View source for Toponymy

{{Short description|Study of place names}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{About|the study of place names|a discussion of the origins of place names themselves|Place name origins}}
{{redirect|Toponymic|the type of surname|Toponymic surname}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Toponymics|Toponomics|Toponome}}
{{linguistics}}
'''Toponymy''', '''toponymics''', or '''toponomastics''' is the study of ''[[wikt:toponym|toponyms]]'' ([[names]] of places, also known as '''place names''' and '''geographical names'''), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types.<ref name="Toponymy">{{cite book|title=Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics|last1=Perono Cacciafoco|first1=Francesco|last2=Cavallaro|first2=Francesco Paolo|date=March 2023|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108780384|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1|access-date=17 May 2023|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517081632/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Wyrwas, Katarzyna. 5 December 2004. § "[http://www.poradniajezykowa.pl/baza_archiwum.php?POZYCJA=1840&AKCJA=&TEMAT=Wszystkie&NZP=&WYRAZ=wojew Czy nauka zajmująca się nazewnictwem miast to onomastyka? Według jakich kategorii dzieli się pochodzenie nazw?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809095113/http://www.poradniajezykowa.pl/baza_archiwum.php?POZYCJA=1840&AKCJA=&TEMAT=Wszystkie&NZP=&WYRAZ=wojew |date=9 August 2020 }} [Is science dealing with city names an onomastics? What categories does the origin of names fall into?]." ''Poradniki Językowe''. Katowice, PL: [[University of Silesia in Katowice|Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach]].</ref><ref>{{citation |title = Český jazyk a literatura |date = 1961 |volume = 11 |publisher = Státní pedagogické nakl. |page = 176 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cmthAAAAMAAJ |language = cs}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ormeling|first=F. J. Sr.|title=Proceedings of the Workshop on Toponymy held in Cipanas, Indonesia|date=16–18 October 1989|publisher=Bakosurtanal|editor-last=Tichelaar|editor-first=T. R.|location=Cibinong|chapter=Terms used in geographical names standardization}}</ref> ''Toponym'' is the general term for the name of any [[geographical feature]],<ref>''[[United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names|United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, London, 10–31 May 1972]].'' New York: [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|United Nations Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs]]. 1974. p. 68.</ref> and the full scope of the term also includes names of all [[cosmographical]] features.{{sfn|Room|1996|p=13, 23, 27, 62, 80}}

In a more specific sense, the term ''toponymy'' refers to an inventory of toponyms, while the discipline researching such names is referred to as ''toponymics'' or ''toponomastics''.<ref>{{citation|title=Marulić|date=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-4flAAAAMAAJ|volume=35|issue=4–6|page=1183|publisher=Hrvatsko književno društvo sv. Ćirila i Metoda|language=hr}}</ref> Toponymy is a branch of [[onomastics]], the study of [[names]] of all kinds.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tent|first=Jan|date=2015|title=Approaches to Research in Toponymy|journal=[[Names (journal)|Names]]|volume=63|issue=2|pages=65–74|doi=10.1179/0027773814Z.000000000103|s2cid=144115142|doi-access=free}}</ref> A person who studies toponymy is called ''toponymist''.<ref name="Toponymy"/>

==Etymology==
The term ''toponymy'' comes from {{langx|grc|τόπος}} / {{lang|grc-Latn|tópos}} 'place' and {{lang|grc|ὄνομα}} / {{lang|grc-Latn|onoma}} 'name'. The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' records ''toponymy'' (meaning 'place name') first appearing in English in 1876 in the context of geographical studies.<ref>{{citation |title=toponymy, n. |work= OED Online |date=June 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url= https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/203431?redirectedFrom=toponymy |access-date=13 March 2022}}</ref><ref>" toˈponymist" appears in 1850s</ref> Since then, ''toponym'' has come to replace the term ''place-name'' in professional discourse among [[geographer]]s.<ref name="Toponymy"/>

==Toponymic typology==
Toponyms can be divided in two principal groups:<ref name="Toponymy"/>
* '''geonyms''': names of all [[geographical]] features on [[Earth]]{{sfn|Room|1996|p=46}}
* '''cosmonyms''': names of [[cosmographical]] features outside Earth{{sfn|Room|1996|p=27}}

Various types of geographical toponyms (geonyms) include, in alphabetical order:<ref name="Toponymy"/> 
* '''agronyms''': names of fields and plains{{sfn|Room|1996|p=4}}
* '''[[choronyms]]''': names of regions or countries{{sfn|Room|1996|p=20}} 
* '''dromonyms''': names of roads or any other transport routes by land, water, or air{{sfn|Room|1996|p=33}}
* '''drymonyms''': names of woods and forests{{sfn|Room|1996|p=34}}
* '''[[econyms]]''': names of inhabited locations, such as houses, villages, towns, or cities,{{sfn|Room|1996|p=35}} including:
** '''astionyms''': names of towns and cities{{sfn|Room|1996|p=13}}
** '''comonyms''': names of villages{{sfn|Room|1996|p=25}}
* '''[[hydronyms]]''': names of various bodies of water,{{sfn|Room|1996|p=51}} including:
** '''helonyms''': names of swamps, marshes, and bogs{{sfn|Room|1996|p=48}}
** '''limnonyms''': names of lakes and ponds{{sfn|Room|1996|p=56}}
** '''oceanonyms''': names of oceans{{sfn|Room|1996|p=71}}
** '''pelagonyms''': names of seas{{sfn|Room|1996|p=79}}
** '''potamonyms''': names of rivers and streams{{sfn|Room|1996|p=84}}
* '''insulonyms''': names of islands{{sfn|Room|1996|p=54}}
* '''metatoponyms''': names of places containing recursive elements (e.g., Red River Valley Road)
* '''oronyms''': names of [[Topographic relief|relief]] features, such as mountains, hills, and valleys,{{sfn|Room|1996|p=75}} including:
** '''speleonyms''': names of caves or some other subterranean features{{sfn|Room|1996|p=92}}
** '''petronyms''': names of rock formations; also of climbing routes
* '''urbanonyms''': names of urban elements (streets, squares, etc.) in settlements,{{sfn|Room|1996|p=104}} including:
** '''agoronyms''': names of squares and marketplaces{{sfn|Room|1996|p=4}}
** '''[[hodonyms]]''': names of streets and roads{{sfn|Room|1996|p=49}}

Various types of cosmographical toponyms (cosmonyms) include: 
* '''asteroidonyms''': names of asteroids{{sfn|Room|1996|p=13}}
* '''astronyms''': names of stars and constellations{{sfn|Room|1996|p=13}}
* '''cometonyms''': names of comets{{sfn|Room|1996|p=23}}
* '''meteoronyms''': names of meteors{{sfn|Room|1996|p=62}}
* '''planetonyms''': names of planets and planetary systems{{sfn|Room|1996|p=80}}

==Toponymic structure==
A simplex toponym consists of just one [[morpheme]] that identifies the geographical feature by itself, whereas a composite toponym can be broken down into multiple elements: namely, a specific element that distinguishes the feature from others within its class and a generic element that distinguishes the feature from others with the same name in other classes.<ref>{{cite conference|title=Terminology and the UNGEGN Webcourse|conference=IBGE-UNGEGN international toponymy course|first=Ferjan|last=Ormeling|publisher=[[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]] and [[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names]]|location=Rio de Janeiro|date=2017|page=2|url=https://unstats.un.org/Unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/Training/Brazil/2.1Terminology%20Handout.pdf#page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Glossary of Generic Terms in Canada's Geographical Names|edition=2nd|first1=Claudine|last1=Ratelle|first2=Carolina|last2=Herrera|first3=Isabelle|last3=Poirier|publisher=[[Translation Bureau]]|location=Ottawa|year=2012|pages=xi–xii|isbn=978-1-100-54304-8|url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/tpsgc-pwgsc/S52-2-176-2012.pdf#page=13}}</ref> In English, a composite toponym may consist of a specific and a generic (such as ''Tweed River'', ''River Tweed'', or ''River Road'') or less commonly a generic with a [[definite article]] and no specific (such as ''the Bend'' or ''the Dalles'').<ref>{{cite journal|title=Simplex Generic Toponyms in Four English-Speaking Jurisdictions|first=Jan|last=Tent|journal=[[Names (journal)|Names]]|volume=68|issue=1|pages=17–31|doi=10.1080/00277738.2020.1731243|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00277738.2020.1731243|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==History==
{{Globalize|date=August 2023}}
Probably the first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of specific place names as part of their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for their [[etiology|etiological]] legends. The process of [[folk etymology]] usually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds. Thus, for example, the toponym of [[Hellespont]] was explained by Greek poets as being named after [[Helle (mythology)|Helle]], daughter of [[Athamas]], who drowned there as she crossed it with her brother [[Phrixus]] on a flying golden ram. The name, however, is probably derived from an older language, such as [[Pelasgian]], which was unknown to those who explained its origin. In his ''Names on the Globe'', [[George R. Stewart]] theorizes that ''Hellespont'' originally meant something like 'narrow Pontus' or 'entrance to Pontus', ''[[Pontus (region)|Pontus]]'' being an ancient name for the region around the [[Black Sea]], and by extension, for the sea itself.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=George Rippey |date=7 August 1975 |title=Names on the Globe |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-501895-0 |edition=1st |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/namesonglobe0000stew }}</ref>

Especially in the 19th century, the age of exploration, a lot of toponyms got a different name because of national pride. Thus the famous German cartographer [[August Heinrich Petermann|Petermann]] thought that the naming of newly discovered physical features was one of the privileges of a map editor, especially because he was fed up with forever encountering toponyms such as ''Victoria'', ''Wellington'', ''Smith'', ''Jones'', and so on. He writes: "While constructing the new map to specify the detailed topographical portrayal and after consulting with and authorization of messr. [[Theodor von Heuglin]] and count [[:de:Karl Graf von Waldburg-Zeil|Karl Graf von Waldburg-Zeil]] I have entered 118 names in the map: partly they are the names derived from celebrities of arctic explorations and discoveries, arctic travellers anyway as well as excellent friends, patrons, and participants of different nationalities in the newest northpolar expeditions, partly eminent German travellers in Africa, Australia, America ...".<ref>Koldewey, K. (1871. Die erste Deutsche Nordpolar-Expedition im Jahre 1868. In: ''Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, Ergäzungsband VI'', p. 182.</ref>

Toponyms may have different names through time, due to changes and developments in languages, political developments and border adjustments to name but a few. More recently many postcolonial countries revert to their own nomenclature for toponyms that have been named by colonial powers.<ref name="Toponymy"/>

== Toponomastics ==

A toponymist, through well-established local principles and procedures developed in cooperation and consultation with the [[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names]] (UNGEGN), applies the science of toponymy to establish officially recognized geographical names. A toponymist relies not only on maps and local histories, but interviews with local residents to determine names with established local usage. The exact application of a toponym, its specific language, its pronunciation, and its origins and meaning are all important facts to be recorded during name surveys.

Scholars have found that toponyms provide valuable insight into the historical geography of a particular region. In 1954, [[F. M. Powicke]] said of place-name study that it "uses, enriches and tests the discoveries of archaeology and history and the rules of the [[Philology|philologists]]."<ref>[[F. M. Powicke|Powicke, F. M.]] 1954. "Armstrong, Mawer, Stenton and Dickins 'The Place-Names of Cumberland' (1950–53)" (book review). ''[[The English Historical Review]]'' 69<!-- nice -->. p. 312.</ref>

Toponyms not only illustrate ethnic settlement patterns, but they can also help identify discrete periods of immigration.<ref>{{cite journal | last = McDavid | first = R.I. | year = 1958 | title = Linguistic Geographic and Toponymic Research | journal = Names | volume = 6 | issue = 2 | pages = 65–73 | doi = 10.1179/nam.1958.6.2.65 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kaups | first = M. | year = 1966 | title = Finnish Place Names in Minnesota: A Study in Cultural Transfer | journal = The Geographical Review| issue = 3 | pages = 377–397 | doi = 10.2307/212463 | volume = 56 | publisher = Geographical Review, Vol. 56, No. 3 | jstor = 212463 | bibcode = 1966GeoRv..56..377K }}</ref>

Toponymists are responsible for the active preservation of their region's culture through its toponymy.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} They typically ensure the ongoing development of a geographical names database and associated publications, for recording and disseminating authoritative hard-copy and digital toponymic data. This data may be disseminated in a wide variety of formats, including hard-copy topographic maps as well as digital formats such as [[geographic information system]]s, [[Google Maps]], or thesauri like the [[Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names]].<ref name="Toponymy"/>

== Toponymic commemoration ==
In 2002, the [[United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names]] acknowledged that while common, the practice of naming geographical places after living persons (toponymic commemoration) could be problematic. Therefore, the [[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names]] recommends that it be avoided and that national authorities should set their own guidelines as to the time required after a person's death for the use of a commemorative name.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oxVSKQ6bv2AC&q=living+person&pg=PA75 |title=Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names |date=2002 |publisher=United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs |isbn=9789211009156 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In the same vein, writers Pinchevski and Torgovnik (2002) consider the naming of streets as a political act in which holders of the legitimate monopoly to name aspire to engrave their ideological views in the social space.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pinchevski |first1=Amit |last2=Torgovnik |first2=Efraim |date=May 2002 |title=Signifying passages: the signs of change in Israeli street names |journal=Media, Culture & Society |doi=10.1177/016344370202400305 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=365–388|s2cid=144414677 }}</ref> Similarly, the [[Historical revisionism|revisionist]] practice of
[[Street or road name#Street renaming|renaming streets]], as both the celebration of triumph and the repudiation of the old regime is another issue of toponymy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Azaryahu |first1=Maoz |date=2009 |title=Critical Toponymies: The Contested Politics of Place Naming |chapter=Naming the past: The significance of commemorative street names |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xg1GAepFft8C&q=%22naming+the+past%22&pg=PA56 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780754674535 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829210521/https://books.google.com/books?id=xg1GAepFft8C&q=%22naming+the+past%22&pg=PA56 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, in the context of [[Russian nationalism|Slavic nationalism]], the name of [[Saint Petersburg]] was changed to the more Slavic sounding ''Petrograd'' from 1914 to 1924,<ref>{{cite book |last1= Lincoln |first1= Bruce |date= 2000 |title= Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jPMM7Abnk6EC&q=petrograd+slavic+nationalism&pg=PA219 |publisher= Basic Books |isbn= 9780786730896 |access-date= 29 October 2020 |archive-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210827191526/https://books.google.com/books?id=jPMM7Abnk6EC&q=petrograd+slavic+nationalism&pg=PA219 |url-status= live }}</ref> then to ''Leningrad'' following the death of [[Vladimir Lenin]] and back to ''Saint-Peterburg'' in 1991 following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]]. After 1830, in the wake of the [[Greek War of Independence]] and the establishment of an independent Greek state, Turkish, Slavic and Italian place names were Hellenized, as an effort of "toponymic cleansing." This nationalization of place names can also manifest itself in a [[Postcolonialism|postcolonial]] context.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Rose-Redwood |first=Reuben |date=2009 |title=Geographies of toponymic inscription: new directions in critical place-name studies |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249872329|journal=Progress in Human Geography |page=460 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In Canada, there have been initiatives in recent years "[[List of place names in Canada of Indigenous origin|to restore traditional names to reflect the Indigenous culture wherever possible]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/indigenous-place-names/19739|title = Indigenous-place-names|date = 9 June 2017|access-date = 23 August 2021|archive-date = 23 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210823004604/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/indigenous-place-names/19739|url-status = live}}</ref> [[Indigenous mapping]] is a process that can include restoring place names by [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous communities]] themselves.

Frictions sometimes arise between countries because of toponymy, as illustrated by the [[Macedonia naming dispute]] in which [[Greece]] has claimed the name ''[[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]]'', the [[Sea of Japan naming dispute]] between [[Japan]] and [[Korea]], as well as the [[Persian Gulf naming dispute]]. On 20 September 1996 a note on the internet reflected a query by a Canadian surfer, who said as follows: 'One producer of maps labeled the water body 
"Persian Gulf" on a 1977 map of Iran, and then "Arabian Gulf", also in 1977, in a map which focused on the [[Gulf Cooperation Council|Gulf States]]. I would gather that this is an indication of the "politics of maps", but I would be interested to know if this was done to avoid upsetting users of the Iran map and users of the map showing Arab Gulf States'. This symbolizes a further aspect of the topic, namely the spilling over of the problem from the purely political to the economic sphere.<ref>{{cite journal |date=2004 |title=Toponymy and Geopolitics: The Political Use — and Misuse — of Geographical Names |url=http://www.iwp.edu/docLib/20131022_KadmonToponomyandGeopolitics.pdf |journal=The Cartographic Journal |doi=10.1179/000870404X12897 |volume=41 |pages=85–87 |last1=Kadmon |first1=Naftali |issue=2 |bibcode=2004CartJ..41...85K |s2cid=128707537 |access-date=31 May 2016 |archive-date=17 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917032727/http://www.iwp.edu/docLib/20131022_KadmonToponomyandGeopolitics.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geographic names boards==
{{maincat|Geographical naming agencies}}

A '''geographic names board''' is an official body established by a government to decide on official names for geographical areas and features.

Most countries have such a body, which is commonly (but not always) known by this name. In some countries (especially those organised on a federal basis), subdivisions such as individual states or provinces have individual boards.

Individual geographical names boards include:
* [[Antarctic Place-names Commission]]
*[[:fr:Commission nationale de toponymie|Commission nationale de toponymie]] (National toponymy commission - [[France]])
* [[Geographical Names Board of Canada]]
* [[Geographical Names Board of New South Wales]]
*[[New Zealand Geographic Board]]
* [[South African Geographical Names Council]]
* [[United States Board on Geographic Names]]

==Notable toponymists==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Marcel Aurousseau]] (1891–1983), Australian geographer, geologist, war hero, historian and translator
*[[Andrew Breeze]] (born 1954), English linguist
*[[William Bright]] (1928–2006), American linguist
*[[Richard Coates]] (born 1949), English linguist
*[[Joan Coromines]] (1905–1997), etymologist, dialectologist, toponymist
*[[Albert Dauzat]] (1877–1955), French linguist
*[[Eilert Ekwall]] (1877–1964, Sweden)
*{{ill|Yoel Elitzur|he|יואל אליצור (חוקר מדעי היהדות)}}
*[[Henry Gannett]] (1846–1914), American geographer
*[[Margaret Gelling]] (1924–2009), English toponymist
*[[Michel Grosclaude]] (1926–2002), philosopher and French linguist
*[[Erwin Gustav Gudde]] 
*[[Ernest Nègre]] (1907–2000), French toponymist
*[[W. F. H. Nicolaisen]] (1927–2016), folklorist, linguist, medievalist
*[[Oliver Padel]] (born 1948), English medievalist and toponymist
*[[Robert L. Ramsay (academic)|Robert L. Ramsay]] (1880–1953), American linguist
*[[Adrian Room]] (1933–2010), British toponymist and onomastician
*[[Charles Rostaing]] (1904–1999), French linguist
*[[Henry Schoolcraft]] (1793–1864), American geographer, geologist and ethnologist
*[[Walter William Skeat|Walter Skeat]] (1835–1912), British philologist
*[[Petar Skok]] (1881–1956), Croatian etymologist and toponymist
*[[Albert Hugh Smith]] (1903–1967), scholar of Old English and Scandinavian languages
*[[Frank Stenton]] (1880–1967), historian of Anglo-Saxon England
*[[George R. Stewart]] (1895–1980), American historian, toponymist and novelist
*[[Jan Paul Strid]] (1947–2018), Swedish toponymist
*[[Isaac Taylor (priest)|Isaac Taylor]] (1829–1901), philologist, toponymist and Anglican canon of York
*[[James Hammond Trumbull]] (1821–1897), American scholar and philologist
*[[William J. Watson]] (1865–1948), Scottish scholar
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Linguistics|Geography}}

=== Related concepts ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Anthroponymy]]
* [[Demonym]]y
* [[List of demonyms for U.S. states and territories]]
* [[Estate name]]
* [[Ethnonym]]y
* [[Exonym and endonym]]
* [[Gazetteer]]
* [[Lists of places]]
* [[Toponymy of the Kerguelen Islands]]{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

=== Toponymy ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Toponymic surname]]
*[[Planetary nomenclature]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

=== Hydronymy ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Latin names of European rivers]]
*[[Latin names of rivers]]
*[[List of river name etymologies]]
*[[Old European hydronymy]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

=== Regional toponymy ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Biblical toponyms in the United States]]
*[[Celtic toponymy]]
*[[German toponymy]]
*[[Germanic toponymy]]
*[[Historical African place names]]
*[[Japanese place names]]
*[[Korean toponymy and list of place names]]
*[[List of English exonyms for German toponyms]]
*[[List of Latin place names in Europe]]
*[[List of modern names for biblical place names]]
*[[List of renamed places in the United States]]
*[[List of U.S. place names connected to Sweden]]
* [[List of demonyms for US states and territories|List of U.S. States and Territorial demonyms]]
*[[List of U.S. state name etymologies]]
*[[List of U.S. state nicknames]]
*[[Maghreb toponymy]]
*[[Names of European cities in different languages]]
*[[New Zealand place names]]
*[[Norman toponymy]]
*[[Oikonyms in Western and South Asia]]
*[[Place names of Palestine]]
**[[Hebraization of Palestinian place names]]
*[[Place names in Sri Lanka]]
*[[Roman place names]]
*[[Toponyms of Finland]]
*[[Toponyms of Turkey]]
*[[Toponymy in the United Kingdom and Ireland]]
**[[List of British places with Latin names]]
**[[List of generic forms in place names in the British Isles]]
**[[List of places in the United Kingdom]]
**[[List of Roman place names in Britain]]
**[[Place names in Irish]]
**[[Welsh place names]]
**[[Territorial designation]]
**Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

=== Other ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Labeling (map design)]]
*[[List of adjectival forms of place names]]
*[[List of double placenames]]
*[[List of long place names]]
*[[List of places named after peace]]
*[[List of places named after Lenin]]
*[[List of places named after Stalin]]
*[[List of places named for their main products]]
*[[List of political entities named after people]]
*[[List of short place names]]
*[[List of tautological place names]]
*[[List of words derived from toponyms]]
*[[Lists of things named after places]]
*[[List of geographic acronyms and initialisms]]
*[[List of geographic portmanteaus]]
*[[List of geographic anagrams and ananyms]]
*[[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names]]
*[[UNGEGN Toponymic Guidelines]]
{{srt}}
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Bruck|editor-first1=Gabriele vom|editor-last2=Bodenhorn|editor-first2=Barbara|title=An Anthropology of Names and Naming|year=2009|orig-year=2006|edition=2nd|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Anthropology_of_Names_and_Naming.html?id=4IIOQAAACAAJ}}<!--https://archive.org/details/vom-bruck-gabriele-bodenhorn-barbara-eds.-2006.-the-anthropology-of-names-and-naming-->
* {{Cite book|last1=Perono Cacciafoco|first1=Francesco|last2=Cavallaro|first2=Francesco Paolo|title=Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics|year=2023|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108780384|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1|access-date=17 May 2023|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517081632/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book|last=Room|first=Adrian|title=An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies|year=1996|location=Lanham and London|publisher=The Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810831698|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEtiAAAAMAAJ}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Berg, Lawrence D. and Jani Vuolteenaho. 2009. ''Critical Toponymies (Re-Materialising Cultural Geography)''. [[Ashgate Publishing]]. {{ISBN|978-0754674535}}
*{{cite web|url=http://mydanishroots.com/placenames/meaning_of_common_elements.html|author=Buch-Jepsen, Anders|title=Place Name Etymology: Common Elements in Danish Place Names|work=MyDanishRoots.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430082059/http://mydanishroots.com/placenames/meaning_of_common_elements.html|archive-date=2009-04-30}}
* Cablitz, Gabriele H. 2008. "When 'what' is 'where': A linguistic analysis of landscape terms, place names and body part terms in Marquesan (Oceanic, French Polynesia)." ''[[Language Sciences]]'' 30(2/3):200–26.
* Desjardins, Louis-Hébert. 1973. ''Les nons géographiques: lexique polyglotte, suivi d'un glossaire de 500 mots''. Leméac.
* Hargitai, Henrik I. 2006. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081003132939/http://emc.elte.hu/~hargitai/hargitai/planmaps.pdf Planetary Maps: Visualization and Nomenclature]." ''[[Cartographica]]'' 41(2):149–64
* Hargitai, Henrik I., Hugh S. Greqorv, Jan Osburq, and Dennis Hands. 2007. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081003133053/http://emc.elte.hu/~hargitai/hargitai/topomdrs.pdf Development of a Local Toponym System at the Mars Desert Research Station]." ''Cartographica'' 42(2):179–87.
* {{Cite journal|editor-last1=Harvalík|editor-first1=Milan|editor-last2=Caffarelli|editor-first2=Enzo|title=Onomastic Terminology: An International Survey|journal=Rivista Italiana di Onomastica|year=2007|volume=13|number=1|pages=181–220|url=https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/461196/Terminology.pdf|access-date=1 January 2021|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422110954/https://pure.knaw.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/461196/Terminology.pdf|url-status=live}}
* Hercus, Luise, Flavia Hodges, and Jane Simpson. 2009. ''The Land is a Map: Placenames of Indigenous Origin in Australia''. Pandanus Books.
* Kadmon, Naftali. 2000. ''Toponymy: the lore, laws, and language of geographical names.'' Vantage Press. 
* Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco and Francesco Paolo Cavallaro. 2023. ''Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|9781108748247}}, {{ISBN|9781108780384}} [https://www.cambridge.org/de/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/historical-linguistics/place-names-approaches-and-perspectives-toponymy-and-toponomastics?format=PB Book 0]; [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1 Book 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517081632/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/place-names/B6C6CB54DF0896D31CAE470C710D22D1 |date=17 May 2023 }}; [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108780384 DOI]
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Appendix:Terms derived from toponyms}}
*[http://www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/onoma/ Who Was Who in North American Name Study]
*[http://exonyme.6x.to/ Forgotten Toponymy Board (German)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301221350/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/freefun/didyouknow/placenames/ The origins of British place names] (archived 1 March 2012)
*[http://cornish-place-names.wikidot.com/ An Index to the Historical Place Names of Cornwall]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120210194716/http://www.george-broderick.de/iom_docs/iom_introduction-to-celtic-studies.htm Celtic toponymy] (archived 10 February 2012)
*[https://doukhobor.org/gazetteer-intro/ The Doukhobor Gazetteer], Doukhobor Heritage website, by Jonathan Kalmakoff.
*O'Brien Jr., Francis J. (Moondancer) [https://www.scribd.com/user/71256581/Frank-Waabu-O-Brien-Dr-Francis-J-O-Brien-Jr "Indian Place Names—Aquidneck Indian Council"]
*[https://sites.google.com/site/ghanaplacenames/ Ghana Place Names]
*[https://nisanyanyeradlari.com/ Index Anatolicus: Toponyms of Turkey]
*The [[University of Nottingham]]'s: [http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/ Key to English Place-names] searchable map.
*[https://archive.org/details/TheEtymologyOfMarsCraterNames_201803/mode/2up/ The Etymology of Mars crater names] on [[Internet Archive]]

{{Place name etymologies}}
{{Personal names}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Toponymy| ]]