List of toponyms
In linguistics and grammar, a toponym is a name derived from a place or a region.
This is a list of toponyms , followed by the name of the place it is derived from.
General
Acapulco
Angora
Armageddon
Auschwitz
Babel
Balkanization , a geopolitical term for the fragmentation of a region — the Balkans , region in southeastern Europe
Bantustan , a disparaging term used by critics of the Apartheid-era government's "homelands" — territories designated as tribal "homelands " for black South Africans during the Apartheid era
Bay Street , a synonym for Canada's financial industry (similar to Wall Street) — Hudson's Bay Company in Canada
Beltway , name for the highway surrounding Washington, D.C.
Berlin Wall, synonymous of the Cold War — Berlin Wall , separating East Berlin from West Berlin
Bible , bibliography — Byblos , city on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon
Bikini , two-piece bathing suit for women — Bikini Atoll , a Micronesian Island in the Pacific Ocean
the Blarney and Blarney Stone — Blarney Castle
Boetian
Bohemianism , term referring to artists, writers, and disenchanted people who wished to live a non-traditional lifestyle — Bohemia , a region occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic
Bombay duck , a kind of fish — Bombay , old name for Mumbai, coastal city in western India
Brazilianization
Broadway , street in New York City synonymous with Musical Theater
Bronx Cheer , a noise made by the mouth to signify derision — The Bronx , a borough of New York City
Brummagem , goods of shoddy quality — Birmingham , city in England
Bungalow
Byzantine
Canary
Carthaginian (peace)
Caucasian , a white person – Caucasus Mountains
Chautauqua
China , pottery
Chinese Wall
Coach — the village Kocs in Hungary where this vehicle was first made
Sent to Coventry
Denim , from de Nîmes – Nimes, France
Detroit , often used as shorthand for the American automobile industry
Dijon
Dixieland music — Dixie or "Dixies land", a nickname for the American South .
Dollar
Donnybrook
Doolally
Duffel , heavy woollen cloth — Duffel , a town in Belgium
Eden (place of dubious existence)
El Dorado
Essex, 'common' or 'nouveau riche' sensibility — Essex , a county near London
Fez , (also called tarboosh ), a hat — Fez , a city in Morocco
Finlandization
Fleet Street
Georgia , a font — Georgia (U.S. state)
Gibraltar
Greek, a language usage ("all Greek to me" ) — Greek language of Greece
Gypsies , nomadic peoples in Europe and United States — Egypt
Havana , cigar – from capital of Cuba
Hell, usage in language — Hell , mythical place
Hicksville
Holland , cotton or linen fabric — Holland
[[Hollywood], shorthand for the American film industry – Hollywood , district of Los Angeles, California
Iliad (see Troy )
Indian
Java , slang for coffee – from island in Indonesia
Jersey cattle (also tomato, milk, cream, jumper) — Jersey , one of the Channel Islands
Labyrinth
Left Bank , style of life, fashion, or "look" — "Left Bank", bank of the Seine which is to the left, near Paris
Lesbian , homosexual — Lesbos , island in Greece
Lilliputian , meaning very small sized — Lilliput , fictional island in the book Gulliver's Travels
Madison Avenue , a metaphor for advertising — Madison Avenue, a street in New York
Magenta , colour — Magenta, town in northern Italy
Marathon , long race — Marathon, Greece , town
Madras , lightweight cotton fabic — Madras, old name for Chennai , coastal city in southeastern India
Main Street , name for a generic American community
Manchester (as in textiles)
Manila envelopes, Manila fiber — Manila , city in Philippines
Marseillaise , national anthem of France — Marseille , city in France
Masada
Mausoleum , a large and impressive tomb — Mausoleum of Maussollos in Turkey
Mecca, ultimate destination or activity center — Mecca , holy city in Saudi Arabia
Mongoloid race — Mongolia , country in northern Asia
Motown , R & B music – Detroit, Michigan (called the Motor City )
Maus
Neanderthal man , known by his fossils — Neanderthal, Germany , valley where the fossils were found
Nuremberg Trials — Nuremberg , German city where the trials were held
Olympics , worldwide games — Mount Olympus , tallest mountain in Greece
Paisley (design) , used in shawls — Paisley, Scotland
Palookaville
Peoria – symbolic of small-town America
Peyton Place
the Rubicon , the point of no return — Rubicon (or Rubico), Latin name for a small river in northern Italy
Rugby football — Rugby School , in Rugby, central England
Seltzer (commercial name)
Shambala
Shanghai woman , English expression for a prostitute — Shanghai , China's largest city
Shangri-La, a mythical utopia, a language usage — Shangri-La , fictional place in the novel Lost Horizon
Siamese twins , conjoined twins — Siam , old name for Thailand
Siberia, a remote undesirable location — Siberia , in eastern Russia
Sodomy , forbidden sexual acts — Sodom , Biblical town on the plain of the Jordan River
Solecism , incorrect or ungrammatical usage of language — Soli , ancient city on the island of Cyprus, where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken
Spa , place having water with health-giving properties — Spa, a municipality in Belgium
Stalingrad
Surrey , horse-drawn carriage — Surrey , southern England
Timbuktu , metaphor for an exotic, distant land — Timbuktu , city on the Niger River in Mali , West Africa
Tin Pan Alley
Trojan horse , malicious computer virus — Trojan Horse , of Troy, from the Iliad
Trojaned , as above.
Utopia Utopia , fictional republic from the book of the same name
Wall Street, financial market — Wall Street , a narrow thoroughfare in lower Manhattan running east from Broadway downhill to the East River.
Watergate , American political scandal and constitutional crisis of the 1970s — Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Woodstock Festival , music and art festival held in August, 1969 — venue of the festival Woodstock, New York
Xanadu , a symbol of opulence — Xanadu (or Shangdu), summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire
Zion
Events/Agreements
Food and Drink
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Cantaloupe (also called rockmelon), a variety of melon — Cantalupo , the Pope 's summer residence
Champagne
Cognac
Cuban, sub sandwich in Florida — Cuba , country in the Caribbean
Danish , a sweet pastry (in Denmark called wienerbrød (bread from Vienna)).
Dunkirk spirit
Frankfurter (or Wiener — from Vienna )
Hamburger — Hamburg , Germany
Hollandaise sauce — Holland
Madeira wine , a fortified wine and Plum in madeira , a dessert — Madeira islands of Portugal
Manhattan cocktail — Manhattan Club in New York City
Mocha coffee, ice cream — Mocha, Yemen , place where the coffee is grown
Peking Duck , a Chinese dish made of duck — Peking , old name for Beijing, China
Port wine (or Porto), sweet fortified wine — Oporto , in northern Portugal
Salisbury Steak — Salisbury, England
Sardine , types of small fish — Sardinia , island in the Mediterranean near Italy
Sherry wine, a mispronunciation of Jerez — Jerez de la Frontera , a city in southern Spain
Cheese
Elements
See : Chemical elements named after places
See also
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