Global InformationIcelandic exonyms information
The following is a list of Icelandic exonyms, that is to say names for places in Icelandic that have been adapted to Icelandic spelling rules, translated into Icelandic, or Old Norse exonyms surviving in Icelandic. Commonly pronunciation is close to in English (or native), even though not stated below, but also commonly completely different, more common if names look very different or for European/Nordic places.
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008) |
| Language | Native name | Icelandic exonym |
|---|---|---|
 Albania Albanía
| ||
| Albanian | Tiranë | Tirana |
 Afghanistan Afganistan
| ||
| Persian – Pashto | Kābul – Kabəl | Kabúl |
 Algeria Alsír
| ||
| Arabic | Al-Ŷazā'ir | Algeirsborg |
 Armenia Armenía
| ||
| Armenian | Yerevan | Jerevan |
 Angola Angóla
| ||
| Portuguese | Luanda | Lúanda |
 Argentina Argentína
| ||
| Spanish | Tierra del Fuego | Eldland |
 Austria Austurríki
| ||
| German | Wien | Vín or Vínarborg |
 Australia Ástralía
| ||
| English | New South Wales | Nýja Suður-Wales |
| South Australia | Suður-Ástralía | |
| Western Australia | Vestur-Ástralía | |
| Australian Capital Territory | Höfuðborgarsvæði Ástralíu | |
| Northern Territory | Norður-svæðið | |
| Christmas Island | Jólaeyja | |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Kókoseyjar | |
| Norfolk Island | Norfolkeyjar | |
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Heard og McDonaldseyjar | |
 Azerbaijan Aserbaídsjan
| ||
| Azerbaijani | Bakı | Bakú |
 The Bahamas Bahamaeyjar
| ||
| English | Nassau | Nassá |
 Belarus Hvíta-Rússland
| ||
| Belarusian | Polotsk | Palteskja (historical), Hvíta-Rússland (historical), Belarús (current)[1] |
 Belize Belís
| ||
| English | Belmopan | Belmópan |
 Bhutan Bútan
| ||
| Dzongkha | Thimphu | Timfú |
 Bolivia Bólivía
| ||
| Spanish – Quechua | Sucre – Chuqichaka | Súkre |
 Bosnia Bosnía
| ||
| Bosnian | Sarajevo | Sarajevó |
 Botswana Botsvana
| ||
| English – Tswana | Gaborone | Gaboróne |
 Brazil Brasilía
| ||
| Portuguese | Brasília | Brasilía |
 Burma Mjanmar
| ||
| Burmese | Yangon | Jangún |
 Burundi Búrúndí
| ||
| French | Bujumbura | Bújúmbúra |
 Cameroon Kamerún
| ||
| French – English | Douala | Dóúala |
| Yaoundé | Jánde | |
 Canada Kanada
| ||
| English – French | Toronto | Torontó |
 Central African Republic Mið-Afríkulýðveldið
| ||
| French | Bangui | Bangví |
 Chile Síle
| ||
| Spanish | Rapa Nui | Páskaeyja |
| Santiago | Santíagó | |
 China Kína
| ||
| Mandarin (pinyin Romanization) | Beijing | Peking (sometimes written and read Beijing; Peking reads a bit differently)[2] |
| Shanghai | Sjanghæ (reads like in English) | |
| Tianjin | Tientsin | |
| Qingdao | Tsingtao | |
| Nanjing | Nanking | |
| Xiamen | Amoy | |
| Guilin | Kweilin | |
| Guangzhou | Kanton | |
 Macau Makaó
| ||
| Portuguese – Cantonese | Macau | Makaó |
 Taiwan Formósa
| ||
| Mandarin (pinyin Romanization) | Táiběi | Taípei, Tæpei |
 Colombia Kólumbía
| ||
| Spanish | Bogotá | Bógóta |
 Cook Islands Cookseyjar
| ||
| Māori – English | Avarua | Avarúa |
 Cyprus Kýpur
| ||
| Greek – Turkish | Lefkosía – Lefkoşa | Nikósía |
 Czech Republic Tékkland
| ||
| Czech | Plzeň | Pilsen |
| Praha | Prag | |
 Denmark Danmörk
| ||
| Danish | Aalborg | Álaborg |
| Aarhus | Árósar[3] | |
| Helsingør | Helsingjaeyri | |
| Falster | Falstur | |
| Fredrikshavn | Friðrikshöfn | |
| Fyn | Fjón | |
| Humlebæk | Humlabekk (little used) | |
| Jelling | Jalangur | |
| Jylland | Jótland | |
| København (Copenhagen) | Kaupmannahöfn[3] | |
| Lolland | Láland | |
| Læsø | Hlésey | |
| Odense | Óðinsvé[3] | |
| Ribe | Rípar | |
| Ringsted | Hringstað | |
| Roskilde | Hróarskelda | |
| Silkeborg | Silkiborg | |
| Sjælland | Sjáland | |
| Skagen | Skaginn | |
| Slagelse | Slagleysa | |
| Sorø | Sórey | |
| Viborg | Vébjörg | |
 Dominican Republic Dóminíska Lýðveldið
| ||
| Spanish | Santo Domingo | Santó Dómingó |
 Egypt Egyptaland
| ||
| Arabic | Al-Iskandariyya | Alexandría |
| Qāhirah | Kaíró | |
| Suways | Súes | |
 Equatorial Guinea Miðbaugs-Gínea
| ||
| French – Spanish | Malabo | Malabó |
 Ethiopia Eþíópía
| ||
| Amharic | Adis Abäba | Addis Ababa |
 Faroe Islands Færeyjar
| ||
| Faroese | Borðoy | Borðey |
| Eysturoy | Austurey | |
| Fuglafjørður | Fuglafjörður | |
| Fugloy | Fugley | |
| Gásadalur | Gæsadalur | |
| Kalsoy | Karlsey | |
| Kirkjubøur | Kirkjubær | |
| Klaksvík | Klakksvík | |
| Kollafjørður | Kollafjörður | |
| Kunoy | Konuey | |
| Miðvágur | Miðvogur | |
| Nólsoy | Nólsey | |
| Sandavágur | Sandavogur | |
| Sandoy | Sandey | |
| Streymoy | Straumey | |
| Suðuroy | Suðurey | |
| Svínoy | Svíney | |
| Toftir | Tóftir | |
| Tórshavn | Þórshöfn | |
| Tvøroyri | Þvereyri | |
| Vágar | Vogar, Vogey | |
| Vágur | Vogur | |
| Viðoy | Viðey | |
 Finland Finnland
| ||
| Finnish – Swedish | Turku – Åbo | Árbæ |
 France Frakkland
| ||
| French | Bretagne | Bretanía (current), Bretonskagi, Litla-Bretland, Bertangaland (obsolete), Bretland (obsolete) |
| Bourgogne | Búrgund | |
| Corse | Korsíka | |
| Nantes | Namsborg (obsolete) | |
| Normandy | Norðmandí (obsolete), Normandí (current) | |
| Paris | París | |
| Poitiers | Peituborg | |
| Reims | Reimsborg | |
| Rouen | Rúðuborg | |
| Strasbourg | Strassborg | |
| Versailles | Versalir | |
 French Polynesia Franska Pólýnesía
| ||
| Tahitian – French | 'Enana mā | Markesaseyjar |
| Tōtaiete mā | Félagseyjar | |
| Tahiti | Tahítí | |
| Tūāmotu mā | Lágeyjar (obsolete) | |
 Ghana Gana
| ||
| English | Accra | Akkra |
 Georgia Georgía
| ||
| Georgian | Tbi'lisi | Tíblisi (Tíflis in common parlance) |
 Germany Þýskaland
| ||
| German | Berlin | Berlín |
| Bavaria | Bæjaraland | |
| Braunschweig | Brúnsvík (obsolete) | |
| Bremen | Brimar | |
| Flensburg | Flensborg | |
| Frankfurt | Frakkafurða (little used) | |
| Hamburg | Hamborg | |
| Haddeby | Heiðabær | |
| Holstein | Holtsetaland | |
| Kiel | Kíl | |
| Köln (Cologne) | Kolni (little used), Köln (current) | |
| Lübeck | Lýbika | |
| Oldenburg | Aldinborg | |
| Rostock | Rauðstokkur (obsolete) | |
| Schleswig | Slésvík | |
| Stralsund | Stræla | |
| Stuttgart | Stóðgarður (little used) | |
| Verden | Ferðuborg (obsolete) | |
 Greece Grikkland
| ||
| Greek | Athína | Aþena |
| Límnos | Lemney | |
| Thessaloníki | Saloníka (obsolete), Þessalónika (current) | |
 Guinea Gínea
| ||
| French | Conakry | Kónakrí |
 Guatemala Gvatemala
| ||
| Spanish | Ciudad de Guatemala | Gvatemalaborg |
 Guinea-Bissau Gínea-Bissá
| ||
| Portuguese | Bissau | Bissá (reads like in English) |
 Hungary Ungverjaland
| ||
| Hungarian | Budapest | Búdapest |
 India Indland
| ||
| Hindi – English | Kolkata | Kalkútta (obsolete) |
| Naī Dillī – New Delhi | Nýja-Delí | |
 Indonesia Indónesía
| ||
| Indonesian | DKI Jakarta | Djakarta |
 Iran Íran
| ||
| Persian | Tehrān | Teheran |
 Iraq Írak
| ||
| Arabic – Kurdish | Baġdād – Bexda | Bagdað (or which reads almost the same) |
 Ireland Írland
| ||
| Irish | Áth Cliath/Dubhlinn (Dublin) | Dyflinn(i) |
| Luimneach (Limerick) | Hlymrek (obsolete) | |
 Israel Ísrael
| ||
| Hebrew – Arabic | Yerushaláyim – al Quds | Jórsalaborg (obsolete), Jerúsalem (current) |
| Ḥeifa – Ḥayfā | Haífa | |
| Tel Aviv-Yafo – Tal ʼAbīb | Tel Avív | |
 Italy Ítalía
| ||
| Italian | Bari | Bár (obsolete) |
| Firenze | Flórens | |
| Genova | Genúa | |
| Lucca | Lukkuborg (obsolete) | |
| Milano | Meilansborg (obsolete), Mílanó (current) | |
| Napoli | Napólí | |
| Roma | Róm, Rómaborg (both are commonly and, additionally Rómarborg, which is an incorrect spelling,[4] with extra r before the ending -borg, which means city). | |
| Salerno | Salernisborg (rare) | |
| Torino | Tórínó | |
| Venezia | Feneyjar | |
 Japan Japan
| ||
| Japanese | Kyōto-shi | Kýótó |
| Tōkyō | Tókýó | |
 Kenya Kenýa
| ||
| English – Swahili | Nairobi | Naíróbí |
 Latvia Lettland
| ||
| Latvian | Rīga | Ríga |
| Kurzeme | Kúrland | |
| Daugava | Dvína | |
| Livonija | Lífland | |
| Liepāja | Líbá | |
 Lebanon Líbanon
| ||
| Arabic – French | Bayrūt – Beyrouth | Beirút |
 Liberia Líbería
| ||
| English | Monrovia | Monróvía |
 Libya Líbýa
| ||
| Arabic | Ṭarābulus | Trípólí |
 Lithuania Litháen
| ||
| Lithuanian | Vilnius | Vilníus |
 Madagascar Madagaskar
| ||
| Malagasy – French | Antananarivo | Antananarívó |
 Malawi Malaví
| ||
| English | Lilongwe | Lílongve |
 Malaysia Malasía
| ||
| Malay | Kuala Lumpur | Kúala Lúmpúr |
 Mali Malí
| ||
| French – Bambara | Bamako – Bamakə | Bamakó |
| Tombouctou – Timbuktu | Timbúktú | |
 Marshall Islands Marshalleyjar
| ||
| Marshallese – English | Majuro | Majúró |
 Mauritania Máritanía
| ||
| Arabic – French | Nouakchott | Núaksjott |
 Mexico Mexíkó
| ||
| Spanish | Ciudad de México | Mexíkóborg |
 Moldova Moldóva
| ||
| Romanian | Chișinău | Kisínev |
 Mongolia Mongólía
| ||
| Mongolian | Ulaanbaatar | Úlan Bator |
 Montenegro Svartfjallaland
| ||
 Mozambique Mósambík
| ||
| Portuguese | Maputo | Mapútó |
 North Korea Norður-Kórea
| ||
| Korean | P'yŏngyang | Pjongjang |
 Nepal Nepal
| ||
| Nepali | Kāţhmāņđau | Katmandú |
 The Netherlands Holland
| ||
| Dutch | Amsterdam | Amsturdammur (little used), Erilstífla (little used) |
| Den Haag or ´s Gravenhage | Haag | |
| Utrecht | Trekt (little used) | |
| Zuiderzee | Suðursjó (historical) | |
 Nicaragua Níkaragva
| ||
| Spanish | Managua | Managva |
 Niger Níger
| ||
| French | Niamey | Níamey |
 Nigeria Nígería
| ||
| English – Yorùbá | Abuja-Abùjá | Abútja |
 Norway Noregur
| ||
| Norwegian | ||
| Akershus | Akurshús | |
| Arendal | Arnardalur | |
| Aust-Agder | Austur-Agðir | |
| Bergen | Björgyn (obsolete), Björgvin (current)[3] | |
| Bjørnøya | Bjarnarey | |
| Bodø | Boðvin | |
| Bærum | Bergheimur (obsolete) | |
| Drammen | Dröfn (obsolete) | |
| Finnmark | Finnmörk | |
| Gjøvik | Djúpvík (historical) | |
| Hedmark | Heiðmörk | |
| Hordaland | Hörðaland | |
| Karmøy | Körmt (historical) | |
| Møre og Romsdal | Mæri og Raumsdalur | |
| Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag | Norður-Þrændalög, Suður-Þrændalög | |
| Nordland | Norðurland | |
| Oslo | Kauphágur (historical), Ósló (current) | |
| Rogaland | Rygjafylki | |
| Skien | Skiða (obsolete) | |
| Sogn og Fjordane | Sogn og Firðafylki | |
| Stavanger | Stafangur | |
| Telemark | Þelamörk | |
| Trondheim | Niðarós (historical), Þrándheimur (current) | |
| Tønsberg | Túnsberg (obsolete) | |
| Østfold | Austfold | |
| Ålesund | Álasund | |
 Oman Óman
| ||
| Arabic | Masqaṭ | Múskat |
 Paraguay Paragvæ
| ||
| Spanish – Guaraní | Asunción | Asúnsjón |
 Peru Perú
| ||
| Spanish | Lima | Líma |
 Philippines Filippseyjar
| ||
| Tagalog – Cebuano | Maynila – Manila | Maníla |
 Poland Pólland
| ||
| Polish | Kraków | Kraká |
| Warszawa | Varsjá | |
| Szczecin | Stettín | |
 Portugal Portúgal
| ||
| Portuguese | Lisboa | Lissabon |
 Romania Rúmenía
| ||
| Romanian | București | Búkarest |
| Constanța | Konstantía | |
 Russia Rússland
| ||
| Russian | Murom | Móramar (historical) |
| Novgorod | Hólmgarður, Nýi Garður, Nýborg | |
| Rostov | Ráðstofa | |
| Sankt Peterburg | Sankti Pétursborg | |
| Smolensk | Smáleskja (historical) | |
| Staraya Ladoga | Aldeigjuborg (historical) | |
| Suzdal | Súrsdalar (historical) | |
 Rwanda Rúanda
| ||
| Kinyarwanda – French | Kigali | Kígalí |
 Samoa Samóa
| ||
| Samoan | Apia | Apía |
 Saudi Arabia Sádí-Arabía
| ||
| Arabic | Makkah | Mekka |
| Riyāḍ | Ríad | |
 Serbia Serbía
| ||
| Serbian | Beograd | Belgrad |
 Somalia Sómalía
| ||
| Somali – Arabic | Muqdisho – Maqadīshū | Mógadisjú |
 South Africa Suður-Afríka
| ||
| English – Afrikaans | Cape of Good Hope | Góðrarvonarhöfði |
| Cape Town – Kaapstad | Höfðaborg | |
| Johannesburg | Jóhannesarborg | |
| Pretoria | Pretoría | |
 South Korea Suður-Kórea
| ||
| Korean | Seoul | Seúl |
 Spain Spánn
| ||
| Spanish | Barcelona | Barselóna |
 Sri Lanka Srí Lanka
| ||
| Sinhala – Tamil | Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte | Srí Jajevardenepúra |
 Sudan Súdan
| ||
| Arabic – English | Kharṭūm – Khartoum | Kartúm |
 Suriname Súrínam
| ||
| Dutch | Paramaribo | Paramaríbó |
 Sweden Svíþjóð[3]
| ||
| Swedish | Göteborg | Gautaborg |
| Helsingborg | Helsingjaborg | |
| Lund | Lundur | |
| Malmö | Málmhaugar (little used), Málmey | |
| Stockholm | Stokkhólmur[5] | |
| Uppsala | Uppsalir | |
 Switzerland Sviss
| ||
| German – French | Basel – Bâle | Boslaraborg (obsolete) |
 Syria Sýrland
| ||
| Arabic | Dimašq | Damaskus |
 Tajikistan Tadsjikistan
| ||
| Tajik | Dushanbe | Dúshanbe |
 Tanzania Tansanía
| ||
| Swahili | Dodoma | Dódóma |
 Thailand Taíland
| ||
| Thai | Krung Thep | Bangkok |
 Tonga Tonga
| ||
| Tongan – English | Nukuʻalofa | Núkúalófa |
 Turkey Tyrkland
| ||
| Turkish | İstanbul | Mikligarður (historical), Istanbúl (current) |
 Ukraine Úkraína
| ||
| Ukrainian | Kyiv | Kænugarður, Kyjív |
 United Arab Emirates Sameinuðu arabísku furstadæmin
| ||
| Arabic | Abū Zabī | Abú Dabí |
| 'Ajmān | Adsman | |
| Dubayy | Dúbaí | |
 United Kingdom Bretland
| ||
| English | Aberdeen | Apardjón (obsolete) |
| Canterbury | Kantaraborg | |
| Dover | Dofrar (little used) | |
| Edinburgh | Edinborg | |
| Yarmouth | Járnamóða (little used) | |
| Cambridge | Kambabryggja (little used) | |
| Lerwick | Leirvík | |
| London | Lundúnir (also used, but London more current)[3] | |
| Southampton | Suðurhamtún (little used) | |
| Oxford | Öxnafurða (little used) | |
| Scarborough | Skarðaborg (obsolete) | |
| York | Jórvík | |
 United States Bandaríkin
| ||
| English | California | Kalifornía |
| New York | Nýja-Jórvík (not in common use, a jocular term of academic pretension) | |
| North Dakota | Norður-Dakóta | |
| South Dakota | Suður-Dakóta | |
 Uruguay Úrúgvæ
| ||
| Spanish | Montevideo | Montevídeó |
 Uzbekistan Úsbekistan
| ||
| Uzbek | Toshkent | Taskent |
 Vatican City Vatíkanið or Páfagarður
| ||
| Latin | Status Civitatis Vaticanae | Páfagarður |
 Venezuela Venesúela
| ||
| Spanish | Caracas | Karakas |
 Vietnam Víetnam
| ||
| Vietnamese | Hà Nội | Hanoí |
| Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh | Ho Chi Minh-borg, formerly Saígon | |
 Zambia Sambía
| ||
| English | Lusaka | Lúsaka |
| Language | Native name | Icelandic exonym |
- ^ Oddur Ævar Gunnarsson (16 November 2022). "Belarús mun líklega ekki rústa framtíð íslenskunnar". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 2. Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ Gunnar Þór Magnússon (20 August 2008). "Af hverju tölum við um Peking en ekki Beijing?". Icelandic Web of Science (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Svavar Sigmundsson (11 February 2009). "Af hverju eru erlend borgarnöfn þýdd eða þeim breytt í íslensku máli, til dæmis Lundúnir, Kaupmannahöfn, o.s.frv.?". Icelandic Web of Science (in Icelandic). University of Iceland. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls". bin.arnastofnun.is. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- ^ Ólafur Hansson (18 October 1948). "Erlend staðarheiti". Mánudagsblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 4, 7. Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Tímarit.is.
