}}" ({{IPA|arz|mɑsˤɾ}}; {{lang|arz|مَصر}}) is the local pronunciation in Egyptian Arabic.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Z. |first=T. |date=1928 |title=Il-Belt (Valletta) |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Il-Malti/Il-Malti.%20004(1928)2/01.pdf |url-status=usurped |journal=Il-Malti |language=mt |edition=2 |publisher=Il-Ghaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti |volume=2 |issue=1 |page=35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417234107/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Il-Malti/Il-Malti.%20004%281928%292/01.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2016}}</ref> The current name of Egypt, Misr/Misir/Misru, stems from the Ancient Semitic name for it. The term originally connoted "Civilisation" or "Metropolis".<ref name="AncientCivils">{{Citation |last1=Dallmayr |first1=Fred |title=Civilizations and World Order |date=24 September 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QeqBAAAQBAJ&q=misr+means+civilization&pg=PA87 |access-date=31 July 2024 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9780739186077 |last2=Akif Kayapınar |first2=M. |last3=Yaylacı |first3=İsmail}}</ref> Classical Arabic ''{{transliteration|ar|Miṣr}}'' (Egyptian Arabic ''{{transliteration|arz|Maṣr}}'') is directly cognate with the Biblical Hebrew ''Miṣráyīm'' (מִצְרַיִם / מִצְרָיִם), meaning "the two straits", a reference to the predynastic separation of Upper and Lower Egypt. Also mentioned in several Semitic languages as ''Mesru'', ''Misir'' and ''Masar''.<ref name="AncientCivils" /> The oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian "mi-iṣ-ru" ("miṣru")<ref>The ending of the Hebrew form is either a dual or an ending identical to the dual in form (perhaps a locative), and this has sometimes been taken as referring to the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. However, the application of the (possibly) "dual" ending to some toponyms and other words, a development peculiar to Hebrew, does not in fact imply any "two-ness" about the place. The ending is found, for example, in the Hebrew words for such single entities as "water" ("מַיִם"), "noon" ("צָהֳרַיִם"), "sky/heaven" ("שָׁמַיִם"), and in the ''qere'' – but not the original "ketiv" – of "Jerusalem" ("ירושל[י]ם"). It should also be noted that the dual ending – which may or may not be what the ''-áyim'' in "Mitzráyim" actually represents – was available to other Semitic languages, such as Arabic, but was not applied to Egypt. See ''inter alia'' Aaron Demsky ("Hebrew Names in the Dual Form and the Toponym Yerushalayim" in Demsky (ed.) ''These Are the Names: Studies in Jewish Onomastics'', Vol. 3 (Ramat Gan, 2002), pp. 11–20), Avi Hurvitz (''A Concise Lexicon of Late Biblical Hebrew: Linguistic Innovations in the Writings of the Second Temple Period'' (Brill, 2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=p1AMBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 p. 128]) and Nadav Na'aman ("Shaaraim – The Gateway to the Kingdom of Judah" in ''The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures'', Vol. 8 (2008), article [http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_101.pdf no. 24] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017233422/http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_101.pdf|date=17 October 2014}}, pp. 2–3).</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Izre'el |first1=Shlomo |date=19 November 2010 |title=On the So-Called Ventive Morpheme in the Akkadian Texts of Amurru |url=https://www.academia.edu/371050 |url-status=live |page=84 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118112500/http://www.academia.edu/371050/On_the_So-Called_Ventive_Morpheme_in_the_Akkadian_Texts_of_Amurru |archive-date=18 January 2016 |access-date=18 November 2015 |website=www.academia.edu |df=dmy-all}}</ref> related to ''miṣru/miṣirru/miṣaru'', meaning "border" or "frontier".<ref name="akkadian">{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Jeremy A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qIuVCsRb98C&pg=PA212 |title=A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian |last2=George |first2=Andrew |last3=Postgate |first3=J.N. |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2000 |isbn=978-3-447-04264-2}}</ref> The Neo-Assyrian Empire used the derived term 60x60px, ''Mu-ṣur''.<ref>As in inscriptions such as the Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal. For transcription, the word being written Mu-s,ur [https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P421807] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613113247/https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P421807|date=13 June 2020}}</ref> :: ::'''''Kumat''''', a former endonym: "Black Land", reconstructed from Egyptian {{wikt-lang|egy|kmt}}, distinguishing the Nile flood plain from the "Red Land" of the desert, later becoming Coptic '''''Kīmi''''' ({{coptic|Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ}}). A previous folk etymology related the name to the Biblical Ham.

===El Salvador=== :"The Savior" in Spanish, a truncation of the original ''Provincia de Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, el Salvador del Mundo'' ("Province of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World"), a territory within the Spanish Kingdom of Guatemala named for its capital ''La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador'' ("City of the Great Holy Savior"), founded around 1 April 1525, by Gonzalo de Alvarado, whose brother Pedro had previously instructed him to name a settlement in the territory of Cuzcatlan after the Feast of the Holy Savior.<ref>Presidential Public Relations Department (''Departamento de Relaciones Públicas Casa Presidencial''). ''El Salvador 1974–1975,'' p. 11. (San Salvador). {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>San Salvador. [http://www.sansalvador.gob.sv Official website]. ''[http://www.sansalvador.gob.sv/?p=17 Historia oficial de la ciudad de San Salvador] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704045822/http://www.sansalvador.gob.sv/?p=17 |date=4 July 2017 }}''. {{in lang|es}}</ref> ::'''''Cuzcatlan''''', a former endonym: "Place of Diamonds", from the Nahuatl ''Kozkatlan''.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===''Kingdom of England''=== {{hatnote|See List of etymologies of administrative divisions: England}}

===Equatorial Guinea=== :Self-descriptive. Although the country's territory does not touch the equator, it straddles the line: the island Annobón lies to the south while the mainland is to the north. For further etymology of "Guinea", see below. ::'''''Spanish Guinea''''', a former name: See Spain and Guinea below.

===Eritrea=== :"Land of the Red Sea", adopted in 1993 upon independence from Ethiopia, from the Italian colony established in 1890, named by Francesco Crispi on the suggestion of Carlo Dossi, Italicized from the Latin transcription ''Mare Erythræum'' of the Greek ''Erythrá Thálassa'' (Ἐρυθρά Θάλασσα, "Red Sea").

===Estonia=== {{main|Etymology of Estonia}} [[File:Perno Postimees, Nr 1.png|thumb|150px|The first issue of the ''Perno Postimees'' in 1857 popularized the Estonian loaned endonym ''Eesti''. The first sentence reads ''Terre, armas Eesti rahwas!'' ("Hello, dear people of Estonia!")]] :"Land of the Aesti", a correction of earlier ''Esthonia'', a re-Latinization of the Old English ''Estland'', a development of the Old High German ''Aestland'', a combination of the Latin ''Aestia'' and the German ''-land'' ("-land"). The name ''Aestia'' was a combination of the Latin ''Aesti'' and the locative suffix ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ia#Latin -ia]'', meaning "Land of the Aesti" (a people first mentioned by Ancient Roman historian Tacitus around 98 AD). Some historians have hypothesized that he was referring to speakers of Baltic languages and, not their then Finnic-speaking neighbours to the north, while others have suggested that the name ''Aesti'' may have been at earlier times applied to the entire Eastern Baltic region.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mägi |first1=Marika |title=In ''Austrvegr'': The Role of the Eastern Baltic in Viking Age Communication across the Baltic Sea |date=2018 |pages=144–145 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-36381-6}}</ref> The Scandinavian sagas' references to ''Eistland'' are the earliest known sources using the toponym indisputably for a geographic area overlapping with modern Estonia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tvauri |first1=Andres |title=The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia |date=9 November 2023 |page=31 |publisher=Tartu University Press |isbn=978-9949-19-936-5 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2237217}}</ref> The word ''Estland/Eistland'' has been linked to Old Norse ''eist'', ''austr'' meaning "the east".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mägi |first1=Marika |title=In ''Austrvegr'': The Role of the Eastern Baltic in Viking Age Communication across the Baltic Sea |date=2018 |page=144 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-36381-6}}</ref>

:The Estonian endonym ''Eesti'' was first attested in writing as ''Estimah'' in 1638, as a combination of the name ''Est-'' and the word ''-mah'' ("land"), which is still used as an alternative name ''Eestimaa'' in modern Standard Estonian.

:The Finnish name ''Viro'' is derived from the northeast Estonian Viru County, which was closest to Finns along the shore. Similar names can be found in other Northern Finnic languages.

:The Latvian name ''Igaunija'' and Latgallian name ''Igauneja'' are derived from the Southeastern Estonian Ugandi County.

===Eswatini=== {{see also|Eswatini#Name}} :"Land of the Swazi", an ethnic group. The name ''Swazi'' itself derives from Mswati II, a former king of Swaziland. ::'''Swaziland''', a former name: Self-descriptive, the English translation of the above.

===Ethiopia=== {{main|Etymology of Ethiopia}} :"Land of the Blacks", from Latin ''Æthiopia'', from the Ancient Greek ''Αἰθιοπία'' (''Aithiopía''), "land of the Burnt-Faced" (from {{wikt-lang|grc|Αἰθίοψ}}, {{grc-transl|Αἰθίοψ}}), originally in reference to all Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="Names&Histories"/> :An Ethiopian folk etymology recorded in the ''Book of Aksum'' traces the name to an "'Ityopp'is", supposed to be a son of Cush.

:'''''Dʿmt''''' or '''''Damot''''', a former name: Unknown etymology, reconstructed from the proto-Ge'ez 10px 10px 10px 10px and Ge'ez ''Dʿmt'' ({{langx|gez|ደዐመተ}}).

:''Kingdom of Aksum'' or ''Axum'', a former name: Uncertain meaning, from the capital Axum ({{langx|gez|አክሱም}}) of unknown etymology.

:'''''Abyssinia''''', a former name: Uncertain meaning. Latinized in 1735 from a Portuguese corruption ''Abassia''<ref name="Names&Histories"/> of the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|al-Ḥabašah}} ({{lang|ar|الحبشة}}),<ref>Munro-Hay, Stuart. ''Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity'', p. 19. Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1991.</ref> from Ge'ez {{transliteration|gez|Ḥabbaśā}} ({{lang|gez|ሐበሻ}}) or {{transliteration|gez|Ḥabaśā}} ({{lang|gez|ሐበሣ}}), first attested in 2nd- or 3rd-century engravings as {{transliteration|gez|Ḥbś}} or {{transliteration|gez|Ḥbštm}} ({{lang|gez|ሐበሠ}}),<ref name="Encyclopaedia">Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. D-Ha, pp. 948 ff. Harrassowitz Verlag (Wiesbaden), 2005.</ref> of unknown origin. Possibly related to the 15th-century-BC Egyptian ''Ḫbstjw'', a foreign people of the incense-producing regions.

==F==

===Fiji=== {{main|Etymology of Fiji}} : Possibly "look-out".<ref>Thompson, Basil. "[http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_1_1892/Volume_1,_No._3,_1892/The_land_of_our_origin_(Viti,_or_Fiji.)_by_Basil_Thompson,_p143-146/p1 The Land of Our Origin (Viti, or Fiji)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210080244/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_1_1892/Volume_1,_No._3,_1892/The_land_of_our_origin_(Viti,_or_Fiji.)_by_Basil_Thompson,_p143-146/p1 |date=10 February 2018 }}". ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'', Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 143–146. 1892</ref> Adapted from ''Fisi'', the Tongan form of ''Viti'', referring to the island of Viti Levu (Fijian for "Great Viti"). Popularized by British explorer James Cook.<ref>[http://www.fiji.gov.fj/ Government of Fiji]. ''{{cite web|url=http://www.fiji.gov.fj/uploads/FijiToday2005-06.pdf |title=Fiji Today, 2005–2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403140105/http://www.fiji.gov.fj/uploads/FijiToday2005-06.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2007 }} '': "Europeans in Fiji".</ref>

===Finland=== {{main|Etymology of Finland|Etymology of Finn}} :"Land of the Finns", from the Swedish spelling,<ref name="Names&Histories"/> first attested in runestones in Old Norse in present-day Sweden. Early mentions of the ''Fenni'' in Tacitus's first-century ''Germania'' and the ''Phinnoi'' ({{langx|grc|Φιννοι}}) in Ptolemy's second-century ''Geography'' are today thought to refer to the modern Sami people. The etymology of "Finn" is uncertain: it may derive from Germanic translations of the Finnish ''suo'' ("fen")<ref name="Names&Histories"/> or from the proposed Proto-Germanic *''finne'' "wanderers", "hunting-folk".<ref>''Svensk Etymologisk Ordbok''. {{in lang|sv}}</ref> :'''''Suomi''''', the endonym and exonym in some other Finnic and Baltic languages: Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from the proposed proto-Balto-Slavic ''*zeme'' "land"<ref>.Grünthal, Riho. "[http://www.sgr.fi/ct/ct51.html The Finnic Ethnonyms]". Finno-Ugrian Society.</ref> or from the Finnish ''suomaa'' ("fen land").<ref name="Names&Histories"/>

===France=== {{Main|Etymology of France|Name of France}} :"Land of the Franks", Anglicized from Late Latin ''Francia'', from Old Frankish ''Franko''. The name "Frank" itself has been derived from the historic ''framea'' ("javelin"),<ref name="Names&Histories"/> proposed Proto-Germanic *''frankon'' ("spear", "javelin"),{{spaced ndash}}although the characteristic weapons of the Franks were the sword and the Frankish axe{{spaced ndash}}and from the Proto-Germanic *''frankisc'' ("free") from ''*frank'' ("free")<ref name="Names&Histories"/>{{spaced ndash}}although they were not masters until after their conquest of Gaul. ::''Gallia'', a former name: "Land of the Celts", from Latin ''Gallia'', of uncertain etymology. Possible derivations include an eponymous river{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} or a minor tribe reconstructed as *''Gal(a)-to-'' whose name was cognate with the Proto-Celtic *''galno-'' ("power", "strength").{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} ::''Gaul'', a former name: "Land of Foreigners", from French ''Gaule'', from Proto-Germanic *''Walhaz'', originally meaning "Volcae" but eventually simply "foreigner".

==G==

===Gabon=== :"Cloak", Anglicized from the Portuguese ''Gabão'', bestowed on the Komo River estuary for its supposed resemblance to a ''gabão'', a kind of pointy-hooded overcoat whose name derives from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|qabā'}} ({{wikt-lang|ar|قباء}}).

===The Gambia=== :"Kaabu", selected upon independence in 1965 from the name of the former British colony, named for the Gambia River, from a corruption of the Portuguese ''Gambra'' and ''Cambra'' first recorded in 1455 by Alvise Cadamosto,<ref>Cadamosto, Alvise. ''Mondo Nuovo, Libro de la Prima Navigazione di Luigi di Cadamosto de la Bassa Ethiopia ed Altre Cosa''. Op cit. Montalbado, Francanzano (ed.) ''Paesi Novamente Retrovati et Novo Mondo da Alberico Vesputio Florentino Intitulato''. (Vicenza), 1507. {{in lang|it}}</ref> a corruption of a local name ''Kambra'' or ''Kambaa'' (Mandinkan: "Kaabu river") or ''Gambura'', an amalgam of Mandinkan Kaabu and Wolof ''bur'' ("king").<ref name="Ceesay">Ceesay, Hassoum. "[http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2007/12/18/the-origins-of-the-gambia The Origins of 'The Gambia'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112081319/http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2007/12/18/the-origins-of-the-gambia |date=12 January 2012 }}". ''The Daily Observer'', 18 December 2007.</ref> :A folk etymology traces the word from the Portuguese ''câmbio'' ("trade", "exchange"), from the region's extensive involvement in the slave trade.

===Georgia=== {{hatnote|Main articles: Names of Georgia. For the U.S. state, see List of state and territory name etymologies of the United States.}} :Etymology uncertain. The terms "Georgia" and "Georgian" appeared in Western Europe in numerous early medieval annals. At the time, the name was folk etymologized{{spaced ndash}}for instance, by the French chronicler Jacques de Vitry and the "English" fraudster John Mandeville{{spaced ndash}}from a supposed especial reverence of the Saint George. According to several modern scholars, "Georgia" seems to have been borrowed in the 11th or 12th century from the Syriac ''Gurz-ān'' or ''-iyān'' and Arabic ''Ĵurĵan'' or ''Ĵurzan'', derived from the New Persian ''Gurğ'' or ''Gurğān'', itself stemming from the Ancient Iranian and Middle Persian ''Vrkān'' or ''Waručān'' of uncertain origin, but resembling the eastern trans-Caspian toponym ''Gorgan'', from the Middle Persian ''Varkâna'' ("land of the wolves"). This might have been of the same etymology as the Armenian ''Virk<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' ({{lang|hy|Վիրք}}) and a source of the classical Iberi ({{langx|grc|Ἴβηρες}}, {{transliteration|grc|Ibēres}}).<ref>Lang, David Marshall (1966), ''The Georgians'', pp. 5–6. Praeger Publishers</ref><ref>Khintibidze, Elguja (1998), ''The Designations of the Georgians and Their Etymology'', pp. 29–30. Tbilisi State University Press, {{ISBN|5-511-00775-7}} ([http://www.kartvfund.org.ge/anewtheory.htm A New Theory on the Etymology of the Designations of the Georgians (Excerpt from the book)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020807/http://www.kartvfund.org.ge/anewtheory.htm |date=30 September 2007 }}) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140714133419/http://www.kartvfund.org.ge/index.php?act=page&id=33.58&lang=en Google Cache])</ref> :Another theory semantically links "Georgia" to Greek {{transliteration|grc|geōrgós}} ({{lang|grc|γεωργός}}, "tiller of the land") and Latin ''georgicus'' ("agricultural"). The ''Georgi'' mentioned by Pliny the Elder<ref>Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia''. IV.26, VI.14.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bunbury |first1=Edward Herbert |title=A History of Ancient Geography Among the Greeks and Romans: Vol. II |date=25 August 2025 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-563-89924-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_o-CEQAAQBAJ&dq=Pliny+%22Georgi%22+agricultural&pg=PA400 |language=en}}</ref> and Pomponius Mela.<ref>Pomponius Mela. ''De Sita Orb''. i.2, & 50; ii.1, & 44, 102.</ref> were agricultural tribes distinguished as such from their pastoral neighbors across the Panticapaeum in Taurica.<ref>Romer, Frank E. ''Pomponius Mela's Description of the World'', p. 72. University of Michigan Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-472-08452-6}}</ref> ::''Sakartvelo'', the local endonym: "Place for Kartvelians" in Georgian, from Kartli ({{lang|ka|ქართლი}}), attested in the 5th-century ''Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik'', possibly from a cognate with the Mingrelian ''karta'' ({{lang|xmf|ქართა}}, "cattle pen", "enclosed place"). Traditionally taken by the Georgian Chronicles as referring to Kartlos, an eponymous ancestor who supposedly built a city Kartli on the Mtkvari River near modern Armazi. ::'''''Iberia''''', a former name: Latinized from Greek {{transliteration|grc|Ibēría}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰβηρία}}), possibly from ''Virk<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' as above.<ref>Yeremyan, Suren T. "Իբերիա" ("Iberia"). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, p. 306. Armenian Academy of Sciences (Yerevan), 1978. {{in lang|hy}}</ref>

===Germany=== {{Main|Etymology of Germany|Names of Germany}} :Meaning uncertain. ''German'' attested 1520, Anglicized from Latin ''Germania'', attested in the 3rd century BC,{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} popularized by Julius Caesar as a reference to all tribes east of the Rhine,<ref name="NewGerm">{{cite book |last=Schulze |first=Hagen |author-link=Hagen Schulze |title=Germany: A New History |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/germany00hage/page/4 4 ff] |year=1998 |isbn=0-674-80688-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/germany00hage/page/4 }}</ref> and repopularized in Europe following the rediscovery and publication of Tacitus's ''Germania'' in 1455.<ref name="NewGerm"/> Proposed derivations include the Celtic ''gair-'' ("neighbor"),<ref name="OEDgerm">''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Germany".</ref> ''gairm'' ("battle-cry")<ref name="OEDgerm"/> or ''*gar'' ("to shout"),{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} and ''gar'' ("spear").{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} ::'''''Deutschland''''', the local endonym: "The People's Land", from Old High German ''diutisciu land'', from the Germanic {{wikt-lang|gem-pro|*þiudiskaz}} (sometimes translated as "vernacular",<ref name="NewGerm"/> as opposed to Latin and Romance languages like Old French), a form of *''þeudō'', from the proposed Proto-Indo-European {{wikt-lang|ine-pro|*tewtéh₂}} ("people").<ref>{{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=Albert L.|title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band II|year=1998|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|location=Göttingen|isbn=3-525-20768-9|pages=699–704|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iKfYGNwwNVIC&pg=PA523|author2=Lühr, Rosemarie|author3= Springer, Otto}}. {{in lang|de}}</ref> ::'''''Niemcy''''', the Polish term for Germany, Niemcy coming from the word ''niemy'' meaning mute, possibly as the populations did not understand each other at all due to germanic and slavic language differences {{citation needed|date=October 2024}}.

===Ghana=== {{main|Etymology of Ghana}} :"Warrior King",<ref name="warriorking">Jackson, John G. ''Introduction to African Civilizations'', p. 201. 2001.</ref> adopted at J. B. Danquah's suggestion upon the union of Gold Coast with British Togoland in 1956 or upon independence on 6 March 1957, in homage to the earlier Malian Ghana Empire, named for the title of its ruler.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} Despite the empire never holding territory near the current nation, traditional stories connect the northern Mande of Ghana{{spaced ndash}}the Soninke, Dyula, Ligby, and Bissa{{spaced ndash}}to peoples displaced following the collapse of the old Ghana.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} ::''Togoland'' and '''''British Togoland''''', former names: See Togo below. ::'''''Gold Coast''''', a former name: Self-descriptive. Compare the names Europeans gave to nearby stretches of shore, as Côte d'Ivoire above.

===''Kingdom of Great Britain''=== :''See etymology of "Great Britain" under the United Kingdom below.''

===Greece=== {{Main|Name of Greece|Names of the Greeks}} :Etymology uncertain. From Old English ''Grecas'' and ''Crecas'', from Latin {{lang|la|Græcus}}, presumably from Greek {{transliteration|grc|Graikoí}} ({{lang|grc|Γραικοί}}). The Romans were said to have called all the Greeks after the name of the first group they met,{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} although the location of that tribe varies between Epirus{{spaced ndash}}Aristotle recorded that the Illyrians used the name for Dorian Epiriots from their native name ''Graii''<ref>Aristotle. ''Meteorologica'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080820070215/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/meteorology/book1.html I.xiv] .</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Greek |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref>{{spaced ndash}}and Cumae{{spaced ndash}}Eusebius of Caesarea dated its settlement by Boeotians from Pithecusae<ref>Strabo. v. 4.</ref> led by Megasthenes and Hippocles to 1050 BC.<ref name="EpicFox">Fox, Robin Lane. ''Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer'', pp. 140 ff. 2008.</ref> The town of Graea ({{lang|el|Γραῖα}} {{transliteration|el|Graîa}}) in or near Oropos, Boeotia,<ref name="EpicFox"/> appeared in Homer's Catalogue of Ships and was said to be the oldest in Greece,{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} and the Parian Chronicle lists ''Graikoí'' as the original name of the Greeks.<ref>The Parian marble. "[http://www.ashmolean.org/ash/faqs/q004/q004008.html Entry #6]".</ref> The town and its region ({{lang|grc|Γραϊκή}}, {{transliteration|grc|Graïkē}}) have been derived from the word γραῖα ''graia'' "old woman" which in its turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European language root ''*ǵerh2-/*ǵreh2-'', "to grow old" via Proto-Greek ''*gera-/grau-iu'';<ref>R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 285.</ref> the same root later gave γέρας ''geras'' (/keras/), "gift of honour" in Mycenean Greek.<ref>R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 267.</ref> :Folk etymology linked the name with an eponymous patriarch Graecus, related to Hellen below. ::'''''Hellás''''', the local endonym: Etymology unknown. Modern Greek {{transliteration|el|Elláda}} ({{lang|el|Ελλάδα}}) and classical {{transliteration|grc|Hellás}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑλλάς}}) both derive from Greek {{transliteration|grc|Hellēn}} ({{lang|grc|Ἓλλην}}), which Aristotle traced the name to a region in Epirus between Dodona and the Achelous, where the Selloi (possibly "sacrificers"{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}) were said to be priests of Dodonian Zeus and operators of the first oracle. ::Folk etymology linked the name with an eponymous patriarch Hellen (completely distinct from the female Helen of Troy), said to be the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha and to have originated in Thessalic Phthia. Achilleus commanded their forces at Troy.<ref>Homer. ''Iliad''. Book 2, ll. 681–685.</ref> His brother Amphictyon was said to have founded the Great Amphictyonic League, which banded 12 city-states together to protect the temples of Apollo at Delphi and of Demeter at Anthele.

===Grenada=== :"Granada", from its French name ''La Grenade'', from earlier Spanish ''Granada'', whose own name derived from the Emirate and Taifa of Granada, named for their capital ''Gharnāṭah'' ({{langx|ar|غَرْنَاطَة}}), originally a Jewish suburb (''Garnata al-Yahud'') of Elvira which became the principal settlement after the latter was destroyed in 1010. ::'''''Concepción''''', a former name: "Conception", bestowed by Christopher Columbus upon his discovery of the island in 1498. Its hostile Carib natives, however, limited colonization until the name had fallen from use.

===Guatemala=== {{main|Etymology of Guatemala}} :"Forest", from the Nahuatl ''Cuauhtēmallān'' ({{abbr|lit.|literally}} "Place of Many Trees"), a translation of the K'iche' ''K<nowiki>'</nowiki>ii<nowiki>'</nowiki>chee<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' (lit. "Many Trees").<ref>Campbell, Lyle. ''American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America'', p. 378 n. 10. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1997.</ref>

===Guinea=== {{main|Etymology of Guinea|Gulf of Guinea#Name}} :Etymology uncertain. Anglicized from Portuguese ''Guiné'', traditionally derived from a corruption of Ghana above, originally in reference to the interior and applied to the coast only after 1481.<ref name="Bovi"/> Alternate theories include a corruption of Djenné<ref>Leo Africanus. ''[https://archive.org/details/historyanddescr02leogoog/page/n207  The History and Description of Africa and of the Notable Things Therein]''. Vol. III, 822. 1526.</ref> and the Berber ''ghinawen'', ''aginaw'', or ''aguinaou'' ("burnt one", i.e. "black").<ref name="Bovi">Bovill, Edward Wm. ''The Golden Trade of the Moors: West African Kingdoms in the Fourteenth Century''. Weiner (Princeton), 1995.</ref> ::'''''French Guinea''''', a former name: As above, from the French ''Guinée française'', a renaming of ''Rivières du Sud'' in 1894. For further etymology of "France", see above. ::'''''Rivières du Sud''''', a former name: "Southern Rivers" in French. ::'''Guinea-Conakry''', an alternate name: As above. Conakry, the capital, is traditionally derived from an amalgam of Baga ''Cona'', a wine producer,{{clarify|date=November 2011}} and Sosso ''nakiri'' ("other side" or "shore").<ref>GuineeConakry.info. "''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060625052849/http://guineeconakry.info/index.php?main=14&sub=0&db=1 Histoire de Conakry]}}''". {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Guinea-Bissau=== :Etymology of ''Guinea'' is uncertain. The Portuguese name of {{lang|pt|República da Guiné-Bissau}} was adopted officially upon independence in 1973. ::'''Portuguese Guinea''', a former name: As above. For further etymology of "Portugal", see below.

===Guyana=== {{main|Etymology of Guyana}} :"Land of Many Waters" in an indigenous language.{{which|date=November 2011}}<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''. "Guyana".</ref> ::'''''British Guiana''''', a former name: As above. For further etymology of "Britain", see United Kingdom below.

==H==

===Haiti=== :From Taíno/Arawak, ''Hayiti'' or ''Hayti'', meaning "mountainous land", originally ''Hayiti''. The name derives from the mountainous and hilly landscape of the western half of the island of Hispaniola. :* ''Hispaniola'' (name of the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic) – a Latinization of the Spanish name ''La Española'', meaning "The Spanish (island)", a name given to the island by Columbus in 1492.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lunacommons.org/luna/servlet/detail/JCB~1~1~2655~4320007:El-Almirante-Christoval-Colon-Descu |title=El Almirante Christoval Colon Descubre la Isla Española, ÿ haze poner una Cruz, etc. – JCB Archive of Early American Images |publisher=Lunacommons.org |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref>

===Honduras=== {{main|Etymology of Honduras}} :Christopher Columbus named the country "Honduras", Spanish for "depths", referring to the deep waters off the northern coast.

===Hungary=== {{main|Name of 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 Uralic language of the people. The Hungarian tribes later actually formed an alliance of the seven Hungarian and three Khazarian tribes, but the name is from before then, and first applied to the original seven Hungarian tribes. The ethnonym ''Hunni'' (referring to the Huns) has influenced the Latin (and English) spelling. :* ''Ugry'' (Угры, Old East Slavic), ''Uhorshchyna'' (Угорщина, Ukrainian), ''Vengrija'' (Lithuanian), ''Vengry'', ''Vengriya'' (Венгры, Венгрия, Russian), ''Vuhorščyna'' (Вугоршчына, Belarusian), ''Wędżierskô'' (Kashubian), and ''Węgry'' (Polish): also from Turkic "on-ogur", see above. The same root emerges in the ethnonym Yugra in Siberia, inhabited by Khanty and Mansi people, the closest relatives to Hungarians in the Uralic language family. :* ''Magyarország'' (native name – "land of the Magyars"), and derivatives, e.g. Czech/Slovak ''Maďarsko'', Serbo-Croatian ''Mađarska'', Turkish ''Macaristan'': ''magyar'' 'Hungarian' + ''ország'' 'land, country'. ''Magyar'' is likely a compound of parts either extinct, or extant for long back only as components of compounds: the antecedent may have been an ancient Ugric ''*mańćɜ'', cf. Mansi ''mäńćī'' 'Manshi; unchristened child', ''måńś'' 'joint endonym for the Khanty and the Mansi', Khanty ''mańt'' 'the name of one of the Khanty alliances of tribes'. The posterior constituent is the independently not used word ''er'', going back to ancient Finno-Ugric ''*irkä'' 'man, boy', found in modern Hungarian ''ember'' 'man', ''férj'' 'husband', ''némber'' 'woman without respectable qualities'; cf. Mari ''erγe'' 'boy', Finnish ''yrkö'' 'man'. In Hungarian, after the dimming of it having been made up of constituent parts, and due to the action of wovel harmony present in Hungarian, ''magyeri'', ''magyer'' became ''magyar''.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Zaicz |editor1-first=Gábor |title=Etimológiai szótár - Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete |date=2006 |publisher=TINTA Könyvkiadó |location=Budapest |isbn=963-7094-01-6 |pages=454–455 |url=https://regi.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tinta/TAMOP-4_2_5-09_Etimologiai_szotar/Etimologiai_szotar_454_454.html |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=hu |archive-date=4 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204235304/https://regi.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tinta/TAMOP-4_2_5-09_Etimologiai_szotar/Etimologiai_szotar_454_454.html }}</ref> ''Ország'' comes from the old ''uru'' form of ''úr'' 'lord, master', affixed with derivational suffix '-szág' (alternative of '-ság').<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Zaicz |editor1-first=Gábor |title=Etimológiai szótár - Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete |date=2006 |publisher=TINTA Könyvkiadó |location=Budapest |isbn=963-7094-01-6 |page=529 |url=https://regi.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tinta/TAMOP-4_2_5-09_Etimologiai_szotar/Etimologiai_szotar_529_529.html |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=hu |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127143641/https://regi.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tinta/TAMOP-4_2_5-09_Etimologiai_szotar/Etimologiai_szotar_529_529.html }}</ref> According to unsubstantiated legend, recounted in the chronicle of 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, equates to the Nimrod, builder of the tower of Babel, of the Hebrew Bible.

==I==

===Iceland=== {{Main|Names of Iceland}} :"Land of Ice", from Old Norse ''Ísland'', from ''íss'' ("ice"). Owing to the reports on the origin of the name Greenland, Iceland has been folk etymologized to have arisen as an attempt to dissuade outsiders from attempting to settle the land. However, according to the Landnámabók, the early explorer and settler Flóki Vilgerðarson gave the island the name after spotting "a firth [or fjord] full of drift ice" to the north.<ref>{{cite book|year=2007|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press|isbn= 978-0-88755-370-7|page=18|author=Hermann Pálsson|title=Landnamabok|edition=reprint|quote=The spring was an extremely cold one. Floki climbed a certain high mountain, and north across the mountain range he could see a fjord full of drift ice. That's why they called the country Iceland, and so it's been called ever since.}}</ref> According to various alternative but not widely accepted theories, such as those advanced by pyramidologist Adam Rutherford or writer Einar Pálsson (in his book ''The Celtic Heritage'',<ref>{{cite book|title=Arfur Kelta|year=1981|publisher=Mímir|location=Reykjavík|page=36|author=Einar Pálsson|language=is}}</ref>) the origin of the name ''Ís-land'' lies either with the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis or with Jesus.

===India=== {{Main|Names for India}} :"Land of the Indus River" in Latin, from Greek {{lang|grc|Ινδία}}, from Old Persian ''Hinduš'' ({{lang|peo|𐎢𐎯𐎴𐎡𐏃}}), the Old Persian name of the Sindh Province, ultimately derived from Sanskrit ''Sindhu'' ({{lang|sa|सिन्धु}}), the original name of the Indus River ::'''''Bharat''''' ({{wikt-lang|sa|भारतम्}}), a native name: Sanskrit, commonly derived from the name of either of two legendary kings named Bharata (Dushyanta's son Bharata and/or Rishabha's son Bharata). However, it is in reference to the entire Indian subcontinent. ::'''''Hindustan''''' ({{wikt-lang|hi|हिंदुस्तान}}), a native & former name: "Land of Sind", from Hindi,<ref>The word ''Hindu'' ({{lang|sa|हिन्दु}}) entered Sanskrit from Persian in early medieval times and is attested – in the sense of dwellers of the Indian subcontinent – in some texts, such as Bhavishya Purāna, Kālikā Purāna, Merutantra, Rāmakosha, Hemantakavikosha and Adbhutarūpakosha.</ref> from Persian {{transliteration|fa|Hindustān}} ({{lang|fa|هندوستان}}), a compound of {{transliteration|fa|Hind}} ({{wikt-lang|fa|هند}}, "Sind") and ''-stan'' ("land", see Afghanistan above). The terms "Hind" and "Hindustan" were used interchangeably from the 11th century by Muslim rulers such as the Mughal Emperors and used by the Government of India during the British Raj era alongside "India" to refer to the entire subcontinent including modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and for specifically the northern region surrounding the Indo-Gangetic Plain since the 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} ::'''''Āryāvarta''''' ({{wikt-lang|sa|आर्यावर्त}}), a native name: Sanskrit for "land of Aryans"

===Indonesia=== {{main|Etymology of Indonesia}} :"Indian Islands" in Greek ({{lang|el|Ινδονησία}}), apparently invented in the mid-19th century to mean "Indies Islands", from the islands' previous name "East Indies". ::''Nederlands Oost-Indië'', a former name, from 17th to 20th century ::'''''Dutch East Indies''''', a former name: a translation of the Dutch ::'''''Hindia-Belanda''''', a former name: the Indonesian form of the Dutch name above.

===Iran=== {{main|Etymology of Iran|Name of Iran}} [[File:Irnp105-Grobowce Naqsh-E Rustam.jpg|thumb|231x231px|Ahura Mazda and Ardashir I - Iranshar (Ērānshahr or Īrānshahr) the Sasanian Empire]] :"Land of the Aryans" or "land of the free". The term "Arya" is from a Proto Indo-Iranian root, generally meaning "noble" or "free", cognate with the Greek-derived word "aristocrat". :*Persia (former name): from Latin, via Greek {{lang|grc|Περσίς}} ''Persis'', from Old Persian {{lang|peo|𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿}} ''Pārsa'', originally the name of Persis (modern-day Fars or Pars), a place name of a central district within the region. A common Hellenic folk-etymology derives "Persia" from "Land of Perseus".{{Citation needed|reason=A valid and reliable source for this "Persia = Land of Perseus"|date=April 2014}} :*The Modern Persian word ''Īrān'' ({{lang|fa|ایران}}) derives immediately from Middle Persian ''Ērān'' (Pahlavi spelling: ''ʼyrʼn''), first attested in an inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of the first Sassanid king Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=MacKenzie|first=David Niel|title=Ērān, Ērānšahr|year=1998|volume=8|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica|publisher=Mazda|location=Costa Mesa|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eran-eransah|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313095654/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eran-eransah|archive-date=13 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicholson |first1=Oliver |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity |date=19 April 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-256246-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A09WDwAAQBAJ&dq=Iran+Eran+inscription+Ardashir+Naqsh-e+Rustam&pg=PA552 |language=en}}</ref>

===Iraq=== {{main|Etymology of Iraq}} :The prevailing theory is that it is derived from the city of Erech/Uruk (also known as "Warka") near the river Euphrates. Some archaeologists regard Uruk as the first major Sumerian city. However, it is more plausible that name is derived from the Middle Persian word ''Ērāg'', meaning "lowlands". The natives of the southwestern part of today's Iran called their land "the Persian Iraq" for many centuries (for Arabs: ''Iraq 'ajami'': non-Arabic-speaking Iraq). Before the constitution of the state of Iraq, the term "Iraq arabi" referred to the region around Baghdad and Basra.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eraq-e-ajami | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref> :*'''''Mesopotamia''''' (ancient name and Greek variant): a loan-translation (Greek ''meso-'' (between) and ''potamos'' (river), meaning "Between the Rivers") of the ancient Semitic ''Bayn al-Naḥrayn'', "Land of two Rivers", referring to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

===Ireland=== {{main|Names of the Irish state|Éire}} :After "Éire" from Proto-Celtic ''*Φīweriyū'', "the fertile place" or "Place of Éire (Ériu)", a Celtic fertility goddess. Often mistakenly derived as "Land of Iron"; may come from a reflex of Proto-Indo-European ''*arya'', or from variations of the Irish word for "west" (Modern Irish {{lang|ga|iar, iarthar}}). :*Hibernia (ancient name and Latin variant): apparently assimilated to Latin {{lang|la|hibernus}} ("wintry") from earlier ''Ivernia'' (given in Ptolemy's ''Geographia'' as {{lang|grc|Ἰουερνία}}), from the above Celtic name. :*Ireland is known as {{lang|gd|Èirinn}} in Scottish Gaelic, from the dative case of Old Irish {{lang|sga|Ériu}}. In the fellow Celtic languages: in Welsh it is {{lang|cy|Iwerddon}}; in Cornish it is {{lang|kw|Ywerdhon}} or {{lang|kw|Worthen}}; and in Breton it is {{lang|br|Iwerzhon}}. :*In Gaelic bardic tradition Ireland is also known by the poetical names of ''Banbha'' and ''Fódhla''. In Gaelic myth, Ériu, Banba and Fódla were three goddesses who greeted the Milesians upon their arrival in Ireland, and who granted them custody of the island.

===Israel=== {{main|Etymology of Israel}} :"El(God) persists/rules". :"Israel" and related terms "the people of Israel" ({{transliteration|he|'Am Isra'el}} {{lang|he|עם יִשְׂרָאֵל}}) and "the Children of Israel" ({{transliteration|he|Benei Isra'el}} {{lang|he|בני יִשְׂרָאֵל}}) have referred to the Jewish People in its literature from antiquity. The name {{transliteration|he|Isra'el}} ({{lang|he|יִשְׂרָאֵל}} – literally: "will Struggle with God"), originates from the Hebrew Bible as an appellation given to the biblical patriarch Jacob. According to the account in the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with 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|Etymology of Italy|History of Italy#Origins of the name}} :From the mythological figure of Italus. :From Latin ''Ītalia'', itself from Greek {{lang|grc|Ἰταλία}}, from the ethnic name {{lang|grc|Ἰταλός}}, plural {{lang|grc|Ἰταλοί}}, originally referring to an early population in the southern part of Calabria. That ethnic name probably directly relates to a word {{lang|grc|ἰταλός}} (''italós'', "bull"), quoted in an ancient Greek gloss by Hesychius (from his collection of 51,000 unusual, obscure and foreign words). This "Greek" word is assumed to be a cognate of Latin {{lang|la|vitulus}} ("calf"), although the different length of the ''i'' is a problem. The Latin {{lang|la|vitulus}} is presumably derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*wet-'' meaning "year" (hence, a "yearling": a "one-year-old calf"), although the change of ''e'' to ''i'' is unexplained. The "Greek" word, however, is glossed as "bull", not "calf". Speakers of ancient Oscan called Italy ''Víteliú'', a cognate of Greek {{lang|grc|Ἰταλία}} and Latin {{lang|la|Ītalia}}. Varro wrote that the region got its name from the excellence and abundance of its cattle. Some disagree with that etymology. Compare Italus. :*''Friagi'' or ''Friaz''' (Old East Slavic): 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'' and ''Wallachia''.

===Ivory Coast=== {{hatnote|See Côte d'Ivoire above.}}

==J==

===Jamaica=== :Taíno/Arawak ''Xaymaca'' or ''Hamaica'', "Land of wood and water".

===Japan=== {{Main|Names of Japan}} :From ''Geppun'', Marco Polo's Italian rendition of the islands' Shanghainese name 日本 (Mandarin pinyin: ''rìběn'', Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Nyih4 Pen2'', at the time approximately ''jitpun''), 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". :*''Nihon'' / ''Nippon'': Japanese name, from the Onyomi (Sino-Japanese) pronunciation of the same characters as above.

===Jordan=== {{Main|Etymology of Jordan}} :After the river Jordan, the name of which possibly derives from the Hebrew and Canaanite root {{lang|he|ירד}} {{transliteration|he|yrd}} – "descend" (into the Dead Sea). The river Jordan forms part of the border between Jordan and Israel/West Bank. ::Transjordan (former name): ''Trans'' means "across" or "beyond", i.e. east of the river Jordan. ::{{transliteration|ar|Urdun}} (Arabic), literal translation of name Jordan, sometimes spelled {{transliteration|ar|Urdan}}.

==K==

===Kazakhstan=== {{main|Etymology of Kazakhstan}} :"Land of the Kazakhs", an amalgam of Kazakh ''qazaq'' ({{lang|kk|Қазақ}}, 'nomad', 'free') and Persian ''-stan'' ({{wikt-lang|fa| |ستان||}} 'land').

===Kenya=== {{main|Etymology of Kenya|Etymology of Mount Kenya|List of names on Mount Kenya}} :After Mount Kenya, probably from the Kikuyu ''Kere Nyaga'' ("White Mountain").<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Kenya Kenya]." Accessed 10 September 2011.</ref> :* British East Africa (former name): after its geographical position on the continent of Africa and the former colonial power, (Britain). :''See also Britain, above, and Africa on the Place name etymology page.''

:From the Kikuyu word Kirinyaga a contraction of Kirima nyaga "Ostrich mountain", so called because the dark shadows and snow-capped peak resemble the plumage of a male Ostrich. The neighbouring Kamba tribe do not have the "R" and "G" sound in their language and called it "Keinya" when acting as guides to a German explorer. It is often erroneously believed it comes from Kirima Ngai "Mountain of God"

===Kiribati=== {{main|Etymology of Kiribati}} :An adaptation of "Gilbert", from the former European name the "Gilbert Islands". {{IPA|gil|ˈkiɾibas|pron}}. ::Gilbert Islands (former name): named after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert, who sighted the islands in 1788.

===Korea (North and South)=== {{main|Etymology of Korea|Names of Korea}} :From "Gaoli", Marco Polo's Italian rendition of ''Gāo Lí'' ({{lang-zh|{{wt|zh|高麗|高麗}}}}), the Chinese name for Goryeo (918–1392), which had named itself after the earlier Goguryeo (37 BC–AD 668). The original name was a combination of the adjective ''go'' (고; 高) meaning "lofty" and a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either ''Guru'' (구루, "walled city") or ''Gauri'' (가우리, "center"). ::South Koreans call Korea ''Hanguk'' (한국), an early 20th century neologism derived from the name "Samhan", referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea. ::North Koreans as well as ethnic Koreans living in China and Japan call it ''Chosŏn'' (조선) from Gojoseon (?–108 BC).

===Kosovo=== {{main|Etymology of Kosovo|Names of Kosovo}} :From the Serbian word ''Kosovo'', derived from ''Kosovo Polje'', the central Kosovo plain, and literally means "Field of Blackbird", since "kos" is "a blackbird" and "-ovo" is regular Serbian suffix for possessive adjectives.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} ::In Hungarian it is {{lang|hu|Rigómező}}, which means "field of the thrush"

===Kuwait=== :From the Arabic diminutive form of {{lang|ar|كوت}} ({{transliteration|ar|Kut}} or {{transliteration|ar|Kout}}), meaning "fortress built near water".

===Kyrgyzstan=== : "Land of the forty tribes", from three words: ''kyrg'' (''kırk'') meaning "forty", ''yz'' (''uz'') meaning "tribes" in East-Turkic, and ''-stan'' meaning "land" in Persian.

==L==

===Laos=== {{main|Etymology of Laos}} :Coined under French rule, derived from Lao ''lao'' (ລາວ), meaning "a Laotian" or "Laotian", possibly originally from an ancient Indian word ''lava'' (लव). (''Lava'' is the name of one of the twin sons of the god Rama; see History of Lahore.) The name might also be from ''Ai-Lao'' (Lao: ອ້າຽລາວ, Isan: อ้ายลาว, {{Lang-zh|c=哀牢|p=''Āiláo''}}, Vietnamese: ai lao), the old Chinese name for the Tai ethnic groups to which the Lao people belong.<ref>[http://www.singto.co.uk/History/History.htm Singto{{spaced ndash}}Dedicated to Thai Boxing, and all things Thai]</ref> Formerly known as ''Lan Xang'' (ລ້ານຊ້າງ) or "land of a million elephants". :{{langx|lo|ເມືອງລາວ}} {{transliteration|lo|Muang Lao}}, {{abbr|lit.|literally}} "Lao Country". The official name: Lao Democratic People's Republic; Lao: {{lang|lo|ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ}} {{transliteration|lo|Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao}} ::{{lang-zh|老挝}} ''Lǎowō''

===Latvia=== {{main|Latvian people}} :Emerged in the 19th century by combining ethnonym with finale -ija. The meaning and origin of name of Latvian people is unclear, however the root lat-/let- is associated with several Baltic hydronyms and might share common origin with the ''Liet-'' part of neighbouring Lithuania (''Lietuva'', see below) and name of Latgalians – one of the Baltic tribes that are considered ancestors of modern Latvian people.

===Lebanon=== {{main|Etymology of Lebanon}} :The name Lebanon ({{lang|ar|لُبْنَان}} {{transliteration|ar|Lubnān}} in standard Arabic; ''Lebnan'' or ''Lebnèn'' in local dialect) is derived from the Semitic root "LBN", which is linked to several closely related meanings in various languages, such as "white" and "milk". This is regarded as a reference to the snow-capped Mount Lebanon, which is actually what the country was named after as it had previously been called Phoenicia, a prosperous ancient semitic civilization that hailed from the land in Modern day Lebanon. Occurrences of the name have been found in three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh (2900 BC), the texts of the library of Ebla (2400 BC), and the Bible (71 times in the Bible's Old Testament).

===Lesotho=== :"Land of the Basotho" or "of the Sesotho-speakers".<ref>{{cite book|title=No Place Left to Bury the Dead|first=Nicole|last=Itano|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/noplacelefttobur00itan/page/314 314]|isbn=978-0-7432-7095-3|url=https://archive.org/details/noplacelefttobur00itan/page/314}}</ref> Basotho itself is formed from the plural prefix ''ba-'' and ''Sotho'' of uncertain etymology, although possibly related to the word ''motho'' ("human being").<ref>Merriam-Webster Online. "[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/basotho Basotho]". Retrieved 11 May 2012.</ref> :''Basutoland'': "Land of the Basotho", from an early anglicization of their name

===Liberia=== :From the Latin {{lang|la|liber}} meaning ''liberty'' or ''freedom'', so named because the country was established as a homeland for freed (liberated) African-American slaves.

===Libya=== {{main|Etymology of Libya|Ancient Libya|Libu}} :After an ancient Berber tribe called ''Libyans'' by the Greeks and ''Rbw'' by the Egyptians. Until the country's independence, the term "Libya" generally applied only to the vast desert 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 a convenient name for the country.

===Liechtenstein=== :From the German "light stone" ("light" as in "bright"). The country took its name from the Liechtenstein dynasty, which purchased and united the counties of Schellenberg and Vaduz. The Holy Roman Emperor allowed the dynasty to rename the new property after itself.

===Lithuania=== : Multiple theories: Some link it to the word {{lang|lt|lieti}} ("to consolidate" or "to unite"), referring to the first union of tribes in ethnic Lithuanian lands (not lands of Balts, but lands of ancient tribes of Lithuanians including Prussians, nowadays Latvians and Belarusians). :Alternatively, could be a hydronym, possibly from a small river ''Lietava'' in central Lithuania. That hydronym has been associated with Lithuanian ''lieti'' (root ''lie-'' "pour" or "spill"). Compare to Old Slavic ''liyati'' (лыиати "pour"), Greek ''a-lei-son'' ({{lang|grc|α-λει-σον}} "cup"), Latin {{lang|la|litus}} ("seashore"), Tocharian A ''lyjäm'' ("lake"). :Historically, attempts have been made to suggest a direct descendance from the Latin {{lang|la|litus}} (see littoral). {{lang|la|Litva}} (genitive: {{lang|la|Litvae}}), an early Latin variant of the toponym, appears in a 1009 chronicle describing an archbishop "struck over the head by pagans on the border of Russia/Prussia and {{lang|la|Litvae}}". A 16th-century scholar associated the word with the Latin word {{lang|la|litus}} ("tubes") – a possible reference to wooden trumpets played by Lithuanian tribesmen. : A folkloric explanation is that the country's name in the Lithuanian language ({{lang|lt|Lietuva}}) is derived from a word {{lang|lt|lietus}} ("rain") and means "a rainy place".

===Luxembourg=== :The country which was initially called ''(County of the) Ardennes'' named itself after its homonym capital city founded in 963. :From Celtic ''Lucilem'' "small", German ''lützel'', OHG ''luc(c)il'', ''luz(z)il'' (cognate to English "little") and Germanic ''Burg'': "castle" or "fortress", thus ''Lucilemburg'': "little castle" or "little fortress".

:Later forms of the name were: Lütze(l)burg, Lëtzelburg (cf. Luxembourgish: ''Lëtzebuerg'') :The evolution towards the originally French versions of the name using the letter X instead of C, TZ or TS (Lu'''x'''embourg, Lu'''x'''emburg), which were adopted by most languages (but not by Luxembourgish itself), was the result of the French cultural influence throughout Europe since the 17th century.

==M==

===Madagascar=== {{main|Etymology of Madagascar}} :From ''Madageiscar'', a corruption of Mogadishu popularized by Marco Polo.

===Malawi=== :Possibly based on a native word meaning "flaming water" or "tongues of fire", 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", and the name stuck. :* Nyasaland (former name): ''Nyasa'' literally means "lake" in the local indigenous languages. The name applied to Lake Malawi, formerly Lake Nyasa (Niassa).

===Malaysia=== {{main|Malay people|Etymology of Malaysia}} [[File:LA2-NSRW-1-0148 malaysia.jpg|thumb|alt=English Map of Southeast Asia, "MALAYSIA" typeset horizontally so that the letters run across the northernmost corner of Borneo and pass just south of the Philippines.|"Malaysia" used as a label for the Malay Archipelago on a 1914 map from a U.S. atlas]]

: "Land of the Malays": a combination of ''Malay'' and the Latin/Greek suffix -sia/-σία.<ref>{{cite book|last=Room|first=Adrian|title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historic Sites|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2004|isbn=978-0-7864-1814-5|page=221}}</ref> ''malayadvīpa'' (Sanskrit: मलयद्वीप) was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. In modern terminology, "Malay" is the name of an ethnoreligious group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and portions of adjacent islands of Southeast Asia, including the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and smaller islands that lie between these areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/359662/Malay|title=Malay|author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica))|year=2013|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.}}</ref> A theory suggests that the word ''Melayu'' ('Malay') is derived from the Malay/Javanese terms ''melayu'' or ''mlayu'' (to steadily accelerate or to run), to describe the strong current of a river in Sumatra that today bore the name ''Sungai Melayu''.<ref>{{citation|last1=Abdul Rashid|first1=Melebek|last2=Amat Juhari|first2=Moain|title=Sejarah Bahasa Melayu ("History of the Malay Language")|pages=9–10|publisher=Utusan Publications & Distributors|year=2006|isbn=967-61-1809-5}}</ref> The name was later possibly adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the 7th century on Sumatra.<ref>{{citation | last = Milner | first = Anthony | title = The Malays (The Peoples of South-East Asia and the Pacific) | pages = 18–19| publisher = Wiley-Blackwell | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-1-4443-3903-1 }}</ref> The continental part of the country bore the name ''Tanah Melayu'' (literally 'Malay Land') or Malaya until 1963, when Federation of Malaysia was formed together with the territories of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (the latter withdrew in 1965). The name change indicated the change of the country's boundaries beyond Malay Peninsula. ''Malaysian'' refers to its citizens of all races includes the native aboriginal people, while ''Malay'' refers to the Malay people, which makes up about half of the population.

===Maldives=== {{main|Etymology of Maldives|Names of the Maldives}} : Scholars believe that the name "Maldives" derives from the Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|maladvipa}} ({{lang|sa|मालद्वीप}}), meaning "garland of islands". Some sources say that the Tamil {{transliteration|ta|maalai}} ({{lang|ta|மாலை}}) or Malayalam {{transliteration|ml|mala}} ({{lang|ml|മാല}}): "mountain(s)", Tamil {{transliteration|ta|theevu}} ({{lang|ta|தீவு}}) and Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|dvīp}} ({{lang|sa|द्वीप}}): "island", thus, "Mountain Islands". :*{{transliteration|dv|Dhivehi Raajje}} ({{lang|dv|ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ}}) (Maldivian name): "Kingdom of Maldivians". {{transliteration|dv|Dhivehi}} is a noun describing the Dhives people (Maldivians) and their language "Dhivehi" simultaneously. :* {{transliteration|sa|Maladwipa}} ({{lang|sa|मालद्वीप}}): Sanskrit for "garland ({{transliteration|sa|mala}} {{lang|sa|माला}}, {{IPA|sa|/maːlaː/}}) of islands"; or, more likely, "small islands", from {{transliteration|sa|mala}} ({{lang|sa|मल}}) ({{IPA|sa|/mala/}}) meaning "small".

===Mali=== :After the ancient West African kingdom of the same name, where a large part of the modern country is. The word ''mali'' means "hippopotamus" in Malinké and Bamana. :* French Sudan (former colonial name). In French ''Soudan français''. The term Sudan (see below) stems from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|bilad as-sudan}} ({{lang|ar|البلاد السودان}}) ("land of the Blacks").

===Malta=== {{main|Etymology of Malta}} :From either Greek or Phoenician. Of the two cultures, available evidence suggests that the Greeks had an earlier presence on the island, from as far back as 700 BC.<ref name="ndmh">{{cite news|url=http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/islands/dates.asp|publisher=Department of Information – Maltese Government|title=Notable dates in Malta's history|date=6 February 2008}}</ref> The Greeks are known to have called the island {{transliteration|grc|Melita}} ({{lang|grc|Μελίτη}}) meaning "honey", as did the Romans; solid evidence for this is Malta's domination by the Byzantine Empire from 395 through to 870. It is still nicknamed the "land of honey".<ref name="ndmh"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2003/06/29/l7.html |work=Malta Today |title=Controversy over unique Maltese bee population |date=6 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319221059/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2003/06/29/l7.html |archive-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref> The theory for a Phoenician origin of the word is via 𐤈𐤄𐤋𐤀𐤌 ''Maleth'' meaning "a haven".<ref>{{cite book| last =Pickles| first =Tim| title =Malta 1565: Last Battle of the Crusades| publisher =Osprey Publishing| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0LuvbRQ78sIC&q=Maleth+Malta+haven&pg=PA11| isbn =978-1-85532-603-3| date =January 1998}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The modern-day name comes from the Maltese language, through an evolution of one of the earlier names.

===Marshall Islands=== :Named after British captain John Marshall, who first documented the existence of the islands in 1788. The family name is rendered ''{{lang|mh|Majeļ}}'' in Marshallese.

===Mauritania=== :Latin for "land of the Moors" (from Greek ''máuros'', μαύρος (black). Not to be confused with the classical Mauretania in northern Morocco, itself named after the Berber Mauri or Moor tribe.

===Mauritius=== :Named ''Prins Maurits van Nassaueiland'' in 1598 after Maurice of Nassau (1567–1625), Stadtholder of Holland and Prince of Orange (1585–1625).

===Mexico=== {{Main|Etymology of Mexico|Name of Mexico}} :After the Mexica. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Some take it as the old Nahuatl word for the sun.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Mexico |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> See also Mexican state name etymologies.

===Federated States of Micronesia=== :Coined from the Greek words {{transliteration|grc|mikros}} ({{lang|grc|μικρός}} "small") and {{transliteration|grc|nesos}} ({{lang|grc|νῆσος}} "island") – "small islands".

===Moldova=== {{Main|Etymology of Moldova|Name of Moldova}} :From the Moldova River in Romania, possibly from Gothic {{transliteration|got|Mulda}} ({{lang|got|𐌼ᚢ𐌻ᛞᚨ}}): "dust", "mud", via the Principality of Moldavia (''Moldova'' in Romanian). :There is also a well-known Romanian legend about a young man named Dragoș Vodă who went hunting for an aurochs or a wisent, followed by a bunch of dogs. During the hunting expedition, all the dogs got tired and fell down, except for a female dog named Molda which ran to the wild animal all the time. After the wisent entered into a river, the female dog did the same thing, but unfortunately it got drowned and died in that way. Thanks to Molda, Dragoș finally killed the wisent and cut its head off, and in memory of his dog's sacrifice, he named the river and the land after MOLda – MOLdovA. That legend, which is a fictional story, explains the name of the territory and country's etymology and also explains why the symbol of Moldova is the wisent head.

===Monaco=== :From the ancient Greek {{transliteration|grc|monoikos}} ({{lang|grc|μόνοικος}}) 'single-dwelling', through Latin ''Monoecus''. Originally the name of an ancient colony founded in the 6th century B.C. by Phocian Greeks, and a by-name of the demigod Hercules worshiped there. (The association of Monaco with monks (Italian ''monaci'') dates from the Grimaldi conquest of 1297: see coat of arms of Monaco.)

===Mongolia=== :"Land of the Mongols" in Latin. "Mongol" ultimately from Mongolian ''Mongol'' ({{wikt-lang|mn|монгол}}) of uncertain etymology, given variously as the name of a mountain or river; a corruption of the Mongolian ''Mongkhe-tengri-gal'' ("Eternal Sky Fire");<ref>{{cite book |author=Admon | title = Монгол улсын түүх |trans-title=History of Mongolia | year = 1999 | publisher = National University of Mongolia, School of Social Sciences, Department of History | language = mn | pages = 67–69 | chapter = 2. Хүний үүсэл, Монголчуудын үүсэл гарвал |trans-chapter=2. Origins of Humanity; Origins of the Mongols }}</ref> or a derivation from Mugulu, the 4th-century founder of the Rouran Khaganate.<ref>{{cite book | last = Г. Сүхбаатар | title = Монголын эртний түүх судлал, III боть |trans-title=Historiography of Ancient Mongolia, Volume III | volume = 3 | year = 1992 | language = mn | pages = 330–550 | chapter = Монгол Нирун улс |trans-chapter=Mongol Nirun (Rouran) state }}</ref> First attested as the ''Mungu''<ref name="Svanty">Svantesson, Jan-Olov & al. ''The Phonology of Mongolian'', pp. 103–105. Oxford Univ. Press (Oxford), 2005.</ref> (Chinese: {{wikt-lang|zh|蒙兀}}, Modern Chinese ''Měngwù'', Middle Chinese ''Muwngu''<ref>Pulleyblank, Edwin George. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qBvsXylluO4C Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin]''. UBC Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-7748-0366-5}}.</ref>) branch of the Shiwei in an 8th-century Tang dynasty list of northern tribes, presumably related to the Liao-era ''Mungku''<ref name="Svanty"/> (Chinese: {{wikt-lang|zh|蒙古}}, Modern Chinese ''Měnggǔ'', Middle Chinese ''MuwngkuX''<ref name="BaxSag">Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. ''{{cite web|url=http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 |title=Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 |archive-date=25 April 2012 }} {{small|(1.93 MB)}}''. 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.</ref>) tribe now known as the ''Khamag Mongol''. The last head of the tribe was Yesügei, whose son Temüjin eventually united all the Shiwei tribes as the Mongol Empire (''Yekhe Monggol Ulus'').

===Montenegro=== {{main|Etymology of Montenegro}} :"Black Mountain" in the Venetian language, for Mount Lovćen and its dark coniferous forests. ::'''''Crna Gora''''', the local endonym: As above, in Serbian ({{wikt-lang|sh-Cyrl|Црна Гора}}). ::'''''Doclea''''', a former name: "Land of the Docleatae", Latinized from the Greek name ''Dokleátai'' ({{lang|grc|Δοκλεάται}}) of an Illyrian tribe formed around old Podgorica following the Great Illyrian Revolt. The Romans subsequently hyper-corrected the name to '''''Dioclea''''' by "restoring" a supposed lost -I-.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} ::'''''Zeta''''', a former name: "[Land of the] Zeta River" ({{wikt-lang|sh-Cyrl|Зета}}), whose name probably relates to early Slavic roots related to "harvest" (Serbian: ''žetva''){{citation needed|date=October 2011}} or "grain" (''žito'').{{citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===Morocco=== {{main|Etymology of Morocco}} :from "Marrakesh", the south region's former capital, from Portuguese ''Marrocos''. Form of the Berber name {{transliteration|ber|Mərrakəš}} ({{lang|ber|ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ}}), probably from {{transliteration|ber|mur'' [''n''] ''akush}} ({{lang|ber|ⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ}}, "Land of God"). ::'''Al-Maghrib''', a native name: Arabic for "the West" ({{lang|ar|المغرب}}), although note that in English use, the Maghreb typically refers to all of northwest Africa, not Morocco in particular. Also, Maghreb means "The Land of Sunset".

===Mozambique=== {{main|Etymology of Mozambique}} :From the name of the Island of Mozambique, which in turn probably comes from the name of the sheik Mussa Ben Mbiki, the Arab ruler at the time when Vasco da Gama called at the island in 1498.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=M. D. D. Newitt |title=The Early History of the Sultanate of Angoche |journal=The Journal of African History |date=1972 |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=398 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700011713 |jstor=180586 }}</ref>

===Myanmar=== {{hatnote|See Burma above.}}

==N==

===Namibia=== :From the coastal Namib Desert. ''Namib'' means "area where there is nothing" in the Nama language. ::'''''South-West Africa''''', a former name: location on the continent. For Africa, see List of continent-name etymologies. ::'''''German Southwest Africa''''', a former name: As above. For Germany, see Germany above.

===Nauru=== {{main|Etymology of 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''.

===Nepal=== {{main|Etymology of Nepal}} :The name "Nepal" is derived from "Nepa" as mentioned in the historical maps of South Asia. "Nepa" literally means "those who domesticate cattle" in the Tibeto-Burman languages. The land was known by its people the Nepa or Nepar, Newar, Newa, Newal etc., who still inhabit the area i.e. the valley of Kathmandu and its surroundings. The Newa people use "Ra" and "La" or "Wa" and "Pa" interchangeably, hence the different names mentioned above. :Some say it derives from the Sanskrit word ''nīpālaya'' (Sanskrit: नीपालय), which means "abode at the foot of mountain', referring to its proximity to the Himalayas. (Compare the analogous European toponym "Piedmont".) Others suggest that it derives from the Tibetan ''niyampal'', which means "holy land".

===Netherlands=== {{main|Netherlands (terminology)}} :''Netherlands'' literally means ''Low countries'' or ''Lowlands''. Dutch ''neder'' and its English cognate ''nether'' both mean 'down(ward), below'. The English word is now uncommon, mostly replaced by ''lower'' in English.<ref>see: [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=nether&searchmode=none Online Etymology Dictionary on Nether] However, the explanation given in this source about the origin of the word ''Nederlanden'' as used "by the Austrians" in contradistinction to their own mountainous country, is extremely implausible, if only because the use of the word antedates the Austrian Netherlands by two centuries at least. Austria itself has a ''Niederösterreich'' region (Lower Austria) that is quite mountainous, but derives its name from its downriver location.</ref> ''Neder'' or ''nether'' may simply have denoted the geographical characteristics of the land, both flat and down river. This may have applied to the singular form ''Nederland'', or ''Niderland''. It was a geographical description of low regions in the Germanic lands. Thus it was also used to refer specifically to the estuaries of the Scheldt, Meuse and Rhine, including the Lower Rhineland.<ref name=Duke>{{cite book|last=Duke|first=A.|title=Dissident identities in the early modern Low Countries|year=2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing}}</ref>{{rp|37}} ::'''''Holland''''', a former name: From the region of Holland within the Netherlands, often used by metonymy for the country as a whole. "Holland" from the Germanic ''holt-land'' ("wooded land"),<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=holland&searchmode=none Holland]".</ref> although often pseudoetymologized as "hollow" or "marsh land"). ::'''''Batavia''''', a former and poetic name: From the Latin name of the Germanic Batavii tribe.

===New Zealand=== {{main|Etymology of New Zealand}} {{see also|List of New Zealand place name etymologies}} :After the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, which means "sea land", referring to the large number of islands it contains. Abel Tasman referred to New Zealand as ''Staten Landt'', but later Dutch cartographers used ''Nova Zeelandia'', in Latin, followed by ''Nieuw Zeeland'' in Dutch, which Captain James Cook later anglicised to ''New Zealand''. :* ''Aotearoa'' has become the most common name for the country in the indigenous Māori language, supplanting the loan-phrase ''Niu Tireni''. ''Aotearoa'' conventionally means "land of the long white cloud". :* ''Nua Shealtainn'' in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, meaning "New Shetland" (''Sealtainn''), itself from a metathesised form of Scots ''Shetland''. Gaelic speakers seem to have folk-etymologised ''Zeeland'' when translating New Zealand's name from English.

===Nicaragua=== {{main|Etymology of Nicaragua}} :"Here Surrounded By Water",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://etimologias.dechile.net/?Nicaragua|title= Etymology of Nicaragua}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mined.gob.ni/biblioteca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Libro-Toponimia-Octubre-2022.pdf|title= Nicaraguan place names}}</ref> from Nahuatl ''Nicānāhuac'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nahuatl Dictionary: Letter N Word List|date=31 March 2025 |url=https://www.vocabulario.com.mx/nahuatl/diccionario_nahuatl_n.html}}</ref> the name the Nicaraos gave to western Nicaragua.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://planlea.edu.do/2017/02/origen-de-los-nombres-de-los-paises-de-latinoamaerica/|title= Origin of the names of the Latin American countries|date= 8 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elcafelatino.org/es/latinoamerica-origen-nombre-paises/|title= The curious story of the origin of the names of Latin American countries|date= 16 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cclec.org/membership/nicaragua/|title= Nicaragua|date= 11 July 2024}}</ref> This endonym referred to the large bodies of water that surrounded the land the Nicaraos inhabited: The Pacific Ocean, lakes Nicaragua and Xolotlan, and the rivers and lagoons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://telegrafi.com/en/from-Brazil-to-Bolivia-and-Costa-Rica%2C-some-explanations-about-the-names-of-Latin-American-countries/|title= From Brazil to Bolivia and Costa Rica: Explanations about Latin American country names|date= 31 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/CHAPTER%2022.pdf|title= Geographical Names as Cultural Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sica.int/busqueda/busqueda_archivo.aspx?Archivo=odoc_15182_1_15052007.pdf|title= February 2007}}</ref> It's a combination of the Nahuatl words ''Nican'' (here),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/nican|title= Nahuatl Dictionary: Nican}}</ref> and ''Ānāhuac'', which in turn is a combination of the words ''atl'' (water) and ''nahuac'', a locative meaning "surrounded".

===Niger=== :In English, Niger may be pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|aɪ|dʒ|ər}} or {{IPAc-en|n|iː|ˈ|ʒ|ɛər}}. :Named after the Niger River, from a native term ''Ni Gir'' or "River Gir" or from Tuareg ''n'eghirren'' ("flowing water").<ref>{{cite book | title =Atlas A-Z | publisher =Dorling Kindersley | year =2004 | location =New York City | page =289 }}</ref>

===Nigeria=== :After the Niger river that flows through the western areas of the country and into the ocean and area. See Niger above.

===North Korea=== :Self-descriptive, from its location in the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula. For the etymology of Korea, see Korea above.

===North Macedonia=== {{main|Etymology of Macedonia|Macedonia (terminology)}}

:Self-descriptive, from its location in the northern portion of Macedonia. ::'''Macedonia''': The country name ({{langx|mk|Македонија/ Makedonija}}) is from the Greek word ''Μακεδονία'' (''Makedonía''),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2364599 Μακεδονία], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref><ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Macedonia Macedonia], Online Etymology Dictionary</ref> a kingdom (later, region) named after the ancient Macedonians. Their name, Μακεδόνες (''Makedónes''), derives ultimately from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός (''makednós''), meaning "tall, taper",<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2364596 μακεδνός], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> which shares the same root as the noun μάκρος (''mákros''), meaning "length" in both ancient and modern Greek.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2364705 μάκρος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> The name is originally believed to have meant either "highlanders" or "the tall ones".<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Macedonia&searchmode=none Macedonia], Online Etymology Dictionary</ref> The provisional term "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" was used in many international contexts in acknowledgment of a political dispute with Greece over the historical legitimacy of the country's use of the name. In February 2019, the country renamed itself to the Republic of North Macedonia.

===Norway=== {{main|Etymology of 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. ::Natively called ''Norge'' in Bokmål and ''Noreg'' in Nynorsk. ::''Urmane'', or ''Murmane'' (урмане; Му́рмане) in Old East Slavic: from the Old Norse pronunciation of the word ''Normans'': "Northmen". (This word survives in the name of the Russian city Murmansk.) ::''An Iorua'' (Irish) seems to derive from a misinterpretation of Old Norse ''Norðrvegr'' as beginning the Irish definite article ''an'', common to most country names in Irish. The rest of the word was then taken as the country name. (A similar process took place in the development of the English word "adder": originally "a nadder".)

==O==

===Oman=== :Etymology uncertain. It seems to be related to Pliny the Elder's Omana<ref>Pliny the Elder. ''Natural History'', VI.149.</ref> and Ptolemy's Omanon ({{lang|grc|Όμανον εμπόριον}}),<ref>Ptolemy, Claudius. ''Geography''. VI.7.36.</ref> both probably the ancient Sohar.<ref name="EJoman">''Encyclopedia of Islam''. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=9JQ3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA976 Oman]". E.J. Brill (Leiden), 1913.</ref> The city or region is typically etymologized in Arabic from ''aamen'' or ''amoun'' ("settled" people, as opposed to the bedouin),<ref name="EJoman"/> although a number of eponymous founders have been proposed (Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, Oman bin Qahtan, and the Biblical Lot) and others derive it from the name of a valley in Yemen at Ma'rib presumed to have been the origin of the city's founders, the Azd, a tribe migrating from Yemen.<ref name="Tarbaby">''Tarikh fi Uman'' [''Oman in History''].</ref>

==P==

===Pakistan=== {{main|Etymology of Pakistan}}

The name {{wikt-lang|en|Pakistan}} literally means "Land of the Pure" (referring to the exclusivist, parochialistic and chauvinistic claim of and for the Muslims only) in Urdu, Pashto and Persian. It was coined in 1933 as ''Pakstan'' by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet ''Now or Never'',<ref name="nowornever">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_rahmatali_1933.html|title=Now or never: Are we to live or perish for ever?|author=Choudhary Rahmat Ali|publisher=Columbia University|date=28 January 1933|access-date=4 December 2007}}</ref> using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN") referring to the names of the five northwestern regions of the British Indian Empire: '''P'''unjab, '''A'''fghania, '''K'''ashmir, '''S'''indh, and Balochis'''tan'''".<ref name="Now or Never">{{cite journal|author=Choudhary Rahmat Ali|title=Now or Never. Are we to live or perish forever?|date=28 January 1933|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Now_or_Never;_Are_We_to_Live_or_Perish_Forever%3F}}</ref><ref name="Ikram1995">{{cite book|author=S. M. Ikram|title=Indian Muslims and partition of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7q9EubOYZmwC&pg=PA177|access-date=23 December 2011|date=1 January 1995|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-7156-374-6|pages=177–|author-link=S. M. Ikram}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm |title=Rahmat Ali ::Now or Never |publisher=The Pakistan National Movement |access-date=14 April 2011 |author=Rahmat Ali |page=2 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419012150/http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm |archive-date=19 April 2011 }}</ref> The letter ''i'' was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name (by functioning as an iżāfa).<ref name="davison">{{cite journal |author=Roderic H. Davidson |title=Where is the Middle East? |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=38 |pages=665–675 |year=1960 |doi=10.2307/20029452 |issue=4|jstor=20029452 |s2cid=157454140 }}</ref>

===Palau=== :From the native name ''Belau'' ("Palau"), traditionally derived from Palauan ''aidebelau'' ("indirect replies"), in reference to the island's creation story involving the destruction of the giant Chuab.<ref>Belau National Museum, cited by Pelnar, Bonnie. "[http://www.underwatercolours.com/bai/bais.html The Bais of Balau]". Retrieved 22 September 2011.</ref> ::'''''Belau''''', the local endonym: As above. ::'''''Los Palos''''', a former name: A Spanish adaptation of the above. ::'''''Pelew''''', a former name: From the transcription of Belau above by the British captain Henry Wilson, whose ship was wrecked off Ulong Island in 1783.

===Palestine=== {{main|Timeline of the name Palestine}} The English word Palestine is derived from the Latin {{lang|la|Palestina}} ("Roman Province of Palestine"), which is derived from the Ancient Greek {{lang|el|Παλαιστίνη}} (''Palaistine'', "Philistia and surrounding regions"), which is in turn derived from the Hebrew {{lang|he|פלשת}} (''Pelesheth'', "land of the Philistines")<ref>[http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Palestine&allowed_in_frame=0 Online Etymology Dictionary (Palestine)]</ref>

===Panama=== {{main|Etymology of Panama}} :After a former village near the modern capital, Panama City. From the Cueva language meaning "place of abundance of fish" or "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=== {{main|Names of New Guinea}} :The country acquired its name in the 19th century. The word "Papua" derives from Malay ''papuah'' describing the hair styles found in Papuan cultures. "New Guinea" comes from the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, who noted the resemblance of the local people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa.

===Paraguay=== {{main|Etymology of Paraguay}} :The exact meaning of the word "Paraguay" is unknown, though it seems to derive from the river of the same name. One of the most common explanations is that it means "water of the Payagua (a native tribe)". Another meaning links the Guarani words ''para'' ("river") and ''guai'' ("crown"), meaning "crowned river". A third meaning may be ''para'' ("river"), ''gua'' ("from"), ''y'' ("water") meaning "water that comes from the river", referring to the bog in the north of the country, which is actually in Brazil.

===Peru=== {{main|Etymology of Peru}} :The exact meaning behind the word "Peru" is obscure. The most popular theory derives it from the native word ''biru'', meaning "river". Another explanation claims that it comes from the name of the Indigenous chieftain Pelu. 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 possible origin is ''Beru'', presumptively an old native name of the region.

===Philippines=== {{main|Etymology of the Philippines|Names of the Philippines}} :"Lands of Prince Philip of Asturias", from the Spanish ''Felipinas'', honoring the future King Philip II of Spain, bestowed on the islands of Leyte and Samar by the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543 and later extended to refer to the entire archipelago. Philip's name itself is Greek ({{lang|el|Φίλιππος}}, ''Phílippos'') and means "lover of horses".<ref>Liddell, Henry George & al. "[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*f%3Aentry+group%3D21%3Aentry%3Dfi%2Flippos Φίλιππος]"</ref> ::'''''Ma-i''''', a former name: From the Mandarin pronunciation ''Máyì'' of the Chinese characters {{wikt-lang|zh|麻逸}} used by Cantonese traders to spell ''Ma-yat'' and Zaytonese traders to spell ''Ma-it'',<ref>The ''History of Song''.</ref><ref>Zhao Rugua. {{wikt-lang|zh|諸|蕃|志}} [''Zhū Fān Zhì'', ''An Account of the Various Barbarians''].</ref><ref name="Pattane">{{Cite book| title=The Philippines in the 6th to 16th Centuries| last=Patanne| first=E. P.| year=1996| publisher=LSA Press| location=San Juan| isbn=971-91666-0-6 }}</ref><ref name="KansaiICIS">{{cite journal| author=Wang Zhenping| title=Reading Song-Ming Records on the Pre-colonial History of the Philippines| journal=Journal of East Asian Cultural Interaction Studies| year=2008| volume=1| pages=249–260| issn=1882-7756| url=http://www.icis.kansai-u.ac.jp/data/journal01-v1/journal01-19-wang.pdf| access-date=12 May 2012| archive-date=13 March 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313164616/http://www.icis.kansai-u.ac.jp/data/journal01-v1/journal01-19-wang.pdf}}</ref> sinicizations of a local prehistoric state (probably on Mindoro<ref name="Pattane"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History |author=Scott, William Henry. |publisher=New Day Publishers |year=1984 |location=Quezon City |isbn=971-10-0226-4 |chapter=Societies in Prehispanic Philippines |page=70}}</ref> or Laguna<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Go |first=Bon Juan |date=2005 |title=Ma'I in Chinese Records – Mindoro or Bai? An Examination of a Historical Puzzle |url=http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/download/216/223 |url-status=live |journal=Philippine Studies |publisher=Ateneo de Manila |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=119–138 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021221348/http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/download/216/223 |archive-date=October 21, 2013}}</ref>) recorded by the Sultanate of Brunei as ''Maidh''.<ref>Nicholl, Robert. "Brunei Rediscovered". ''Brunei Museum Journal'', Vol. 4 (1980).</ref> ::'''''St. Lazarus Islands''''', a former name: from the Spanish name ''Las islas de San Lázaro'' bestowed by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 upon reaching Homonhon on the feast of St. Lazarus of Bethany. ::'''''Islands of the West''''', a former name: from the Spanish name ''Las islas de Poniente'', adopted in order to assert their ownership by Spain under the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas; the Portuguese, who (correctly, as it happens) felt the islands fell within their sphere, instead called them ''Ilhas do oriente'' ("Islands of the East"). As the problem of longitude had not been solved, and as the islands had no spice to attract conflict, López de Legazpi successfully colonized the islands for Philip II in 1565. ::'''''Katagalugan''''', an alternate name: "Land of the river dwellers", used by the Katipunan,{{Clarify|date=May 2012}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} originally in reference to the Tagalog-speaking areas only.

===Poland=== {{main|Etymology of Poland|Names of 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 country. 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" or "open field". ::''Lengyelország'' (Hungarian), ''Lenkija'' (Lithuanian), لهستان ''Lahestân'' (Persian) all derive from the Old Ruthenian or Old Polish ethnonym ''lęděnin'' (possibly "man ploughing virgin soil", "pioneer") and its augmentative ''lęch''.

===Portugal=== {{main|Etymology of Portugal}} :From medieval Romance ''Portucale'', from Latin Portus Cale (modern Porto and Gaia). ''Portus'' is the Latin for "port", but the meaning of ''Cale'' is debated. Some derive it from the Greek ''kallis'' (καλλἰς, "beautiful") or the Latin ''calēre'' ("to heat"). It likely was related to the Gallaeci, a Celtic people who lived nearby north of the Douro River in pre-Roman times. The etymology of their name is also unknown, but may have been related to the divine hag Cailleach. :*Lusitania (ancient predecessor and literary variant): after the Lusitanians, probably of Celtic origin, as ''Lus'' and ''Tanus'', "tribe of Lusus".

==Q==

===Qatar=== {{main|Etymology of Qatar}} :Derives from ''Qatara'', believed to refer to the Qatari town of Zubarah, 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 pronounced Qatar as "Cutter", close to the local pronunciation in Qatar. However, the traditional English pronunciation ("Kuh-tahr") has prevailed.

==R==

===Romania=== {{Main|Name of Romania}} :"Roman Realm". The Roman Empire conquered a large part of the country, and the inhabitants became Romanized (Romanians). Older variants of the name include ''Rumania'' and (in a French-influenced spelling) ''Roumania''. The term {{lang|ro|român}} (the ethnic group of Romanians) comes from the Latin term {{lang|la|romanus}}, which means Roman, so the name Romania was adopted to accentuate the Latin origin of Romanian people and language. The term was first used during the leadership of Carol I, whose 1866 constitution declared ''Romania'' the country's official name. :* ''Dacia'', older name and Latin variant: named after the ancient people the Dacians. :* {{anchor|Wallachia}} ''Wallachia'', Slavic and Germanic 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 ''Wales'' and ''Wallonia''.

===Russia=== {{main|Etymology of Russia|Rus (name)}} :English and Russian: from ''Rosia'' or ''Rossiya'', from the Byzantine Greek ''Rōsía'' (Ρωσία), meaning "Land of the ''Rōs''" (Ρως).<ref>{{cite book |title=The Russians: The People of Europe |last=Milner-Gulland |first=R. R. |year=1997 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=978-0-631-21849-4 |pages=1–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgJjHFwmj2UC&pg=PA1 }}</ref> Generally agreed to be from a Varangian group known as the Rus', named after the Roslagen region in Sweden, ultimately from Old Norse ''rods-'', "row" or "rower". Within Russia, Soviet scholarship depreciated Kievan Rus's Scandinavian origin in favor of Slavic ones, offering a variety of other pseudoetymologies. See also Sweden below. :*{{langx|lv|Krievija}}, named after the ancient Krivichs tribe, related to the modern Belarusians. :*''Vene'' or ''Venemaa'' (Estonian) and ''Venäjä'' (Finnish): after the ancient Venedes.

===Rwanda=== :"Large or big", from the Kinyarwanda ''kwanda'' ("expand"),<ref>Vansina, Jan ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tgT-lyk40agC&pg=PA35 Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: the Nyiginya Kingdom]'', p. 35. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-299-20124-4}}. Retrieved 1 October 2011.</ref> as eventually applied to the Tutsi Nyiginya mwamis descended from Ruganzu Ndori<ref>Vansina, Jan ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tgT-lyk40agC&pg=PA44 Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: the Nyiginya Kingdom]'', p. 44. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-299-20124-4}}. Retrieved 1 October 2011.</ref> or the speakers of Kinyarwanda. Rwanda means a big country. Historically Rwanda expanded from Gasabo (a tiny locality near Lake Muhazi) to the entire territory as it was known before the Berlin conference. Rwanda's zone of influence expanded to southern parts of Uganda, western parts of Tanzania and eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

==S==

===Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic=== {{main|Etymology of Sahrawi}} :After the Sahrawi people. Their territory is disputed with Morocco, who claim the region as their Western Sahara territory. ::'''Western Sahara''', the name of the territory it claims: After its geographic position. "Sahara" derives from the Arabic ''aṣ-Ṣaḥrā{{'}}'' ({{lang|ar|الصحراء}}), meaning "desert". ::'''''Spanish Sahara''''', a former name: from its previous occupation by Spain.

===Saint Kitts and Nevis=== {{main|Etymology of 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 Señora 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=== :"Saint Lucy" in Latin, for the shipwreck upon the island of French sailors on St. Lucy's Day, 13 December 1502.

===Saint Vincent and the Grenadines=== :'''Saint Vincent''': bestowed by Christopher Columbus for their discovery on St. Vincent's Day, 22 January 1498. :'''The Grenadines''': From the Spanish city of Granada. (See Grenada)

===Samoa=== :"Holy Center", from a compound of the Samoan ''sa'' ("sacred") and ''moa'' ("center").{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} : The name is alternatively derived from a local chieftain named Samoa{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} or an indigenous word meaning "place of the moa", a now-extinct bird.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===San Marino=== :"Saint Marinus" in Italian, for the (possibly legendary) stonemason who fled to the area's Mount Titano around AD 301 or 305 from his home on the island of Arbe in modern-day Croatia to order to escape Roman persecution.

===São Tomé and Príncipe=== :'''São Tomé''': "Saint Thomas" in Portuguese, for its discovery on St. Thomas Day, 21 December 1470 or 1471. :'''Príncipe''': "Prince" in Portuguese, from shortening its original name ''Ilha do Principe'' ("Isle of the Prince") in reference to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===Saudi Arabia=== {{main|Etymology of Saudi Arabia|Etymology of Arabia|Etymology of Arab}} :Named after House of Saud, the ruling dynasty of the country. The dynasty itself took its name from its patriarch Saud ({{langx|ar-Latn|Sa`ûd}}), whose name means "Happiness". Arabia itself from the Latin name, of uncertain though probably Semitic etymology, although as early as Ancient Egypt the region was known as ''Ar Rabi''.<ref>Budge. ''An Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary'', Vol. II.</ref>

===''Kingdom of Scotland''=== {{hatnote|See List of etymologies of administrative divisions: Scotland}} : "Land of the Scots", from the Latin "Scoti" as recorded by the Romans to refer to the Gaels of then Ireland and western Scotland, the later of which were later conquered by but then assimilated the Picts to form the medieval Kingdom. The use of Scot- to refer to Gaels of Ireland gradually stopped. :: ''Alba'' in Scottish Gaelic, and is probably of Pictish origin, being a cognate with ''Albion'', the old Celtic name for Britain.

===Senegal=== {{main|Etymology of Senegal}} :From the Senegal river. 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.

===Serbia=== {{main|Etymology of Serbia|Names of the Serbs and Serbia}} :The exact origin of the name is uncertain (see Names of the Serbs and Serbia). The name of the Sorbs in present-day Germany has the same origin.

===''Serbia and Montenegro''=== :Self-descriptive, from its two constituent states. For the etymology of each, see Montenegro and Serbia above.

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

===Sierra Leone=== : "Lion Mountains". (Terra Leone) Adapted from ''Sierra Leona'', the Spanish version of the Portuguese ''Serra Leoa''. 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.

===Singapore===

{{Main|Etymology of Singapore|Names of Singapore}} : "Lion City", from ''Singapura'' (in Malay) derives from Sanskrit word ''simhapura'' (Sanskrit: सिंहपुर). ''Singapore'' is the anglicized form of the Malay name, which is still in use today,<ref>{{cite web|title=Merlion Park|url=http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/recreation-leisure/viewpoints/merlion-park.html|access-date=4 December 2015}}</ref> along with variants in Chinese and Tamil. The lion, or what became the legendary Merlion, usually depicts Sang Nila Utama's discovery of the island ''Temasek'', from Malay or Javanese root ''tasik'', meaning ''lake''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sentosa Merlion|url=https://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attractions/imbiah-lookout/the-merlion|publisher=Sentosa|access-date=4 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009222428/http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attractions/imbiah-lookout/the-merlion/|archive-date=9 October 2015}}</ref>

===Slovakia=== {{main|Etymology of Slav}} {{hatnote|See also Czechoslovakia above.}} :From the Slavic "Slavs". The origin of the word ''Slav'' itself remains uncertain.

===Slovenia=== {{main|Slavic peoples#Origin of the term Slav}} :"Land of the Slavs" in Slovene and other South Slavic languages. The etymology of {{wikt-lang|en|Slav}} itself remains uncertain. Some etymologists believe that the part -ven refers to the ancient Germanic tribes of the Venetii who supposedly also gave their name to the city of Venice.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

===Solomon Islands=== :Named for the Biblical King Solomon by the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña y Neyra in 1567 or 1568. The name was bestowed after the legendary wealth of King Solomon's mines, which Mendaña y Neyra hoped to find.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===Somalia=== {{main|Etymology of Somalia}} :"Land of the Somali". ''Somali'' itself is of uncertain etymology, although some have proposed a derivation from ''sac maal'' ("cattle herders") or a legendary patriarch named Samaale.

===South Africa=== {{main|List of continent name etymologies}} :Self-descriptive, from its location in Africa. For the etymology of Africa, see list of continent-name etymologies. ::'''Suid-Afrika''', a local endonym: "South Africa" in Afrikaans ::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 East-Africa. Recently, two suggestions for the origin of the word have emerged. The first cites the Arabic ''<nowiki/>'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. ::'''Mzansi''', an alternative endonym: a popular, widespread nickname among locals, used often in parlance but never officially adopted. (''uMzantsi'' in isiXhosa means "south".)

===South Korea=== :Self-descriptive, from its location in the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. For the etymology of Korea, see Korea above.

===South Sudan=== :Self-descriptive, from its former position within Sudan before independence in 2011. For the etymology of Sudan, see Sudan below.

===Spain=== {{main|Etymology of Spain}} :"Island of Hyraxes", from Norman French ''Spagne'', from the Latin ''Hispania'', from the Punic ''ʾÎ-šəpānîm'' (אי שפנים), probably from mistaking rabbits for the African hyrax. Others have proposed that it may derive from the terms "iz", meaning sea, and "bania" or "pania", meaning divide, giving the meaning "the land that divides the Sea", or, simply, "the land".<ref>Historia y geografía de España ilustradas por el idioma vascuence de Juan Antonio Moguel, reeditada en La gran enciclopedia vasca (1980), {{ISBN|84-248-0017-6}}.</ref>

===Sri Lanka=== {{main|Etymology of Sri Lanka|Names of Sri Lanka}} :"Holy Island", from Sanskrit ''Sri'' ({{lang|sa|श्री}}, "holy", "resplendent") and ''Lanka'' (लंका, "island"). "Lanka" was also the name of the capital of King Ravana in the sanskrit epic Ramayana. ::'''''Ceylon''''', a former name: From ''Ceilão'' (Portuguese), ''Seilan'' (former names), from the Pali शिन्हल ''Sinhalana'' meaning "land of the lions". ::'''''Helanka''''', its name in {{langx|si|"Lanka of Hela's"}}, "Heladiva" (Sinhala) meaning the "Island of Hela's", since original natives of the island was called "Hela". ::'''''Serendip''''', a former name: derived from the ''sihalan-dip'', meaning "the island of sihala's or originally "Hela's" Or from "swaran-dip", meaning "golden island". ::'''''Taproben''''', a former name: changed from ''dip-Raawan'', meaning "the island of King Rawana"

===Sudan=== :"Land of the Black people", from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|bilad as-sudan}} ({{lang|ar|بلاد السودان}}), which originally{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} referred to most of the Sahel region.

===Suriname=== {{main|Etymology of Suriname}} :After the Surinen people, the earliest known native American inhabitants of the region.

===Swaziland=== {{hatnote|See Eswatini above.}}

===Sweden=== {{main|Etymology of Sweden|Name of Sweden}} :"Swedes", an old English plural form of Swede.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} From the Old English ''Sweoðeod'', the 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''', a local endonym: "Swedish Realm" (modern {{langx|sv|Svea Rike}}). ::'''Rootsi''' (Estonian) and '''Ruotsi''' (Finnish): named after the Roslagen region in Sweden, ultimately from Old Norse ''rods-'', "row" or "rower". See also Russia above.

===Switzerland=== {{main|Etymology of Switzerland|Name of Switzerland}} :From the toponym Schwyz first attested AD 972 as ''Suittes'', derived from an Alemannic proper name Suito. ::''Helvetia'', a former and poetic name: From the Latin, after a Celtic people known to the Romans as the Helvetii.

===Syria=== {{main|Name of Syria}} :Meaning unknown. From the Ancient Greek {{transliteration|grc|Syria}} ({{lang|grc|Συρία}}). Probably related to ''syriac''. Syriac people descend from big old "Syria" which involved modern Syria, Lebanon, south of modern Turkey and north of current Iraq. :Not to be confused with Assyria (Assyrians: Arabic: "ashouriyin" آشوريين / Syriac: Arabic: "sourian" سريان :Not to be confused with Syrians: Arabic "souriyin" سوريين which stands for the people of current Syria

==T==

===Taiwan=== {{hatnote|"Taiwan" is the shorthand common name for the Republic of China since 1949, even though it was also referred internationally in some contexts as "China" as late as the 1970s.}} : Tayowan was the name of a coastal sandbank (now Anping in the city of Tainan) where the Dutch East India Company built Fort Zeelandia, the headquarters of their colony on the island.<ref>{{cite book |last=Valentijn |first=François |author-link=François Valentijn |chapter=History of the Dutch Trade |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/formosaunderdut01campgoog#page/n41/mode/1up |orig-date=First published 1724 in ''Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën''|editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=William |editor-link=William Campbell (missionary) |title=Formosa under the Dutch: described from contemporary records, with explanatory notes and a bibliography of the island |year=1903 |publisher=Kegan Paul |location=London |lccn=04007338 |page=52 |isbn=978-957-638-083-9 |url=https://archive.org/stream/formosaunderdut01campgoog#page/n68/mode/1up}} quoting Pieter Nuyts (February 10, 1629).</ref> The name may have originally referred to an aboriginal tribe in the area. The present Chinese name ({{wikt-lang|zh|臺灣}}, pinyin: ''Táiwān'') conveys the meaning "Terraced Bay", but older versions such as {{wikt-lang|zh|臺員}} have entirely different meanings and suggest that the Chinese is merely a transcription of the older name.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Forget Your Mother Tongue and Remember Your National Language |first=Victor H. |last=Mair |author-link=Victor Mair |year=2003 |url=http://www.pinyin.info/readings/mair/taiwanese.html }}</ref> :: {{wikt-lang|pt|Formosa}} ("beautiful" in Portuguese), a poetic and former name.

===Tajikistan=== {{main|Etymology of Tajikistan}} :"Home of the Tajiks", a Persian-speaking ethnic group, with the suffix ''-stan''. Sogdian ''Tājīk'' (''j'' pronounced {{IPAslink|ʒ}}) was the local pronunciation of New Persian ''Tāzī'', from Sassanian Persian ''Tāzīg'', derived from the Tayy tribe and meaning "Arab". The Tajiks were New Persian–speaking Muslims, although not necessarily Arabs.<ref>{{cite book | last = Ostler | first = Nicholas | title = The Last Lingua Franca | year = 2010 | page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802717719/page/89 89] | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing USA | isbn = 978-0-8027-1771-9 | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802717719/page/89 }}</ref> (An alternate etymology{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} is via Tibetan ''Tag Dzig'', meaning "Persian" and "tiger" or "leopard".)

===Tanzania=== :"Land of Tanganyika and Zanzibar", a blend and simplification of the original name – "United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar" – assumed upon independence in 1964 ::'''Tanganyika''' was named for its lake, of uncertain etymology. Sir Richard Francis Burton derived it from the local ''tou tanganyka'', "to join" in the sense "where waters meet." Henry Stanley derived it from ''tonga'' ("island") and ''hika'' ("flat"). ::'''Zanzibar''' was an Arabic name meaning "Black Coast" ({{langx|ar|زنجبار}}, ''Zanjibār'', from {{langx|fa|زنگبار}}, ''Zangibar''<ref name="MacKenzie2005-p17&98">{{cite book | last = MacKenzie, D. N. | author-link = David Neil MacKenzie | title = A concise Pahlavi Dictionary | year = 2005 | pages = 17 & 98 | publisher = Routledge Curzon | location = London & New York | isbn = 0-19-713559-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Mo'in, M. | author-link = Mohammad Moin | title = A Persian Dictionary. Six Volumes | volume = 5–6 | year = 1992 | publisher = Amir Kabir Publications | location = Tehran | isbn = 1-56859-031-8 }}</ref>)

===Thailand=== {{main|Etymology of Thailand}} :"Land of the Thai" ({{langx|th|{{wt|th|ไทย}}}}), an ethnic group from the central plains (see Tai peoples). The name Tai itself ({{wt|th|ไท}}) is of uncertain etymology, although it has been argued to have originally meant "people" or "human being" since some rural areas use the word in this way as opposed to the normal Thai word ''khon'' ({{wt|th|คน}}).<ref>จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์ 1976: "ความเป็นมาของคำสยาม ไทย ลาวและขอม และลักษณะทางสังคม ของชื่อชนชาติ" (Phumisak, Jid). "The Origin of the Siamese Words for Thai, Laotian and Khmer and Societal Characteristics for Nation-names." 1976.</ref> A more common pseudoetymology derives the demonym from the word ''thai'' ({{wt|th|ไท}}) meaning "freedom". ::'''''Ratcha Anachak Thai''''' ({{wikt-lang|th|ราชอาณาจักรไทย}}), endonym, meaning "Royal Domain of Thailand" ::'''''Siam''''' ({{wikt-lang|th|สยาม}}, ''Sayam''), a former name, of uncertain etymology. One theory holds it derives from the Pāli toponym ''Suvarnabhumi'' ({{wikt-lang|pi-Deva|शुभर्नभुमि}}, "Land of Gold").{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} Another traces it – along with the Shan and A-hom – from Sanskrit ''Śyâma'' ({{wikt-lang|sa|श्याम}}, "dark").<ref>{{cite book | last = Eliot | first = Charles | title = The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 (of 3) [EBook #16847] | publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. | year = 1921 | location = London | pages = Ch. xxxvii 1; citing in turn Footnote 189: The name is found on Champan inscriptions of 1050 A.D. and according to Gerini appears in Ptolemy's Samarade = Sâmaraṭṭha. See Gerini, Ptolemy, p. 170. But Samarade is located near Bangkok and there can hardly have been Tais there in Ptolemy's time; and Footnote 190: So too in Central Asia Kustana appears to be a learned distortion of the name Khotan, made to give it a meaning in Sanskrit}}</ref>

===Togo=== : "By the water"<ref>{{cite book|title=Peoples of Africa: Togo-Zimbabwe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlz2bWRPmvgC&pg=PA531 |year=2001 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7168-4|page=531}}</ref> or "behind the sea",<ref name="Togo1920s"/> derived from Ewe ''to'' ("water") and ''go'' ("shore"). Originally it just referred to the town of Togo (now Togoville), later the Germans extended the name to the whole nation.<ref name="Togo1920s">{{cite book|last=Dawnay|first=Guy Payan |title=The Army Quarterly| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vWAPAQAAIAAJ |year=1926|publisher=William Clowes & Sons, Ltd.|page=315 |quote=In the Ewe language the name ''Togo'' means "Behind the Sea," and it was extended to the whole country by the Germans, as Dr. Nachtigal's first treaty in 1884 was made with the Chief of Togo.}}</ref>

===Tonga=== {{main|Etymology of Tonga}} : "South" or "Southern" in Samoan, in reference to their position relative to Samoa. :*Friendly Islands, a former name, bestowed by British Captain James Cook in 1773 after the friendliness and hospitality of the people he met on the islands.

===Trinidad and Tobago=== {{main|Etymology of Trinidad and Tobago}} :'''Trinidad''', from Spanish ''La Isla de la Trinidad'' ("Island of the Holy Trinity"). The name was bestowed by Christopher Columbus to fulfill a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage.<ref name="MHart">Hart, Marie. ''The New Trinidad and Tobago'', p. 13. Collins (London and Glasgow), 1972.</ref> :'''Tobago''', of uncertain etymology, but probably from the tobacco grown and smoked by the natives. ::'''''Iere''''', the former Arawak name for Trinidad according to historian E.L. Joseph, who derived it from ''ierèttê'' or ''yerettê'', meaning "hummingbird".{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} Others have claimed the Arawak word for hummingbird was ''tukusi'' or ''tucuchi''{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} and that ''iere'' or ''kairi'' simply means "island".{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===Tunisia=== {{Main|Etymology of Tunisia|Etymology of Tunis}} :"Land of Tunis", its capital.<ref name="adrian">{{cite book | last = Room | first = Adrian | title = Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites | publisher = McFarland | year = 2006 | page = 385 | isbn = 0-7864-2248-3 }}</ref> Tunis's name possibly derives from the Phoenician goddess Tanith,<ref>{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Isaac | title = Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature | publisher = BiblioBazaar, LLC | year = 2008 | page = 281 | isbn = 978-0-559-29668-0 }}</ref> the ancient city of Tynes,<ref name="ej-brill">{{cite book | last = Houtsma | first = Martijn Theodoor | title = E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 | publisher = Brill | year = 1987 | page = 838 | isbn = 90-04-08265-4 }}</ref> or the Berber ''ens'', meaning "to lie down" or "to rest".<ref name="peter-ross">{{cite book | first1 = Peter M. | last1 = Rossi | first2 = Wayne Edward | last2 = White | title = Articles on the Middle East, 1947–1971: A Cumulation of the Bibliographies from the Middle East Journal | publisher = Pierian Press, University of Michigan | year = 1980 | page = 132 }}</ref>

===Turkey=== {{main|Name of Turkey}} :"Land of the Turks", Latin ''Turcia'' and Arabic ''Turkiyye'', an ethnic group whose name derives from their endonym {{wikt-lang|tr|Türk}} ("created"). Some historical use:

*The Greek cognate of this name, ''Tourkia'' ({{langx|el|Τουρκία}}) was used by the Byzantine emperor and scholar Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his book ''De Administrando Imperio'';<ref>{{Cite book|edition=New, revised|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies|isbn=0-88402-021-5|last=Jenkins|first=Romilly James Heald|title=De Administrando Imperio by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus|location=Washington, D.C.|series=Corpus fontium historiae Byzantinae|year=1967|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3al15wpFWiMC|access-date=28 August 2013}} According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, writing in his ''De Administrando Imperio'' (ca. 950 AD) ''"Patzinakia, the Pecheneg realm, stretches west as far as the Siret River (or even the Eastern Carpathian Mountains), and is four days distant from Tourkia (i.e. Hungary)."''</ref><ref name="PrinzingSalamon1999">{{cite book|author1=Günter Prinzing|author2=Maciej Salamon|title=Byzanz und Ostmitteleuropa 950–1453: Beiträge zu einer table-ronde des XIX. International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Copenhagen 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZDgivj7_RAC&pg=PA46|access-date=9 February 2013|year=1999|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-04146-1|page=46}}</ref> though in his use, "Turks" always referred to Magyars.<ref name="Howorth2008">{{cite book|author=Henry Hoyle Howorth|title=History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century: The So-called Tartars of Russia and Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFc4mwsHZ7IC&pg=PA3|access-date=15 June 2013|year=2008|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|isbn=978-1-60520-134-4|page=3}}</ref> *The Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as ''Turkey'' or the ''Turkish Empire'' among its contemporaries.<ref name=fatih.edu.tr>{{cite web|last1=Imber |first1=Colin |title=The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650, The Structure of Power |url=http://www.fatih.edu.tr/~ayasar/HIST236/Colin%20_Imber.pdf |access-date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726115700/http://www.fatih.edu.tr/~ayasar/HIST236/Colin%20_Imber.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref> *The medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the northern shores of the Black and Caspian seas, was referred to as ''Tourkia'' ("land of the Turks") in Byzantine sources.<ref>{{cite web|last=Öztürk |first=Özhan |title=Pontus: Antik Çağ'dan Günümüze Karadeniz'in Etnik ve Siyasi Tarihi |url=http://www.karalahana.com/makaleler/kitap/pontus-antik-cagdan-gunumuze-karadeniz-etnik-siyasi-tarihi.htm |publisher=Genesis Yayınları |author-link=Özhan Öztürk |location=Ankara |page=364 |year=2011 |quote=... Greek term Tourkoi first used for the Khazars in 568 AD. In addition in "De Administrando Imperio" Hungarians call Tourkoi too once known as Sabiroi ... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915062836/http://www.karalahana.com/makaleler/kitap/pontus-antik-cagdan-gunumuze-karadeniz-etnik-siyasi-tarihi.htm |archive-date=15 September 2012 }}</ref> *Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) is known in local language as "''Sulṭanat Misr al-Mamālīk Dawla al-Turkiyya''"

===Turkmenistan=== :"Home (''stān'') of the Turkmens", an ethnic group whose name derives from the Sogdian {{wikt-lang|tk|Türkmen}} ("Turk-like"), in reference to their status outside the Turkic dynastic mythological system.<ref>Yu. Zuev, ''"Early Türks: Essays on history and ideology"'', Almaty, Daik-Press, 2002, p. 157, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|9985-4-4152-9}}</ref> However, modern scholars sometimes prefer to see the suffix as an intensifier, changing the meaning to "pure Turk" or "most Turk-like of the Turks".<ref>''US Library of Congress Country Studies.'' "[http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/tmtoc.html Turkmenistan]."</ref> Muslim chroniclers such as Ibn-Kathir advocated a pseudoetymology from ''Türk'' and ''iman'' ({{langx|ar|إيمان}}, "faith, belief") in reference to a mass conversion of two hundred thousand households in 971 (AH 349).<ref>[http://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9_%D9%88_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9_-_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A1_11 Ibn Kathir al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya]. {{in lang|ar}}</ref>

===Tuvalu=== :"Eight Islands" or "eight standing with each other" in Tuvaluan. (Tuvalu consists of nine islands, but only eight of them were traditionally inhabited before Niulakita was settled in 1949.) ::Ellice Islands, a former name, in honor of Edward Ellice, Sr., a British politician and merchant, who owned the cargo of the ship ''Rebecca'' which sighted the islands in 1819. The name was abandoned for the endonym Tuvalu upon separation from the Gilbert Islands (modern Kiribati) in 1975.

==U==

===Uganda=== Uganda is named after the Buganda Kingdom which occupies the central region of the country. The word "Buganda" is derived from "muganda" which means "a bundle" or "united as in a bundle" in the Buganda language. The "Bu-" prefix in Buganda means "land" pronounced with a soft "b" sound. In Swahili it became "Uganda" as Swahili does not have a soft "b" sound. The final pronunciation of Uganda is the English pronunciation. So "Uganda" actually means "land of the united peoples".

===Ukraine=== {{Main|Name of Ukraine}} :"Edge, borderland" from the Slavic ''kraj'' or ''okraina'' :"Land, country" from the Slavic ''kraj'' or ''krajna'' :"Ruthenia"

===''Union of Soviet Socialist Republics''=== :Translated from the Russian ''Soyuz Sovietskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik'' ({{lang|ru|Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик}}) adopted in December 1922 during the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. :The word ''Soviet'' ({{lang|ru|совет}}, "council" or "board") referred to the Communist planning committees,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} it is used in English untranslated. ::'''''Soviet Union''''', an alternate name: A shortened form of the above ({{lang|ru|Советский Союз}}, ''Sovietsky Soyuz'').

===United Arab Emirates=== :Self-descriptive, from the Arabic. For Arabia, see Saudi Arabia above. "Emirate" from "emir", Arabic. ::'''''Trucial Oman''''' & '''''Trucial States''''', former names: From Oman above and a 19th-century truce{{Which|date=September 2011}} between the United Kingdom and the local sheikhs.

===United Kingdom=== {{main|Etymology of the United Kingdom|Name of Britain|Terminology of the British Isles|Terminology of Great Britain}} {{hatnote|For the etymologies of the UK's constituent countries, see List of United Kingdom county name etymologies}} :Self-descriptive; short-form name of "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", in reference to the island of Great Britain and the country of Northern Ireland. Adopted in 1927 from the realm's previous name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, following the 1922 creation of the Irish Free State (present-day Ireland). ::'''''Albion''''', a previous and poetic name: From a Greek adaptation ({{lang|grc|Ἀλβίων}}) of a pre-Roman Celtic name for the island (See also "Alba").{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} The name may refer to the white cliffs of Dover.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} ::'''Britain''', an alternate name: From Latin ''Britannia'', probably via French{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} or Welsh ({{lang|cy|Prydain}}),{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} from ''Pretani'' ("painted ones"),{{Citation needed|date=September 2007}} probably in reference to the use of woad body-paint and tattoos by early inhabitants of the islands, although it may derive from the Celtic goddess Brigid.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} A traditional pseudoetymology mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth traced the name to the Trojan exile Brutus. ::'''Great Britain''', an alternate name: "Larger Britain", from Mediaeval Latin ''Britannia Maior'', first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who employed it to distinguish the island from ''Britannia Minor'' ("Little Britain"), or Brittany in modern France. In classical times, the Graeco-Roman geographer Ptolemy in his ''Almagest'' also called the island ''megale Brettania'' (great Britain), contrasting it at that time to the smaller island of Ireland, which he called ''mikra Brettania'' (little Britain).<ref>{{cite book|title=Claudii Ptolemaei Opera quae exstant omnia|author=Claudius Ptolemy|author-link=Ptolemy|editor1-last=Heiberg|editor1-first=J.L.|publisher=in aedibus B.G.Teubneri|location=Leipzig|year=1898|volume=1 Syntaxis Mathematica|chapter-url=http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/HeibergAlmagestComplete.pdf|pages=112–113|chapter=Ἕκθεσις τῶν κατὰ παράλληλον ἰδιωμάτων: κβ',κε'}}</ref> ::'''''Kingdom of Great Britain''''', a former name: Self-descriptive, employed following the union of the English and Scottish crowns (1707) and prior to the union with Ireland (1801). ::'''United Kingdom''', an alternate name: a shortened form of the realm's official names above and below, although note that "united kingdom" was used as a description but not the name of the kingdom formed by legally joining the Kingdoms of England and Scotland previously held in personal union by the House of Stuart.<ref>Parliament of England. The Acts of Union, paragraphs II, III, and IV. 1707, as cite in Kerney, Hugh F. ''The British Isles: A History of Four Nations'', p. 215. 2006.</ref> ::'''''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland''''', a previous name: Adopted in 1801 from the previous names of the two kingdoms, Great Britain and Ireland, following British and Irish legislation converting the personal union of the British and Irish crowns into a single sovereign state. The name was emended to its present form in 1927, five years after the creation of the Irish Free State (present-day Ireland).

===United States=== {{main|Etymology of the United States}} {{see also|List of state and territory name etymologies of the United States|Lists of U.S. county name etymologies}} :Self-descriptive, although note that – similar to the original "united Kingdom of Great Britain" above – the U.S. Declaration of Independence described the new nation as the (lower-case) "united States of America". The adjective had become a part of the name by the time of the adoption of the United States Constitution, however, whose preamble describes the "United States". Similarly, the grammatical number of the name has changed over time: common usage before the American Civil War was to reference "these United States"{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} whereas modern usage has "the United States". ::'''''United States of America''''', the full name: As above. For the etymology of America, see list of continent name etymologies.

===Uruguay=== {{main|Etymology of Uruguay}} :"Land beside the Uruguay River", a shortened form of the Spanish ''Republica Oriental del Uruguay'' ("Eastern Republic of Uruguay"). The word Uruguay itself derives from Guaraní, although the precise meaning is unknown. Some derive it from ''urugua'' ("shellfish") and ''i'' ("water"), others from ''uru'' (a kind of bird in the region), ''gua'' ("proceed from"), and ''i''.

===Uzbekistan=== :"Home of the Free", from an amalgamation of ''uz'' (Turkic: "self"), ''bek'' (Turkic: "master", "bey in modern Turkish"), and ''-stan'' (Persian: "land of").

==V==

===Vanuatu=== :"Our Land", in Bislama ::'''''New Hebrides''''', a former name: bestowed by the British captain James Cook in 1774 in honor of the Hebrides in Scotland

===Vatican City=== :"City on Vatican Hill", translated from the Italian ''Città del Vaticano'' and Latin ''Civitas Vaticana'', from the site of the territory remaining to the state after the mid-19th-century Unification of Italy and upon its 1929 reestablishment. The name of the hill itself came from the Latin ''Mons Vaticanus'', from the name of the surrounding lands ''ager vaticanus'', from the verb ''vaticinari'' ("to prophesy"), in reference to the fortune-tellers and soothsayers who used the streets in the area during Roman times. ::'''''Papal States''''', a former name: loosely translated from the Italian ''Stati Pontifici'' and Latin ''Status Pontificius'' ("Pontifical States"). The name is usually plural both to denote its various holdings – the former Duchies of Rome and Pontecorvo, the former Principality of Benevento, the March of Ancona, Bologna, Romagna, and the Campagne and Maritime Province continued to be administered separately despite forming a unified state – and to distinguish this realm from the current country. "Papal" from Latin ''papa'' ("father"), borrowed by the Bishop of Rome from the Pope of Alexandria to denote his leadership over the church. "State" distinguished this realm and its administration from the church and papacy's lands in other realms and from the administration of the church itself. ::'''''Pontifical States''''', a former name: a less common but more precise variation of the above. The title "pontiff", from Latin ''pontifex'', was carried over from the Romans' ''pontifex maximus'', a high priest whose name is generally understood to mean "bridge-maker" (''pons'' + ''-fex'', "builder", "maker", from ''facio'', "build", "make"). ::'''''States of the Church''''', a former name: translated from the Italian ''Stati della Chiesa''. The name was plural to denote the various holdings united under the Papacy and distinguish it from the modern state. ''Chiesa'' derives from the Latin ''ecclesia'', from the Ancient Greek ''ékklēsía'' ({{wikt-lang|grc|έκκλησία}}, "church", originally "assembly"), from ''ekklētos'' ("called out") from ''ekkalein'' ({{lang|grc|ἐκκαλεῖν}}, a compound of ''ek-'', "out", and ''kalein'', "call").

===Venezuela=== {{Main|Etymology of Venezuela}} :"Little Venice", from Italian ''Venezuola'', the diminutive of ''Venezia'' (Italian: "Venice"), for the native stilt-houses built on Lake Maracaibo which reminded the explorers Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci of buildings in Venice.

===Vietnam=== {{main|Etymology of Vietnam|Names of Vietnam|Baiyue}} :"Viet South" ({{langx|vi|Việt Nam}}), an inversion of Nam Việt ({{wikt-lang|vi-Hani|南越}}), the name of the 2nd-century BC kingdom.<ref>Nhu Trong Trung Bon Thi. "[http://www.anviettoancau.net/anviettc/docs/2007-02/trbontai.pdf An Introduction to Vietology] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723020926/http://www.anviettoancau.net/anviettc/docs/2007-02/trbontai.pdf |date=23 July 2011 }}", p. 3.</ref> The qualifier ''nam'' (south) was added to distinguish this kingdom from other Viet, or Yue, kingdoms, such as Minyue. The word "Viet" is a shortened form of {{lang|vi|Bách Việt}} ({{lang-zh|c={{wt|zh|百越}}|p=Bǎiyuè}}), which in early usage applied to a people in Guangdong.<ref name="Allard">Allard, Francis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=f0zZPMlu0L0C&q=%22south+to+suppress+the+Bai+Yue%22&pg=PA7 Lingnan and Chu During the First Millennium BC]" in ''Guangdong: Archaeology and Early Texts : (Zhou-Tang)]'', edited by Shing Müller, Thomas O. Höllmann, Putao Gui. {{ISBN|3-447-05060-8}}. The quote is from Sima Qian, ''Shi ji'' j. 65.</ref> Ancient historian Sima Qian wrote that Wu Qi of Chu went "south to suppress the Bai Yue" in 368 B.C.<ref name=Allard/><ref>If the Baiyue did in fact exist prior to the destruction of Yue in 338 BC, this would disprove the folk etymology that connects the word to this event.</ref> The first recorded usage is in the Chinese encyclopedia ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', compiled around 239 B.C.<ref>''The Annals of Lü Buwei'', translated by John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, Stanford University Press (2000), p. 510. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3354-0}}. "For the most part, there are no rulers to the south of the Yang and Han Rivers, in the confederation of the Hundred Yue tribes."</ref> After Vietnam gained independence in 938, several variations on the word Viet, including "Nam Viet" and "Dai Viet" (Great Viet), were used officially. The name "Vietnam" is first recorded in a 16th-century poem by Nguyen Binh Khiem.<ref>{{lang|vi|Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm}}. "[http://vi.wikisource.org/wiki/S%E1%BA%A5m_Tr%E1%BA%A1ng_Tr%C3%ACnh Sấm Trạng Trình]". {{lang|vi|Việt Nam khởi tổ xây nền}} ("Vietnam is being created")</ref> In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was usually referred to as Annam ("Pacified South", {{wikt-lang|vi-Hani|安|南}}). "Vietnam" was revived by Phan Bội Châu's book ''Việt Nam vong quốc sử'' (History of the Loss of Vietnam), published in 1905, and later by the Viet Quoc, a nationalist party which organized the Yen Bai mutiny against the French colonial authorities in 1930.<ref name="Tonnesson">Tonnesson, Stein & Antlov, Hans. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3vC14MWi3g4C Asian Forms of the Nation]'', p. 126. Routledge, 1996.</ref> In 1945, the name was adopted officially by both Bao Dai's imperial government in Hue and by Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh government in Hanoi.<ref name="Tonnesson"/>

==Y==

===Yemen=== {{main|Etymology of Yemen}} :Uncertain etymology, most probably from Arabic {{transliteration|ar|ymn}} ({{lang|ar|يمن}}). Some claim{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} it comes from {{transliteration|ar|ALA|yamīn}} ({{lang|ar|يَمين}}, "right-hand side" in the sense of "south"<ref>Many Semitic languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, preserve a system with south on the "right" and north on the "left"</ref>). Others{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} that it comes from the form {{transliteration|ar|yumn}} ({{lang|ar|يُمْن}}, "happiness") and is related to the region's classical name Arabia Felix.

===''Yugoslavia''=== {{main|Etymology of Yugoslavia}} :"Land of the South Slavs" in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, ''Jugoslavija'', in reference to the Slavic peoples south of Hungary and Romania.

==Z==

===Zambia=== {{main|Etymology of Zambia|Name of Rhodesia}} :"Land of the Zambezi", which flows through the east of the country and also forms its border with Zimbabwe. ::'''''Northern Rhodesia''''', a former name: From the division of Rhodesia, Neo-Latin for "Land of Rhodes", the British South African minister and businessman who helped found the colony through his involvement with the British South Africa Company.

===Zimbabwe=== {{main|Etymology of Zimbabwe|Name of Rhodesia}} :"House of Stones", ''Dzimba-dze-mabwe'' in Shona,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} in reference to Great Zimbabwe. ::''Rhodesia'' and '''''Southern Rhodesia''''', former names: see Zambia above. The country was also briefly known as Zimbabwe Rhodesia between 1979 and 1980.

==Further reading== * Room, Adrian. ''Placenames of the World, Origins and Meanings''. McFarland and Company, Inc, Publishers, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7864-0172-9}}

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Place name etymologies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of Country Name Etymologies}} Category:Country name etymology Country name Etymologies