List of countries named after people

This is a list of countries and dependent territories named after people.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Sovereign countries named after people
CountrySource of name
AzerbaijanAtropates (initially Atropatene in Ancient Greek, the name evolved to Azerbaijan in Persian)
BoliviaSimón Bolívar
ChinaEmperor Qin (pronounced "Chin") of the Qin Dynasty
ColombiaChristopher Columbus
Dominican RepublicSaint Dominic
El SalvadorJesus (literally, The Saviour)
Eswatini (Swaziland)King Mswati II
Jordan (The Hashemite Kingdom of)Hashim ibn Abd Manaf (as for the Hashemite Kingdom), the name Jordan is from Jordan River.
KiribatiThomas Gilbert ("Kiribati" is the Gilbertese rendition of "Gilberts")
Marshall IslandsJohn Marshall
MauritiusMaurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
MozambiqueMussa Bin Bique
NicaraguaNicarao
PeruBirú, a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama City, in the early 16th century.[1]
PhilippinesKing Philip II of Spain
Saint Kitts and NevisSaint Christopher
Saint LuciaSaint Lucy
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent of Saragossa
San MarinoSaint Marinus
São Tomé and PríncipeSaint Thomas and Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid
Saudi ArabiaMuhammad bin Saud
SeychellesJean Moreau de Séchelles
United States of AmericaAmerigo Vespucci (see Naming of America)
UzbekistanÖz Beg Khan
Venezuela (The Bolivarian Republic of)Simón Bolívar (as for the Bolivarian Republic), the name Venezuela is however derived from Venice. See: Venezuela#Etymology

Countries named after legendary figures
CountrySource of name
Hayastan (Armenia)Hayk (legendary figure)
Bangladeshfrom "Bengal" which is according to one possibility is named after Bung/Bang, son of Hind, son of Ham, son of Noah[2][3][4]
BelarusRus (legendary figure)
CambodiaSage Kambu Swayambhuva
Czech RepublicČech (legendary figure)
DenmarkDan (king) (legendary figure, uncertain etymology)
Djibouti"Djibouti" means "Land of Tehuti" or "Land of Thoth", after the Egyptian Moon God
HungaryHunor (or Magyarország — Magor)
Bhārat (India)Dushyanta's son Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata[5]
IsraelJacob, who was also called Israel in the Bible
Éire (Ireland)Éire (Ériu), a Celtic fertility goddess
Laospossibly after Lava
Lechia (historical and/or alternative name of Poland)Lech (legendary figure)
NorwayNór (legendary figure, dubious origin of etymology)
Romaniafrom "Rome" / "Roman", which possibly comes from Romulus
RussiaRus (legendary figure)
Solomon IslandsKing Solomon of Israel and Judah

Former countries named after people
CountrySource of name
Principality of Antioch, now part of TurkeyAntiochus, father of Seleucus I Nicator
Lotharingia (Lorraine), now part of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the NetherlandsLothair II
Rhodesia (former name of Zimbabwe)Cecil Rhodes
Samo's EmpireSamo, a Slavic king
Ottoman EmpireOsman I, founder of the empire

Dependent territories named after people
TerritorySource of name
Baker IslandMichael Baker
BermudaJuan de Bermudez
Bouvet IslandJean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier
Clipperton IslandJohn Clipperton
Cocos (Keeling) IslandsCaptain William Keeling
Cook IslandsCaptain James Cook
Falkland IslandsAnthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland
GibraltarTariq ibn Ziyad (from Jabal Ṭāriq, meaning 'Mountain of Tariq')
Jan MayenJan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout
Jarvis IslandEdward, Thomas and William Jarvis
Johnston AtollCaptain Charles J. Johnston
Juan de Nova João da Nova
Kingman ReefCaptain W. E. Kingman
Isle of ManManannán mac Lir[6]
Norfolk IslandWife of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk
Northern Mariana IslandsMariana of Austria
Peter I IslandPeter the Great
Queen Maud LandMaud of Wales
Pitcairn IslandsRobert Pitcairn (midshipman)
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Helena of Constantinople, Tristão da Cunha
Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Peter and Saint Michael
Sint MaartenMartin of Tours
South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsGeorge III of the United Kingdom and John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
Tromelin IslandChevalier de Tromelin
Virgin IslandsSaint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins
Wake IslandWilliam Wake
Wallis and FutunaSamuel Wallis

See also

References
  1. Porras Barrenechea, Raúl. El nombre del Perú. Lima: Talleres Gráficos P.L. Villanueva, 1968, p. 83.
  2. Land of Two Rivers, Nitish Sengupta
  3. Abu'l-Fazl. Ain-i-Akbari.
  4. RIYAZU-S-SALĀTĪN: A History of Bengal Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Ghulam Husain Salim, The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1902.
  5. Roshen Dalal (2010). The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths. Penguin Books India. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-14-341517-6.
  6. "Manannán mac Lir | Irish deity". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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