Gambia

Gambia (canonical)
the Gambia (canonical)

→ Japanese: ガンビア (Ganbia)


Niger

→ Japanese: ナイジャ (Naija)

/niːˈʒɛə(ɹ)/

Commonly linked by folk etymology to Latin niger (“black”), which likely influenced the modern spelling.
Some sources give the term to Tuareg roots, deriving it from a claimed gher n-gheren or egereou n-igereouen (“river of rivers”). Compare Tarifit iɣzar-n-iɣezran.
Older sources derive Niger, via a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, from Ptolemy's descriptions of the wadi Gir (in modern Algeria) and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south.

From here we can see the River Niger in the distance running across town, a long gleaming diamond in the horizon.

2023, Stephen Buoro, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, Bloomsbury Circus, page 290:

A major river in West Africa that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria.


Paraguay

Disputed; from Guaraní Payagua (“Pajagua tribe”) y (“water”) or para (“river”) guái (“crown”) or para (“river”) gua (“from”) y (“water”).

A river in South America that flows into the Paraná, through Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina; in full, the Paraguay River.


Senegal

/ˌsɛn.ɪˈɡɔːl/

/ˌsɛn.ɪˈɡɑːl/

Probably from a Portuguese transliteration of the name of the Zenaga (possibly from Arabic زنجي (“Zanj, Negro”), from Persian زَنگ (“Land of the Blacks”) Etymology 3}. Or a combination of the supreme deity in Serer religion (Rog Sene) and o gal meaning body of water in the Serer language.

A river on the border between Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa.


Congo

Congo (canonical)
the Congo (canonical)
Congos (plural)

After Kongo, from Kongo nkongo (“hunter”). Compare Kongo dikongo (“spear”), Zulu umkhonto, Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀kóndó.

Democratic Republic of the Congo#English

Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo#English

A major river in Central Africa which flows for about 4,380 km (2,720 miles) to the Atlantic Ocean in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at times forming the border with the Republic of the Congo and Angola.


Jordan

en-proper noun

Jordan (countable and uncountable, plural Jordans)

From Latin Iordanēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰορδάνης (Iordánēs), from Biblical Hebrew יַרְדֵּן (yardén, “Jordan (river)”). Doublet of Yarden.

der

A river in Western Asia, in the Middle East, that empties into the Dead Sea, flowing through Israel, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Jordan.


Moldova

Unclear; see Romanian Moldova for theories.

Moldava (alternative)
Moldavia (alternative)
Moldovia (alternative)


Montreal

/ˌmɔ̃ɹeɪˈæl/

From French Montréal; from Mont Royal (“Mount Royal”) (mont + royal), after the nearby hill by Jacques Cartier. It is uncertain how Royal became -real. A common explanation is that real is the Middle French form of Royal, but Cartier himself recorded le mont Royal when he named it. It may have perhaps been from the Italian G.B. Rasmusio's 1556 map translating the name to Italian Monte Real.

A river in Algoma and Sudbury districts, Ontario, Canada.

A river in Timiskaming district, Ontario, Canada.

A river in No. 18, Saskatchewan, Canada.

A river on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, United States.

A river in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States.


Sergipe

From Brazilian Portuguese Sergipe, from an Old Tupi term meaning "river of the crab".


Paraná

/ˌpæ.ɹəˈnɑː/

From Spanish Paraná or Portuguese Paraná, both from Old Tupi paranã (“river”).

A river in central and southern South America.


Saskatchewan

/səˈskæt͡ʃ.əˌwɑːn/

From Cree ᑭᓯᐢᑳᒋᐘᓂ ᓰᐱᕀ (kisiskâciwani-sîpiy, “swift-flowing river”). The province is named after the river, which flows through it.

A major river in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.


Brisbane

Brisbane
Brisbane River
Sir Thomas Brisbane

From Scottish Gaelic bris (“break, smash”) + Old English bān (“bone”), a nickname given to someone who was often involved in fights, resulting in the breaking of bones. The city and river in Australia are named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, 1773–1860; governor of New South Wales (which at the time included the area of modern Queensland) from 1821 to 1825.

A river that flows through the city in Queensland; in full, the Brisbane River.


Perth

From Scottish Gaelic Peairt, from Pictish *ᚚᚓᚏᚈ (pert) meaning “wood, copse, thicket”, related to Welsh perth and perhaps Proto-Celtic *kʷerxtā (from Proto-Indo-European *pérkʷus (“oak”).

A river in the Southern Alps West Coast region, New Zealand, a tributary of the Whataroa.


Adelaide

→ Greek: Άντελαϊντ (Ántelaïnt)

Borrowed from French Adélaïde, from Old High German Adalheidis (from adal (“noble”) + -heit (“nature, character”)), modern German Adelheid; doublet of Alice.

Adelaide (given name)
Adelaide River
Adelaide, South Australia

Queen Adelaide
w:Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen

William IV
w:William IV of the United Kingdom

Northern Territory
Northern Territory#English

Places named for Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV.

A river in the Northern Territory, Australia, known for its large population of saltwater crocodiles.


Winnipeg

/ˈwɪn.əˌpɛɡ/

* From Ojibwe wiinibig (“dirty waters”), from wiini’ (“to make someone dirty”), wiinad (“it is dirty”), + nibi (“water”), plural nibig (“waters”).
* After the lake, from Cree/Swampy Cree ᐑᓂᐯᐠ (“muddy waters”), describing the river's water entering the lake (CanOD).

Winnipeg (disambiguation)
Winnipeg, Manitoba

A river that flows 813 km from Lake of the Woods, Ontario into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba; in full, Winnipeg River.


Ottawa

→ French: Ottawa

→ Japanese: オタワ

desctree

→ Russian: Оттава (Ottava)
→ Armenian: Օտտավա (Ōttava)

[ˈɔɾ̥əwa(ː)]

From Ojibwe odaawaa/ᐅᑡᐙ (“an Ottawa; a trader”), from Proto-Algonquian *atawewa (“to trade”).

Odawa (alternative)
Odaawaa (alternative)
Ottowa (alternative)

St. Lawrence River
St. Lawrence River#English

A river flowing southeast between Ontario and Quebec, Canada into the St. Lawrence River.


Kelantan

Unadapted borrowing from Malay Kelantan.


Leon

David Camden de Leon
Independence, Iowa
Juan Ponce de Leon
Legio VII Gemina
Martín De León
Mexican–American War

From Spanish León, from Latin legiō (“legion”), named for the Legio VII Gemina, which settled there. In reference to the New York town and Texan river, taken from the former Spanish kingdom. The Texan lake is named for the river. The Floridian county is named for the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. The Texan county is named for Martin de Leon, founder of Victoria, Texas. The town in Monroe Co., Wisconsin, was named for the Mexican city. The Iowan town was changed to honor the "Fighting Doctor" of the Mexican–American War David Camden de Leon after it was discovered that Iowa already had a city named Independence. The Kansan town was named for the one in Iowa. Doublet of legion via Old French. The California town was named for the nearby Leon Mine.


Rom

A short river in Greater London which flows into the River Thames.


Ankara

From Turkish Ankara and Ottoman Turkish آنقره (Ankara), from Byzantine Greek and Ancient Greek Ἄγκυρα (Ánkura), from ἄγκυρα (ánkura, “anchor, hook”) in reference to the bend in the Çölova River before it merges with the Cubuk to become the Ankara but probably also calquing a local name ultimately derived from Hittite [script needed] (Ankuwaš), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk- (“elbow, bend, curve”). The river and province are named for the city. Doublet of Angora, angle, and anchor.

der

A small river in Ankara Province, Turkey near the city, a tributary of the Sakarya.


Rhine

From Middle English Rine, Ryne, from Old English Rīn (“the Rhine”), from Middle High German and Old High German Rīn, from Proto-West Germanic *Rīn, from Proto-Germanic *Rīnaz, from Gaulish Rēnos, from a Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic *reinos; one of a class of river names built from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to move, flow, run”).
Cognate with Old High German Rīn ("the Rhine"; > German Rhein), Old Norse Rín (“the Rhine”), Dutch Rijn (“the Rhine”). Related also to Latin rivus ("river"), in Celtic with an -n- suffix as in Old Irish rīan (“run”) (more at run).
The spelling with Rh- is due to the influence of Ancient Greek Ῥῆνος (Rhênos) (via French Rhin).

gloss

"the Rhine"; > German <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">Rhein</i>

A major river in western Europe, which flows through Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, France and the Netherlands, before emptying into the North Sea.


Orne

en-proper noun

Orne (countable and uncountable, plural Ornes)

A river in Normandy, France, flowing through the departments of Orne and Calvados.


Florida

New York City, Philadelphia, traditional Eastern New England (except for Boston), Ireland

From Spanish florida (“flowery”), often referring to a place's abundance of flowers. The state's name specifically is a shortening of la Florida (“the flowery one”) or Pascua Florida (“flowery Easter”). It is the oldest surviving European-given place-name in the US. The village in Orange County, New York was named in the 1760s from Latin flōrida (“flowery”).

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands

A river in Colorado, flowing from Lillie Lake in the Weminuche Wilderness into the Animas near Durango.


Kabul

Cabool (alternative)
Cabul (alternative)
Caubool (alternative)
Caubul (alternative)
Kabol (alternative)

A river rising in the Hindu Kush of northeastern Maidan Wardak, Afghanistan and flowing roughly 700 kilometers before merging into the Indus river at Attock, Pakistan.


Los Angeles

/lɔs ˈæŋɡələs/

/loʊs ˈæŋɡələs/

An anglicized form of Spanish Pueblo de los Ángeles (City of the Angels), a clipping of Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (“Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola”), taken from the Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí's name for the nearby Los Angeles River, first sighted by the Portolá expedition on August 2, the feast day of the dedication of the chapel of Porziuncola (from Latin portiuncula, “little portion”) in Santa Maria degli Angeli (Italian for “Saint Mary of the Angels”) near Assisi, Italy, where St Francis began his order.

Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River#English

A river in Los Angeles, California, United States; in full, Los Angeles River.


Maine

Gallia Celtica
Maine (disambiguation)
Maine (province)
Maine (state)

The US state is from French Maine, named by its French explorers after the province in France with the same name; unrelated to the name of the river that flows through it. From Old French Cemaine, from Latin *Cenomania, from the name of the Gaulish Cenomani tribe of Gallia Celtica. The word was rebracketed as ce (“this”) + Maine, and the ce- was lost by the 12th century.

A river in Maine, United States, flowing 5.5 miles from Pocomoonshine Lake in Princeton into Crawford Lake in Crawford.


Maine

Maine (disambiguation)
Maine (province)
Maine (river)
Maine (state)

From French Maine, from earlier Maienne, from Latin Meduāna, of uncertain origin. Doublet of Mayenne. Unrelated to the French province of the same name.

Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire#English

A river in Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire, France, a tributary of the Loire, flowing 12 km through the city of Angers from the confluence of the Mayenne and Sarthe into the Loire.


Maine

Maine (disambiguation)
Maine (province)
Maine (state)
River Maine (County Kerry)

A river in County Kerry, Ireland, flowing 43 km from Tobermaing into the Atlantic at Castlemaine.


Maine

Maine (disambiguation)
Maine (province)
Maine (state)

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland#English

Alternative form of Main: A river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.


Vancouver

en-prop

Vancouver (countable and uncountable, plural Vancouvers)

George Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver Expedition
Vancouver, Washington

The family name is from the Dutch place name Coevorden (“the place where cows ford the river”) via the Dutch family name van Coevorden (“a person from Coevorden”). The place names are derived from the family name, being named after George Vancouver, an English explorer who charted the northwestern Pacific coast of North America in a 1791–1794 expedition.

British Columbia
British Columbia#English

A river in southern British Columbia, Canada.


Dane

From Middle English Dane, from Old Norse danir. Displaced native Old English Dene. Both forms ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *daniz.

A river, the River Dane, in Cheshire, England, which joins the River Weaver at Northwich.


Sofia

From Malagasy Sofia of uncertain origin. The region is named for the river.


Brent

en-proper noun

Brent (countable and uncountable, plural Brents)

English surname from placenames in Devon and Somerset, from Old English brant (“steep”), referring to hills. Compare Brents.

Only by the wet flapping of a barnacle goose did she know she now approached the River Brent, obscured as it was by a brickworks and yet more houses.

2023, Zadie Smith, The Fraud, Hamish Hamilton, page 189:

A small river in Greater London, England, United Kingdom, which joins the Thames at Brentford.


Sark

Unknown, but see Wikipedia. Richard Coates has suggested derivation from a Proto-Semitic cognate of Arabic شرق (“east, Orient”) , although this is considered unlikely.
The river-name is probably derived from Proto-Brythonic *serch, of uncertain meaning and etymology but associated with "circularity".

I have often been amused by travellers pointing out, first the Eden, just north of the station, and then the Esk, which young Lochinvar swam, as the Border; the real boundary is, of course, the little river Sark, just south of the Caledonian station at Gretna; […].

1953 August, Basil M. Bazley, “Carlisle in 1905”, in Railway Magazine, page 507:

Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway#English

A minor river in Dumfries and Galloway council area and Cumbria, forming part of the border between Scotland and England, which flows into the tidal Esk at Gretna; in full, the River Sark.


Luo

From the pinyin romanization of Chinese 洛 (Luò).

A river in Shaanxi, China, tributary to the Wei.

The remains of the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty, Luoyang 洛阳, are situated approximately 15 km east of the present-day city of Luoyang in Henan. Since the site is bordered on the north by the Mangshan 邙山 Mountains and overlooks the Luo River to the south, it has protective natural barriers and is also at an important junction for transportation and communication (fig. 37).

1982, Zhongshu Wang, “Luoyang: The Capital City of Eastern Han”, in K. C. Chang et al., transl., Han Civilization, Yale University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 29:

Several dozen animals have died and villagers are suffering nausea and dizziness after a massive spill of cyanide into the Luo River in Henan province.

2001 November 6, Josephine Ma, “Villagers ill after river poisoned by cyanide”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-04:

A tributary of the Yellow River, the Luo River runs through Luoyang as well as several other ancient Chinese cities.

2010, “Luoyang”, in Alexander Monro, editor, China: City and Exile, Eland Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 70:

A river in Henan, China, tributary to the Yellow River.

A river in Fujian, China, flowing into the Taiwan Strait.


Mohawk

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Mohawk.wav

From Dutch Mohawk.
An exonym, probably from Narragansett Mohowaúgsuck, Mauquàuog, meaning “they eat (animate things)”, “cannibals”. The phoneme /m/ is not present in the Mohawk language; the Mohawk autonym is Kanien'kehá:ka (Kanienkehaka, Kanyenkehaka).

Mohawk River, the largest tributary of the Hudson River, New York.


Bann

From Irish an Bhanna (“the river goddess”), from ban (“woman”) + dia (“goddess, deity”).

A river in County Down, County Armagh, County Antrim and County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, which flows through Lough Neagh.


Douglas

Douglas (countable and uncountable, plural Douglases)

Douglases (plural)
Douglass (alternative)

desc

→ Translingual: douglasi, douglasii (learned)

From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”).

Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester#English

A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:

A number of places in the United Kingdom:

A river in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.


Danube

→ Hindi: डेन्यूब (ḍenyūb)

→ Korean: 다뉴브 (danyubeu)

→ Marathi: डॅन्यूब (ḍĕnyūb)

→ Thai: ดานูบ (daa-núup)

→ Urdu: ڈینیوب (ḍēn'yūb)

→ Vietnamese: Đa Nuýp

Attested since at least 1598 (also note Middle English Danby (“Danube”) att. in 15th c. Mandeville's Travels).
Borrowed from Middle French Danube, from Old French Danube, from Latin Dānubius, from Proto-Celtic *Dānowyos (compare Welsh river name Donwy), an extended form of the river-name *Dānu, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂nu (“river, river goddess”), akin to *dʰenh₂- (“to set in motion; to flow”).
Cognate with Latin fōns (“spring”), Persian دنیدن (danidan, “to hasten, run”), Ossetian дон (don, “water, river”), Sanskrit धन्वति (dhánvati, “it flows, runs”). More at Danube.

cog

(with the) A river in Europe; flowing 2850 kilometers from the confluence of the Breg and Brigach at Donaueschingen, Germany, into the Black Sea in Romania.

Donou

river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea


Euphrates

From Latin Euphrātēs, from Ancient Greek Εὐφράτης (Euphrátēs), from Old Persian 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 (u-f-r-a-tu-u /ʰUfrātuš/), from Akkadian 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (^(ÍD)Purattu), from Sumerian 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (^(ÍD)Buranun) (compare Elamite 𒌑𒅁𒊏𒌅𒅖 (ú-ip-ra-du-iš), Classical Syriac ܦܪܬ (P(ə)rāṯ)). The Elamite, Akkadian, and possibly Sumerian forms are either from an unrecorded substrate language, or from Proto-Sumerian *𒁍𒍏 burudu "copper" (Sumerian 𒍏 (urudu)) with an explanation that Euphrates was the river by which the copper ore was transported in rafts, since Mesopotamia was the center of copper metallurgy at the period.

der

A river in the Middle East, 2780 kilometers in length, flowing southwest from Turkey, then southeast, and uniting with the Tigris before entering the Persian Gulf. It forms the Western edge of classical Mesopotamia.


Tigris

From Latin Tigris, from Ancient Greek Τίγρις (Tígris), an alternative form of Τίγρης (Tígrēs), from Old Persian 𐎫𐎡𐎥𐎼𐎠 (Tigrā), from Akkadian 𒀀𒇉𒈦𒄘𒃼 (Idiglat), from Sumerian 𒀀𒇉𒈦𒄘𒃼 (Idigna, literally “fast as an arrow”).

uder

A river in Southwest Asia flowing 1,150 miles east-southeast from the Armenian Highland in Turkey through Iraq. It forms the eastern edge of classical Mesopotamia. It unites with the Euphrates River to form the Shatt al-Arab before flowing into the Persian Gulf.


Ticino

A left tributary of the Po in Switzerland and Italy.


Cali

A river in Colombia which flows by the city.


Amazon

From Spanish, Río Amazonas. It is common belief that the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana fought a battle against a tribe of Tapuya natives, in which the women fought alongside the men, and that he derived the name from the Amazons in Greek mythology.

(sometimes attributive) A river in South America, that flows through Brazil for about 4000 miles to the Atlantic.


Minnesota

[ˌmɪnɪˈsoʊɾə]

From Lakota mní šóta (literally “cloudy water”).

der

A tributary of the Mississippi River in southern Minnesota.


Devon

→ Russian: Де́вон (Dévon)

From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it.

A river in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, England, a tributary to the Trent.

A river in Clackmannanshire council area, Scotland, a tributary of the Forth.


Kentucky

Uncertain; possibly from an Iroquoian word meaning "prairie"; compare Mohawk kenhtà:ke (“the meadow”), Seneca gëdá'geh (“at the field”).

A tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States.


Todd

A river in the Northern Territory, Australia; named for early immigrant Alice Bell Todd (wife of astronomer Charles Todd).


Murray

en-proper noun

Murray (countable and uncountable, plural Murrays)

Scottish surname derived from the place name Moray in northeastern Scotland, from Medieval Latin Moravia, Morauia, from Scottish Gaelic Moireibh, Moireabh, Moreb, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *trebā (“settlement”).

A major river in south-eastern Australia, flowing 2,589 km (1,609 mi) to the Indian Ocean, through New South Wales and Victoria, where it forms the border for hundreds of miles, to the sea through South Australia; in full, the Murray River. Named after Sir George Murray.

Western Australia
Western Australia#English

A river in Western Australia (as above).

A minor river in Stewart Island, New Zealand.


Blackadder

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Blackadder.wav

PIE word
 *wasdʰos
From black + a second element, possibly derived from one of the following:
* From Irish fad (“length”), fada (“long”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wasdʰos (“long; wide”)) + dobhar (“moisture; sea; water”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)), referring to a long river.
* From Old English ǣdre (“channel for liquids; river; (anatomy) artery or vein; sinew”), from Proto-Germanic *ēþrǭ (“rivulet; (anatomy) vein”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éh₁t-r̥ ~ *h₁h₁t-éns (“lung; internal organ”), from *h₁eh₁t- (“breath; to breathe”) + *-r̥ (suffix forming nouns). However, this etymology has been doubted as it has been suggested that the long initial vowel in Old English would have been preserved in English and Scots.
* From Proto-Brythonic *ador or *edir (“(possibly) name of a river”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *hₐet- (“to go”) + *-r̥.
The surname is from the river and the adjacent Blackadder House.

affix

Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders#English

Preceded by the: Blackadder Water, a river in the Scottish Borders council area, Scotland, a tributary of Whiteadder Water.


Dee

Dee
River Dee (Ireland)
River Dee, Aberdeenshire
River Dee, Cumbria
River Dee, Wales

A river in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland that flows about 145 km (90 mi) from the Cairngorm Mountains to the North Sea at Aberdeen.

And following Dee, which Britons long ygone / Did call divine, that doth by Chester tend; […]

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 39:

A river in Wales and England that flows about 113 km (70 mi) from Snowdonia to the Irish Sea near Liverpool.

A river in Cumbria, England, which flows through Dentdale, and joins the River Rawthey near Sedbergh.

A river in County Cavan and County Louth, Ireland.


Duncan

en-prop

Duncan (countable and uncountable, plural Duncans)

Duncans (plural)
Donkin (alternative)
Dunkin (alternative)

* As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Donnchadh, a name composed of donn (“brown”) + cath (“battle”). Also spelled as Donagh and Donaghue, Donahue.
* Also as an Irish surname, Anglicized from ó Duinnchinn, from donn (“brown”) + ceann (“head”).

A river in British Columbia, Canada; running 206 km near Mount Dawson into the Kootenay Lake; named for prospector John Duncan.

A short river in the Southern Alps, West Coast Region, New Zealand.


Krishna

Krishna (countable and uncountable, plural Krishnas)

Krishnas (plural)
Kṛṣṇa (alternative transliteration)


Kansas

Kansases (plural)
Kan. (abbreviation)
Kans. (abbreviation)
Ks. (abbreviation)

From a Siouan ethnonym cognate to Kansa; related to Arkansas, which see for more information.


Alabama

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Alabama.wav

From Alabama Albaamaha, the name of a people native to the area.

A river in Alabama; flowing 318 miles from the confluence of the Tallapoosa and Coosa near Coosada until its confluence with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile, near Calvert.


Arkansas

/ˈɑɹ.kənˌsɔ/

From the name of the Arkansas River, from French Arcansas, a (plural) designation of either a Siouan tribe or the Quapaw. This designation is sometimes claimed to derive from a Quapaw word *akakaze (“land of downriver people”) or a Lakota/Dakota word *akakaze (“people of the south wind”); more likely, it derives from a Siouan ethnonym cognate to Kansa (whence also the name of the state of Kansas).

Arkansa (alternative archaic)
Arkansaw (alternative)

A river in the United States, rising in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and flowing generally southeast over 1,400 miles through Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, where it joins the Mississippi in Desha County.


Colorado

/kɑləˈɹɑdoʊ/

/kɑləˈɹædoʊ/

/kɒləˈɹɑːdəʊ/

From Spanish colorado (“red, ruddy, colored”), usually from the reddish appearance of some silt-laden rivers, or from Portuguese colorado in the case of Brazilian locations.

der

Meronym: humpback chub

A million cascade brooks unite to form a thousand torrent creeks ; a thousand torrent creeks unite to form half a hundred rivers beset with cataracts ; half a hundred roaring rivers unite to form the Colorado, which rolls, a mad, turbid stream, into the Gulf of California.

1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 29:

Gulf of California
Gulf of California#English

A major river of western North America, running from the Rocky Mountains in the United States to the Gulf of California in Mexico.

A river in Texas in the United States, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

A river in southern Argentina, running from the Andes into the Atlantic.


Connecticut

Said to be from Mohegan-Pequot quinnitukqut (“at the long tidal river”), from *kwen- (“long”) (spelling due to confusion with connect) + *-ehtekw (“tidal river”) + *-enk (locative).

bor

A river in the United States that flows from northern New Hampshire into Long Island Sound.


Delaware

The river in the northeastern United States was named for Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618). The people and the state were named for the river.

A river flowing from the Catskills through New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware in the northeastern United States and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Delaware Bay.

A river in the United States that flows from northeast Kansas into the Kansas River.


Iowa

From French Aiouez/Ayoés, an early transliteration of the name for the Iowa tribe, from Dakota ayúxba (“sleepy ones”).

A tributary of the Mississippi River which flows through Iowa in a southeast direction.


Illinois

From a French adaptation of an Algonquian (perhaps Ojibwe) name derived from Miami ilenweewa (“he speaks the regular way”).

der

A river in the United States that flows from Grundy County, Illinois, into the Mississippi River.

A river in Colorado, United States that flows from the Never Summer Mountains in the Rockies into the Michigan River.

A river in Oklahoma, United States that flows from the Ozarks into the Arkansas River.

A river in Oregon, United States that flows from the southwestern corner of the state into the Rogue River.


Missouri

From a French adaptation of Miami wimihsoorita (“the people who have dugout canoes”), a term for the inhabitants of the area around the Missouri River.

(with the) The longest river in North America, rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana and flowing roughly southeast over 2,300 miles through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, before joining the Mississippi at St. Louis.


Mississippi

Borrowed from Ojibwe misi-ziibi, ᒥᓯ᐀ᓰᐱ (misi-siipi, “great river”).

(with the) A major river in the United States, flowing southward from north-central Minnesota through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota and Louisiana, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.


Mississippi

the Mississippi (canonical)
Missippi (alternative nonstandard)

Although its current spelling may be derived from that of its much larger American cousin, it is most certainly a corruption of a different indigenous name, as the translation “great water” would not apply to a relatively minor tributary of the Ottawa, definitely the largest river in the area. Instead, the name may originate from Mazinaa[bikinigan]-ziibi, Algonquian for “[painted] image river”, referring to the pictographs found on Mazinaw Lake, though this is by no means proven.

A river in Canada that flows from eastern Ontario into the Ottawa River.


Ohio

From Seneca Ohi:yoʼ, a proper name derived from ohi:yo:h (“good river”). The name of the Allegheny river, which the Lenape and Iroquois considered to be part of the same single river as the Ohio, means the same thing in Unami.

A river in the United States, flowing 981 miles from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois along state borders and emptying into the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois.


Tennessee

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.

A river in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky, United States, that flows from eastern Tennessee into the Ohio River.


Wisconsin

Borrowed from French Ouisconsin, itself borrowed from an uncertain Native American language. Theories include:
* Miami meeskohsinki or Algonquin meskousing, both meaning "it lies red", the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact. "Meskousing" is known from maps drawn by the French from the 1670s onwards, it is believed subsequent transcribers mistook the stylized cursive "M" for "OU".
* Menominee wēskōhsek (“a good place”), from Wēskōhsek Sēpēw ("the river where it is good to live")
* An Ojibwe term, suggestions include miskwasiniig (“red stones”), referring to the red sandstone of the dells of the Wisconsin River; and wiishihkaanhs (“little lodge”), referring to the dwellings of the abundant beavers and muskrats.
A researcher for the State of Wisconsin Historical Society concluded in frustration, "I have not found two Indians to agree on the meaning of this word."

A river in the United States that flows from northern Wisconsin into the Mississippi.


Cumberland

Cumberland
Cumberland (disambiguation)
Cumberland, Maryland

A river in Kentucky and Tennessee, United States, a tributary to the Ohio River.


Kent

Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”)), from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”).

cog

A river in Cumbria, England, which flows into Morecambe Bay at Arnside.


Avon

From Proto-Brythonic *aβon (“river”). Compare with Welsh afon.

A number of rivers in the United Kingdom:

A river in Wiltshire, Somerset and Bristol, England; running from Acton Turville into the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth.

A river in Devon, England; running from Dartmoor into the English Channel at Bigbury-on-Sea.

A river in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, England; running from Naseby into the Severn at Tewkesbury, and known as the Warwickshire Avon.

A river in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset, England; running from Pewsey into the English Channel at Mudeford.

A river in Hampshire, England; running from the New Forest into the Solent at Keyhaven.

A river in England; running from Horton into the Berkeley Pill at Berkeley.

A river mainly in Falkirk council area, Scotland; running from Longriggend into the Firth of Forth at Grangemouth.

A river in Scotland; running from Loch A'an in the Cairngorms into the Spey at Ballindalloch.

A river in Scotland; running from Distinkhorn Hill near Strathaven into the Clyde at Hamilton.

A river in Canada; running from Lake Victoria in Stratford, Ontario into the Thames near St. Marys.

A river in Canada; running from South Mountain in Nova Scotia to the Minas Basin at Avonport.

A river in Canterbury, New Zealand; running from Avonhead through the center of Christchurch into Pegasus Bay.

A river in Marlborough, New Zealand; running from a source in the Marlborough Region into the Waihopai.

A river in Australia; running from Barrington Tops in New South Wales into the Gloucester River at Gloucester.

A river in Australia; running from the Illawarra escarpment in New South Wales into the Cordeaux near Wilton.

A river in Australia; running from Mount Wellington in Victoria into Lake Wellington.

A river in Australia; running from the confluence of Avon and Reedy Creeks in Victoria into the Richardson River at Banyena.

A river in Australia; running from near Pingelly in Western Australia to Walyunga National Park, where it merges with Wooroloo Brook to form the Swan.


Nile

Aman dawū

ⲁⲙⲁⲛ ⲇⲁⳣⲟ̅ⲩ̅, امان داوو

The seven mouths of the Nile then, from east to west, are the Pelusian, the Mendesian, the Bucolic, the Sebennytic, the Saïtic, the Bolbitine, and the Canopic. Such is the account of Heredotus.

1844, Pierre Henri Larcher, William Desborough Cooley, Larcher's notes on Herodotus:

A river you think so little about, you don’t even realize that’s not the Nile, this is the Nile.

2016 March 6, “Special Districts”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 4, via HBO:

A large river in Africa flowing through Khartoum and Cairo into the Mediterranean Sea, usually considered to be the longest river in the world.

Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio, a township in Ohio, United States, named after the river.

Bucolic

Phatnitic, Phatnic, Phatmetic, Athribitic


Mandel

en-proper-noun

Mandel (countable and uncountable, plural Mandels)

* Germanic surname (Dutch Mandel, German Mandel, Yiddish מאַנדל (Mandl), all meaning "almond"). Also found in Slovene as Mandelj.
* As a south German and Austrian surname, variant of Mandl, from Mann + -l.
* As a Dutch surname, from mandel (“sheaf of wheat”) (see Mandel below).
* As a Jewish surname, variant of Mendel.


Gordon

The main etymology, associated with Celtic names, is from the Scots surname Gordon, from a place name, but the origin is debated:
* If the English or Scots name is from a Brythonic language (such as Old Welsh or Old Breton), then possibly from a Proto-Brythonic compound such as *gor (“spacious”) + *din (“fort”);
* If the Scots name is itself from English, then possibly from French Gourdon, derived from Gallo-Roman Latin Gordus, from Gaulish *Gordos;
* Otherwise, possibly ultimately from Old English *gor-dūn (“mud hill”) whence a habitational name.

A place name:
A locale in Australia.
A river in Tasmania, Australia.

A river in Western Australia, Australia; named for British statesman George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen.


Columbia

From Columbus + -ia, the Latinized name of the European explorer, Christopher Columbus. Piecewise doublet of Colombia.

A river in British Columbia, Canada and in Washington and Oregon, United States, flowing from the Canadian Rockies to the Pacific Ocean.


Lynn

A river in Ontario, flowing from the town of Simcoe into Lake Erie.


Vrbas

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina#English


Huang He

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 黃河 /黄河 (Huáng Hé, literally “Yellow River”).

uder

Huang Ho (alternative)
Hwang Ho (alternative)
Hoamho (alternative obsolete)

Temüjin was about 66 years old. His hair and beard had long since turned white. He had come to lay siege to Ningxia (now called Yinchuan), the fortified capital of the Minyak empire of the Xixia, against whom he had been waging war for over a year, and he had retreated to the other side of the Yellow River (Huang He), not far from the Great Wall, on high ground, a place where he could find some refreshment, for he was already aware that it would not be long before he entered the realm of his brave ancestors.

1990, Michel Hoang, translated by Ingrid Cranfield, Genghis Khan, Saqi Books, →ISBN, page 20:

Synonym of Yellow River: a major river in northern China, passing through Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces as well as Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions; the Mandarin Chinese-derived name.


Williams

en-proper noun

Williams (countable and uncountable, plural Williamses)

威廉姆斯

transliterations of the English surname "Williams"

A number of places in the United States:

A river in Vermont; named for Puritan minister John Williams.

A placename:
A place in Australia:
A river in New South Wales.

A river in Western Australia; probably named for William IV of the United Kingdom.


Franklin

en-prop

Franklin (countable and uncountable, plural Franklins)

From Middle English frankelein (“freeholder”), see franklin. The place names are mostly named after American statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790).


Allen

en-proper noun

Allen (countable and uncountable, plural Allens)

Allens (plural)
Alan (alternative)
Allan (alternative)
Alen (alternative)

Wimborne Minster
Wimborne Minster#English

A river in Dorset, which joins the (Dorset) Stour at Wimborne Minster.

A river in Northumberland, which joins the South Tyne.

A river in north Cornwall, which joins the River Camel near Sladesbridge.

A minor river in south-west Cornwall, which forms the Truro River at Truro.


Roy

en-prop

Roy (countable and uncountable, plural Roys)

→ French: Roy

→ Norwegian: Roy

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: Roy

→ Norwegian Bokmål: Roy

→ Swedish: Roy

From various sources:
* Anglo-Norman roy (“king”) a variant of Old French roi, from Latin rēx, rēgem from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”). Doublet of Rey.
* Scottish Gaelic ruadh (“red, red-haired”) from Old Irish rúad, from Proto-Celtic *roudos from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.
* Anglicisation of Bengali রায় (raẏ, surname).

der

A river and glen (see Glen Roy) in Highland council area, Scotland, United Kingdom.


Miami

Miami
Miami (disambiguation)
en:Lake Okeechobee
en:Mayaimi
en:Miami River (Florida)

From Mayaimi, one of only ten words recorded from the language of the now-extinct Mayaimi people, meaning "big water", referring to the large lake on whose shores they lived, alternately called Lake Miami, Lake Mayimi, Lake Maymi, Lake Maimi; now called Lake Okeechobee. The Florida city is named for the Miami River. The river is named for its source, Lake Miami.

Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County#English

A river in Miami-Dade County, Florida, flowing past the city of Miami; in full, Miami River.


Vistula

/ˈvɪst͡ʃʊlə/

The longest river in Poland, which flows into the Baltic Sea.


Hastings

The placename in England is derived from the Old English tribal name Hæstingas (“Hæsta's people, the family/followers of Hæsta”), which was later transferred to their settlement.
The family name has two possible sources:
* from the place name
* a patronymic surname derived from the Anglo-Norman personal name Hasten(c), Hastang
The later place names in other countries are named either after people with that family name, or after the town of Hastings in England.

The Hastings River, a river in New South Wales, which flows into the Tasman Sea at Port Macquarie. Named after Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings.


Brit

1901, either a shortening of Britisher or Briton, or a back-formation from British.

The River Brit, a short river in Dorset, England, which flows through Bridport to the sea at West Bay.


Indus

Borrowed from Latin Indus, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (h-i-du-u-š /hiⁿduš/), from Proto-Iranian *hínduš (compare Avestan 𐬵𐬌𐬧𐬛𐬎 (hiṇdu)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš or borrowed from Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu) (whence Sindh).
Another explication relates the origin of Indus to Indra which itself derives from the root indu, i.e. " water place or water spirit".

The mighty Indus River that courses through Pakistan's second-most populous region is fed by dozens of mountain tributaries to the north, but many have burst their banks following record rains and glacier melt.

2022 August 28, “Pakistan's south braces for another deluge as northern rivers swell”, in France 24, archived from the original on 2022-08-28, Asia / Pacific:

Floods in the river Sutlej – which originates in Tibet and crosses India before merging into the Indus river – has completely cut off several villages and areas in Pakistan, submerging hundreds of hectares of farmland.

2023 August 29, “Pakistan raises flood alert in eastern region as over 128,000 evacuated”, in EFE, archived from the original on 2024-04-24:

A major river in China, India and Pakistan, rising in Tibet and flowing into the Arabian Sea.


Ness

en-proper noun

Ness (countable and uncountable, plural Nesses)

Named after the River Ness, of Celtic/Pictish origin, from a Proto-Celtic word *Nesta describing great currents, according to MacBain, from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gave the river Νέστος (Néstos), possibly *ned- (“water”).

A short river in Highland council area, Scotland, which flows from Loch Ness through Inverness to the Beauly Firth; in full, River Ness.


Cheyenne

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Cheyenne.wav

Borrowed from French Cheyenne, from Dakota šahíyena, from Dakota šaia (“to speak incoherently”), from Dakota ša (“red”) and Dakota ya (“to speak”).

A river in the United States; flowing 295 miles from the confluence of the Antelope and Dry Fork creeks in Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wyoming into Lake Oahe, a reservoir of the Missouri River, at Mission Ridge, South Dakota.


Mehran

From Persian مهران (mehrân), from Middle Persian mtrʾn (mihrān). Related to Persian مهر (mehr) and Mithra.

A river in southern Hormozgan Province, Iran.


Bosna

At the far end, they would be greeted by the green sun-dappled waters of the Bosna as they gurgled up in streams and pools dotted with islands.

2022, Priscilla Morris, Black Butterflies, Duckworth, page 70:

A major river in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Katherine

/ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɪn/

Katherine
Katherine River
Katherine, Northern Territory

Kathy (alternative diminutive)
Kath (alternative diminutive)
Kate (alternative diminutive)

A river in the Northern Territory, which gave its name to the town.


Aal

From German, probably from a derivative of Old High German ahu (“river, stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahu, common in river names. Possibly influenced by Aal (“eel”).

A small river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; a tributary of the Neckar.


Acre

From Portuguese Acre, of uncertain origin.


Aller

A minor river in west Somerset, which gives its name to Allerford.

A river in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, Germany, a tributary of the Weser.


Alt

The River Alt, a river in West Lancashire and Merseyside, England, that flows into the Irish Sea.


Amber

A river in Derbyshire, England, which joins the River Derwent at Ambergate.


Ana

From various languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Macedonian, all derived—sometimes via Late Latin Anna in the Vulgate—from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna, “Anna”), chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the New Testament in reference to Anna the Prophetess, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As an Oregonian river, named for Ana Byars, daughter of the surveyor W.H. Byars. Doublet of Ann, Anne, Anna, and Hannah.


Ant

A river in Norfolk, England, tributary to the Bure.


Battle

Capitalization of battle. Doublet of Battaglia.

A place name:
A river in Saskatchewan, Canada.


Beck

en-prop

Beck (countable and uncountable, plural Becks)

* As a German surname, from Beck (“stream, brook”), see also Old Norse bekkr. Also a spelling variant of Becker (“baker”).
* As a Hebrew surname, shortened from בני (B'nei) קדושים (Kdoshim, “sons of the martyrs”).

The River Beck, or The Beck, a minor river in south-east Greater London, England, which becomes the Pool River before joining the Ravensbourne.


Brett

Related to Breton, Brittany, and more distantly Briton.

A river in Suffolk, England, which joins the Suffolk River Stour at Higham in Babergh district.


Bug

A East European river which flows northwest 450 miles through Belarus, Poland and Ukraine into the Baltic Sea. (Western Bug).

A river in Ukraine (Southern Bug), flowing 530 miles to the Dnieper estuary.


Cam

From Old English Granta, Grantebrycge, the former name of the modern Cambridge, ultimately from a Celtic word for "crooked," Proto-Celtic *kambos, from late Proto-Indo-European *(s)kambo- (“crooked”), shared with Ancient Greek σκαμβός (skambós).

A river in Cambridgeshire, England, which passes through Cambridge and joins the Great Ouse.

A minor river in Gloucestershire which flows into the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.


Can

The River Can, a river in Essex, England, that joins the River Chelmer in Chelmsford.


Carr

Carr (countable and uncountable, plural Carrs)

Carrs (plural)
Kerr (alternative)
Corr (alternative)
Corry (alternative)
Corrie (alternative)
Curry (alternative)
Corrie (alternative)
Carry (alternative)

* As an English and Scottish surname, variant of Kerr.
* As an Irish surname, from the root of the surname Keary, from ciar (“black”); compare Carey.
* Also as an Irish surname, named after a priest Cathair (compare cathair (“fort”))
* Also as an Irish surname, from a personal name derived from corr (“pointed, projected point”).

A river in West Greenwich, Rhode Island; flowing 6 km from Carr Pond to the Big River.


Chase

en-proper noun

Chase (countable and uncountable, plural Chases)

en:Chase
en:Chase (surname)
en:Chase#Places

A village and river in British Columbia, Canada.


Cher

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Cher.wav

A left tributary of the Loire, in central France, flowing through the departments of Creuse, Allier, Cher, Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire.


Cole

en-prop

Cole (countable and uncountable, plural Coles)

The surname is variously from:
# A nickname from Old English col (“coal, coal-black”),
# A patronymic from Nicholas (see also Coles, Colson, Colle).
# A variation of Cowell (which itself has several origins).
# As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McCool.
# As a German surname, Americanized from Kohl.
# As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Kool.
# As a French surname, Americanized/calqued from Charbonneau, influenced by the first sense.

A river in the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England, which joins the Rivers Blythe and Tame north-east of Coleshill (Warwickshire).

A river forming the border between Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, England, which joins the Thames near Lechlade.


Cook

en-proper noun

Cook (countable and uncountable, plural Cooks)

Cooks (plural)
Cooke (alternative)
Coke (alternative)

Audio (US)

Audio (AU)

some speakers from Northern England and Ireland

cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)

A river in Westland district, West Coast, New Zealand.


Cover

The River Cover, a river in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England, which joins the River Ure.


Cree

A river in Dumfries and Galloway council area, Scotland, which flows into the Solway Firth and Irish Sea.


Dan

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 丹 (Dān, literally “cinnabar, red”).

der

Third, intensifying supervision over water sources for the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, of which approximately 70% of the water comes from the Han River and the Dan River. We have launched specialized campaigns in the two rivers and improved comprehensive management of the basin. A ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River has been enforced, which effectively ensured the water quality of the Han River and the Dan River. We will further step up efforts to ensure clear water for the North.

2021 June 23, “Press conference on 'Shaanxi: Carrying forward Yan'an spirit, endeavoring to write new chapter of accelerated growth in new era'”, in State Council Information Office, archived from the original on 2022-06-10:


Darling

A major river of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, named for Governor Ralph Darling.

Wiktionary’s coverage of Baagandji terms


Don

Don River (Russia)
en:Don River (disambiguation)

Borrowed from Russian and Ukrainian Дон (Don). Known in Ancient Greece and Rome as Latin Tanais, Ancient Greek Τάναϊς (Tánaïs).

bor+

Thence they marched againſt Orna, a Port Towne on the Riuer Don, where were many Gazarians, Alanians, Ruſſians, and Saracens, which he drowned with the Riuer running through the Citie, turning it out of the chanell.

1613, Samuel Purchas, “[Asia.] Of the Tartarians, and of diuers Nations which they subdued; with their Pristine Rites.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this Present. […], London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, book IV (Of the Armenians, Medes, Persians, Parthians, Scythians, Tartarians, Chinois, and of Their Religions), page 339:

A river, the fifth-longest in Europe, in Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Volgograd and Rostov Oblasts, Russia, flowing 1160 miles to the Sea of Azov.


Don

Don River (Ontario)
Dôn
River Don, Aberdeenshire
River Don, Tyne and Wear
River Don, Yorkshire
en:Don River (disambiguation)

Probably from the common Celtic river name Proto-Celtic *Dānu << Proto-Indo-European *dʰenh₂-, found in many other river names such as Danube, and Dniester. Connected with the Welsh river goddess Dôn, whose name is from the same origin, though it could have been influenced by Welsh dawn (“gift”), Irish dán (“gift, offering”), Latin dōnum.

A river in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom, flowing 62 miles to the North Sea at Aberdeen.

A river in South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, on which Doncaster is situated.

A minor river in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, which joins the Tyne at Jarrow.

A river in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, named after the River Don in Yorkshire.


Dove

* As an English surname, from the noun dove.
* As a Scottish surname, calque of Scottish Gaelic (mac) Calmáin (“(son of the) dove”). Compare Coleman.
* Also as a Scottish surname, variant of Duff.
* As a north German surname, from the Low German adjective doof (“deaf”); see deaf.

calque

A river in England, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

A river in Suffolk, England, a tributary of the Waveney.


E

A river in Highland council area, Scotland.


Eagle

* As an English surname, from the noun eagle.
* As an English surname of Norman origin, from L'Aigle in Orne, first attested in 1055 and from Latin aquila, itself meaning "eagle."
* Also translated from names in other languages meaning "eagle," such as German Adler, Polish Orzeł, Orzel, Slovene Orel, Lakota waŋbli (compare Eagleman, Redeagle, Whiteeagle).
* The name of the English village is believed to be from Old English āc (“oak”) + lēah: compare with Acle.

Any of a number of rivers in the United States and Canada.

A number of places in the United States:

A village in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska.

A town, the county seat of Eagle County, Colorado.

unincorporated community
unincorporated community

An unincorporated community in Mountain Township, Saline County, Illinois.

A township and village therein, in Clinton County, Michigan.

Burlington County
Burlington County#English

A locality in Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.

A town and hamlet in Wyoming County, New York.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

An unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia.

A town and village therein, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

A number of other townships, in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Minnesota, and Ohio (3), listed under Eagle Township.


Eider

A river in Germany, the boundary between Schleswig and Holstein.


Ellen

en-prop

Ellen (countable and uncountable, plural Ellens)

→ Hawaiian: ʻElena

Medieval English variant of Helen, from Ancient Greek Ἑλένη (Helénē); also used as a variant of Eleanor or a feminine counterpart to Elliot.

A river in Cumberland district, Cumbria, England, that flows into the Solway Firth at Maryport.


Eye

A short river in Cotswold district, Gloucestershire, England, which joins the River Dikler.

A river in Melton borough, Leicestershire, England, which becomes the River Wreake.


Finn

A river in County Donegal, Ireland, tributary to the Mourne.


Fleet

This is hard-core London, and just before Farringdon station you will be able to glimpse the vast steel pipe that carries what was the Fleet River and is now the Fleet sewer over your head.
The Fleet looks safely contained now, although you never know. It surprises me that no terrorist has made common cause with the surly and embittered Fleet, which, in Peter Ackroyd's words became 'a river of death' as it sidled through the meanest streets of London en route to the Thames.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 29:

A river (the River Fleet) in London, England, now buried underground, that flowed under the Eastern end of the present Fleet Street.

A river, the Water of Fleet, in Dumfries and Galloway council area, Scotland.

A river in Highland council area, Scotland, which flows into Loch Fleet.


Forth

A river in Scotland that flows for about 47 km (29 miles) from The Trossachs through Stirling to the Firth of Forth on the North Sea.


Gard

A right tributary of the Rhône flowing through the departments of Lozère and Gard, in southern France.


Gasconade

Gasconade County
Gasconade County#English

A small city in Gasconade County, Missouri, United States, named after the Gasconade River.


Glen

River Glen, Lincolnshire
River Glen, Northumberland

A river in England, mainly in Lincolnshire.

A river in Northumberland, England, a tributary of the River Till.


Grey

en-proper noun

Grey (countable and uncountable, plural Greys)

A river in the West Coast Region, South Island, New Zealand; in full, Grey River.


Han

An early romanization of the Mandarin 漢 /汉 (Hàn), later reinforced by Wade-Giles and pinyin. Originally a river within present-day Shaanxi and Hubei. As a Chinese dynasty, from the founder Liu Bang's short-lived realm in Sichuan and Shaanxi among China's Eighteen Kingdoms, named for the Qin Empire's Hanzhong Commandery, headquartered in a city which also became known as Hanzhong, named for its placement along the middle reaches of the river.
The usage for the Chinese ethnicity first appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, claiming the Han dynasty as one of the golden ages of Chinese history.

Hankow, China, is located 600 miles from the coast, on the north bank of the Yang-tse-Kiang River, at its junction with the Han River.

1902 January 5, L. S. Wilcox, “Conditions in Hankow.; American Trade on the Pacific and the far East”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-18, ANNUAL, page 23:

“By transferring such a significant volume of water away from the Han River Basin, the project is depriving the area of the most basic input it will need to develop in the years and decades to come,” said Britt Crow-Miller, a research assistant professor at Portland State University.[…]
The Danjiangkou reservoir gets its water from the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze River which feeds several major cities in central China such as Wuhan, an economic power house in Hubei province sporting a $144 billion GDP.

2014 September 9, Stian Reklev, Kathy Chen, “Quenching Beijing's thirst may stunt regional growth”, in Michael Perry, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-05-27, Industry, Materials and Utilities:


Hart

* As an English and north/Low German surname, from the noun hart (“stag”).
* As a German surname, variant of Hardt.
* As a Jewish/Yiddish and Dutch surname, from derivatives of *hertā (“heart”), *hard(ī) (“hard”), or *herut (“stag”), or converged senses of them. These senses are also translated from other languages such as French Francoeur, Jolicoeur, Vadeboncoeur, and Native American (Cheyenne) Homa'ehesta, from homa'e (“beaver”) + hesta (“heart”).
* As an Irish surname, from Ó hairt (“descendant of Art”), from the noun art (“bear”). Compare Hartin.

The River Hart, a tributary of the River Whitewater in Hampshire, and ultimately of the Thames.


Haw

From Old English haga (“enclosure”). Also a back-formation from Middle English Hawkin, a diminutive of Harry or of a given name meaning "a hawk". Doublet of Haig.

A river in the US state of North Carolina.


Hull

Hull (countable and uncountable, plural Hulls)

French: Hull, Hullois, hullois

The town in England is Inherited from Middle English Hull, Hul, Hulle, traditionally derived from Proto-Brythonic *hʉl, from Proto-Celtic *soulos, from Proto-Indo-European *sew- (“to press”); Breeze instead suggests derivation from hula, plural of hulu (“hut”). Chaucer's Hulle (for expected *Hul, *Hule) is presumably a hypersouthernism.
The surname is either from the English town or Middle English hulle, western variant of hylle (“hill”); many other place names are ultimately from the surname.

East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire#English

A river in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which flows into the Humber.


Hunter

Hunter (countable and uncountable, plural Hunters)

A river in New South Wales, Australia; flowing 300 km from the Mount Royal Range within Barrington Tops National Park into the Tasman Sea at Newcastle; named for John Hunter, 2nd Governor of New South Wales.

A river in Western Australia, Australia; flowing 16 km from Donkins Hill near Mitchell River National Park into the Timor Sea; named by Australian explorer Philip Parker King for James Hunter, the surgeon of King's HMS Mermaid.

A river in northwest Otago, New Zealand; flowing into Lake Hāwea.

Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island#English

A river in Prince Edward Island, Canada; flowing from near Hartville into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near North Rustico.


Kama

It was led by Sen. Henry Javkson (D-Wash.), who referred at some length to an IBM computer and assorted other technology we have sold the Russians for use in their vast Kama River truck plant.

1979 August 20, “Editorial: Limiting System Exports”, in Computerworld, page 14:

According to Ponomarev's calculations, the Kama in the 1890s annually supplied the Volga with up to 850000 logs, of which about 250000 came from the Chusovaya, about 250000 from the Vyatka and its tributaries, 150000 from the Belaya,[…].

1986, Soviet Geography, volume 27, page 125:

He was ordered to seek out the rebels along the Kama and the Viatka.

1995, Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Solovʹev, History of Russia, page 33:

A major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga.


Kelvin

Of Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river.
The surname was also possibly influenced by Calvert (Middle English calfhirde).

East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire#English

A river which flows through East Dunbartonshire council area and Glasgow council area, Scotland, to the River Clyde.


Kern

The unincorporated community in Missouri is named after Robert Kern. The Kern River is named after Edward Kern.

An unincorporated community in Macon County, Missouri, United States.


Kinder

Uncertain but probably of Proto-Brythonic origin. The name may be equivalent to Welsh cain (“elegant, fair”) or cant (“border, rim”) + dwfr (“water”).

A minor river in Derbyshire, England, which joins the River Sett.


Kuk

From a word meaning "river" in an Inuit language.


Lab

From Serbo-Croatian Lab, from Лаб, from Thracian Alb.


Lark

A river in England, on the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.


Laurel

A number of places in the United States:

A river flowing from Lake, Kentucky into the Cumberland at Corbin, Kentucky.


Lea

A river in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Greater London, England, also called the Lee, which flows into the River Thames at Poplar.


Lee

en-prop

Lee (countable and uncountable, plural Lees)

Lees (plural)
Lea (alternative)
Leigh (alternative)

From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.

The River Lee is an important feature of the City of Cork, and on the other side of it is the Albert Quay terminus of the former Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway.

1955 May, Rev. A. W. V. Mace, “An Irish Journey—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 301:

A river in County Cork, Ireland, that passes through the city of Cork to Cork Harbour.


Lee

From Irish Laoi, perhaps from an ancient personal name.


Lek

A river, the northern arm of the River Rhine, in the Netherlands.


Li

After breakfast the next day, Ho Li-chih came to invite Yang Shu-tien and me to the Li River for a boat trip to another county, Yang-shuo.

1977, Yee Chiang, “Kuei-lin and Yang-shuo”, in China Revisited, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 153:

Cormorant fishing on the Li River near Kweilin. With increasingly serious water pollution, fishing with cormorants is becoming a rare sight in China.

1985, Steven W. Mosher, Journey To The Forbidden China, Collier Macmillan, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 54f:

Before going home, we flew to Guilin for a meeting with environmentalists concerned about the destruction of forests and the loss of unique wildlife, and a leisurely boat trip down the Li River, which flows through a stunning landscape marked by large limestone formations that looked as if they had burst up through the landscape of the gentle countryside.

2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 436–437:

Days 3-5: Guilin and Yangshuo.
Marvel at the extraordinary scenery lining the banks of the serene Li River.

2011, Andrew Forbes, China, APA Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 16:

In Guilin, the second-largest city in Guangxi, Xi took a boat to inspect the ecological condition of the Li River, a popular tourist destination. The river stretches more than 400km (250 miles) through karst hills and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

2021 April 27, Echo Xie, “Xi Jinping laments stone quarrying as he mines green theme in Guangxi”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 2021-04-27, China / Politics:


Logan

From Scottish Gaelic lag (“little hollow”).

A river in the United States; flowing from the Bear River Mountains in Idaho into the Little Bear River at Benson, Utah.

A river in Queensland, Australia; flowing from near Mount Barney into the Moreton Bay at Woongoolba.


Lot

A right tributary of the Garonne, in southern France, flowing through the departments of Lozère, Cantal, Aveyron, Lot and Lot-et-Garonne.


Lyn

Either of two short rivers in North Devon, England, the East Lyn and West Lyn, which converge at Lynmouth before flowing into the Bristol Channel.


Lys

A river in Hauts-de-France, France and Belgium, and a left tributary of the Scheldt at Gent. This is the French spelling: the Dutch and German spelling is Leie.


Madeira

From Portuguese Madeira, from Portuguese madeira (“wood”), from Latin materia, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”). Doublet of matter.

The largest tributary of the Amazon, running 900 miles from Pando Department, Bolivia through the states of Rondônia and Amazonas, Brazil to its mouth east of Manaus; in full, Madeira River.


Main

en:Main (disambiguation)
en:Main (river)

A river in southern Germany, flowing from Bavaria to the Rhine.


Main

en:Main (disambiguation)
en:River Main (County Antrim)

From an Mhaing, possibly from Old Irish mang (“fawn”), which is said to be related to Proto-Celtic *makʷos (“son”); also compare Proto-Germanic *maguz.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland#English

A river in Northern Ireland, flowing into Lough Neagh.


Mann

As a German surname, from the root of man.

A river in the Northern Rivers region, New South Wales, Australia, which joins the Clarence River.


Mole

From Latin mola (“mill”), or otherwise a back-formation from Molesey (“Mul's Island”).

A river in Surrey, England, tributary to the Thames.

A river in Devon, England, tributary to the Taw.


Moskva

Transliteration of Russian Москва́ (Moskvá). Doublet of Moscow.

transliteration

The Great, Little and White Russians still occupy their original sites about the Moskva, the Dnieper and the Pripet, respectively numbering some 56,000,000, 22,000,000, and 6,000,000, the Great Russians predominating and mingling with the other races all over Europasia.

1928, “an English Europasian”, “The Races”, in Russia in Resurrection: A Summary of the Views and of the Aims of a New Party in Russia, London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., page 18:

Follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change.

1991, Klaus Meine, “Wind of Change”, in Crazy World, performed by Scorpions:

(with the) A river in Russia, a tributary of the Oka.


Neath

Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot#English

A river in Neath Port Talbot borough county borough, which flows into Baglan Bay.


Ob

A river in Russia; the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers.


Orange

Some senses from French Orange, from Latin Aurasiō, from Gaulish. Other senses from the common noun orange, ultimately from Sanskrit नारङ्ग (nāraṅga, “orange tree”).

der

The Orange River (the longest river in South Africa).


Otter

A river with its source in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset, and which flows through Devon, to Lyme Bay in the English Channel.


Park

⇒ Translingual: Parkia

Park (disambiguation)
Park River (Connecticut)


Pearl

en-proper noun

Pearl (countable and uncountable, plural Pearls)

From pearl.
* (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”).
* (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).

calque

During these ten years the northern province of Chihli, with a population of over 32,000,000, has been inundated thrice; the Huai River running through three central provinces, with people more in number than half those of the United States, overflowed twice; the two provinces of Hunan and Kiangsi, south of the Yangtsze River, likewise densely populated, have also been inundated twice, and Shantung Province, with its teeming millions, has had its territory flooded from the outbreak of the Yellow River; while the southern rivers, the Pearl in Kwangtung Province, the Min in Fukien Province, and other streams have, during the period, more than once contributed their toll of destruction.

1928 April, M. T. Liang, “Combatting the Famine Dragon”, in News Bulletin, Institute of Pacific Relations, page 9:

The Pearl is a river system in southern China.

2021, John Reibetanz, Earth Words: Coversing with Three Sages, →ISBN, →OCLC, page https://books.google.com/books?id=LPcrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT174:

A major river in Guangdong, China; in full, the Pearl River.

A river in Mississippi and Louisiana, United States, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico; in full, the Pearl River.


Perak

(with the) A large river in Perak, Malaysia.


Piddle

Unknown, but probably an Anglo-Saxon word for small watercourse, as several Piddle's have been found in England. One source says it comes from Old English pidele (“marsh or fen”). The word predates the modern noun or verb piddle.


Po

The longest river in Italy, which flows 652 kilometers eastward to the Adriatic Sea near Venice.


Price

en-proper noun

Price (countable and uncountable, plural Prices)

A placename:
A place in the United States:
A river in Utah, United States.


Ray

* As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond.
* Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King.
* Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye.
* As a Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from McRae.
* As a French surname, from the verb raier (“to gush out, flow, radiate”). Compare Leray.
* As a Polish and Slovene surname, Americanized from Raj, from raj (“paradise”).
* As an Indian surname, variant of Rai.

A river in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England, which joins the River Cherwell.

A river in north Wiltshire, England, which joins the Thames.


Roe

A river in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.


San

As a synonym of Bushmen introduced into ethnology from the 1960s, from Khoekhoe saan (singular saa) "foragers; people without wealth", via back-formation from Khoisan. Occasional citation as the Nama term for "Bushmen" from the 1880s.

(regional, offensive, ethnic slur) Any of the foraging non-Bantu ethnic groups of southwestern Africa.


San

A river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine.


Savannah

The cities are named after the Savannah River, possibly derived from Shawnee or Algonquian.

The name of a river and several cities in the United States:.

A major city, the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia.

Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County#English

A ghost town in Los Angeles County, California.

A city, the county seat of Andrew County, Missouri.

A ghost town in Butler County, Nebraska.

A town, hamlet, and census-designated place in Wayne County, New York.

An unincorporated community in Jackson County, North Carolina.

A city, the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee.

A census-designated place in Denton County, Texas.


Seine

A river in northern France that flows through Paris for about 772 km (480 mi) to the English Channel near Le Havre.


Serpentine

A minor river in Tasman district and the city of Nelson, New Zealand.


Smith

Smith (countable and uncountable, plural Smiths)

Smiths (plural)
Smithe (alternative)
Smyth (alternative)
Smythe (alternative)

⇒ Translingual: smithi, smithii

From smith or Middle English Smith (“a surname”), alternative form of Smyth, itself from smyth (“smith”). Doublet of Schmidt, Smid, and Smit.

Nallbani

surnames derived from the equivalents of “smith”

A river in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, a tributary of the Umpqua River.

A river in Montana, United States, a tributary of the Missouri.

A river in Yukon and British Columbia, Canada, a tributary of the Liard River.

British Columbia
British Columbia#English

A river in Virginia and North Carolina, United States, a tributary of the Dan River.

A river in California, United States, flowing from the Klamath Mountains into the Pacific.

A river in New Hampshire, United States, a tributary of the Pemigewasset River.

A river in Linn County, Oregon, United States, a tributary of the McKenzie River.

A river in Quebec, Canada, a tributary of the Montmorency River.


Spree

A river in Germany that flows through Lusatia and into Berlin, where it flows into the Havel.


Swift

A minor river in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England, which joins the (Warwickshire) Avon north of Rugby.


Taff

* As an Irish and Welsh surname, variant of Taaffe.
* The river is from Welsh Taf

Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf#English

A river in southern Wales, flowing through Merthyr Tydfil borough county borough, Rhondda Cynon Taf borough county borough, and the city of Cardiff to Cardiff Bay.


Tarn

A right tributary of the Garonne in southwestern France, flowing through the departments of Lozère, Aveyron, Tarn, Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne.


Team

Possibly of Brythonic origin, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European but the exact root is unclear, with suggestions including *temH- (“dark”), *temh₁- (“to cut”), and *teh₂- (“to melt, flow”).

A river in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, which flows into the River Tyne. It has other names further upstream in County Durham.


Test

A river in Hampshire, England, which empties into the Solent near Southampton.


Till

Till (countable and uncountable, plural Tills)

* As an English surname, reduced from a pet form of Matilda.
* As a north German surname, spelling variant of Thiel.

Tweed says to Till:
"What gars ye rin sae still ?"
Till says to Tweed:
"Tho ye rin wi' speed
And I rin slaw
Whar ye droon ae man,

(uncountable) A river in Northumberland, England, tributary to the Tweed.

(uncountable) A river in Wiltshire, England.

A placename:
A river in Wiltshire, England.

(uncountable) A river in Lincolnshire, England.

A placename:
A river in Lincolnshire, England.


Tone

A river in Somerset, England, which flows into the River Parrett.


Trave

A river in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany.


Vienne

A left tributary of the Loire in southwest France, flowing through the departments of Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne, Charente, Vienne and Indre-et-Loire.


Virgin

From virgin, q.v. The sense of Mary, mother of Jesus, comes from the Christian belief in Jesus's virgin birth and Mary's freedom from sin. The river sense derives from the name of Thomas Virgin, a member of the first American party to see the river, led by Jedediah Smith in 1826. The town sense derives from the name of the river, along which it is located.

A tributary of the Colorado River in the states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona in the United States.


Volta

From Portuguese Volta, from volta (“turnaround, return”); at some point of time the river marked the point of return for the Portuguese traders.

A river in West Africa, having given its name to Upper Volta; in full, Volta River.


Ward

Ward (countable and uncountable, plural Wards)

* As an English surname, from the noun ward and related cognates such as warden, guard etc.
* As an Irish surname, reduced from McWard, from mac an bard (“son of the poet”).
* As a Jewish surname, adapted from Warshawski, named after Warsaw. Comparable to Warszawski.
* As a French surname, Americanized from Guerin.

A river in Ireland; in full, Ward River.


Wear

Probably identical with British Latin Vedra, itself of Celtic origin.

The train then proceeded along the wagonway in the direction of the Wear.[…] The ladies remained at the house, while the men walked to the staith on the Wear, and were shown the process of unloading the wagons into the keels by means of the coal-drop.

1948 January and February, “Notes and News: Duke of Wellington's Early Railway Journey”, in Railway Magazine, pages 55–56:

A river in the counties of County Durham and Tyne and Wear, north east England. The cities of Durham and Sunderland are situated upon its grand banks.


Weber

A river in Utah, United States; running 201 km from the Uinta Mountains into the Great Salt Lake; named for fur trader and explorer John Henry Weber.


Xi

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 西 (xī).

The most important inland water transport takes place along three great rivers, the Xi-jiang (West River) by Guangzhou (Canton); the Yangzi Jiang, which links Shanghai, Wuhan and Chongqing (Chungking); and the Songhua Jiang (Sungari) which passes through Ha’erbin (Harbin) in the north-east.

[1979, Ronald Francis Price, Education in Modern China, Routledge & Kegan Paul, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 93:

A sand barge struck a bridge over the Xi River between Heshan and the town of Jiujiang in Guangdong yesterday morning, bringing down a section of the structure at least 200 metres long.

2007 June 16, Ivan Zhai, “Sand barge brings down Xi River bridge”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-09-19:

A river in China, the western tributary of the Pearl.

西江

a river in China, the western tributary of the Pearl


Ebola

Democratic Republic of the Congo#English

A river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


Medina

Inherited from Old English Meðune (“the middle one”).

inh+

Al Madinah (alternative)
Madinah (alternative)

A river, the River Medina, flowing south to north through the centre of the Isle of Wight, England.


Medina

A river, the Medina River, in south central Texas, which gives its name to Medina County.


Ural

From Russian Ура́л (Urál), most likely from either Bashkir үр (ür, “elevation; upland”) or Mansi (Northern Mansi ур ала (ur ala, “mountain peak”)).

cog

A river that rises in the Urals and flows through Russia and Kazakhstan


Ashley

en-proper noun

Ashley (countable and uncountable, plural Ashleys)

Ashleys (plural)
Ashlee (alternative)
Ashleigh (alternative)
Ashlie (alternative)
Ashly (alternative)

From Old English *Æsċlēah, composed of æsċ (“ash tree”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to Ash + -ley.

A small settlement and river north of Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand.


Thur

A river in Haut-Rhin department, Grand Est, France, a tributary of the Ill.

A river in north-east Switzerland, a tributary of the Rhine.


Duchesne

From Old French du + chesne (“oak (tree)”); French du chêne (“oak (tree)”).

A small city, the county seat of Duchesne County, Utah, United States.


Mackenzie

Spelling pronunciation of Scots MacKenȝie with the letter yogh confused with Z. Ultimately from Scottish Gaelic MacCoinnich, itself from mac (“son, descendant”) + Coinnich (“of Coinneach”).

compound

Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories#English

A river in the Northwest Territories, the longest in Canada, running from Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea.


Aar

From German Aare, probably from a Celtic language.

A river in Switzerland, flowing 292 km from the glaciers of the Bernese Alps into the Rhine at Koblenz, on the Swiss–German border.

A river in Germany that flows 50 km from the Taunus in Hesse into the Lahn at Diez, Rhineland-Palatinate.

A tributary in Hesse, Germany of the Dill river, itself a tributary of the Lahn.


Bronx

Blend of Bronck + -'s. After immigrant settler Jonas Bronck (1600–1643) of New Netherlands onto the peninsula north of Manhattan Island.
* (region): Originally Bronck's Land, the land in the region settled by Jonas Bronck.
* (river): Originally Bronck's River, a river bordering the region settled by Jonas Bronck.

a river downstate in New York State; in full, Bronx River.


Hudson River

A river in the United States that flows through upstate New York down the Hudson Valley into the Atlantic Ocean.


Huang Ho

From Mandarin 黃河／黄河 (Huáng Hé, literally “Yellow River”) Wade–Giles romanization: Huang² Ho².

zh-l

All the hill country between the Valley of the Huang Ho and its tributaries, the Lo, the Yi, etc., as far as the Huai Mountains, was likewise peopled by the Jung—the Jung of the Lo, of the Yi, of Yang-chiu, of Man or Mao, etc.

1928, Henri Maspero, “The Origins of the Chinese Civilizations”, in C. W. Bishop, transl., Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 1927, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, page 438:

A tumultuous waterway, the Yangtze ranks second after the Amazon in terms of discharge. Fed by copious amounts of melting snow and also heavy rains, the river's flow is 10 times greater than China's Huang Ho (Hwang River, Huanghe; also known in English as the Yellow River).

2007, Laurie Burnham, Rivers, Chelsea House, →ISBN, page 43:

Known popularly as the Yellow River, the Huang Ho is considered the deadliest river in the world.

2015, Jeff Probst, Amazing Places, Puffin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 40:

Alternative form of Huang He (Yellow River): a major river in northern China, passing through Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces as well as Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions.

Huang He

Defense Mapping Agency
Encyclopædia Britannica


Ebro

A river in Spain that flows into the Mediterranean.


Thames

From Middle English Temese, from Old English Temes, Temese (compare Welsh Tafwys), from Latin Tamesis, Tamesas. Variant spellings with h arose in Middle English due to the mistaken assumption of a Greek etymology.
The Latin name is from Proto-Brythonic *Tamesis, from Proto-Celtic *tamesās (“river, waters”, literally “darkness”), a masculine ā-stem of *tames, Proto-Indo-European *tm̥Hes-, zero-grade of *témHes-, *témHos- (“darkness”), an s-stem from the root *temH- (“dark”). Related to Proto-Celtic *temeslos (“darkness”), *temos (“dark”). A parallel in Proto-Celtic of "dark, darkness" taking on the figurative meaning of "water" can also be found in Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water, dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubrós (“dark”), yielding Welsh dŵr (“water”), Irish dobhar (“water, sea, dark, gloomy”). Hydronyms with their origin in this term also occur elsewhere in Europe, for example Portugal's Douro.
Alternatively from Proto-Celtic *tā-, *tāyo- (“to melt, flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt”), or from unknown non-Indo-European root.
Possible cognates include the names of rivers and tributaries such as:
* Taff, Tamar (from Latin Tamarus), Tame, Tavy, Team, Teifi (from Welsh Teifi, from Old Welsh Tebi, Teibi), Teme, and Teviot (Latin Tefius, Teifius) in Great Britain
* Tambre (from Latin Tamaris), Támega (in Galician, Portuguese Tâmega, Latin Tamice), Támoga or Támboga (Latin Tamega), and Tamuxe, all of them flowing through Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal
* Tamaran in France
* Tammaro (from Latin Tamarus) in Italy
* Demer in Belgium
* Tamyras in Phoenicia
* Tiberis (Tiber)
* Tons, Tamasa (from Sanskrit तमसा (tamasā)) in India
More at Thames.

cog

Near-synonym: (dated) Isis

(with the) A river in southern England, flowing 336 km (209 mi.) from Gloucestershire, through Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Greater London, and between Essex and Kent to the Thames Estuary and North Sea.

(with the) A river in Ontario, Canada, flowing 258 km (160 mi.) to Lake St. Clair.

(with the) A river in the U.S. State of Connecticut flowing 24 km (15 mi.) past New London to Long Island Sound.


Clyde

The name of a river in Scotland, from the Gaelic name Cluaidh, of uncertain origin. Possibly influenced by clut (“the cleansing one”).

South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire#English

North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire#English

West Dunbartonshire
West Dunbartonshire#English

A major river in Scotland, flowing from South Lanarkshire council area, past North Lanarkshire council area, through Glasgow council area, and past Renfrewshire council area and West Dunbartonshire council area, to the Firth of Clyde.


Severn

From Middle English Severne, from Old English Sæfern, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā (compare Welsh Hafren), perhaps from *samaros (“summer fallow”). Doublet of Sabrina.

There twice a day the Severn fills,
The salt sea-water passes by,
And hushes half the babbling Wye,
And makes a silence in the hills.

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XIX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 32:

A river of England and Wales that flows into the Bristol Channel.

A long river in northern Ontario which flows into Hudson Bay.

A short river in central Ontario which flows into Lake Huron.

A number of other rivers in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County#English

A census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States.

Northampton County
Northampton County#English

A small town in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States.


Shannon

The longest river in the British Isles, which flows through Ireland into the Atlantic Ocean.


Volga

A river in Russia, the longest river in Europe, flowing 2,325 miles through western Russia to the Caspian Sea.

فُولْغَا

longest river in Europe, flowing to the Caspian Sea


Limpopo

. The province was named after the river.

Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.

1912, Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant's Child:

A river in Southern Africa whose source is at the border of South Africa and Botswana near Johannesburg and which flows about 1,770 km (1,100 miles) through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to the Indian Ocean.


Mekong

c. 19th c., from Thai แม่โขง (mɛ̂ɛ-kǒong, literally “Mother river”), contracted form of แม่น้ำโขง (mɛ̂ɛ-náam-kǒong).

uder

The Mekong River’s lower basin is vast, encompassing parts of Myanmar and Thailand, virtually all of Laos and Cambodia and parts of southern Vietnam, where, after a 3,000-mile journey across five national borders, the mother of rivers divaricates into a complex delta network and drains into the South China Sea. Tonle Sap Lake sits roughly in the middle of this lush expanse. On a map, it appears as a crooked blue finger extending from the Mekong near Phnom Penh. But it is more often described as Cambodia’s heart, both for its rhythmic flood pulse and the sustaining role it plays in the country’s economy and food supply.

2018 March 28, Ben Mauk, “A People in Limbo, Many Living Entirely on the Water”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-03-29:

The Mekong is one of the largest rivers in the world, beginning in China and flowing through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Nearly 70 million people in Asia are dependent on its waters for fishing or to irrigate their rice fields.

2022 June 1, “Mekong River in jeopardy: Sand-pumping operations ravage ecosystem”, in France 24, archived from the original on 2022-06-01, Focus:

In the isolated villages, some of which are only accessible by boat, most Laotians live off the land. There are huge rice paddies on the fertile banks on the Mekong; rice is the Laotians’ main staple, eaten three times a day here.

2023 September 1, “On the Mekong Through Laos”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2023-09-02, Nature and Environment:

Unsustainable development threatens the health and diverse fish populations of the Mekong river, with one-fifth of fish species in Southeast Asia's main artery facing extinction, a report by conservation groups said on Monday.
The Mekong, stretching nearly 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, is a farming and fishing lifeline for tens of millions of people in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

2024 March 4, Juarawee Kittisilpa, Panu Wongcha-um, “One-fifth of Mekong river fish species face extinction, report says”, in William Mallard, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2024-12-28:

A river in southeastern Asia that flows about 4,183 km (2,600 miles) from Tibet to the South China Sea in Vietnam.


Rubicon

From Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.

(historical) A small river in northeastern Italy which flowed into the Adriatic Sea marking the boundary between the Roman province of Gaul and the Roman heartland. Its crossing by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C.E. began a civil war.


Ain

A river in the Jura and Ain departments, in eastern France, flowing from the Jura Mountains into the Rhône River.


Hudson

en-proper noun

Hudson (countable and uncountable, plural Hudsons)

(with the) A river in the United States, flowing from Lake Tear of the Clouds in Keene, New York into the Upper New York Bay at New York City; named for English explorer Henry Hudson.


Liffey

That there, that's not me
 I go where I please
 I walk through walls
 I float down the Liffey

2000, “How to Disappear Completely”, in Kid A, performed by Radiohead:

A river in Ireland that flows from the Wicklow Mountains for around 75 miles (125 km) through Dublin to the Irish Sea.


Mersey

From Old English mæres ēa (“boundary river”).

A river in England that flows for about 113 km (70 mi) to the Irish Sea at Liverpool.


Meuse

A major river that flows about 901 km (560 mi) from France through Belgium and the Netherlands to the North Sea.


Oder

A river in central Europe, that flows from the Czech Republic through Poland and Germany to the Baltic Sea.


Spey

A major river in Highland council area and Moray council area, Scotland, that flows to the Moray Firth.


Rhone

A major river in Switzerland and France that flows from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea.


Yangtze

An irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 揚子 /扬子 (Yángzǐ) and 揚子江 /扬子江 (Yángzǐ Jiāng), a former name for the lower stretches of the Yangtze derived from 揚子津 (Yángzǐjīn)(zh-wikipedia), a former ferry crossing near Yangzhou, applied by foreign visitors to the entire length of the river. The folk etymology that it means "Son of the Ocean" derives from the homophonic misnomer 洋子江 which was apparently given to Matteo Ricci, whose posthumously published journals popularized the river in Europe as Latin Iansu and Iansuchian.

Yangzi (alternative)
Yang-tze (alternative)
Yangtse (alternative)
Yang-tse (alternative)
Yangtzi (alternative)
Yangtsz (alternative)
Yang-tzu (alternative)
Yang-tzŭ (alternative)
Iansu (alternative)
Iansuchian (alternative)
Yangtze-kiang (alternative)

That Riuer of Nanquin which I called (Yamſu or) Ianſu, the ſonne of the Sea, goeth Northward to Nanquin, and then returning ſomewhat Southward, runneth into the Sea with great force; fortie myles from which it paſſeth by Nanquin. And that from hence to Pequin there might bee paſſage by Riuers, the Kings of China haue deriued a large Channell from this to another Riuer, called the Yellow Riuer, ſuch being the colour of that troubled water. This is the other famous Riuer of that Kingdome, in greatneſſe and note, which ariſesth without the Kingdome to the Weſt, out of the Hill Cunlun, conjectured to bee the ſame whence Ganges ariſeth, or one neere to it.

1625, Samuel Purchas, Pvrchas His Pilgrimes, volume III, London, →OCLC, page 340:

You will perceive that the British and French commissioners ascend the Yangtze at pleasure, and have the steamers of their respective countries at their disposal. I was compelled, for the want of other conveyance, to come hither in a little British steamer which plies between Shanghai and Hong Kong.

1853 December 8, Humphrey Marshall, Documents Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States with Other Countries, number 37, Macao: A.O.P. Nicholson, published 1854, →OCLC, pages 323–324:

The Bishop of Shanghai desires that the bounds of his jurisdiction shall be more clearly expressed, and that therefore his title shall hereafter be, "The Bishop of Shanghai, having jurisdiction in the lower valley of Yangtze." The jurisdiction will be sufficiently large. The Yangtze River is three thousand miles in length, and the population on its borders numbers one hundred millions. As there are already three Bishops of the Church of England, with a large Missionary force of English Clergy, in that empire, Bishop Boone desires that his jurisdiction be limited to the population on the lower Yangtze, a line of eight hundred miles.

1887 [1886 October 19], G. T. Bedell, Thomas H. Vail, B. W. Morris, Geo. F. Seymour, Wm. J. Boone, “Fourteenth Day's Proceedings”, in Journal of the Proceedings of the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Chicago, page 99:

It is not till the Yangtze reaches Sha-shih that its character completely changes. The first note of change is a great embankment, thirty feet high, which protects the region from inundation. Below Sha-shih the vast river becomes mixed up with a network of lakes and rivers, connected by canals, the area of the important Tungting Lake being over 2000 square miles.

1900, Isabella L. Bird, The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, volume 1, pages 9-10:

Of the northernmost one of these folds, the writer has some faint recollection of seeing the folded strata. They form the hills to the west of Han-yung and the central ridge across the city of Wu-chang and extends further east; the west-easterly course of the Yang-tze below Yang-lo (lat. 30° 30' N.) is in all probability determined by this E-W fold.

1918, J. S. Lee, The Geology of China, University of Birmingham, →OCLC, page 320:

Aside from the Turfan depression in Hsin-chiang (Sinkiang) province, the hottest part of China lies in the middle and lower Yangtze Valley. Maximum temperatures of 43°-44°C (110°-112°F) have been recorded in Ch'ang-sha and Nan-ching.

1969, Yi-Fu Tuan, China, Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company, page 22:

Early in the summer of 1127 the emperor was located near the city of Nan-ching just south of the Yangtze River.

1974, John H. Winkelman, The Imperial Library in Southern Sung China, 1127-1279 : A Study of the Organization and Operation of the Scholarly Agencies of the Central Government, page 12:

The Chinese Communists destroyed natural resources by widening the Yangtze River, and brought natural disasters to the mainland, including the worst floods in Szechwan province and other areas.

1982 January 3, “News Stories of Year on Peiping Selected”, in Free China Weekly, volume XXIII, number 1, Taipei, page 3:

The rains swelled the Yangtze River, raising record water levels on July 19 at the Three Gorges Dam, upriver from the city of Wuhan.

2020 August 10, “Worst Rains in Decades Cause China Flooding”, in Time, volume 196, numbers 5-6, page 10:

The building, on the outskirts of Ezhou, a city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, is hailed as the world’s biggest free-standing pig farm, with a second, identical hog high-rise opening soon.

2023 February 8, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Claire Fu, “China’s Bid to Improve Food Production? Giant Towers of Pigs.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

The chief river of central China and the third longest river in the world, flowing a total of 6300 km.


Sid

A minor river in East Devon, England, which flows into the English Channel at Sidmouth.


Buda

A left tributary of the Argeș River, Romania.

A tributary of the Șoimeni River, Cluj County, Romania.

A tributary of the Cernu River, Bacău County, Romania.


Drina

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina

A river that flows northward 160 miles along the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia to empty into the Sava River.


Adige

Borrowed from Italian Adige, from Latin Athesis.


Eden

* The river in Cumbria is from the Roman name, British Latin Ituna. The rivers in Scotland are also related to the root of this name.
* The river in Kent is back-formed from Edenbridge, from Old English Eadhelmsbrigge (“Eadhelm's bridge”).

der

A river in Cumbria, England, which passes Carlisle and empties into the Solway Firth.

A river in Kent, England, which flows into the Medway; the name is a back-formation of Edenbridge.

A river in Fife council area, Scotland, which flows into the North Sea.

Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders#English

Eden Water, a small river in the Scottish Borders council area, which flows into the River Tweed.


Brock

A river in Lancashire which flows through the village to the River Wyre.

A river in Quebec, Canada, a tributary of the Chibougamau River.


Heilongjiang

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 黑龍江 /黑龙江 (Hēilóngjiāng).

Heilungchiang (alternative)
Hei-lung-chiang (alternative)
Heilungkiang (alternative)

Anhui · Fujian · Guangdong · Gansu · Guizhou · Henan · Hubei · Hebei · Hainan · Heilongjiang · Hunan · Jilin · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Liaoning · Qinghai · Sichuan · Shandong · Shaanxi · Shanxi · Taiwan · Yunnan · Zhejiang

In 1848, Russian Senior Naval Captain Nevelskoiy and his military transport ship set sail to invade China's Heilongjiang [Amur-river] River estuary and the Sakhalin island. In 1850, Miaojie on the Heilongjiang River estuary was forcibly occupied, turned into a stronghold for aggression and renamed Nikolayevsk after the czar. In April 1853, Czar Nicholas I brazenly ordered the invasion and occupation of China's Sakhalin island.

1981 August 18 [1981 August 11], Nengxiong [3769 5174 7160] Wang, “How Did Czarist Russia Carry Out Its Aggression Against China?”, in Daily Report: China, volume I, number 159, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, →ISSN, →OCLC, page C 1:

More than 7,000 people of Hailanpao and the sixty-four villages east of the Heilongjiang River were murdered, burned to death or drowned in the river.

1982, Bai Shouyi, editor, An Outline History of China, 1st edition, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 487:

The Songhua is a major tributary of the Heilongjiang River, which crosses the border near the Russian city of Khabarovsk.

2005 November 27, David Lague, “China apologizes to Russia for spill”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-12, Asia Pacific:

Hunting was central to Oroqen culture, with kills shared among families. The semi-nomadic people lived along the banks of the Heilongjiang (“black dragon river”), a long, dark, snaking body of water forming the border between northeast China and Russia, in tepee-like structures called djiu, which were built of birch bark.

2019 April 6, Nathan Gibson, “One of China’s smallest ethnic minority groups, the Oroqen, is in danger of disappearing”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-04-06, Long Reads:

Alternative form of Heilong Jiang, the Amur River: a major river in the Far East of Russia and Northeastern China.

Heilong Jiang

Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet Autonomous Region · Xinjiang

Beijing · Tianjin · Shanghai · Chongqing


Craig

en-proper noun

Craig (countable and uncountable, plural Craigs)

Craigs (plural)
Cregg (alternative)
Craggs (alternative)

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic creag (“rock”).

bor+

Switzerland County
Switzerland County#English

A township in Switzerland County, Indiana.

A township and village therein, in Burt County, Nebraska; named for early settler William Stewart Craig.

A river in Alaska, United States and British Columbia, Canada; named for engineer John Davidson Craig.


Maas

A major river in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, known as the Meuse in France and Belgium and the Maas in the Netherlands.


Jing

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 涇 /泾 (Jīng), as in 涇河／泾河 (Jīnghé) or 涇水／泾水.

zh-m

涇河／泾河 (Jīnghé)

A river in China, a tributary of the Wei.


Tiber

They traversed the Tiber without remarking it; they arrived at Rome by the gate of the people, which conducts immediately to the Corso, to the largest street of the modern city; […]

1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book I. Oswald.] Chap[ter] V.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume I, London: […] Corri, […]; and sold by Colburn, […], and Mackenzie, […], →OCLC, page 51:

The river that flows through Rome in Italy.