This article provides a collection of the etymology of the names of administrative divisions. This page generally only deals with regions and provinces; cities and other localities and features may appear listed under the individual country, with a link below.
Australia States New South Wales: named with reference to Wales by Captain James Cook. For the etymology of Wales, see below. Queensland: named in honour of Queen Victoria South Australia: located in the south-central region of Australia Tasmania: named after Abel Tasman, who sighted the island in 1642; originally named by Tasman as Van Diemen's Land, after Anthony van Diemen, the colonial governor who commissioned Tasman's voyage Victoria: named in honour of Queen Victoria Western Australia: comprises the western third of Australia
Territories Mainland Australian Capital Territory Northern Territory: territory in north-central Australia Jervis Bay Territory: bay named by Lieutenant Bowen in 1791 for the naval hero Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl of St. Vincent.
External Ashmore and Cartier Islands: named for Ashmore Reef islets and Cartier Island Ashmore Reef: first recorded sighting by a European, Captain Samuel Ashmore of the Hibernia, 11 June 1811 Cartier Island: discovered by a Captain Nash, aboard the Cartier Christmas Island: bestowed by Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company for its discovery on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643. Cocos (Keeling) Islands: Cocos Islands: for the plentiful coconuts (Cocos nucifera) growing thereCocos Tourism – Discovery Keeling Islands, an alternate name: for their discovery by Captain William Keeling of the English East India Company in 1609. Coral Sea Islands: uninhabited islands in the Coral Sea, named for its coral formations, especially the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world. Heard Island and McDonald Islands: Heard Island: discovered (first confirmed sighting) by Captain John Heard of the merchant vessel Oriental, 25 November 1853 McDonald Islands: discovered by Captain William McDonald, 4 January 1854 Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen): discovered and named by James Cook (1774) for Duchess Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk
Austria States Burgenland (German; ; ): originally called Vierburgenland, "Land of four Burgs (castles)", a name suggested in 1919 from the endings of the four former counties forming the state: Preßburg, Wieselburg, Ödenburg and Eisenburg. In 1922 Austria ceded Ödenburg to Hungary and dropped the numeric prefix Vier- ("four"); the remaining three counties became Burgenland. Carinthia, German Kärnten: etymologically related to the early Slavic medieval principality Carantania (Slovenian Karantanija, German Karantanien); a suggested etymology references a Celtic term for "stone" or "crag", while a popular etymology holds that the name means "land of friends" Lower Austria, German Nieder-Österreich: the lower part (lower in height) of the original territory of Austria ('the eastern country'), as opposed to Upper Austria; also called Österreich unter der Enns "Austria below the (river) Enns" Salzburg: after the city of Salzburg (literally "salt castle"), which takes its name from the salt mines that existed there during the Middle Ages Styria, German Steiermark: after the castle of Steyr; in the high Middle Ages, it formed a march of the Holy Roman Empire, hence -mark Tirol: after the Tirol Castle near Meran Upper Austria, German Ober-Österreich: the upper (physically higher) part of the original territory of Austria, as opposed to Lower Austria; also called Österreich ob der Enns "Austria above the (river) Enns" Vienna, German Wien: from Celtic Vindobona (vindo "white" + bona "foundation, fort") Vorarlberg, literally "in front of the Arlberg", takes its name from the Arlberg, a mountain (German: Berg) with a high mountain pass, characterised by Arle, a local German term for "mountain pine".
Belgium Regions Brussels, Dutch Brussel, French Bruxelles (the capital city, outside any province; also Belgium's third region): medieval Dutch broek 'bog' + zele (in many place names in the Low Countries="habitation using thatching") Flanders, Dutch Vlaanderen, French Flandre(s): plural of a terrain type; or "flooded land"; or a compound Flemish vlakte "plain" and wanderen "to wander". The name extended from the historical county (about half lost to French and Dutch neighbours; the rest roughly made up two administrative provinces, East Flanders and West Flanders; in French les Flandres, plural) to the whole Dutch-speaking, majority part of Belgium (French la Flandre, singular) Wallonia, French Wallonie: from the (Romanized (Germano-) Celtic, now Francophone) Walloon people: as in many European countries, so named by Germanic neighbours; meaning: "strangers". Compare "Wales" below.
Provinces Antwerp: from the city of Antwerp, the province's capital, which may derive from the Frankish anda ("against") and a noun derived from the verb werpen ("to throw"). Brabant (now divided for administrative purposes into Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant): The name in Carolingian times appeared in Latinised form as pagus Bracbatensis, from bracha "new" and bant "region". See also under the Netherlands. East and West Flanders; see Flanders, above. Hainaut: after the river Haine. Liège: of disputed etymology. The name Liège (also used by the city of Liège, the province's capital) may have the same origin as the ancient name of Paris, i.e. Lutetia; the German form, Lüttich, suggests this. Liège and Lutetia would both derive from Latin lucotætia, "marsh" or "mud". Another suggestion derives the names from Latin Lætica, "colony", or Leudica, "free". Alternatively, the Latin Leudica meaning "public place" may have given rise to the Walloon Lîdje and thence to Liège. Note that the name appeared in written form as Liége (with an acute accent) until the 1950s. Limburg: Derived from the castle-fortified town of Limbourg, which in turn was derived from "lint" "dragon" and burg "fortress". See also under the Netherlands. Luxembourg: identical with the independent country of the same name to the east. See List of country name etymologies#Luxembourg for the etymology of "Luxembourg". Namur: after the city of Namur, the province's capital, of uncertain etymology.
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia Banteay Meanchey Province: Ford of Victory in Khmer Battambang Province: Lost Staff in Khmer according to the legend of Preah Bat Dambang Kranhoung. Kampong Cham Province: Port of The Chams in Khmer Kampong Chhnang Province: Port of the Pots in Khmer Kampong Speu Province: Port of Carambola in Khmer Kampong Thom Province: According to legend two large snakes came to the port and it was named Kampong Pos Thom which means Large Snakes' Port in Khmer but passed through the years it was simplified to Kampong Thom which means Large Port in Khmer Kampot Province: Tetraodontidae in Khmer Kandal Province: Central in Khmer Koh Kong Province: Kong Island in Khmer Kep Province: Saddle of horse in Khmer Kratie Province: A kind of cosmetic powder in Khmer Mondulkiri Province: Mountain of Mandala Oddar Meanchey Province: Northern Victory in Khmer and Snaskrit Pailin Province: From the Word Phe Leng meaning Pinniped playing Phnom Penh: More information at Sihanoukville Province: Named after the former king, Norodom Sihanouk Preah Vihear Province: Sacred Temple named after Preah Vihear Pursat Province: According to legend, a type tree swings and it was grown in then it was called A type of tree swings Prey Veng Province: Long Forest Ratanakiri Province: Precious Gems Mountain Siem Reap Province: Siam Defeated, literally Siam Flat Stung Treng Province: Lake of Reeds Svay Rieng Province: Aligned Mangoes Takeo Province: Grandfather Keo
Cameroon Regions Adamaoua: From the Adamawa Emirate, a vassal state of the 19th-century Sokoto Caliphate. Adamawa comes from the name of its founder, Modibbo Adama. The suffix -wa is used in the Hausa language to signify the collective identity of 'people of' that place. Therefore, Adamawa means "the people of Adama".
Canada Provinces and territories
Historical regions Acadia (French Acadie): origin disputed: # Credited to Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, who first named a region around Chesapeake Bay Archadia (Arcadia) in 1524 because of "the beauty of its trees", according to his diary. Cartographers began using the name Arcadia to refer to areas progressively farther north until it referred to the French holdings in maritime Canada (particularly Nova Scotia). The -r- also began to disappear from the name on early maps, resulting in the current Acadia. # Possibly derived from the Míkmaq word akatik, pronounced roughly "agadik", meaning "place", which French-speakers spelled as -cadie in place names such as Shubenacadie and Tracadie, possibly coincidentally. Nunatsiavut: Inuktitut, meaning "our beautiful land".
Chile Regions Roman numerals originally identified the regions in order from north to south (except Santiago). With the establishment of Arica-Parinacota and Los Ríos Region in 2007 the numbers no longer reflect the regions' positions.
Maule Region (Spanish VII Región del Maule): named after the Maule River. Biobío Region (Spanish VIII Región del Biobío): named after the Bío-Bío River. Los Ríos Region (Spanish XIV Región de los Ríos): refers to the river systems of Valdivia and Bueno and to the nickname of the city of Valdivia. The name may also reflect the name of Los Lagos Region (Spanish for Region of the Lakes) from which Los Ríos split away. Aisén Region, sometimes also spelled Aysén (Spanish XI Región Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo): The name Aisén may come from the Huilliche word achen, meaning "to crumble". Another theory suggests that the Chonos culture used the word to mean "going more to the interior", in reference to the Fjord of Aisén that stretches east from the Moraleda strait. Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region (Spanish XII Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena): named in honour of Ferdinand Magellan, the Strait of Magellan and the city of Punta Arenas, formerly called Magallanes.
China
Provinces Anhui () – lit. "Peaceful Badge", actually abbreviates Anqing & Huizhou Beijing () – "Northern Capital" Chongqing () – "Doubled Celebration", named in 1189 by Emperor Guangzong of Song dynasty who was crowned as king and then emperor in short succession Fujian () – lit. "Luck Builds", actually abbreviates Fuzhou & Jian'ou Gansu () – lit. "Willingly Serious", actually abbreviates Ganzhou & Suzhou () Guangdong () – lit. "Eastern Expanses", actually contracts the earlier "Eastern Guangnan" (Guangnandong)
Guangxi () – lit. "Western Expanses", actually contracts the earlier "Western Guangnan" (Guangnanxi) Guizhou () – lit. "Expensive Province", actually refers to Mount Gui Hainan () – "South of the Sea", in reference to the Qiongzhou Strait, for the Hainan Island. Similarly, Leizhou Peninsula, which faces Hainan across the strait, is also called Haibei, meaning "North of the Sea". Hebei () – "North of the [Yellow] River" Heilongjiang () – "Black Dragon River", the Chinese name for the Amur River, from its Manchu name Sahaliyan Ula () ("Black River") Henan () – "South of the [Yellow] River" Hubei () – "North of the Lake", in reference to Lake Dongting Hunan () – "South of the Lake", in reference to Lake Dongting Jiangsu () – lit. "The River Revives", actually abbreviates Jiangning & Suzhou () Jiangxi () – lit. "West of the [Yangtze] River" (although it is to the Yangtze's south), actually contracts the earlier "Western Jiangnan" (Jiangnanxi, "Western Region South of the River") Jilin () – lit. "Lucky Forest", actually a Sinification of Manchu girin ula (吉林乌拉) meaning "Riverside"